TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

Extreme Wind Wreaks Havoc On All Anglers

Contributed photo

Dave holds another 8.8-pound bass he caught on Istokpoga.The big ones, he says, are really starting to turn on in this lake.

ADVERTISEMENT

By DAVE DOUGLASS

Highlands Today

Published: April 5, 2009

We enter the last four days of the waxing full moon with a break from the extreme wind of 15 mph and gusting speeds as high as 30 mph that pounded anglers for 13 out of the last 14 days.

Anglers for the most part are used to the weather conditions of Florida, but after 10 days of high winds, even the most seasoned anglers start to grow tired and opt for finding something else to do with their spare time - like clean reels, refurbish rods, maintain the boat, and most importantly, shop at their favorite bait stores.

This is exactly what I did last Friday after I checked the weather forecast online at 4:30 a.m. while sipping a cup of my favorite African coffee.

The thought of going out into the wind and waves again was enough to make me quickly change my schedule; unload everything out of the boat, set the rods and reels on the workbench, and clean the boat before the rain and cover it, service rods and reels, and make the trip to Bass Pro Shop, reload the boat for Saturday's fishing trip, all moved up to the top of my daily agenda.

At 7 p.m., I sat down at my PC to do research for my Sunday article and rechecked the weather forecast, astro-tables, lunar-phase tables, the barometric plot of the last two days, and last year's fishing-log-entry notes for the first week of April. The following results are the research facts that will be the basis upon which I plan my next three angling days:

Today through Tuesday the major daylight feeding migration will occur from safe-light to 10 a.m. with a peak time of 7-8 a.m.

However, on Tuesday the forecast calls for a cold front substantial enough to drop temperatures 25 degrees or more. If this happens, the fish will abandon their feeding-migration pattern completely and suspend until the weather stabilizes again. Depending on when this front actually arrives, it is possible that Tuesday's agenda might get scratched and rewritten - cook some chili, catch up on my reading and emails, and take in a few evening movies.

Each day the morning bite will diminish but remain at about the same duration.

The 1-10 rating will also decline - 7 today, 6 tomorrow and 4 or 3 on Tuesday. Also, the peak time will start earlier each day, due to the arrival of the full moon. By midweek, the peak will happen from safe-light to sunrise as fish end their nighttime feasting and move along the edges of vegetation and back to deeper water.

The late-afternoon bite starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 9 p.m. with a peak from 7-8 p.m. The rating reaches a 6 on the 10-scale, but this also diminishes in intensity and duration as the Full Moon arrives on Thursday at 2:56 p.m. Monday evening should be the best of the tree evenings as it should have a barometric change that should trigger the fish to feed uncharacteristically heavy in anticipation of the fast temperature decline.

The nighttime bite will build all week as the full moon arrives.Tonight will be the best of the three days, and nights will return to a normal nighttime feeding migration on Thursday and remain stable through the weekend.

Fish will do the majority - 80 percent - of their daily feeding in the light of the full moon and therefore daytime anglers will experience their most challenging days of the 28-day lunar cycle this week.

Fishing Facts

The Florida female spawning bass doesn't always lay all of its eggs in one spawning session, but instead many times will deposit half resulting in two spawns a month apart, and has been known to deposit only a third resulting in three spawns in ninety days.

Fishing Fiction

"If a bass' spawn is interrupted before she deposits her eggs, she won't spawn that year."

This can be true for some bass, however, many females will suspend the spawn effort and wait - holding onto their eggs - and try again within a month, at which time she might attempt a double or triple spawn effort, sensing unstable weather conditions as a threat and therefore making every effort within her ability to procreate successfully.

Tournament News

The Outback USA Crappie Tournament is open to the public and will be held monthly. The fourth event finishes today. Entry fee is $5 and anglers can fish any lake of their choice and weigh-in on any day at Outback USA at 14021 US-27 South. Application can be picked up at Outback USA which is half way between South Sebring and Lake Placid, on route 27S. Store hours are from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day.

The Monday Morning Lake Jackson Black Bass Fishing Tournament is open to the public and launches every Monday morning at 8 a.m. with weigh-in at 1 p.m. Entry fee is $10 per boat with a "winner-take-all" payout. One person or two per boat, three legal (more than 14 inches) bass per boat, and one bass over 22 inches per angler. For information, call Paul Tardiff at 863-385-8007 (home) or 863-273-4062 (cell).

The Wednesday Morning Black Bass Fishing Tournament is open to the public. Next event is April 8 at Lake Placid. Time: 7:30 a.m. to noon. Pay at ramp - entry fee is $30 per boat. One person may fish alone if you do not have a partner. For information, contact Paul Tardiff at 863-385-8007 (home) or 863-273-4062 (cell), email bassbutchie60@aol.com or call Dwight Ameling at 863-471-3305.

Dave Douglass is a bass-fishing guide and CEO of S.O.S.-Florida Lakes, Inc. He can be reached at 863-381-8474, HighlandsBassAngler.com, or e-mail him at davidpdouglass@hotmail.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT