FISHING: Late-Night Best Time For Fishing

This week the full moon occurs on Friday night at 11:03 p.m. and for anglers and fishermen this means excellent nighttime bite and not-so-good daytime bite.

During last spring and summer, the lunar cycle occurred during the midday hours mostly, but now shifts to the other side of the solar cycle.

Since this week, the moon events take place near midnight, the fish feed most aggressively at that time and therefore very little activity during the day.

Putting it bluntly, if you're not already possessing information on where the fish are, you're not going to catch fish because this is not the week to attempt locating fish.

Even more challenging is catching larger bass over six pounds. The reason I say this is that the larger bass roam as loners throughout the lake independent of what affects bass under six pounds.

Because of this, the trophy bass virtually shut down during the day, lying semi-dormant in safe locations, and save all their energy for the huge night feeding migration the entire food chain experiences.

Odds of hooking into one of these highly prized bass are slim to none during the day.
Best daytime hours are anyones guess; however, I will be attempting to find success from mid-morning to noon or mid-afternoon to sunset.

If, I said, if there is a daytime bite, it should occur at this time - in my humble opinion, but all bets are off.

Fishing Facts

Since the water temperatures are now starting in the upper 60s in the early mornings, bass start to prepare for the spawning season and therefore feed longer, roam further, and become more aggressive feeders.

It is possible to hook a large bass at the oddest times of the day. The pre-spawning bass operate on a different clock and schedule making the remote chances of anglers setting the hook on a trophy more probable.

The largest bass in the lake break away from the norm and set their own rules and timetables - swimming against the currents, traveling up and down the lake bottom which the middle sized to smaller bass don't do.

The entire lake is theirs for the taking, and it's nothing for one of these giants to travel three or four miles in a day. However, they do use the same migration routes the fish in each particular area uses as they pass through that area.

Fishing Report

I talk to many reliable sources each week and all of them ask to remain anonymous. So, my "Unnamed Sources" tell me all the lakes are remaining tough - the summertime bite is still holding - and just an occasional pre-spawn bass have been located.

Pan-fish reports consistently improve little by little with many Crappie anglers starting to experience periods of modest success in the deeper sections of the lakes.

The recent rain did provide some lake level increase, but most lakes obviously need much more rain to enable an optimum shoreline bite.

Working the deeper vegetation's, shoals and ridges, and structures remains the best areas in the lakes to locate concentrations of fish of all types.

Other News

S.O.S. Florida Lakes Inc is having their Open Public Meeting this Thursday Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Lorida Civic Center.

Speakers from the Army Corp of Engineers, Fish and Wildlife Conservation, and Vice President Dave Douglass presenting reports from Chip Boring of Reimax Reality of Sebring on Lake Istokpoga real estate values and taxes, South Florida Water Management's deviation request, and SOS's Hydrilla management proposed planning along with Highlands County's lake management planning.

Tournaments

Wednesday Morning Black Bass Fishing Tournament is open to the public. Next Event: Today on Lake Jackson. Time: 7 a.m. to noon. Pay at ramp - entry fee $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, cell 863-446-1310 bassbutchie60@aol.com or Dwight Ameling at 863-471-3305.

Dave Douglass is a Bass fishing guide and teacher, Bass tournament fisherman and also an officer of S.O.S.-Florida Lakes, Inc. You can reach him at (863) 381-8474, e-mail davedouglass@sos-florialakes.org or visit the Web sites reds-bass-fishing-guides.com and sos-floridalakes.org/.