Early-morning bite now strongest

With the last-quarter moon arriving early Thursday morning, 13 minutes after midnight, the early-morning bite will be strongest of the daytime feeding migrations. Anglers should be on the water by 6 a.m. and expect the peak period to start at about 7 a.m. and last for at least an hour.

Because of the recent rain and low-pressure systems that moved through our area, the duration of the feeding session could be shortened, but I believe this depends on the lake - shallow lakes might have a shortened feeding duration due to greater changes in lake levels and influents washing sources of foods into the water.

The early-morning bite rating will be moderate at best, reaching perhaps a 7 rating on some lakes, but more likely a 5-6 on most lakes. This will remain the case throughout the week.

The late-evening bite will diminish in both duration and intensity as it gives way to the natural nighttime feeding migration that naturally occurs this time of year. From now until late spring to early summer, the fish feed primarily at night, regardless of the moon phases.

It is a fact for the next four months that weather has more to do with creating a heavier-than-normal feeding migration during the day than the usual influences of the sun and moon. Fish are going to feed at night for the majority of their daily food requirements and unless the weather slows that natural process down the daytime bite will be moderate to weak at best. So we can only hope for barometric changes occurring during the day so that fish are naturally forced to break their natural seasonal feeding pattern of the nighttime feed.

Fishing flash

Lake Istokpoga's level is currently at 39.13 feet above sea level. With the massive weed control events of the past month for both hydrilla and native vegetations, which were determined to be "too dense for benefiting a healthy fishery" - the FWC's words, not mine - much of the spawning areas are in a state of vegetative decomposition, which stops bass from using those traditional areas.

However, there are untreated hydrilla areas out in the open water, which are not far from those traditional shoreline areas, and this is where the bass will now spawn. Any anglers looking to locate the early-spawning bass in the traditional areas will be frustrated with the current conditions of those areas, but it does not mean the bass are not spawning; in fact, they are, and more successfully because fewer anglers will locate them in the unfamiliar areas they have chosen.

Just maybe there will be a greater bass spawn this year because the FWC forced bass to spawn in unusual areas by fishing their weed treatment programs prior to the start of the spawning season.

Tournament news

The Monday Morning Lake Josephine Black Bass Fishing Tournament is open to the public and launches every Monday 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 Tournament will be on Crooked Lake, Dec. 16, and next week's event, on Dec. 23, is on Lake Josephine. Launch time is 7:30 a.m. and weigh-in time is at noon. Entry fee is $30 per boat to be paid at the ramp. For complete information call Paul Tardiff, home: 863-385-8007, cell: 863-273-4062, or Dwight Ameling at 863-471-3305.

Your Lake Manager's Contact Information:

FWC Largemouth Bass Research Study Program, e-mail: TagReturn@MyFWC.com, or phone: FWC Tag Return Hotline - 800-267-4461. Mail address: LMB Tagging Study, 601 W. Woodward Ave., Eustis, FL, 32726

FFWCC Fishkill Report Hot Line, 800-636-0511, or go online at www.MyFWC.com/contact.

Clell Ford - Lakes Management Specialist, Highlands County, 4434 George Blvd., Sebring, Florida 33875. Phone: 863-402-6545, e-mail: Cford@hcbcc.org

Vicki Pontius - Parks and Recreation Director, Highlands County, 4344 George Blvd., Sebring, Florida 33875. Phone: 863-402-6812, e-mail: Vpontius@hcbcc.org

Steven Gornak - FFWCC, Aquatic Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Sub-Section, Division of Habitat and Species Conservation, 3991 S.E. 27th Court, Okeechobee, FL 34974. Phone: 863-462-5190, Cell: 863-697-6256, e-mail: steven.gornak@myfwc.com

Erica Van Horn - FFWCC, Invasive Plant Management Section, 2001 Homeland Garfield Road, Bartow, FL 33830, Phone: 863-534-7074, e-mail: erica.vanhorn@myfwc.com