Challenging week for anglers

For the next seven days the waning of the Full Moon combined with the Lunar Apogee, which will occur on Thursday, will result in minimal lunar effects on fish. Fish will feed daily, however not aggressively-as in attacking food sources in large numbers for two hours. For this reason anglers will be more challenged in finding fish and producing several striking fish within one area during the same period of opportunity.

The angler is challenged to the maximum this week in that he must determine the exact bait-action that triggers a strike, but before that, he must locate the holding area where fish suspend when they're not feeding in mass migratory daily feedings-moving from a safer non-food-source area to the food-source area, which is usually deeper and within 100 yards.

There really is only one possible chance of a major feeding session today-I won't call it officially a feeding migration-and that is between 2-5 p.m. and I won't even attempt to guess when a peak period will occur. The 10-Scale Rating should reach a 5 at best today but this will decline this week unless the weather stimulates fish to feed, which doesn't look too promising according to the forecast.

As always there is a probability of hooking into a large bass early in the morning from safe-light to 8 a.m. if you happen to know exactly where fish feed during the night along shorelines and the point where they migrate deeper to suspend during the daylight hours.

Fishing feature

Finding the fish-holding location is one thing, but it's a whole other matter to get them to investigate the angler's artificial offering. And if live-bait is being used for Bass, most likely because they're not hungry, a predatory-strike results-where the nuisance of the intruder swimming around frantically results in being sucked in, crushed, and exhaled out, in a half-dead state.

I have heard many an angler tell stories-of which I am also one-in which two in one boat are working an area of the lake trying different methods and strategies, when suddenly one angler boats a fish. The other angler sets up the exact same rig and bait and never gets a strike while his partner continues to boat fish after fish.

Now there are a few different reasons why this would occur. For the sake of the honesty and integrity of angling friends, lets assume both are ethical anglers who would not knowingly take advantage of the other-such as the boat owner leaving the rear sonar unit on while he sits at the front of the boat and his partner at the rear. Bait-action is a tricky subtle thing to duplicate. For instance the very part of the bait-action that triggers the fish to strike could be what seems to be a very insignificant thing, such as lifting only half of the plastic bait one inch after letting it sit for thirty seconds and laying it back down without advancing it.

If the angler with no fish is raising the bait completely off the landing area of a tree-pile and advancing it one foot while his successful partner is employing a more subtle technique, it proves the fish would not tolerate a more prolonged presence within that one foot area.

It is not as easy as it sounds to only lift half of a five inch worm one inch without advancing it up or forward, but once you've mastered the more subtle, seemingly meaningless and insignificant techniques of the master angler, you'll discover one more essential part in the definition of, the art of angling.

Fishing facts

Fish move out of the sonar signal-cone area below the boat and return after the boat passes. This event really only occurs when anglers fishing deeper tree-piles or cover directly below the boat-as most sonar-signal cones are no larger than 6-12 feet in diameter at deeper depths. Fish literally feel the sonar waves hitting them, especially when sonar units are set-up with high ping speeds. In some cases it can explain why one angler catches all the fish while both use identical baits and methods-the sonar transducer in the back of the boat works against the angler fishing from the back of the boat.

Fishing formula

Sometimes anglers would do well to back away from an area that produced one or more fish and use longer casts to reach beyond the target area and then employ the most subtle approach to that same target area as possible. After thirty minutes slowly move closer to the same distance from the target zone that worked to produce fish previously.

A semi-dormant, suspended fish, will strike when not hungry if the angler matches the same mindset as the predator he seeks-slow, cautious, lethargic, but defensive.

Fishing fiction

"No one catches fish when the fish aren't biting." At first-glance, this saying seems to be obviously true; however it's really a matter of semantics-as in "biting" meaning feeding and not literally biting bait.

A person who "fishes" is able to become an "angler" when they realize it is very possible to be one of the fishermen out of many that boats a full stringer when the majority can not boat one fish. For they have learned to offend the fish instead of trying to feed it.

Your Lake Manager's Contact Information:

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, Biological Scientist IV, Aquatic Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Sub-Section, Division of Habitat and Species Conservation, 3991 SE 27th Court, Okeechobee, FL 34974. Phone: 863-462-5190 (SunCom 761-5190), Fax: 863-462-5194 (SunCom 761-5194), Mobile: 863-697-6256, Eail: steven.gornak@myfwc.com

Tournament news

The Monday Morning Lake Josephine 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 May 13 at Lake Anthorp 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.