Afternoon offers best fishing

The fishing conditions for the remainder of the week look to stabilize as the weather starts to warm back up to seasonable norms.

The abnormally cold weather trumps all other fishing influences and creates really only one feeding migration per day and maybe two days during extended cold snaps.

Today the best time to go fishing is from 3-8 p.m. when the water temperatures are highest, and the lunar cycle triggers feeding. The peak period again this week is hard to predict. It all has to do with when the water reaches its daily high - lots of sunshine produces an early peak feeding migration while a cloudy day a later peak period.

As the week continues anglers can expect the intensity rating to climb by a few numbers. Today's 1-10 scale rating should reach six, tomorrow seven, and Saturday an eight.

For the early morning angler there is a remote chance for success if water temperatures reach the low 60s by the weekend. Between the hours of 5-8 a.m. If there should be a strong bite developing over the next week but not until warmer water returns - 62-72 degrees.

Looking ahead this month anglers can expect fishing to really start to produce well from the beginning of Daylight Saving Time on the 14th to the end of the month when the water temperatures are perfect and the lunar perigee arrives and combine positive influences.

Fishing flash

On Tuesday, March 9, at 10 a.m., there will be a public meeting to discuss plans for a spring hydrilla treatment on Lake Istokpoga.The location: Parks and Recreation conference room, at 4344 George Boulevard - across the street from the Bert Harris Jr. Ag Civic Center.

The SAFER 9th Annual "Save Our Canals"Tournament has been scheduled for Saturday, April 24. Entry fees and raffle ticket purchases are the sole source of funding for SAFER's yearly agenda. For complete information, visit on the web at sfanglers.com.

Lake Istokpoga's level remains at 39.31' above sea level today. The FWC continues to use mechanical harvesters to remove tussocks in the Big Island Cut area.

As of today I have not received any updates from the FWC on when they will move to the Henderson's Point area or the Route 98 Istokpoga Park/Arbuckle Creek area -which are both scheduled to have extensive work done.

After over six years of repeated requests for advanced lake management event information for the purpose of educating and informing you, the public taxpayer and lake user, the general consensus among the majority of lake users is that the FWC personnel responsible for Istokpoga don't care and don't have time to provide information pertaining to using the lake wisely.

At this point, I for one believe that until an FWC lake manager is placed in a situation where he or she must plan a two-or-three-day fishing trip for their family; where they budget $1,000 with hopes of boating a Florida trophy largemouth bass, where they expect to at the very least to catch smaller bass, and where they demand the most for their hard-earned money only to see their fishing guide struggle without knowledge of recently managed/treatment areas which results in a very poor results, there will be no respect extended to the people who deserve it most, namely you.

If enough of "you" call the FWC (using the contact info provided later in this article) and demand advanced notice to be provided at the boat ramps so that you don't fish in treatment areas or planned treatment areas - nothing is more costly than to spend days and days in an area to develop a successful hot spot for clients only to have it managed the day before your customer gets there - maybe, just maybe, the FWC will give you the respect you're due.

You pay for the management of your lakes, and then you pay again needlessly when several of your "go to holes" are shut down because of fishery enhancement projects. If you had advanced management information at the boat ramps (or by emails to me so that I could include the information in this article) you would not have spent lots of money and time in areas either scheduled for management events or have been already managed.

I don't know about you, but I feel strange when ever I think about employing someone who has no interest in fishing, to take care of my favorite fishing lake, only to realize they're not working for me but plan to use the employment opportunity as a beneficial career move - my management model/theory will be better than my predecessors'.

It's clear that the FWC knows that most anglers just don't care anymore, but they used to before they grew tired of asking to be kept informed and respected as they opened their wallets.

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.My FWC.com/contact.

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 Tournament will be on Lake Anthorpe, March 10, and next week's event, March 17 is on Lake Reedy. 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 (863) 471-3305.

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, Florida33875. 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 Mobile: 863-697-6256, E-mail: steven.gornak@myfwc.com

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