Trophy-sized bass being caught in Polk County lakes - The Ledger
Around Polk County
1 Around Lakeland, at Saddle Creek, bass are biting along the banks on shiners, Rat-L-Traps and swim jigs, but the bite has been tough. Bluegill and tilapia are pretty good on red worms. Around town, Lake Parker is good for bass on chatterbaits and Rat-L-Traps around submerged hydrilla. Flipping creature baits in the cattails is also getting the bite. Lake Bonny is good for bass on plastic worms up shallow around the pads and grass. Lake Gibson is producing bass on ribbontail worms around structure at a depth 5 to 6 feet. Both lakes Crago and Gibson are good for specks on minnows offshore in 5 to 8 feet of water, reports Kyle Stafford at Phillips Bait and Tackle (863-666-2248).
Fish of the Week
Largemouth Bass: Bass fishing is really good around the area. A good number of trophy size fish have been caught this week and the fish are moving shallow.
Strike Zone, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
2 At Auburndale, Lake Juliana is good for bass up to 5 to 6 pounds and there's a lot of bedding fish there. Flipping creature baits, plastic worms and live shiners are all producing. Some shellcracker are biting there on red worms and dark color jigs. Lake Ariana is producing good numbers of small bass on lipless crankbaits. The speck bite is decent there. Around Lake Alfred, lakes Haines, Rochelle and Alfred have a good bass bite. A few 8 to 9 pounders have been caught on shiners and lipless crankbaits. All three lakes have a good speck bite and Rochelle is also producing good size shellcracker, reports Ron Schelfo at Ron's Tackle Box (863-956-4990).
3 At Winter Haven, the bass are starting move up shallower around the south chain. Watermelon red plastic worms and chatterbaits are producing around shoreline vegetation. A few are also still holding on offshore grass, reports Capt. Jackson Williams of Action Bass Guide Service (863-326-3232). The canals are producing specks and the bass are chasing them around the mouths, reports Schelfo.
4 At Lake Hamilton, the bass bite has turned on at all three lakes, but the big lake has been best with good numbers of 4- to 5-pounders caught there. The bass are starting to move up shallow. All three lake also have a good speck bite and the fish are starting to spawn, reports Hoppy's Marine (863-439-7616).
5 At Lake Marion near Haines City, speck anglers are doing well while drifting minnows and fishing under a float during the early mornings and afternoon. The specks are scattered all over the lake and some are starting move up shallow, reports Eileen O'Leary at Bannon's Fish Camp (863-422-1223).
6 At Lake Pierce, they're starting to catch better numbers of bass in the shallows on worms. The fish are pretty good size, up to 6 pounds. Decent numbers of specks are biting on minnows, mostly in the mornings. The specks were out deep, but they're moving shallow to the edges of the grass, reports Jennings Resort (863-439-3811).
7 At Lake Hatchineha, the speck bite is good and the Hourglass area is loaded with boats drifting with minnows. Bass have moved up shallow around the pads. Throw a Skinny Dipper in Houdini color early, the later on, slow down with a watermelon red Senko with a ¼ oz. weight, reports Charlie Wynperle at Bridgemaster Fishing Products (863-676-1009).
8 At Lake Toho, water temps this week should push the bass into shallow water. North Steer Beach and the area inside Brown's Point should be good areas to target Pitching a black and blue Senko to the flag pads and Kissimmee grass will get the best bite. Speck anglers are getting good numbers in deeper water offshore at the north end of the lake, reports Jay Turner of Jay's Bass Bustin Guide Service. (407-908-4739).
9 At Lake Kissimmee, "giant slab" specks are being caught on jigs inside the grass lines and around the pads. Try a pink and white color Muck City Jig for the best bite. Bass have been "marching" toward the shallows with the upcoming full moon. Cast to any isolated cover early with a white chatterbait and trailer and you'll find the fish. Then later on, cast a junebug color speed worm and work it slow. A 10-pound plus bass was weighed in during the Xtreme Bass Series tourney over the weekend, reports Wynperle.
10 At Lake Walk-in-the-Water, speck anglers are limiting out while drifting minnows offshore. Bass fishing is still slow. A local tourney this past weekend, produced a winning weight of only 12 pounds, reports Wynperle.
11 At Crooked Lake at Babson Park, the bass bite has really picked up. One of our anglers had 29 fish on junebug color Senkos during one outing this week. The largest weighed 6.5 pounds. Another local angler, Steve Ater, of Babson Park, caught a 10.3-pound bass on a swimbait on Tuesday. On Saturday, the Zephyrills Bass Club tourney produced a 9.15-pound big bass and winning weight of 15.13 pounds. Good size specks are biting around a depth of 26 feet, but the numbers are low. They should be moving in to spawn, reports Cindy Ritchison at Bob's Landing (863-638-1912).
12 At Frostproof, Lake Clinch is producing bass on shiners up around the edges of the grass. The speck bite is fair out in deep water on minnows. Lake Reedy is producing good numbers of specks while drifting minnows in open water and some are also biting in the pads. The bass bite is best there on shiners and plastics around the edges of the grass, along the south shore. Lake Arbuckle has a decent speck bite on minnows in open water, reports Jim Childress of Big Bass Bait & Tackle (352-207-7520).
13 In the phosphate pits near Mulberry, bass are bedding in the hydrilla, but with constant fronts, the fish are moving in and out. Look for fish in 2 to 8 feet of water around sand bars with clean bottom or around hydrilla. Black with blue tail color Senkos and junebug red vibe tail worms are getting the best bite. A few specks are biting, but no big numbers, reports Danny Hamm of Stones Bait & Tackle (863-940-4898).
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