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Speck Season Arriving Early

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 24, 2007

Updated: 12/23/2007 10:33 pm

GO FISHING is a daily look at the area fishing scene through the eyes of local charter boat captains and fishing guides. Today: Mark Cook.

The recent cold front put a halt on most bass catches but the rapid warm up should help turn them back on.

Bass usually shut down for a few days after a significant front like our most-recent one that saw water temperatures drop up to 15 degrees in some local lakes. As water temperatures stabilize between 60 and 70 degrees, some females will move to the beds for this season's first spawn.
Speckled perch anglers welcomed the temperature drop as catch success went up in the past seven days.

Lake Hatchineha on the Kissimmee chain has been producing some the best numbers. Anglers have been getting their 25 per-person limit working in 4 to 6 feet of water near vegetation. Minnows fished just off the bottom are doing the trick, though specks can be fooled by trolling or drifting small jigs.

I tend to catch my bigger fish with jigs tipped with minnows although I get better numbers fishing minnows on gold or bleeding red hooks without a jig.
Lake Kissimmee is probably the most popular on the chain with Bird, Brahma and Grassy Island being the target destinations. It's not uncommon to see 20 pontoon and other skiffs nearly on top of each other dipping can poles among the grass lines and lily pads. If you want to free yourself of the crowds, try some of the smaller lakes on the chain, including Toho or Cypress.

Closer to home, Medard Reservoir is a popular spot for speck anglers, although like Kissimmee it can get crowded. The Hillsborough and Alafia rivers also hold good numbers, as does Saddle Creek Park in Lakeland.

For charter trip information, contact Mark Cook at (813) 846-9277 or send an e-mail

to tribfishing@aol.com.

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