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More Waves Along The Shore Means More Fish

ACHIEVE THE CORRECT BAIT ACTION AT DEPTH WHERE THE FISH ARE

Contributed photo

Dave Douglass holds a four-pound bass he caught with swimbait on a Lake Jackson treepile in 20 feet of depth.

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By DAVE DOUGLASS

Highlands Today

Published: October 5, 2008

Today's forecast has both good news and bad news, and since I always prefer the bad news first, you don't have a choice.

The bad news is that today the moon is the furthest away from the earth, which means it has little or no effect on fish and wildlife. Fish will not be migrating in a predictable pattern to feed. Instead, they feed when their environment provides the best conditions to successfully find food.

Now for the good news.

The weather factors are the only influences you need to concentrate on for the next two to three days.
Wind and cloud-cover are the two weather conditions forecasted to play a major part in how often fish will feed. The stronger the wind, the more likely fish will remain deeper and/or in the least windy areas of the lake.

If there's a mild wind with little wave action, the shorelines with the most waves will have feeding fish. If cloud-cover increases, there's a good chance the barometric pressure will drop, and this means all fish move into the known feeding areas. Clear, sunny days with little or no cloud-cover will cause fish to move into protective areas, usually deeper water with structure of some sort.

It is very possible that larger fish will feed a little at a time all day long — like every three hours for 15 to 30 minutes. Smaller fish should be schooling and easily noticed.

There is a very weak safe-light bite, and similar suppertime bite. It's safe to say that no matter when you go fishing today, you'll end up with a few smaller ones and maybe one or two middle sized fish — definitely nothing to write home about.

Fishing Facts
When the moon is furthest from the earth and the water temperatures are in the upper 70s all day, the angler has only three weather conditions to consider.

One: Light (sun or clouds cover); two: wind speed and wave action; and three: barometric pressure being in a state of steady, increase, or decline.

Fishing Formula
The angler has to plan for a 10-20 mile-per-hour wind today out of the northeast.

This is a tough wind variable, but it's safe to say fish will be along shorelines with four feet or more of depth and plenty of vegetation cover. If the wave action reaches more than 16-inch crests, fish will move even deeper or migrate to a less wind-affected area.

Fish will be in the cooler water if there is cloud cover (deeper areas), and if there are no clouds to speak of, be checking the shallows where healthy vegetation provides plenty of oxygen.

There is no low pressure system forecasted to move through our area today, so I don't believe you'll have to worry about barometric pressure changes. Instead, the barometer will remain steady, which almost always means fish move to medium depths, and enter a suspended state. They will strike if you gently get their attention and wait long enough to annoy them — much easier said than done.

The trick today will be achieving the correct bait action at the depth where the suspended fish are.

If you happen to notice an area on Sonar with suspended fish, try to get that bait to stay at that depth as long as possible. If they disappear off the screen, it's almost a sure thing that they headed more shallow to feed briefly. So, head toward shore and prepare to use your favorite shoreline method and technique.

Fishing Fiction
"Suspended fish won't strike."
This is most certainly not true.

A fish which is at the half-way point in the water column and not moving won't strike unless the action is just right and exactly at the same depth as the fish. Most times, the angler must troll to achieve this bait action.

Casting a crank-bait only places the bait within the suspended zone for a very short time and greatly decreases the chances of success. One of the techniques I like to use is to kneel down on the boat deck and hold the rod under the water's surface five or six feet — the reel is out of the water just enough to enable me to reel.

Fish will strike if the angler works hard enough to trigger the natural fish reaction to a bait swimming near at a slow speed.

Fishing Feature
I talked with several pan-fish anglers this week who all reported catching 20 crappie or close to a limit of 25. Most were above average size.

On Friday, I went out to Lake Jackson to try my hand at tree-pile bass using only a five-inch customized swim-bait designed to handle the deep man-made cover. From safe-light to 8 a.m. I boated two three-pounders, by 10 a.m. a four-pounder provided a good battle through the center of the pile which resulted in a 20-minute fight (it's a good thing I use 65-pound test braided line). And at noon, a few heavy two-pounders thought the large bait was a chance at a good meal.

The action in all cases was "slow motion," moving the bait one crank every three seconds. When the bait seemed to be stuck on a branch, I simply let it fall and repeatedly tried again, sometimes having to reposition the boat to successfully work it past the smaller branches.

Each strike came during the same retrieve moment; just as the bait came over a branch into open water it was inhaled.

Oh, and by the way, thanks to the fisherman who put that huge, gigantic tree-pile out there, it must have taken you many, many trips. Nice work, and thanks for the contribution.

Fishing Flash
Lake Istokpoga is at the highest allowed level, and South Florida Water Management District is releasing water when Arbuckle Creek flows and the level increases above 39.5 feet above sea level. On Thursday, all three gates of the S-68 spillway were open three inches — just enough to maintain the high level mark.

Fish and Game will finish the aquatic weed (excluding hydrilla) treatment program this Wednesday, weather permitting. Next they will start to evaluate the hydrilla total coverage and growth and plan for a major treatment when the water temperatures drop into the lower seventies. Tentative plans are set for the first part of December.

Fishing Tournaments
The Wednesday Morning Black Bass Fishing Tournament is open to the public. Next event is Oct. 8 on Lake Jackson. Time: 7:30 a.m. to noon. Pay at ramp — entry fee $30.00 per boat. One person may fish alone if you do not have a partner. For information, contact Paul Tardiff at (863)385-8007 Home, Cell (863) 446-1310 bassbutchie60@aol.com or Dwight Ameling at (863)471-3305.

Dave Douglass is a bass-fishing guide and bass tournament angler and CEO of S.O.S.-Florida Lakes, Inc. He can be reached at 863-381-8474, or e-mail him at davedouglass@sos-floridalakes.org.

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