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Early Or Late Best Time To Fish

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 7, 2008

The First-Quarter Moon occurs today at 2:04 p.m. as the Moon arrives at its furthest point from the Earth during this month's lunar cycle. What this means for the Florida angler is your windows of opportunity is very small and open very early and very late in the day.

For most daytime anglers fishing early mornings is preferred however there are many who like to get a few hours in after their day jobs.

The peak of the daytime major feeding migration occurs twice, but both are very weak at best. The early morning bite peak is somewhere between 6 - 8 a.m. and the very late evening bite is more weather-influenced but should trigger during 7 - 8:30 p.m.

Water temperatures are still in the mid to upper 80s so fishing the deepest shoreline vegetation with a slight wind blowing into one side of the area is likely to hold more bait fish and therefore feeding fish.

Fishing Facts

During the phase of the lunar cycle where the moon is furthest from the earth diminishes the affects of the moon on the aquatic life and its renewable natural resources - The Florida Largemouth Bass.

The one thing many don't realize though is that the largest bass in the lake are hardly affected. They will still be roaming their usual areas, and the rogue females who travel the entire lake with no real rhyme or reason, will be their same unpredictable selves.

Fishing Formula

Since this is the time of the month when the daily migration bite is weakest, it is not a good idea to attempt locating concentrations of fish, nor is it worth while to expect last weeks "hot spots" to perform at the same rate or level.

Because of this, the angler should work a known established fish migration route with a fast aggressive bait action and speed at medium depths and forget the slow presentation retrieve.

If a Bass does strike it will be due to a provoked natural instinct intended to kill the intruder.

Fishing Flash

Lake Okeechobee's level is at 15.2' above sea level (ASL) with the Kissimmee still flowing at 4700 cubic feet per second. This level is the highest that SFWM likes to allow so expect some water release in preparation for Hurricane Ike.

In a meeting with FFWCC recently the biologists where lamenting that all their re-vegetation work was too young and not going to likely survive the fastest lake level rise in history. The quick four foot rise means a lot of work literally shaded out due to the high turbidity of the flood waters from the Upper Kissimmee Chain of lakes and Lake Istokpoga. If you do the math on the water release from Istokpoga, more than four feet of depth was released to maintain the current level and not flood. To be clear, it's not that the lake rose four feet, but that amount of water flowed into the lake and immediately released through the S-68 Spillway.

Lake Istokpoga's level is at 38.5' ASL and the three gates at the spillway are open one foot, flowing 950 cubic feet per second. The lake has risen about 3 or 4 inches in the last week to the season high pool limit.

Fishing Feature

The other day I was fishing in a proven area, a place where I've recently boated many "tournament sized" Bass.

On the fourth cast of a larger plastic type bait, a Bass grabbed it as it fell, to which I set the hook only to get the worm back by airmail, partially torn from the hook. After resetting the hook into the bait, I threw back into the same area and just as the bait fell through the water column again, the same scenario repeated.

I decided to change the hook to a larger size and reset the plastic on the new hook and determined to let the non-feeding Bass, taste the fine-tasty-salt-flavored plastic with a larger surprise imbedded.

As the bait splashed into the water again and began to fall my finicky fish grabbed the tasty morsel but didn't move. I raised the rod tip quickly but to check if she was there - 2 seconds passed - on the third second I dropped the rod tip and set the hook as before.

The battle was on as she strongly swam to the nearest cover area and pulled the braided line through the vegetation with ease. She was strong and battled the modest drag setting four times before tiring out allowing me to pull her to the surface. As she came into view, the hook set between the eyes confirmed my calculation was correct.

A 22 inch by 15 inch Bass was a perfect start to a good day of fishing.

Fishing Fiction

This week's fiction has to do with "hook setting" theory. It has been said many times that fish always such in the entire bait and hook when they "take it". So therefore, if you feel the bite and set the hook and come up blank, it's because you were much too slow setting the hook.

This can be true at times, but the majority - no make that overwhelming majority - of the time it's because the fish does NOT take the entire bait and hook into its mouth but only the end or tip of a part of the bait -- assuming that the bait is large enough for a fish to only pick up part of the bait. (A small jig leaves the Bass no choice but to have the hook in its mouth when it picks the bait up).

Dave Douglass is a Bass fishing guide

CEO of S.O.S.-Florida Lakes, Inc.

Phone: 863-381-8474

Email: davedouglass@sos-floridalakes.org

Websites: reds-bass-fishing-guides.com and sos-floridalakes.org

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