Stage Is All Set For World-Class Week Of Angling

Since the last-quarter moon happened just two days ago at 5:04 a.m., the morning bite has been great and will continue to get greater both in intensity and duration.

The new moon is only five days away and you know what that means: Today's early morning feeding migration grows into the best feeding migration of the month - the six-day period centered on the lunar event.

The daytime feeding migrations are from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Both periods peak during the solar influence - the sun rising and setting combines with lunar gravitational influences to tap the fish on the fin to let her know its time to feed.

Water temperatures and wind direction have remained steady for the most part and this means feeding migration patterns will follow suit. The Florida angler's art becomes easier when weather remains unchanged over a long period of time.

The traditional seasonal wind from the northeast and a very slow minimal drop in water temperature occurring week by week sets the stage for some of the best fishing on earth.

Fishing Facts

Octobers in Florida are known for producing some of the best aggressive feeding strikes known to the largemouth bass angler.

The larger fish of all species turn the aggression up a notch and start to bulk up. The steady temperature drop and constant wind direction combine to create a recognizable pattern within a specific selected area.

The ideal temperature for feeding is 75 degrees, and the ideal water column condition is one which is unchanged and constant due to an unchanging wind direction. Much can be learned about how fish exist within your favorite lakes over the next four to six weeks.

Fishing Formula

Migration routes can be identified easily, just rip a frog several times along the surface of an area during the predicted peak feeding period and see what happens.

When the explosion happens though, don't forget to drop the rod first, and then start your bass-mind-altering hook-set.

Oh yeah, remember to keep the rod tip near or in the water during the retrieve. Bill Dance-type high-rod bass battles look good for the camera for which they are designed; causing spectacular bass jumps which in reality for Bill and you, end in many a lost fish story when she throws the hook.

That film footage never sees the light of day, nor does the number of shoots to produce another top-water strike hook-set.

Fishing Fiction

"Red hooks catch more fish."

Totally false and based on a partial truth that fish distinguish between colors, which they do. The problem with this little piece of fiction is that it doesn't mean fish will strike red because it knows and reasons that the color red is in fact, blood. All fish don't have the ability to "reason" and "calculate" based on color.

If a fish is striking bait more since you switched to red hooks, it's not because it thinks it is blood, but that your bait color is not right and the addition of the red hook is a right color for the fish to see it. Try switching to a standard-colored hook with red-type bait and you'll experience the same results.

Fish simply remember which food is satisfying and which is not. If your bait selection is visible, the fish will investigate with variable degrees of aggression. And if it has not been recently hurt by what it sees just before it inhales, it will eat it.

Thus ends the fish's ability to reason.

Fishing Feature

Last week I spent the day fishing with Terry Dale on Lake Kissimmee. We started a little later than we'd have liked - 7:30 a.m. instead of safe-light which is when the peak feeding period was occurring - launching out of Camp Mack River Resort.

After trying some river inlet pads and cypress trees, we headed out into the lake from the river and moved into an area Mike Bennis assured me always held bass when the river was flowing or had flowed recently.

Terry's boat is loaded with every kind bass angler's equipment and tackle, and so he brought out the complete variety of weapons at the start. I, on the other hand, brought two types of weapons - an assortment of large worms and jigs, one jig rod and two worm rods, both heavy "flippin' sticks."

Terry started with spinner-bait retrieved just below the surface on the outside of lily pads and soon set the hook on a nice heavy five-pounder. I flipped the same area with worms and jigs and held the net.

As we moved through different vegetation in the same area we notice one bass migrating through the area feeding, making huge surface swirls in the water as it did. Terry picked up the frog-rod and cast beyond the area of the swirl and slowly moved the frog over the same area. Just as the frog came to a full pause, a six-pound bass sucked it under without so much as a splash.

Now, Terry has been a skilled bass angler of many years - but he's not old, yet - and knows to drop the rod-tip first before raring back to set the hook.

However he does seem to like the Bill Dance TV approach of holding the rod straight up, yanking the fish toward the boat. I had the best seat in the boat as I held the net in the water as Terry guided the fish directly into it.

We spent just four hours on the water that day and had only two strikes on top-water type bait action, but any time an angler can get two six-pounder-type battles with top-water baits, it's a great four hours on the water.

Fishing Flash

Lake Istokpoga's level is at 39 feet, two inches and slowly rising. The S-68 spillway gates remain closed and will continue to in order to comply with the SFWM regulation schedule high pool level of 39.5 feet allowed on Oct. 15.

Florida Fish and Wildlife started their Fall Aquatic Weed Treatment on Monday and will finish the complete event by this Friday. This event was originally scheduled to happen over the course of five weeks and end on Oct. 31. But because of the helicopter contractor employed to treat several areas totaling 800 acres was only available this week, the entire project will be done this week. Airboat will also treat several areas totaling 200 acres at the same time.

SOS Florida Lakes in cooperation with FFWCC have posted maps at all the lake access ramps so anglers and lake users know which areas to avoid. Lake users should steer clear until next Monday from those areas identified on the map.

For more information log online to the SOS website, sos-floridalakes.org.

Fishing Tournaments

The Wednesday Morning Black Bass Fishing Tournament is open to the public. Next event is today on Lake Josephine. 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.