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Butler Chain and Johns Lake Bass Fishing Report June 2009

Orlando Bass Fishing Report

Orlando bass fishingThe month of June has seen some good bass fishing action on both Butler Chain and Johns Lake.
Johns Lake has been good in the early morning with some good schooling action in the cut, as well as some in mid lake areas where hydrilla is present. Water levels are great out here with all the rains we have been getting, which in turn has made one of my favorite patterns very successful, and the is dock fishing! Skipping Gitem K.O’s under docks, as well as Bitsy Jigs have produced some good action as well as some good bass. As the heat of the day comes down on us, 10 inch worms worked in deeper waters, where grass and or hydrilla are present have kept the action steady.

Orlando bass fishingButler Chain has held pretty steady for us for the month of June. Again dock fishing has been a strong pattern for us, with a few days where the bass have seemed to disappear on us, we have found them deep in the slop. Under docks has been the Gitem K.O’s and Warlocks, when the bass have moved off the docks on us, we have tossed the Gitem Shad or Curly 7’s to the back of the grass or lily pads, and slowly swam it back out to get some good blow-ups and some solid hook ups.

Orlando bass fishingWe have had some days with a very light bite, you had to really keep an eye on your line and watch it, as some bass were just picking up our baits and slowly swimming them right back to us, we have made a slight adjustment to this, we added JJs Dippin Dye to our boat, and let me tell you, we had a day where the bite was soft, and we dipped the baits and got slammed!! This stuff really worked great for us, you can find a link for them on my home page in the Bass Fishing News box.

July we are expecting more of the same, early morning bite should still be productive with live bait or artificial bait. Even though we are in full swing of summer, with it getting pretty hot, the bass have still been playing pretty good for us, and once again as in years past, it seems the bigger bass have still wanted to show their faces in the heat of the day, all this requires is placing the bait in the right spot, which is generally tight to the cover, under the docks, or in the slop!

Butler Chain and Johns Lake Bass Fishing Report May 2009

Orlando Bass Fishing Report

bassThe month of May has seen some very good bass fishing action. Butler Chain has been producing some quality bass with a good majority of them coming from either under docks or the outside edges of the docks. Whacky rigged Gitem KO’s have been the best way to catch them under the docks, the slower fall of this bait helps keep it in the strike zone just long enough for the bass to hit it.
Working grass beds with the Gitem Curly 7’s and Curly 10’s has produced some more good bass for us, with the main lakes that have produced for us having been Lakes Tibet, Chase, Blanche and Sheen.

 

bassJohns Lake is still fishing the same and still one of my favorite lakes to fish. Some early morning top water action can be worked as long as you arrive early enough. Generally as the sun starts coming down the cut, the activity starts to pick up, first half of the month the top water bite was a quick bite in this area, usually lasting about a half an hour. From there we have generally worked the main body of water out in the middle working the Steel Shad and picking off some good bass.
This month has brought us a ton of rain, which was badly needed, water levels have been coming up very nicely on both Johns Lake and Butler Chain, this will change patterns some as the bass now have new areas to roam for food with some fresh vegetation now in the waters, we have been picking more bass off in much shallower waters due to this. Any shade of a watermelon color has been the main producing color as well as the Gitem Red Bass, if you have these colors on your boat, your sure to catch some bass.

 

tarpongrouperWe added a new twist to the fishing arsenal the last few days by getting back into saltwater fishing again. For years I did a lot of saltwater fishing but strayed away with my main focus staying on bass fishing, with the summer months now upon us, the saltwater fishing has been picking up very nicely and we have been catching a lot of good fish.
We just got back from 4 days down in Miami doing a combination of things, part one of our trip was to target some peacock bass, although they did not play very well for us, due mainly to constant rain, we did manage to catch some good one. Best part was when I had my best friend Erik out on the boat and in the same body of water, he not only caught his first ever Peacock Bass, but he also boated his first ever Jack, and the kicker fish was his first ever Tarpon! I think this will be a trip Erik will talk about for years. This was all done on canals around the Miami Airport.

From there we headed to Biscayne Bay and what a blast we had, catching a bunch of Jacks, snappers and I landed a nice red grouper. We spent a lot of time fishing bridges and grass flats, as the weather did not allow us to venture thru the cuts or around the cuts to the Atlantic Ocean as storms offshore kept the waters churned up just a little too much.

redfishpeacock bassThe next few months as summer heats up for us, we still fully expect a good bass fishing season and will be mixing in some saltwater runs for some more bull reds like Charles caught while we filmed a show for Reel Fishing, Charles managed to catch two bull reds, one on his first cast, again, it was another first, as Charles had never caught a redfish before, and he ended up catching two, one just over 40 inches and the other was I believe 35 inches.
I want to thank two of my main sponsors, Gitem Bait and Deep South Fishing Rods, the combination of these two companies have made my job a lot easier supplying me with quality baits and rods, please check them out, you will be very impressed with the quality and pricing.

Lake Toho, Johns Lake and Butler Chain Bass Fishing Report Nov 2006

Lake Toho and Orlando Bass Fishing Report

Lake Toho

Today we had a 4 hour run out on Lake Toho. Water temperature started out at a cool 72 degrees to start the day, and finished the day at 72. Finally cooler consistent water temps to help get the bass active and feeding up. This trip was part of a 10 boat deal and everyone had high hopes the winds would hold off till we were finished up. We started out with a quick run to the mid lake area working isolated hydrilla patches in deeper water and after 20 minutes and no activity we made the move back to the northern end of Lake Toho. This was the move that made the day.

Positioned in a cut with a good breeze coming thru, bait fish were being pushed down the cut and along the grass edges, and yes, this caused the bass to school up good. We had one small school move in on us and roughly an hour later another good sized school followed right behind in the same path. Although even with the schooling activity the numbers were not high like we had hoped, with 7 bass making it to the boat and a few others missed, but the action was steady. Bass were feeding, but they were mouthing the baits, so the bite was not very aggressive as we had grown used to.

Word at the ramp at the end of the day was everyone boated about the same amount of bass, numbers were 5 to 11 bass per boat which made for a great day on the water for the entire group, all of which said they had a great day on the water. Winds did hold off pretty much most of the time, and started to pick up as the trip ended. Big bass of the trip came in at just over 5 pounds, with our big one coming in at 4.2 pounds. All the bass caught were very healthy and of course released alive after pictures, for you, the next angler to enjoy catching them.

Johns Lake

Today I was out on Johns Lake for a few hours. It has been awhile since I had been out here as the fishing had really dropped off with the high water temperatures.

Today the waters were perfect, starting the day out right at 70 degrees and when I pulled off the lake 4 hours later, the temps had barely made a move. The day had started out in the cut to the Horseshoe, with no real signs of any schooling action.

I had started chunking a spinner bait, and as I would retrieve it, I could feel the line drop off as it would get smacked but no hook ups, even with the trailer hook. I made a quick switch to the Mepps Mino and that was the ticket for the rest of the day.

Picking up 5 real quick bass in the first half hour I knew it was going to be a good day out there. I sat the Mepps down and tossed a 10 inch worm, Black with red flake for a few to try to get some deep water action in the cut, with only one serious bump which hooked up, a nice 4 pounder and that was it.

Switching back to the Mepps and moving around the lake, working scattered grass beds and shallow waters, the Mepps Mino was the definite ticket as the total for the day was 16 bass to the boat, 3 more that shook off and of course the typical pickerel.

With the cooler water temperatures finally here, the action has definitely improved greatly. There was minimal schooling activity in scattered areas of the lake from the Horseshoe area to the cut going into Clear Lake, I did see two smaller schools in the main lake area and noticed in increase in size in bait fish pods.

Johns Lake

With 2 days on Johns Lake this week, we had 2 different scenarios. Day one was a day of chasing bass flipping the grass beds catching one here and one there. Day 2, Saturday the 18th, had bass schooling up in the Horseshoe catching a few before the action died off. From there a quick move to Dear Island cut saw yet even more schooling action, with once again a few being caught. Baits of choice today were rattle traps and white spinner baits, the Mepps Mino which had been the hot go to bait as of late, saw no action at all.

Bass of size are still a little off as the numbers are up, most bass have been running in 1 ½ to 3 pound range and the bite has been aggressive, even when not working the two main cuts, bass were being caught more in the open waters. Crappie bite seems to be doing good also, as we were working a grass bed area over, we noticed a boat in mid lake catching crappie left and right, last count before we pulled away they had boated 13 crappie in roughly 20 minutes.

Water Temperatures started the day out at 67 degrees and when we pulled off the temp was running 69.8 degrees. Cooler waters have turned the bass on and heated up the schooling action as of late. Cooler temps predicted for all of next week, will only help to turn the fishing on and get them schooling up even more.

Butler Chain

This week we also spent two days out on Butler Chain, Thursday and Friday. The run did on Thursday started with us on the water at 11:30, after the storms had rolled thru and safely passed by us. Action was scattered across several lakes and most bass were caught on Rattle Traps worked thru eel grasses. Fridays action was more of the same, a lot of moving around and tossing rattle traps, we did have a few caught on the Gitem Shad working tight to cover. We had also taken some minnows with us and did a few drift patterns across the lakes to get an idea of what the Crappie fishing was like, picking up 12 good crappie.

Johns Lake

This past week has been a week of tough bass fishing. With the major cold snap taking its toll on the bite the first part of the week, and the high winds at mid week, fishing SLOW was key to catching bass. Schooling activity on Johns Lake was “ok” at best, with bass feeding up and disappearing just as fast as they surfaced. Rattle Traps did catch a few here and there along with smaller swim baits worked slowly and deep as well as Carolina rigged Gitem Shads.

Swim baits and Carolina rigged baits worked best in the cuts and around any kind of drop off, most notably with at least a 2 foot drop off. Bass had been a little more scattered than in weeks past so patience was key to catching them. Rattle Traps as usual produced the numbers, covering a lot of water, working the cuts, drop offs and along as well as thru scattered grass beds.

Gitem KO’s and Gitem Shads had produced some good bass pitched into grass beds and dead sticking in the potholes of the grass beds. Bite has been light so line watching was very important. Top producing colors had been, Rattle Traps in Black/Chrome, Gitem Shad in white, swim baits pearl color and the Gitem KO in Baby Bass color.

Today we ended the week, Sunday the 26th with Mike Sr. and Mike Jr. out on the lake, Mike Sr. celebrating his 36 anniversary and his With Jackie surprising him with a trip bass fishing, and Mike Jr. sneaking into town without his dad knowing this morning.

Day started out with great promise as the guys got a quick double hook up, from there it ended up being fish scattered here and there and winds kicking 10 to 20 most of the day made the bite even harder. In all it was a great day on the water with two great guys, Mike Sr., retired US Navy/ US Coast Guard, and Mike Jr. still proudly serving in the US Army.

Johns Lake, Butler Chain, East Lake Toho and St Johns River Bass Fishing Report Sept 2006

Orlando Bass Fishing Report

John’s Lake September 6th

Today we did some more exploring on John’s Lake. Waters are still looking great out here, with water temps starting the day out at 85 degrees. Very light if any real breeze to speak of. We started the day in the cut to the Horseshoe, working the Gitem Drop and picking up 3 very quick bass before heading to the shorelines and doing some flipping.

Schooling activity was pretty much non existent this morning with only a few blows here and there but very small schools. Hitting the grass beds away from the cut to the horseshoe produced 2 descent bass on the Gitem Shad in watermelon red tight to the grass bed, before making another move to the main lake area.

Hitting the main lake grass beds was the key for the day, and fishing very slow was the only way to catch anything. Flipping the grass beds and just bouncing your bait around the holes produced a couple more bass. I did manage to flip a few of the docks out there and you had to work extremely slow doing so, pitching all the way under the docks and boats, and letting your bait just sit there, giving it an occasional twitch to get a strike. None of the hits today were by any means aggressive in nature, so paying close attention to your line was very important, as they would pick up the bait and slowly move, if at all.

Butler Chain

Today I had a good friend out on Butler Chain to help him scout out a few areas for a tournament he has coming up soon. We had started the day out in Lake Pocket working schoolies for about 20 minutes when they settled down, from there it was pitching docks and working shoreline with deep drop offs close by. With a move into Lake Sheen, the pattern had pretty much stayed the same, working shoreline that had deep drop offs close by and grass beds set up in waters 6-9 feet deep. Baits used in these 2 lakes were Mepps Minnows and Gitem Shads, with a small screw in weight.

Lake Isleworth, as usual was a good stop off for some drop shot action for about 45 minutes before making the move into Lake Louise, where we worked spinner baits and lizards thru the Eel grasses managing 2 descent bass in 12 foot of water.

Lake Down and Little Lake Down produced some good numbers using Gitem KO’s and Shads with no weight, and worked extremely slow in the 4-8 foot depths. Once again fish were just picking up the baits and moving slowly, so line watching was a big key to catching today. Fish were very scattered other than the schoolers on Lake Pocket. Total fish today was 16, with the best 5 coming in about 14 pounds. Not bad for numbers, but trust me on this folks, we had to work hard for the ones we caught, 16 fish with probably 20 moves around the lakes.

Hopefully the weather starts cooling down some soon, with the rains we have been getting, the water temps have come down a good bit, starting the day out with 83 degree water temps is a lot better than the 89 degree we had been seeing before the rains. Water levels out on Butler look great, and waters are still very clean with visibility in areas roughly up to 4 feet, we did hit a few areas where water depth was 9 foot and could clearly see the bottom, which makes for long casts and 10 pound test line.

East Lake Toho

Today I hit East Lake Toho for a few hours, My old tournament partner wanted, for some reason to tackle East Lake and get away for a few hours. Normally East Lake is pretty much a last resort fishing spot, as it has not really been producing that great as of late.

We started the day out searching the deep water brush piles in hopes of finding a good bite, managing 3 nice crappie on a drop shot, now this is an awesome lake for crappie.

Making the move to shallow water and working Gitem KO’s in baby bass color, and Shads in watermelon red we did manage to pick up a few here and there in and around the reeds and scattered grasses. Bit was very soft, so you really had to pay close attention to your line. We had one very solid, hard hitting bite, and I mumbled it was a mudfish, and after a few minutes of a good fight, it was a 5 pound mudfish!

From there we made a move to check out Boggy Cove, a few weeks back it was tough going to get in there, if at all, but with the rains, the lake is up atleast a foot, so we ventured back there and tried our luck. Using the same baits, we slammed a bunch of bass, a total of 28, but the sad thing is, of the 28, only 3 were of keeper size and just barely at that, as you can tell in the pictures. Lake levels are looking good, and the waters are very clean, have not seen the waters this clean in a long time. Water temps started out at 82.4 first thing this morning and when we pulled off they were right around 83.9, cooler temps have made the bite a little better, with more schooling activity going on around the offshore hydrilla beds.

We did manage to spot several good bass, in the 4 to 6 pound class cruising in and around the scattered reed, but as you know, generally if you see them, they have also spotted you. Other than the small size, it turned out to be a fairly good day. If we get the waters to cool down maybe another 10 degrees this lake should really turn on good.

St Johns River

This past week we decided to mix things up a little bit and spent some time back out on the St Johns River and Lake Monroe. We had great weather all week long which made for great fishing conditions, water temps starting the day out in the upper 70’s an ending the days in the very low 80’s, what a nice change of pace that has been. Thursday we saw some schooling action, but other than that the waters had been pretty much calm.

Wide range of baits were used, from Sweat Beavers to rattle trap, only thing the traps got, were a few mullet that got snagged. Most action and fish caught were on the Beavers, Senko type baits and Fluke type baits. Lake Monroe itself fished pretty good, working grasses, hydrilla, and reed yielded some descent bass, but no aggressive hit, all the hits we got were very light taps, almost as if it were dinks hitting the bait, these bass were just picking up the bait and holding onto it, only reacting once you set the hook.

St Johns River itself looked pretty good, with a good flow, we were able to set a shoreline drift without having to tap the trolling motor, allowing us to be very stealthy closer to the shoreline, and flipping very tight to cover, again the bass were just very lightly tapping the baits, so you didn’t know if you were setting the hook on fish or weeds, so every tap you felt, you set the hook, although several bass were missed, with most coming unbuttoned close to the boat, they were showing good size, and very scrappy fighters. The big key to fishing the river, was finding submerged trees with scattered grasses around or very close by. 

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