Bass bite good as fish moving to beds for seasonal spawning

Fish of the Week

Largemouth Bass – The bass bite is good right now with warming water and fish moving onto the beds for the seasonal spawn.

Strike Zone, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Around Polk County

1 Around Lakeland, at Saddle Creek, bass are starting to spawn and the bite is good while flipping the trees with craws and creature baits. Soft plastics in purple, junebug and candy bug gold colors are also getting the bite. Deep diving crankbaits are also producing on the rock piles. The speck bite is also good around the park. Specks are also biting around the Lakeland area lakes such as Hollingworth and Parker. We’re selling a lot of minnows, reports Melinda Lapina at Phillips Bait and Tackle (863-666-2248).

2 At Auburndale, Lake Ariana is producing good numbers of bass, mostly schoolie-size, on Rat-L-Traps. Specks are biting while drifting minnows. Around the Lake Alfred area, lakes Haines, Rochelle and Alfred are producing good numbers of bass on live shiners. Alfred is producing bigger bass up to 7 pounds. Good numbers of specks are biting while drifting minnows and jigs. Some of the specks are moving shallow in the reeds and cattails along the shorelines, reports Ron Schelfo at Ron’s Tackle Box (863-956-4990).

3 At Winter Haven, Lake Summit is producing good numbers of bass along the shorelines. The mouths of the canals throughout the entire south chain are good for specks on minnows and bass on a variety of artificial baits, reports Schelfo.

4 At Lake Hamilton, specks are still biting out in open water on both minnows and jigs, but a few specks are starting to move shallow. Bass fishing is also picking up in the shallow grass along the shorelines. Plastic worms, swimbaits and shiners are getting the bite, reports Hoppy’s by Crossed Industries (863-439-7616).

5 At Lake Marion near Haines City, bass fishing is best around the scattered hydrilla on the lake. Buck bass are moving shallow onto the beds. Speck anglers are doing well while drifting minnows around Bannon Island. Some of the specks are starting to move up shallow for the spawn, reports Hoppy’s.

6 At Lake Pierce, the speck bite is still good out in the middle of the lake mostly on minnows. The bite is best from out in front of the resort here, down to the south. A few specks are also biting in the pads, but not many. Bass fishing around the lake is good. A 10-pound bass was caught this week, but the angler was tight-lipped on what bait and what part of the lake he caught it on, reports Chris Beasley at Jennings Resort (863-439-3811).

7 At Lake Hatchineha, speck anglers are catching their limits at night in the canal between Hatchineha and Cypress. Bass are spawning in the pads across from the port. White color swim jigs are getting the bite, reports Charlie Wynperle at Bridgemaster Fishing Products (863-676-1009).

8 At Lake Toho, fishing has been very good this past week with the warm weather. The bass are in full spawn mode right now and fish can be found everywhere on beds up shallow around hard bottom. Flipping a Gambler Burner Craw has been “the ticket” lately, but topwater and other creature baits will produce as well. Specks and bluegill are being caught on the outside Kissimmee grass lines, reports Grady Johnson (407-205-6719).

9 At Lake Kissimmee, good numbers of specks are being caught around the mats at Lemon Point. Fish a Muck City Tackle jig with a red head and chartreuse body for the best action. Bass are up shallow getting ready to spawn. Cover water with frog bait until you get a “blow up,” then slow down and cast a ribbontail worm, reports Wynperle

10 At Lake Walk-in-the-Water, speck anglers are catching their limits on minnows along the edges of the grass and pads early in the mornings. Bass are shallow along the shorelines and canals in a foot of water getting ready to spawn. Cast a wacky rigged trick worm in watermelon red color to the isolated pads and grass for the best action, reports Wynperle.

11 At Crooked Lake at Babson Park, decent numbers of schoolie bass up to 5 pounds have been caught this week. Live shiners and topwaters are getting the best bite. One angler caught a few bluegill on red worms and the catfish bite is good off the docks on chicken livers, reports Cindy Ritchison at Bob's Landing (863-638-1912). Bass up to 7 pounds are biting while drifting shiners along the edges of the grass at the south end of the lake. The speck bite is good on minnows in 20 to 25 feet of water around Wirt’s Point and Grassy Island, reports Jim Childress of Big Bass Bait & Tackle (352-207-7520).

12 At Frostproof, at Lake Arbuckle the speck bite has picked up again drifting minnows during the day in 6 to 8 feet of water. A few specks are also biting in the pads on jigs. The speck bite at Lake Reedy is also picking up on while drifting minnows around 6 to 8 feet. The bass bite is good there drifting live shiners around the edges of the grass. Bass are also being caught on white color spinnerbaits around the grass and Zoom Horny Toad frogs in the grass early in the morning. Lake Clinch has a good speck bite while drifting minnows in 15 to 18 feet. The bass bite is good there on live shiners drifted along the west shore, reports Childress.

13 In the phosphate pits near Mulberry, the bass have moved shallow again along the banks and off the island points. White color chatterbaits, junebug red plastic worms or black and blue tail Senkos are all producing in water as shallow as 1 to 3 feet. There are a lot of buck bass on the beds, but not many females with the inconsistent weather keeping the water too cold. Good numbers of specks are biting while drifting along the hydrilla lines in 5 to 6 feet, reports Danny Hamm of Bull Bay Tackle Co. (863-937-3292).

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Freshwater: Bass bite good as fish moving to beds for seasonal spawning