Lake Level 12.89
Clewiston-----After tropical storm Ernesto went through our area and did little damage except for the rain that has the lake level rising and the fishing really starting to pick up. The water is really flowing in from all intakes and the Kissimmee River and most of the water is clean so it is not making the water dirty at all. On guide trips this past week I started to catch good numbers of bass with most of them in the two to three pound range, most were caught on Gambler Cane Toads ( ghost shad color ) and Senkos (watermelon-red color).
Most all of the area that I usually fish and talk about from Cochran's Pass down to the West Wall have been producing good and getting better as the water continues to rise. The water around Cochran's Pass and south down to Observation Island is crystal clear out at least a hundred yards from the outside grass line, most of the bass I have been catching in this area are just inside the grass line about one to two feet but you want to stay out as far as you can and still make a good cast into the grass so you don't spook these fish. Most of the fishermen in this area are staying in to close to the edge of the grass and are spooking these bass before they can even cast to them.
There are also a few hyacinth mats starting to show up back in the grass, I have been able to catch a few bass flipping in these mats with a Berkley Gulp 3" Craw ( junebug color), the trick to this is to use Berkley Vanish Fluorocarbon Line because this water is so clear, I like to use 30 pound test and you want to make multiple flips to the same spots to get these bass to take your bait. As you are moving from one mat to the next pick up a Gambler Cane Toad and throw it to any sparse grass and you will catch a few smaller bass as you move through the area.
The area around Ritta has also been giving up a few good fish this past week and the water is getting cleaner in this area, the Football Field is producing some nice bass on a daily basis, but this area depends a lot on the wind. Robert Avery from Bob's Machine Shop ( aka Bob's Jackplates that we all use around here ) reported catching a couple bigger bass on the West Wall over the Labor Day weekend. With the water level rising we will be able to get into a lot of areas that we were not able to get into last week, and the fish seem to be following the rising water back into the areas that were to shallow to be in last week.
I'm not sure if the Army Corp of Engineers will leave the water level up a little or if they will draw it back down, but I do know with as much water that is flowing into the lake it will take a while to get it back out. I have had some reports that the Pelican Bay area and Kramer Island water is also clearing up, so these areas should start producing some good bass, they have been left alone most of the summer and should be ready to start eating. I have been seeing a good number of bluegills from Cochran's Pass down to Uncle Joe's Cut, there shouldn't be any trouble catching enough to eat using crickets. This week I want to talk about a product that has made my life as a guide and tournament angler a whole lot easier and that is a Power-Pole shallow water anchor, I have the XL model that allows me to anchor in water up to eight foot deep with a touch of a button. It works great for staying in one place to fish with wild shiners and also works great to fish for spawning and schooling bass during tournaments. I highly recommend this product to anyone who anchors or wants to fish in one spot without throwing anchors and dragging up all that muck off the bottom , check them out at www.Power-Pole.com
Bass Wishes
Capt. Scott Martin / Capt. Mark King
