Clewiston-----The fishing is starting to pick up as the fall season approaches and the water temperatures start to cool off. We are just coming off a full moon and the bass are finally starting to eat both wild shiners and artificial lures. We did really well toward the end of the week on wild shiners fishing the East Wall and the West Wall, both areas have really clean water and the fishing is better in the morning before the sun gets up high in the sky. I looked over a few new areas last week including Pelican Bay and around Ritta Island both look really nice with clean water and plenty of vegetation, but there seems to be a lack of bait fish and not very many bass to be caught. I think as the water cools down the bass and bait should start to move into these areas real soon. I have been catching most of my bass on Senkos this past week, the color varied from day to day one day it was junebug the next it was green pumpkin. The key to fishing the Senko the last couple weeks has been to fish it as slow as you can , the best way is to throw it into a hole in the grass and deadstick it or in other words let it sit on the bottom for up to a minute before you move it. This way of fishing will test your patience but can be really rewarding when you catch a six or seven pound bass.
The north end of the lake continues to produce some nice bass with the areas from Horse Island to Tin House Cove being your best bet. The outside grass is where the majority of the bass seem to be as they are chasing bait around in the grass. A Gambler Cane Toad, spinnerbait ( my favorite one being a Leverage in naked shad color ) and worm worked in and around this outside grass should produce some bass from two to three pounds. Some of the bigger bass are coming from isolated reed patches by pitching something like a Gambler Ugly Otter or a Zoom Brush Hog with a small 1/8 ounce screw in weight. There is some great looking hyacinth mats in this area but they don't seem to be holding any fish but they soon will with cooler temperatures on the way. From Cochran's Pass to Observation Island has been slow for the past few weeks but I have had a few reports of bass being caught on the outside grass when there is wind blowing in on this area and moving some bait into the grass. I haven't seen any schooling bass yet and this is something we should start seeing any day, when we do start seeing them be sure to keep a spinnerbait, Rat-L-Trap and a topwater plug ready because this can be the most fun you can have catching bass on almost every cast.
I just want to say that the lake is looking great from the north end all the way down to Pelican Bay, the water is clean the hydrilla is starting to grow in areas, the bottom looks good for the bass to spawn this year and with the water level at 13.20 above sea level the lake should stay nice and clean through the winter even with the north winds. We want to thank God for no hurricanes this year I don't think this lake could have withstood another year like last and still been the great fishery that it has always been. If the water managers will slow down with the spraying for weed control and they will leave the water levels at or around fourteen feet above sea level this lake will be back to the great lake that our ancestors enjoyed.
I want to tell you about a new item I have started using on my reel handles called Reel Grip, these rubber covers that go over your reel handles offer all day comfort and control and are non slip even when it's raining. The come in a thirteen different colors and one size fits most reels. I will have these on all my reels for customers to use and other tournament anglers to try, these grips rate an A+. You can contact them at www.reelgrip.com and let them know that you want to try a set for yourself.
Bass Wishes
Capt. Scott Martin / Capt. Mark King