Freshwater: Bass continues to be best bet on Polk County lakes

Fish of the Week

Largemouth Bass – Although the bite is good for both bass and panfish around the area, bass get the nod, as some big fish up to 8-pounds have been caught this past week.

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

Around Polk County

1 Around Lakeland, at Tenoroc, the bass bite was best this past week at lakes Butterfly, Fishhook, Halfmoon, Horseshoe, Legs, Lost Lake West, Pine, Shop, Tern, Waterlou, Wetland, A, B, F, 2, 3 and 10. Lakes Cemetery, Hydrilla, 4, and 5 also had catch rates worth noting. This past week, 34 large bass over 19 inches were reported, with six of the largest measuring over 22 inches. The largest fish measured close to 25 inches in total length. The speck bite was best at lakes Legs, B, 2 and 4. Panfish were biting best at lakes Cemetery, Derby, Picnic, Pine, B, 2, 3, and 5. The catfish bite was best at lakes Derby, B and 3, reports FWC biologist Paolo Pecora. At Saddle Creek, Zoom vibe tail worms in junebug red or sungill colors are getting a good bass bite around the park. Good numbers of bluegill and shellcracker are being caught on grass shrimp and red worms. on red worms and night crawlers are getting the catfish bite. Around town, the blue and shellcracker bite is still good at Lake Parker, reports Phillips Bait and Tackle (863-666-2248).

2 At Auburndale, Lake Juliana is producing good numbers of bass in the 4- to 5-pound range on live shiners and a variety of artificials. The bluegill and shellcracker bite is good on crickets and red worms. Plenty of bowfin are also being caught there. At Lake Ariana, bass up to 4 pounds are biting silver and blue back Rat-L-Traps. Around the Lake Alfred area, lakes Haines, Rochelle and Alfred are producing good numbers of bass, including an 8-pounder caught at Rochelle this week on a Booyah lipless crankbait in Royalty color. Chatterbaits and live shiners are also getting the bite. Big bluegill and shellcracker are also biting at all three lakes, with limits of the red ears being caught at Rochelle, reports Ron Schelfo at Ron’s Tackle Box (863-956-4990).

3 At Winter Haven, Lake Blue is good this week for bass, shellcracker and catfish. The bass are mostly schoolie size, but the catfish are big. Lake Summit is good for bass in the 5 to 6-pound range on live shiners, swimbaits and a variety of artificials. Lake Cannon is good for shore anglers for bass and catfish at the park, reports Schelfo.

4 At Lake Hamilton, both the middle lake and the little lake have areas that were sprayed for vegetation control, so the big lake is going to be the best location to target. Bass are biting while flipping black and blue color creature baits and casting Senkos or swim jigs around the outside edges of the buggywhips and pads. Specks are being caught while trolling minnows and jigs in deeper water around 8 to 9-foot. Bluegill and shellcracker are biting red worms around the buggywhips in shallow water 1 to 3-foot, reports Kyle Brewer at Hoppy’s by Crossed Industries (863-439-7616).

5 At Lake Marion near Haines City, black and blue color swim jigs or flipping Senkos and creature baits around shallow Kissimmee grass with clean bottom is producing a good bass bite. Specks are being caught while drifting minnows on the brush piles at a depth of 7 to 15 feet. Bluegill and shellcracker are moving into shallow water from a half a foot deep to 3-foot to spawn and biting crickets and red worms, reports Brewer.

6 At Lake Pierce, good numbers of shellcracker are being caught on red worms on the bottom by the FFA Center on the southeast side of the lake. Bluegill are biting on crickets and red worms around the pads. The best numbers of bass are being caught on dark color plastic worms along the edges of the grass, reports Chris Beasley at Jennings Resort (863-439-3811).

7 At Lake Hatchineha, a few specks are still being in Gator Cove while drifting minnows. Bass are schooling on the shell bars at Marker 12. Throw a chrome and blue color Rat-L-Trap or a lipless crankbait for the best action, reports Bridgemaster Fishing Products (863-676-1009).

8 At Lake Toho, A lot of bass are being caught offshore on the shell bars and in the pepper grass patches off Lake Toho R.V. Resort. Casting Rat-L-Traps, Chatterbaits or dragging a plastic worm is producing the best bite. Fish can also be caught flipping the hydrilla mats at the north end of the lake. The offshore grass right out from Whayley’s Landing is also a good spot for bass. A few bass can still be caught shallow, but the main bite right now is offshore. Specks are being caught on the outside grass lines and bluegill are biting in the Kissimmee grass, reports Grady Johnson (407-205-6719).

9 At Lake Kissimmee, bass are still holding around areas with pads. Start off at first light with a Spro Popping Frog in bluegill color. As the sun rises higher, make the switch to an Xmas color speed worm for the best results. The shellcracker bite is slowing down a bit. Try the areas around Sturm Island and 27 Palms for the best numbers, reports Bridgemaster’s.

10 At Lake Walk-in-the-Water, bluegill and shellcracker are still biting crickets and red worms in the shallow pads. Bass are roaming the edges of the weeds, both early and late in the day. Throw a Zoom Horney Toad frog in watermelon color for some good action, reports Bridgemaster’s.

11 At Crooked Lake at Babson Park, mayflies are hatching around the lake and topwater lures are producing the best bite for bass. Most of the bigger bass are still biting to the north by the college. Plenty of schoolie bass up to 5-pounds are also biting along the U.S. 27 side. Decent numbers of bass are also biting about a 100-feet off the shore in the cove. Good numbers of bluegill and shellcracker are biting around the lake and many of the panfish are holding roe, reports Cindy Ritchison at Bob's Landing (863-638-1912). Bluegill and shellcracker are biting red worms on the bottom around Grassy Island. A few specks are biting during the day on minnows at a depth of 20 to 25 feet. Live shiners are producing bass along the U.S. 27 side. The mouth of little Crooked is also producing a good bass bite on shiners, reports Jim Childress of Big Bass Bait & Tackle (352-207-7520).

12 At Frostproof, Lake Reedy is producing bass while drifting live shiners along the south shore. The bluegill bite is good there in the pads on the southwest side. Specks are biting during the day while drifting minnows at 7 to 8-foot. At night, anchored under the lights is best. Lake Arbuckle is good for bluegill on crickets around the Cypress trees to the south. The mouth of Lake Reedy is also good there for bluegill on red worms on the bottom. Lake Clinch is still good for specks while drifting minnows in open water around 20 to 25 feet. Bluegill and shellcracker are biting red worms on the bottom at 6 to 8-foot. Bass are biting there while drifting shiners on the west side. Red shad or black and blue color Carolina rigged plastic worms are producing bass on the brush piles, reports Childress.

13 In the phosphate pits near Mulberry, most of the bass have moved off the beds and into deeper water around the island points and rock bars. Drop shot rigged plastic worms in junebug or green pumpkin colors, fished at a depth of 4 to 8 feet, are getting a good bite. Shad color, squarebill crankbaits are also getting the bite, reports Danny Hamm of Bull Bay Tackle Company. (863-937-3292).

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Freshwater: Bass continues to be best bet on Polk County lakes