Freshwater fishing: Bass are the best bet around Polk lately, offshore or near grass
1. In Lakeland, with shellcracker and bluegill biting, the grass shrimp and red worms are going fast. Try your luck at Tenoroc, Saddle Creek and Lake Parker. Bladed jigs are still popular for bass, look for them off the banks and in submerged vegetation, reports Phillips Bait and Tackle (863-666-2248).
2. In Auburndale and Lake Alfred, a few bass were reported out of Lake Juliana on Rat-L-traps. In Lake Alfred, on lakes Rochelle and Haines, shellcracker and bluegill have been biting, and bass up to 7 pounds have been reported, reports Ron Schelfo at Ron’s Tackle Box (863-956-4990).
3. At Winter Haven, a 10-pound bass on a shiner was taken out of Lake Summit. Bass are your best bet, especially on the weekend, says Schelfo. Capt. Bill Goudy recommends looking for bass offshore on the outside edge of the submerged grass using a Texas rig worm, jerkbait or freelining shiners. For a guided fishing trip with Capt. Goudy, call Bass Online (888-629-2277).
4. On Lake Hamilton, on the big lake, try flipping the reeds with a 3/8-ounce or half-ounce black and blue creature bait or senko when the sun is out. Earlier in the day, try a compact white swim jig for the shad spawn, or a Rat-L-Trap in shad colors. For bluegill and shellcracker, stay in 3 to 4 feet of water, and if you catch one don’t move because there’s likely more swimming around. On the middle lake, a 3/16 or quarter-ounce weighted creature or senko cast and dragged slowly away from the edge of the grass has been working for bass. Specks are being caught on white jigs trolled around the buoys. On the little lake, creature baits, senkos, speed worms and swim jigs in and around the vegetation should work for bass. For specks, look for the brush piles in about 6 feet of water, reports local guide Kyle Brewer. Contact Kyle at fishingbud55@gmail.com.
5. On Lake Marion near Haines City, flipping or dragging senkos around the grass has worked well for bass while the sun is out. When it's overcast or in the morning, try chartreuse or black colored crankbait around the edge of the grass. People have had some luck using dark-colored speed worms and swim jigs around the Kissimmee grass as well. For shellcracker and bluegill, stick to the edge of the deeper grass in around 5 feet of water using crickets and worms. The speck bite is hit or miss, but you can try trolling jigs and minnows on the east side of the island, reported Brewer.
6. On Lake Pierce, the speck bite is still good drifting minnows close to the grass. Bluegill and shellcracker are biting worms and grass shrimp in the lily pads. Bass fishing has been great, with a couple of tournaments yielding some nice catches. Look for them in the heavy grass using topwater baits or creature baits, reports Jim Childress of Big Bass Bait & Tackle (352-207-7520).
What's Biting: Bass
Offshore fishing around vegetation seems to be the place to find them. Try using a variety of baits from live shiners to artificial topwater bait to land a fish.
Strike zones: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13
7. On Lake Hatchineha, the bass bite has been slow. Gator Cove has seen the most action using wild shiners around the hydrilla. Bluegill and shellcracker have been hitting red worms around the port in the pads, reports Bridgemaster Fishing Products (863-676-1009).
8. On Lake Toho, the artificial bait bite is picking up with topwater, chatterbait and swimbait all producing around deeper isolated bunches of grass. Shiners are still working as well. The speck bite is still off, so stick to looking for other fish, according to Mike Groshon from Bass Online (888-629-2277) for updates.
9. On Lake Kissimmee, bass haven’t been biting as much, but a few were caught flipping the outside grass lines with a black and blue senko. For bluegill and shellcracker, use red worms around Bird, Rabbit and Storm islands, reports Bridgemaster Fishing Products.
10. On Lake Walk-in-the-Water, bass fishing has been very good. Try using a black and blue chatterbait around the hydrilla in the morning, and then try your luck flipping a 1-ounce swim jig in the afternoon into the reeds and grass. Look for the deeper reed patches and use red worms for shellcracker and bluegill as they have been biting, reports Bridgemaster Fishing Products.
11. On Crooked Lake, on Big Crooked Lake, the bite has been good all around. For specks, try going at night and using lights in the deep water around Wart’s Point and Grassy Island. Bluegill and shellcracker can be found around Grassy Island as well, use worms. Live shiners recently yielded a catch of 20 bass. On Little Crooked, bluegill and shellcracker can be landed fishing worms on the bottom, says Childress.
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12. In Frostproof, on Lake Clinch, the bluegill and shellcracker are hitting red worms fished on the bottom. Bass has been good on the west side using topwater baits or shiners. On Lake Reedy, the speck bite is still strong with reports of 25 being caught trolling live minnows. Bluegill and shellcracker are biting worms, with some bluegill being caught in the pads on the southwest side of the lake. On Lake Arbuckle, bluegill are in the pads and around the Cypress Trees on the south end, use crickets, reports Childress.
13. In Mulberry, the weather was cooperative last week as many were casting off the shore for bass using black and blue or junebug colored senkos and crankbaits. Reports of 30 and 40 fish being caught were made. No shellcracker, bluegill or speck reports were turned in, reports Danny Hamm of Bull Bay Tackle Company (863-937-3292).
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Freshwater: Bass, shellcracker and bluegill are Polk's best bets
