Area fishing report for lakes and rivers in and around Marion County
Crystal River/Homosassa
Captain William Toney writes that cobia is the talk of the town this coming weekend. The 38th annual Cobia Big Fish Tournament is June 4-5, hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Inverness and held at Crumps Landing in Homosassa. Cash payouts will be for cobia, redfish, grouper and trout. There also is a kids’ tournament on Saturday. For more information go to cobiabigfishtournament.com. Another way to get some cash for your cobia is a $50 reward for your fish and you keep the fillets. Anglers can arrange for a biologist to meet you by calling 727-220-7108 to collect the reward.
Wednesday, June 1 is the beginning of gag grouper season on the Big Bend. The shallow rocks out to 25 feet will be hit hard this first week, but deeper maybe the ticket with Gulf water temps in the mid 80s. Live baits like pinfish work well along with frozen sardines and threadfin herring. As with all reef fishing, circle hooks are the rule. The minimum size is 24 inches and a two-fish limit per angler is the rule. No captains take if you are on a for-hire charter. High incoming tide will be early morning this weekend.
Orange Lake/Lochloosa
Visit lochloosaharbor.com for updates.
Ocklawaha River
Liz at Fat Daddy’s reports that bass have been biting artificial baits (specifically mentioning plastic worms) and have been caught with regularity on the top water. Bluegill and shellcrackers also have been biting worms and crickets. She added that fish can be caught all day, but to avoid the harshest heat of the day, anglers primarily have been coming early in the morning or in the afternoon after 4 p.m.
Salt Springs
According to Liz at Fat Daddy’s, plastic worms have been very effective for catching bass of late. The same goes for crickets and worms if looking to bring in shellcrackers and bluegill.
Forest Lakes
Liz at Fat Daddy’s reports that most anglers have been bass fishing of late with great success. Plastic worms have been the most-used bait of choice. Those seeking shellcrackers and bluegill also have left happy, and most have used worms and/or crickets as bait. The heat has been unbearable at times during the day (though the fishing is still good then) and most have been coming early in the morning or in the evening.
Lake Weir
Liz at Fat Daddy’s reports that bass have been caught with frequency primarily using plastic worms. Shellcrackers and bluegill are being brought in with both crickets and live worms.
Harris Chain
According to BassOnline.com, bass often can be found here in the open water. The canals have them at times, too. Many catches often weigh in between nine and 11 pounds. Specks also have been found here since the weather cooled the water.
Ponce Inlet
According to floridasightfishing.com, redfish have been the main target since March in Mosquito Lagoon with better numbers of redfish this year than the last few. Most of these redfish are ranging 20-30 inches. Anglers are targeting them mainly on live bait. Giant trophy redfish of more than 20 pounds are starting to congregate in bigger groups on the flats in the Indian River Lagoon and holes in the intracoastal waterway closer to Ponce Inlet. The big redfish are getting more active, but there generally are long waits for just a couple bites so no reason to be spending much time if at all until we get closer to summer and the big reds start really firing. Snook fishing around the tidal areas of New Smyrna Beach and Ponce Inlet, even down into Mosquito Lagoon, have ramped up in the Spring. There have been multiple trips lately with 10-plus snook landed. Most of the snook are 18-25 inches. That will be steady from now throughout the fall.
There also have been a lot of black drum in the last couple of months. Pretty much everywhere in Mosquito Lagoon has had a big school of hundreds of 2-year-old drum in the 18-22 inch range, which means they had a great spawn two years ago. Speckled trout right started to bite again in late April, and that should continue through May and June. Those are historically the best times for a chance at a giant in the Mosquito Lagoon and upper end of the Indian River Lagoon. Those months are also the best time of year to catch a bunch of quality trout in the 18-24-inch range. Currently in Mosquito Lagoon most of the trout are up in the super-shallow water.
Tip of the week
According to coastalanglermag.com, June is an excellent month to fish in Florida. Foul weather has virtually played out, and consistent warm weather patterns, supported by good tides, afford opportunity that previous months can fail to deliver. Stronger tides provide sufficient nutrients and oxygen to sustain a healthy food chain of various baits that support and drive movement and migratory patterns of all species. Fish become more aggressive and must eat during the summer periods. Their digestive systems are designed to absorb and digest more food than during cool/cold water temperatures.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Florida fishing: Area report for lakes and rivers in and around Marion County
