Area fishing report for lakes and rivers in and around Marion County

1. Crystal River/Homosassa

Captain William Toney asks that if you are thinking of putting fish in the boat, then think about fishing specific spots or locations. With big full moon tides, it will put a lot of water along the Big Bend pushing inshore fish tight along the mangroves where they grow thick like a fence but around Ozello high keys are open on the inside — creating a forest for redfish and snook to tuck inside. Catching the tide right as it rises will give the angler opportunity to target redfish as they make their way off the flat to the tall white mangroves outside keys. Getting there just as the tide turns or just enough water to pole in will make the difference to catching or wishing. The best way to target them is sight casting with live shrimp or small pinfish. On the tight growth keys use a cork and shrimp right up near the edge to get the bite. Trout fishing is split, there are fish out deep in the waters past Marker 2 and some fish still inside around the big bays that have a series of bars running north and south. When fishing the bars, the trout will be on the down current side. Offshore, the trout will be in the thick grass bottoms. Using a dark color soft plastic with a ⅛-ounce jighead, cast behind the drift of your vessel and slow-troll it. High incoming tide will be midday this weekend.

For those wanting to fish a fun tournament, the 38th annual Cobia Big Fish event will be June 4-5 at Crumps Landing in Homosassa. For more information, visit cobiabigfishtournament.com.

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2. Orange Lake/Lochloosa

Visit lochloosaharbor.com for updates.

3. Ocklawaha River

Liz at Fat Daddy’s reports that a lot of bass have been biting of late. The biggest generally are being caught using wild and domestic shiners. There also are plenty of specks being caught with minnows and jigs.

4. Salt Springs

According to Liz at Fat Daddy’s, anglers have had a lot of success lately catching bass and specks. The baits of choice generally have been minnows and jigs for specks. Bigger bass are being caught with wild and domestic shiners.

5. Forest Lakes

Liz at Fat Daddy’s reports that most anglers have been seeking specks and bass lately. Minnows and jigs have been the baits of choice for specks, domestic and wild shiners for bass.

6. Lake Weir

Liz at Fat Daddy’s reports that plenty of specks have been biting of late with minnows and jigs being the baits used most often. Anglers also have had great success with bass, and the primary bait of choice has been shiners.

7. 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.

8. 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 range 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 … other things are really heating up so not 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+ 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 what Bassmaster Classic contender Rich Howes wrote for www.myfwc.com, a popular technique with Florida bass anglers is punching grass mats. The grass can be anything, including hydrilla, hyacinths, chopped up Kissimmee grass or water lettuce. Bass in Florida love to bury themselves in and under these grass mats. To be successful with this technique, be sure you are using proper equipment. It starts with a long, heavy-action rod. Howes said he typically uses a 7-foot-6 or longer Fitzgerald rod. A high speed 7:1 Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifier Reel or something similar is necessary to gather in line quickly, and use a 65-pound braided line or stronger. You will want to start with a heavy tungsten weight of 1-2 ounces, which needs to be pegged to the line using a bobber stopper or plastic T-peg insert.

Next, you will want to use a snell knot to attach a very stout 3/0 or 4/0 flipping hook, like a Strike King Hack Attack flipping hook. Finally, use a quality soft plastic bait. Howes’ mainstays are a Tightlines UV whisker punch'n rig or a Gambler BB Cricket. Pitch or flip the heavy weight right on top of the grass. The bait will either go through on the initial fall or you will need to lightly shake your rod up and down to feel the bait make its way underneath the grass mat. Once underneath you will often feel the fish bite right away, but sometimes it is necessary to jig the bait up and down to trigger a fish to strike. When you feel the bite, set the hook with some authority and do your best to take control of the fish to get it out and on top of the grass as quickly as possible.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Fishing report for lakes and rivers in and around Marion County