Freshwater: The bluegill bite continues to be good for Polk County area anglers

Fish of the Week

Bluegill — The bluegill bite continues to be good for Polk County area anglers. Nearly every location reported good numbers again this week.

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

Around Polk County

1 Around Lakeland, at Tenoroc, bass fishing was best on lakes Coronet, Fish Hook, Long, Tern, 2, 5, A and C. Lakes Butterfly, Cemetery, Derby, Half-Moon, Horseshoe, Legs, Lost Lake East, Shop, 3, B and F also had high catch rates. This past week, 52 large bass over 19 inches were reported, with six fish measuring over 22 inches. Speck fishing was best at lakes Picnic, Tern and 10. The best lakes for panfish were Cemetery, Coronet, Derby, Horseshoe, Legs, Picnic, Shop, 3, 5 and B. Catfish were biting best at lakes Derby, Picnic and B, reports FWC biologist Paolo Pecora.

2 At Auburndale, both lakes Ariana and Juliana have a good bluegill bite this week. The bass bite is also good, but it’s mainly just schoolies. Around Lake Alfred, lakes Swoope and Alfred are good for both bluegill and bass. The bluegill are biting red worms and crickets. The bass are biting mostly on shiners. Lake Rochelle is producing good numbers of shellcracker on red worms, reports Ron Schelfo at Ron’s Tackle Box (863-956-4990).

3 At Winter Haven, live shiners along the grass lines are producing a good bass bite at lakes Hartridge and Jessie. Artificials such as crankbaits and big 10-inch worms are producing on brush piles around the south chain, reports Capt. Jackson Williams of Action Bass Guide Service 863-326-3232. Lake Cannon is producing decent numbers of bass up 5 pounds. Some of the canals are holding shellcracker. Bluegill and shellcracker are biting around the south chain and Shelton’s Lures jigs fished under a float are producing decent numbers, reports Schelfo.

4 At Lake Hamilton, there’s a pretty good bass bite on the chain. No fish over 5 pounds, have been caught, but anglers are getting 10 to 15 fish a trip. Plastic worms along the grass lines and crankbaits on the shell bars are getting the best bite. Some specks have been caught while trolling jigs on the big lake and bluegills are biting in the pads and grass, reports Mickey Ingram at Hoppy’s Marine (863-439-7616).

5 At Lake Marion near Haines City, some bluegill are being caught in the pads on the east side of the lake and also around Bannon Island. Bass are biting around the little bit of hydrilla scattered around the lake. There’s also a decent bass bite up around the mouth of Marion Creek, reports Ingram.

6 At Lake Pierce, bluegill are still biting good on crickets in the pads, towards the south end of the lake. Some of the anglers are easily getting their limits. The shellcracker bite though, is very slow. Bass anglers are getting four to five fish an outing up to 4 pounds. Live shiners along the grass lines, early in the morning, are producing best, reports Chris Beasley Jennings Resort (863-439-3811).

7 At Lake Hatchineha, bluegill are biting crickets and red worms in the pads around Marker #10. Bass are biting Zoom Speed Worms in red bug color around vegetation. Anglers should be aware the water level on the lake is very low, reports Charlie Wynperle at Bridgemaster Fishing Products (863-676-1009).

8 At Lake Toho, grass lines off Browns Point are “hot right now” for spawning bluegill and shellcracker in the Kissimmee grass. Both panfish are biting in other area with Kissimmee grass scattered around the lake. Offshore hydrilla anywhere from Lake Toho R.V. Resort and to the south, is producing good numbers of bass. Shell bars are also producing bass early in the morning on Rat-L-Traps and various topwater baits, reports Grady Johnson (407-205-6719).

9 At Lake Kissimmee, shellcracker and a few bluegill are biting around Sturm Island, Jack’s Slough and the 27 Palms area. Bass are moving to the outside grass lines. Cover a wide area of water with a Bass Assassin Woopah Craw in junebug color for the best results, reports Wynperle.

10 At Lake Walk-in-the-Water, bluegill and shellcracker are biting in the pads and grass at the mouths of the canals. White color Spro Popping Frogs are producing bass, both early and late in the day, reports Wynperle.

11 At Crooked Lake at Babson Park, limits of shellcracker and bluegill have been caught around the lake this week. Red worms fished early in the morning and late in the evening are producing the best numbers. The bass bite is good and most anglers are getting up to 30 fish a trip. Most of the bass are schoolie size, but good numbers of 4 to 5 pounders are also in the mix. Topwaters at first light and at sunset also produced three bass up to 6 pounds for one angler this week. Catfish up to 3.5 pounds have been caught from the docks, reports Cindy Ritchison at Bob's Landing (863-638-1912). Good numbers of shellcracker are biting on red worms on the bottom in 8 feet of water around Wirt’s Point. The bass bite is good just outside the mouth of Little Crooked, reports Jim Childress of Big Bass Bait & Tackle (352-207-7520).

12 At Frostproof, Lake Arbuckle produced two limits of specks for a couple of anglers while trolling at the south end this week. The bluegill bite is good there in the pads on crickets and also at the south shore in the Cypress trees. Lake Reedy is good for bluegill on red worms on the bottom in 6 feet of water. The bass bite is good there on Zoom Horny Toads in the grass early in the morning. Drifting shiners along the edges of the grass is also producing. Lake Clinch is producing shellcracker on red worms in 8 feet of water. Good numbers of bass are biting shiners there along the edges of grass, reports Childress.

13 In the phosphate pits near Mulberry, the bass are scattered and have moved out to water around 4 to 10 feet deep. For the best results, cast to hydrilla and the deeper points off the islands and rocky bars. White color spinnerbaits and watermelon red with glitter, 10-inch vibe or ribbon tail worms will produce the best action. The fish are scattered, you have to keep moving and be patient. Some of the pits with hydrilla have a good topwater bite at first light on poppers or a Smithwick Devils Horse, reports Danny Hamm of Bull Bay Tackle Company. (863-937-3292).

Compiled By: Michael Wilson / Ledger Correspondent

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Freshwater: The bluegill bite continues to be good for Polk County area anglers