Freshwater: Speckled perch bite improves thanks to cooler weather

Around Polk County

1 Around Lakeland, at Saddle Creek, the bass bite is pretty good on shiners under a cork around the brush piles and along the banks. Bluegill and tilapia are biting red worms around the park. Around town, specks are biting in 6 to 8 feet of water at lakes Crago, Hollingsworth and Parker. Lake Hancock is producing limits of specks. Lake Parker is producing bass in the hydrilla on Rat-L-Traps and jerkbaits. A shallow diving Smithwick Rogue lure, in chrome and blue color, is also a hot bait. Lake Gibson is good for bass out deep around the rock piles. Bass are biting at Lake Bonny while flipping Senkos in the Kissimmee grass, reports Phillips Bait and Tackle (863-666-2248).

Fish of the Week

Speckled Perch: Cooler weather has picked up the bite for speckled perch this week. Some of the fish are also moving onto the beds to spawn.

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

2 At Auburndale, both lakes Ariana and Juliana are real good for specks on minnows and chartreuse color jigs. The fish have moved shallow, closer to shore, around the docks and pads. Around Lake Alfred, lakes Haines, Rochelle and Alfred all have a good speck bite. The shorelines have been very productive. Some of the fish are taking jigs, but most are biting on minnows. Bass fishing is also good on all three lakes and the bass have also moved up shallow. Lipless crankbaits and shiners are getting the best bite. Lake Rochelle is also producing good size shellcracker on red worms, reports Ron Schelfo at Ron’s Tackle Box (863-956-4990).

3 At Winter Haven, offshore grass is still producing bass on plastic worms and lipless crankbaits around the chain, but some of the males are moving onto the beds. Specks have moved shallow in the pads and Kissimmee grass to bed at lakes Idylwild and Cannon, reports Capt. Jackson Williams of Action Bass Guide Service (863-326-3232). Bass have started bedding around the south chain. Shiners, lipless crankbaits and flipping creature baits are all producing. Specks have also moved shallow along the shorelines, reports Schelfo.

4 At Lake Hamilton, the speck bite is picking up on all three lakes on minnows in the pad fields. Buck male bass have moved shallow, behind the pad fields on the middle and little lake. Concentrate where the cattails start. The big lake is producing bass in the reeds and around isolated cattails. “This full moon and cold weather should trigger a good bite for the big females,” reports Matt Ingram at Hoppy’s Marine (863-439-7616).

5 At Lake Marion near Haines City, the speck bite is good on jigs and minnows on the north side by Twin Islands and along the east side of the lake. The bite is best at first light and again, late in afternoon. Jerkbaits and plastic worms are producing a decent bass bite, reports Ingram.

6 At Lake Pierce, they’re catching specks mostly on minnows. Before the front, the fish were up real shallow, about a foot deep. The cool weather has pushed them back out to about 7 feet deep and around the edges of the pads. One angler on Tuesday morning had a near limit. The bass bite has been slow, most of the anglers are speck fishing, reports Jennings Resort (863-439-3811).

7 At Lake Hatchineha, speck anglers are catching a few on white and chartreuse color, Muck City Tackle jigs in the pads and grass on the east side of the lake. Bass have started bedding in the pads. “Cast a black and blue color Senko past the pad clump, drag it through the middle and let it sit on the bed for the best action,” reports Charlie Wynperle at Bridgemaster Fishing Products (863-676-1009).

8 At Lake Toho, cooler weather and the wind has slowed the artificial bite for the bass. Hard jerk baits and Rat-L-Traps fished over submerged hydrilla, will offer the best action. The center of the lake to the lower half is producing the best. Shiners along the Kissimmee grass lines, which aren’t choked with hydrilla, are producing the best bite. Specks are still biting offshore in the deeper holes, reports Jay Turner of Jay’s Bass Bustin Guide Service. (407-908-4739).

9 At Lake Kissimmee, the speck bite is best on minnows under a cork around isolated pads in the grass. Bass have moved shallow and “have love on their minds with the spawn.” Target the flags and pads with a junebug color Senko or Zoom Ol Monster worm, reports Wynperle.

10 At Lake Walk-in-the-Water, speck fishing is heating up at night on minnows. Bass have moved up shallow and anglers should fish any isolated cover. Start out early throwing a green pumpkin fluke. Then switch over to a watermelon red color Senko and fish it slow, reports Wynperle.

11 At Crooked Lake at Babson Park, the speck bite is good on minnows, but still fairly deep around 19 to 25 feet deep. There’s decent numbers of fish up to 14 inches, but no limits. The bass bite is good, but scattered around the lake. Fish up to 3 to 4 pounds are biting in Lily Pad Bay, in 6 feet of water along the U.S. 27 side and at the north end in 10 to 12 feet of water. Deep diving crankbaits and plastic worms have been the most productive with the cooler water, reports Cindy Ritchison at Bob's Landing (863-638-1912). Specks are also biting during the day while drifting minnows around 20 to 25 feet deep, reports Jim Childress of Big Bass Bait & Tackle (352-207-7520).

12 At Frostproof, specks are biting at Lake Clinch while drifting minnows in deep water around 12 to 15 feet. Reedy is also producing specks while drifting, but at around 6 to 8 feet. Lily pads are also producing specks there on both jigs and minnows. Lake Arbuckle is producing specks while drifting minnows out in the middle of the lake around 8 feet. The bass bite at Clinch is good along the edges of the grass on Carolina rigged worms and shiners. Bass are biting at Reedy on shiners up in the grass and spinnerbaits along the edges, reports Childress.

13 In the phosphate pits near Mulberry, the bass are on the beds now with this full moon phase. A lot of anglers are hooking up even with the cold weather. The bite is best in shallow water 2 to 8 feet deep and around sand bars in open water. Anglers should concentrate on the beds. Ribbontail and vibe tail worms in red shad or junebug red color are still producing best. “Slow rolling” spinnerbaits is also producing a few fish, reports Danny Hamm of Stones Bait & Tackle (863-940-4898).

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Freshwater: Speckled perch bite improves thanks to cooler weather