Speckled perch remains best bet thanks to cooler weather

Fish of the Week

Speckled Perch—Cooler weather slowed the bite around the Central Florida area this week, but speckled perch are still the best fish to target.

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

Around Polk County

1 Around Lakeland, at Tenoroc, despite the cold weather, the bass bite was best this week at lakes Derby, Hydrilla, Shop and 5. Lakes Halfmoon, Horseshoe, Picnic, A and C also had catch rates worth noting. This past week, five large bass over 19 inches were reported, with the largest measuring 23 inches. The speck bite was best at Long Lake. The panfish bite was best at lakes Picnic, 5 and 10. The catfish bite was best at Lake Picnic. The cold snap definitely influenced the freshwater bite. Hopefully, as the weather warms up this week, the fish will get more active and the bite will improve, reports FWC biologist Paolo Pecora. At Saddle Creek, during the past couple of days, some good-size specks were caught on minnows at both Saddle Creek and Tenoroc. The bite should be good as the weather warms up this weekend. Around Lakeland, a few small bass were caught on 5-inch Senkos in junebug color worked slowly on the bottom at lakes Hancock and Parker, reports Phillips Bait and Tackle (863-666-2248).

2 At Auburndale, specks are biting at both lakes Ariana and Juliana while drifting minnow both day and night. Around the Lake Alfred area, lakes Alfred, Haines and Rochelle are also producing good numbers of specks. The speck bite should only improve as the weather warms up this weekend, reports Ron Schelfo at Ron’s Tackle Box (863-956-4990).

3 At Winter Haven, around the south chain, lakes Cannon, Howard and Shipp are all good for specks on minnows and light-colored jigs such as pink, chartreuse or white, reports Schelfo.

4 At Lake Hamilton, specks were still being caught even with the extreme cold weather over the weekend. The bite will only improve as the weather warms. Bass should be moving into their spawning areas with the upcoming full moon, reports Hoppy’s by Crossed Industries (863-439-7616).

5 At Lake Marion near Haines City, cold weather slowed the bite considerably this week. A few specks were still caught during the middle of the day on minnows, but there wasn’t much to speak of on the bass. The bite for both should pick up with warm weather and the next full moon phase, reports Hoppy’s.

6 At Lake Pierce, despite the cool weather, the speck bite was still pretty good and on Tuesday the bite really picked up again. The middle part of the lake between the island and the points is producing the best numbers of fish during the mornings and through the day. Drifting with minnows at a depth of 4 feet is producing the best bite. A few specks are also biting in the early evenings. A few bass are biting on plastic worms, but the fish are scattered and anglers are really having to work for them, reports Jennings Resort (863-439-3811).

7 At Lake Hatchineha, some specks are being caught in Gator Cove. Set up first thing in the morning along the grass with minnows. Bass are being caught in the reeds on the east side of the lake. Cover water with a white or chartreuse spinnerbait later in the morning. Then switch over to a black and blue color Senko rigged Wacky style for the best action, reports Charlie Wynperle at Bridgemaster Fishing Products.

8 At Lake Toho, the bass bite has been tough with the cold weather, but you can find some fish flipping the mats with any sort of creature bait. With this weekend’s warming weather, anglers should look out for spawning bass behind the Kissimmee grass lines with cover and hard sand bottom. Topwater moving baits should be good to entice a bite from spawning fish. Good areas to target should be the north side of Browns Point, North Steer Beach and the boat cut at Whaley’s Landing, reports Grady Johnson (407-205-6719).

9 At Lake Kissimmee, specks are being caught on minnows on the outside edges of the grass lines first thing in the morning. Try the south end of Bird Island and North Cove for the best action. Bass are starting to spawn up shallow. Fish the pads and flags with a Zoom Speed Worm until you find the fish. Big bass are sitting under floating mats. Drop a blueberry color, Bass Assassin Whopper Craw rigged with a 1½ oz. weight for some good action, reports Wynperle.

10 At Lake Walk-in-the-Water, cooler weather has really turned on the speck bite and this weekend’s weather will only increase the bite. Drifting minnows in 4 to 5 feet of water will produce the best numbers and vary your depth until you find the fish. The bass are up shallow and getting ready to spawn with the next full moon phase. Smaller bass are setting up around isolated structure. Cover water with a watermelon color Zoom Fluke until you find the fish, reports Wynperle.

11 At Crooked Lake at Babson Park, over the weekend, the cold weather slowed the fishing significantly. However, on Tuesday the weather started to warm and limits of specks were biting on minnows in 30 feet of water. The best numbers were biting during the middle of the day around Wirt’s Point. The bass bite should pick up this weekend as the weather warms up. The U.S. 27 side should offer good action on plastic worms in junebug, watermelon red and white color plastic worms, as well as live shiners, reports Rick Ritchison at Bob's Landing (863-638-1912).

12 At Frostproof, with the warming weather, Lake Arbuckle has been good for specks around the pads and while slow drifting minnows and jigs tipped with minnows. Despite the cooler weather, Crooked Lake is still producing specks at night on minnows in 18 to 20 feet of water. Small bass are biting there on plastic worms, worked very slowly. Lake Clinch is decent for specks on minnows over the brush piles at a depth of 20 feet. Some small bass up to 5 pounds are biting on Carolina rigged plastic worms worked slowly, reports Jim Childress of Big Bass Bait & Tackle (352-207-7520).

13 In the phosphate pits near Mulberry, cold weather has definitely slowed the bass bite. Flipping and pitching shallow water around the cattails and island points with good rocks produced the best bites, but the fish were small. Once the weather warms up this weekend, the big female bass that were out deeper should move up shallow again looking for the bedding areas, reports Danny Hamm of Bull Bay Tackle Co. (863-937-3292).

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Speckled perch remains best bet thanks to cooler weather