Published Thursday, December 22, 2005

Fishing: Around Polk County

1 Around Lakeland, top catch of the week by Danny Goodwin of Lakeland with a 12-pound, 4-ounce bass on a Zara spook Tuesday at Saddle Creek Park, reports Phillips Bait and Tackle. Better fishermen catching limits of specks 10 inches and up at Tenoroc in lakes 4, 5 and F, reports Brian Fleming at Tenoroc. Lake Crago has come on strong for speckled perch over past week, reports Capt. Bobby Blizzard at Big Fish Outfitters, with anglers drifting Hal Flys and Midsouth Tackle Super Jigs in grass shrimp patterns. Specks up to 11/2 pounds at Saddle Creek Park, where boats getting 15-20 per trip. Dillon Harris of Lakeland won speckled perch contest at Phillips Bait and Tackle Dec. 15 with a 17/8 pound speck at Lake Bonny. At Tenoroc, bass up to 24 inches on shiners in lakes 2, 5 and F, said Fleming. Bass up to 4 pounds at Lake Gibson on shiners.

2 At Auburndale, best bet for speckled perch Lake Conine on north Winter Haven chain at night. Specks fair at best at lakes Mattie and Juliana, reports Lake Juliana Boating and Lodging.

3 At Winter Haven, south chain fair for bass despite weather, with fish up to 43/4 pounds in Sunday tournament. First reports of bass moving to beds in small lakes.

4 At Lake Hamilton, bass and specks slow over weekend because of weather, but picking up Tuesday and Wednesday, reports Chain O'Lakes Bait and Tackle (863-439-3885).

5 At Lake Marion near Haines City, a few good catches of specks. One angler got 19 up to 11/4 pounds from daylight to 9 a.m. on minnows, reports Ray Chase at Bannon's Camp. Others getting 8-10 per trip on Hal Flys (yellow or white) in and off grass edges.

6 At Lake Pierce, specks "hitting like crazy" since full moon, reports Jennings Camp. Limits of good-sized specks coming in on minnows and jigs, or jigs tipped with minnows.

7 At Lake Hatchineha, limits of specks when it's not too windy drifting open water off Catfish Creek, and in grass and lily pads closer to shore. Some anglers going for specks around points of bulrush lines with minnows or jigs. Leo Cosce at Camp Lester reports Gator Cove also producing good numbers of specks, fishing jigs around hydrilla edge all the way around cove. In Lake Cypress, specks around center marker toward northeast corner, and from Canoe Creek to the Hole-inthe-Wall, along exposed hydrilla edges with jigs. John Shen and David Lackowski of Port Hatchineha won first annual Port Hatchineha Speck Tournament Saturday with 10 weighing 123/4 pounds. Shen also caught biggest speck at 13/4 pounds.

8 At Lake Toho, big bass season still a few weeks away, leaving speckled perch as top catch. Mark Detweiler at Big Toho Marina reports fishermen "tearing them up" around Marker 26 and Paradise and Makinson islands on electric chicken Bass Assassin Tiny Shad Assassin grubs on 1/32-ounce jig heads or minnows. Bass guides getting 10-15 per trip. Flipping bite in gator grass starting.

9 At Lake Kissimmee, not a lot of fishermen out this week with holidays, but Leo Cosce at Camp Lester said anglers catching limits of specks in several locations with grass lines better than open water. Outside edge grass lines in North Cove north of Seven Palms one of best spots, along with Gobbler Ridge toward Tiger Creek with 1/32-ounce Laker hair jigs (white, blue/white, chartreuse, or white/pink), said Cosce. Grass lines from pig trail to Lemon Point, south end of Grassy Island, and south shore of Bird Island also good. Bass tough to come by.

10 At Lake Walk-in-the-Water, bass taking back seat to speckled perch, with good numbers of specks up to 11/2 pounds at night this week, reports Chain O'Lakes Bait and Tackle in Dundee.

11 At Crooked Lake at Babson Park, cold and windy weather keeping most anglers off water, reports Cindy at Bob's Landing. Specks slower and smaller over weekend, but should improve.

12 At Frostproof, lot of folks trying at Lake Arbuckle, but specks have been slow. Bass also sluggish.

13 In the phosphate pits south of Mulberry and Bartow, fishermen waiting for warming trends to target bass moving to shorelines for bedding season.

COMPILED BY DEL MILLIGAN