July Fishing Forecast

Kissimmee Chain

Don’t know what’s hotter, the weather or the bite. The Kissimmee Chain continues to amaze. Surface temperature is approaching 90 degrees yet tournament fishermen are still finding 30 plus lbs of fish consistently. Don’t know of too many fisheries around the country that can compete with that. Rising water temp mixed with low water levels have fish searching out deeper, cooler, areas. There’s still plenty of fish along outside grasslines. Topwaters and spinnerbaits will work early then switch to flippin’ a 1/2 oz or heavier Texas rigged black/blue or watermelon craw or creature bait. Sometimes casting soft plastics with lighter weights along grass edges can be more productive especially in clear water areas.  Junebug, blueberry, watermelon, and redbug are all great color choices. 7-10 in Ribbontail or paddletail worms along with 5 in stickworms paired with 1/4 oz or less weights is a good combination for casting. Look for offshore hydrilla, eelgrass, or peppergrass, submerged or matted as either can and will hold fish. Try 3/8-3/4 oz white spinnerbaits or shad colored 1/4-3/4 oz rattlebaits over submerged grassbeds. Work Carolina/Texas rigged worms slowly along bottom to pick off less aggressive fish. In thicker, matted hydrilla try topwater frogs/rats over the top of the mat then punch through it with 1/2 oz or heavier craw, creature bait, or jig. Pray for a breeze as the hydrilla gnats will be out in full force. Brushpiles planted offshore and shell beds should also be holding fish. Shad or chartreuse colored Deep diving crankbaits along with Texas/Carolina rigged soft plastics will produce in these areas.
Winter Haven

Finally, there’s enough water to go from one end of the chain to the other. Only lakes Mirror and Spring are inaccessible on the South Chain and lake Smart on the North Chain. Both chains still need about 2 ft to reach normal levels. Overall fishing is pretty tough. There’s plenty of fish to catch and they are biting. The hard part, as always, is finding them. Most fish are in deeper, cooler, water. Only the deepest of shoreline areas will hold any concentrations of fish in most lakes and these areas become stagnant after about 9 a.m. The one exception to this is boat docks which provide cooler, shaded, water for bass to wait out the day in. Pitch Texas rigged soft plastics such as craws, lizards, worms, or creature baits as far underneath the docks as possible. Spinnerbaits and crankbaits can be good around the docks as well. Look for offshore structure such as shell beds, ledges, humps, and dredge holes. Find some sort of cover on the structure such as brush or hydrilla to locate schools of fish. Fish these areas with shad or chartruese deep diving crankbaits and Texas/Carolina rigged worms. Junebug, redbug, and watermelon colored worms always good here. In more stained water lakes concentrate on depths of 6-12 ft. In clear lakes 8+ ft. Also look to mid-lake areas in clear water lakes for schoolers. Toss topwaters, rattlebaits, and jerkbaits to these mostly 1-2 pounders. Occasionally a big fish is mixed in with the smaller fish. Tournament fishermen please remember to take good care of your catch. There’s way too many dead fish being weighed in. Use ice to cool down the water in your livewells. Surface water is about 10-15 degrees hotter than water 8 ft or deeper. That variance will cause temperature shock in fish and kill them. Two 32 oz bottles filled with water and frozen will keep most livewells cool all day. Start the morning with one and add the other halfway through the tournament. Also fish caught deeper than 15 ft down need to have their air bladders vented. It only takes about 30 seconds to vent a fish and save it’s life. The vent tool I use is a bends mender which can be found cheap online. There are videos on youtube showing how to properly vent a fish.  

Central Florida is where you’ll find beautiful lakes, great bass fishing and Monte Goodman. Monte has made a career of doing what he enjoys and does best as a professional bass guide and successful tournament angler. Guiding and fishing competitively for the past 15 years has given him the experience, skill and knowledge it takes to be a great fisherman. Monte is also a vocal advocate of Florida’s habitat and conservation efforts, supports and practices “catch and release” himself and encourages others to do the same. A member of tournament trails such as FLW, FOMNTT, BFL, and B.A.S.S just to name a few. Credited with well over a hundred local tournament wins, was back to back Angler of the Year in the largest B.A.S.S. affiliated club in the world, and has won numerous Big Bass honors. Monte’s ability to adapt, his versatility and lengthy resume has earned him a reputation anyone would be proud of.