For the first time in years all 16 lakes on the South Winter Haven Chain are accessible. The canal from Lake Cannon to Lake Mirror is still very shallow but can be navigated. Fishing for the most part remains tough. Look for Bass to remain on Summer patterns until cooler weather arrives toward the end of October at which time they will begin to feed heavily. Until then, deep diving crankbaits along with Texas/Carolina rigged soft plastics fished around deep structure should continue to produce the best results. Try shad or chartreuse colored Crankbaits that dive 8 ft or deeper. For plastics junebug, redbug, or watermelon colors are always good. Shell beds, ledges, and dredge holes will all hold fish. If there’s some type of cover, growing or placed, on the structure such as hydrilla or a brushpile then the area will be even better. Fish are hard to locate this time of year but once their found it’s usually in abundance which normally means they’re easier to catch.
 Be prepared for “schoolers” to pop up anywhere especially in clear lakes. Have a shad imitating lure tied on and ready that can be cast long distances to reach the feeding fish. Topwaters, jerkbaits, and lipless crankbaits are all great schooling baits. Most fish will be smaller but there’s always some bigger ones tagging along as well. As the nights get cooler and bring down the water temperature the schooling should intensify.

Kissimmee Chain

Lots of rain has the water level up. Most areas in the lakes are clean thanks to lots of healthy, growing, vegetation which helps to filter the water and also serves as a barrier of protection against high wind and waves which can muddy up the water in these lakes in a hurry. Overall the fishing has been good. One day the bite is strong and the next it’s a little tougher. The slightly cooler nights along with the abundant rain we’re receiving should make the bite even better. Look for some fish to begin migrating away from summer hangouts and moving towards shallower water areas to feed up. Check inside and outside grasslines. Boat trails are worth trying also as fish use them to move from one area to another. Topwaters, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, swimbaits, and bladed jigs can all be productive for actively feeding fish. Use shiner or bream imitating colors. Try flipping into thicker areas of the grass with 1/2 – 1 oz Texas rigged craws or creature baits. Jigs are worth a shot as well. Black/blue, junebug, or watermelon are always good color choices.
 Look for submerged grassbeds such as eelgrass, hydrilla, or coontail growing from 3 – 8 ft. Try ripping a lipless crankbait through the grass or slow rolling spinnerbaits and bladed jigs. Texas/Carolina rigged soft plastics will take less aggressive fish from these areas.
 Floating mats such as hyacinth, water lettuce, penny wart, and mud tussocks should start holding some bigger fish as the weather cools, especially on bright sunny days. Flip mats with 1 – 1 & 1/2 oz weighted Texas rigged craws or creature baits. Don’t expect many bites, but the few bites you get can definitely be well worth the wait.

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.

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.