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.

Kissimmee Chain

 Pick your poison on the Kissimmee Chain right now. Many 20 lb. and even a few 30 lb. five fish limits have been brought to the scales recently in tournaments. Topwater, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, soft plastics and anything in between will catch a few fish. Daily rains are keeping the water temperature down and the Bass activity up. Many different patterns are producing big fish and lots of them, almost resembling a springtime bite right here in the dog days of summer. Areas in or around current are hard to beat. Just about all the creeks and canals that feed the lakes are flowing strong. Even out in some of the mid-lake areas current can be detected especially around trails or cuts through the vegetation. The running water bite in and around the canals/rivers should continue to be good so long as the rain keeps falling. Crankbaits and Texas/Carolina rigged soft plastics will produce. Remember to let the current move your lures downstream.

 Bass are feeding heavily on shad early in the mornings along outside grasslines in Lake Kissimmee. Throw topwaters and spinnerbaits for about an hour then switch over to a flippin’ stick armed with 1/2-3/4 oz weight and black and blue craw as the action slows. The grassline bite can be painfully slow through the mid-day, however it may produce a monster anytime. There’s a few fish offshore on shell beds and brushpiles but not a very consistent pattern right now probably due to higher, cooler water.
Lake Tohohas by far been the hottest lake on the chain. Unlike Lake Kissimmee, Toho has abundant offshore vegetation. Hydrilla is growing all over the lake. In some areas it’s submerged in others it’s matted up in 8 ft of water. Try topwater early along the edges of the hydrilla. Weedless frogs fished over the mats can be very productive. You need a strong 7 ft. or longer heavy action rod with at least 50 lb braided line to wrestle a giant Bass out of a dense hydrilla mat. I use Deep South Rods 7′ 2″ froggin-riggin rod, it’s super strong yet has just enough tip to get the proper action out of your bait. After the topwater bite slows flip a 3/4 – 1oz Texas rigged soft plastic through the hydrilla mats. Also try finding the deeper submerged edges of the hydrilla and throw Texas/Carolina rigs. Fish very slowly along the bottom. Lipless crankbaits also are worth a try ripped through the submerged vegetation especially if there’s some chop on the water. Unfortunately I’ve heard rumor of hydrilla treatment on Toho which may make this hot action short-lived.     

      
Winter Haven Chain and surrounding lakes

 If you like fishing offshore structure, catching really big Bass, and can take the heat, then Winter Haven is the place to be in August. With the exception of the spawn season I don’t think there’s a better time of year to catch a trophy Bass here or most anywhere for that matter. During this time a Bass’ metabolism is running at a higher rate than at any other time of year. Therefore they eat more and in turn become heavier. What makes these lakes a cut above most other lakes in summer is the amount of deeper offshore structure for the Bass to relate to and the huge schools of threadfin shad and for them to feed on. Crayfish are a big item on the menu as well. Also bream, which is what the larger Bass are feeding on, move to deeper structure during summer to feed on mussels and other crustaesians. Find a school of bream and you can bet there’s at least a few big Bass hanging around them. With that in mind choose your lures accordingly. Deep diving crankbaits and carolina/texas rigged worms are hard to beat. In green water lakes bream tend to be lighter in color so use lighter colored lures such as shad or faded chartreuse colored crankbaits. In clearer water bream are usually darker so you may want to try a darker hues such as purple or blue to mimic them. Shad colored baits are more universal and usually are effective in both water types.
 Although Bass will relate to any hard bottom structure just fine, if there is some form of cover available on the structure, it will make that good spot a great spot. Whether it’s submerged grass, brush, or anything else the key is making contact with your lures. In the green lakes fish the 6 – 12 ft range and 8 – 16 ft range. Use crankbaits that will reach the bottom and remain there for at least 1/3 of the retrieve. Keep that bait digging in the sand and bouncing off any object it may encounter. Fish soft plastics slowly along the bottom. Slow dragging using your trolling motor can be very effective. Use larger worms 7-10 in. Redbug, junebug, blueberry, and watermelon are always good color choices.
 Boat docks are another alternative. Look for docks in or close to deeper water. Pitch texas rigged creature style baits as far beneath them as you can. Also spinnerbaits and shallow running crankbaits can be productive around the docks.

Central Florida, 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.