November brings cooler weather to our area of the central St. Johns River and surrounding lakes and this makes fishing better. It’s a great time to be on the water for speck fishing. Whether you like trolling, jigging, or drifting with minnows, November is a great month. With the high water levels in late October we’re looking for a very productive season, in fact we may have a record season for specks if we have favorable conditions.

     Try fishing Lake Woodruff a secluded 2,200 acre lake known for great Speckled Perch fishing. Use live Missouri minnows fished under a bobber or drop a small colored 1/16 oz jig in holes within the cover. When trolling use a variety of small jigs trolled slowly across the open expanse of the lake until you locate protective areas.

     One way to increase the size of your stringer is to always use the lightest line that will work for you. Ask your local fish camp for advice and current conditions. For Bass use a wild river shiner fished under floating vegetation with a weedless hook and bobber pegged at 2 ½ to 3 feet. For more realistic action, never use swivels, lead or leaders on your line and always leave plenty of slack on the water until its time to set the hook. For anglers that use artificial lures try a Devils Horse. Work lure slowly around cover with a steady retrieve.  Call us anytime for an updated fishing report.

 

With the summer rains August water levels on the St. Johns River remain fairly high and along with a strong current we are experiencing some extra tannic acid. The high water should bring on an exceptional crappie season later in the fall. Right now fish early and late for bass and bluegill. Midday the higher water temps mean fishing the drop offs where bass are seeking more comfortable cooler water. Use crickets and beetle spins and small minnows for warmouth perch. Some real nice catfish are coming from the deeper bends of the Norris and Ziegler dead rivers and the St. Johns. Also fish tree tops all day and edges of lily pads early and late for large mouth. Some real good sized fish are caught during the slower periods. Dark colored plastic worms, top water plugs and wild river shiners should produce a lunker or two. Always check with the fishing camp staff. They are usually to share info on summer bass patterns and locations. Many offer free maps to guide you.

     When there is a combination of large fields of emergent cover, like lily pads and a variety of submerging cover, like eel grass, hydriilla, and coon tail grass, things can look really good for bass fishing. When you couple this with good water quality, and a big run of threadfin shad, you are looking at the glory hole.
     We have seen lots of quality bass taken this spring and you can expect the trend to continue for May.

     Rapala and Devils Horse are great baits real early. Also 3/8oz spinner baits are accounting for the same good catches. But, plastic worms and frogs allow you to penetrate the mass of cover better and is probably the best bait. Speed worms are wildly popular and are winning local tournaments every week.

     Pan fish will explode in May. The shell beds on the west side of Lake Woodruff will harbor spawning shell cracker. Bluegill, as well, will be spawning all over the lake. Periods of spawn will last 20 days each month. This is the time to “pitch” the banks of Norris Dead River with live crickets or 1/32 oz beetle spins. Large bluegill can be taken this way. Use the same method in the lakes by pitching to the edge of the cover line.

     Many fishermen that observe catch and release for bass are not hesitant to keep a big mess of bluegill for the table fare. With a big limit of 50, it is easy to feed a lot of folk. They fry up pretty nice.

     Check with local camps for updated fishing reports. They see the catches coming in daily, and can point you in the right direction. Ask for your free fishing map at Highland Park Fish Camp.

    Even though the weather wasn’t consistent in January we still saw good catches of Speckled Perch brought in and February should be no different. In fact it could be the best month of the season. February is an excellent month for Specks (Crappie) and you can use all kinds of fishing methods to catch this much sought after table fare. Trolling, jigging and drifting with minnows are some of the most productive methods used depending on weather conditions, moon phase and water temperatures. Some of the best jig and lure colors for February will be yellow, blue and silver and pink. Make sure to use lighter test line while trolling. Find the best speed for trolling and then shorten or lengthen your line as needed. When Specks move to more shallow water to spawn, vertical jigging and pitching a cork and jig or live minnow against the bank will produce the most fish. When the fish aren’t good against the bank, try drifting or trolling the open waters of one of the many lakes that connect to the St. Johns River. Lake Woodruff has long been rated one of the top lakes in Florida for both Largemouth Bass and Speckled Perch.  February is also a great month for Bass. Many Bass will spawn this month, but not all of them. Wild river shiners are a great bait for these large mouth Bass. Fish these shiners against floating vegatation under an egg shaped float with a weedless hook. For the angler that favors artificial lures try large top water plugs, slow roll large spinner baits or throw a 9 inch trick worm with no weight. Remember, the colder the water temperature the slower the retrieve. 
         Highland Park Fish Camp has a large stocked pond for the novice fishermen to learn the great art of angling. Call us any time for more info or an updated fishing report  1-800-525-3477

 

     October is one of my favorite months of the year to fish. It’s a wonderful transition from a long hot summer to the beginning of fall. As the first north winds begin to cool the water down, it excites the fisherman and the fish. With cooler water temperatures the Bass and Speckled Perch begin their feeding and fattening in preparation for the spawning periods that occur several times throughout the season.

     Bass will be more active this month, and wild river shiners are a great live bait that will almost always produce this time of year. October provides excellent top water action as well. The Devils Horse is a proven bait in the dark tannic stained water of the great St. Johns River and connecting Lakes. Another fall favorite is the Buzz Bait, it is one of the easiest lures to use, you can’t go wrong. Just cast and retrieve over many types of vegetation.

     October is also month that kicks off the Speck season. With water temperatures cooling down, specks or (Speckled Perch) start to feed. Early in the season you can use a variety of different fishing methods. Open water fishing usually is the best early on in the season. Drifting live minnows or slow trolling 1/32 oz hard heads or plastic jigs are a local favorite here at Highland Park and on Lake Woodruff. Last years best colors were yellow, chartreuse and pink. The use of light line, 10 pound or less, is essential. Last year Lake Woodruff a 2,200 acre shallow round bowl  produce some of the biggest Specks we’ve seen in our 48 years of establishment here at Highland Park Fish Camp. We are looking forward to another great Speck season starting this month. Come in and ask for a free fishing map and our friendly staff will show you right where you need to be.

   August is no doubt one of the hottest months of the year, but that shouldn’t stop you from fishing. Change up your pattern to accommodate you and the fish. Start out early before daylight and be at your location by the time the sun comes up. Those first 3 to 4 hours are going to be your best fishing time, once it starts getting hot the bass usually retreat to deeper cooler water. Dark colored plastic worms, top water lures and wild river shiners are your best bet to landing a nice size large mouth bass.
     Lake Woodruff is a great place to start, only 2,200 acres, it is a very easy lake to fish; there is very little depth variation so target cover. White or chartreuse spinner baits and dark colored plastic worms will account for most of your catch. In the midday heat, try the main St. Johns River fishing drop offs where the bass retreat for cooler water temperatures. Crank baits a great method to use. Last month we started to see catches of Speckled Perch coming in from Lake Woodruff. It is unusual to see catches of Specks during the summer months, but fishermen have been productive in Lake Woodruff using the vertical jigging method.
     Bluegill will continue to go strong through out August. Pitching crickets along the edge of cover and tree tops early in the morning and late afternoon will be most productive. The Norris Dead River is a great 3 mile stretch with not a lot of boat traffic, perfect for bluegill fishing. Come into Highland Park Fish Camp and we will mark you an up to date free fishing map.

   April is a fantastic month for fishing here on the central St. Johns River. Not only is the weather great but fishing is good too. We are winding down on our speck (Crappie) season but just beginning our Bluegill and shell cracker season. The best method for catching these fish is to use live crickets fished under a small bobber against the shoreline cover or tree tops. Depending on the moon phase you can use live worms fished on the bottom of shell beds. You can also pitch beetle spins near cover and troll various small spinners and lures in open water, a 1/32 oz beetle spin black with yellow stripe is a classic lure to try. The limit on bluegill and shell cracker is 50 per person.
    This is an exciting month for bass fishing; we should see lots of schooling bass. In the early mornings look for pods of threadfin shad to hit the top of the water, this is a great time to use your favorite top water lures and jerk baits. Spinner baits will also work if you are using artificial. The best live bait will be the threadfin shad or small wild river shiners. If the action slows down in the afternoon, try plastic worms in and around lily pads and shoreline cover.

     February might be the peak month for speckled perch (Crappie) this season.  Recently we have seen bigger Specks and more limits then earlier in the season, with multiple two pounder’s coming in weekly.  A verity of different fishing methods will work this month depending on water temperatures, moon phases and weather conditions. Trolling or drifting with minnows and jigs will be the most effective tactic, until Specks move to shallow water to spawn. When fish are preparing to spawn, vertical jigging and pitching a cork and jig or live minnow against the bank will produce the most fish.

     Lake Woodruff has long been rated one of the top lakes in Florida for both Largemouth Bass and Speckled Perch. February is a great month for Bass fishing here on the Central St. Johns River and surrounding lakes. Late January produced many trophy size large mouths, with wild river shiners being most productive.  Wild river shiners are proven bait but many artificial baits will be effective this month too.  Top water plugs, slow roll large spinner baits or try throwing a 9 inch trick worm with no weight. If you use a weighted worm try a slow steady retrieve. The colder the water temperature the slower you should retrieve your bait.
Follow us on Facebook at Highland Park Fish Camp for fishing reports, photos and more. Or call us anytime for an updated report 1-800-525-3477

October is one of my favorite months of the year to fish. It’s a wonderful transition from a long hot summer to the beginning of fall. As the first north winds begin to cool the water down, it excites the fisherman and the fish. With cooler water temperatures the Bass and Speckled Perch begin their feeding and fattening in preparation for the spawning periods that occur several times throughout the season.
     Bass will be more active this month, and wild river shiners are a great live bait that will almost always produce this time of year. October provides excellent top water action as well. The Devils Horse is a proven bait in the dark tannic stained water of the great St. Johns River and connecting Lakes. Another favorite will be the buzz bait, it is one of the easiest lures to use. Just cast and retrieve over many types of vegetation.
     October is also the month that really kicks off the Speck season. With water temperatures dropping, Specks start to feed. Early in the season you can use a variety of different methods. Open water fishing usually is the best early on in the season. Drifting lives minnows or slow trolling 1/32 oz hard heads or plastic jigs are a local favorite here at Highland Park and on the Lake Woodruff. Using light line, 10 pounds or less is essential. During the last few months many nice Speck catches came in and with cooler weather approaching we are expecting a great Speck season.

     We are having record hot weather over here on Florida’s most famous river, and it looks like September will hold more of the same. But not to worry, fish early and late or straight through day for some real good catches of largemouth bass or Bluegill and Bream. For Bream local guide Capt. Tom Hodges says to fish the outside edges of lily pads with crickets or try mouths of creeks and float crickets with small tapered bobber, use light line, small lead and a #6 hook. If Bluegills are bedding try drifting over shell beds until you locate the hot spots, then anchor over them and try for your limit of 50 per person.
    The dog days of summer have not prevented the lunker Bass from biting. We have reported many Bass 10 pounds and over coming from Lake Woodruff in the last month. For largemouth Bass, a favorite lure is the buzz bait, because they are weed less. Throw them over pads, grass, tree tops or anywhere you think might hold bass. If you get a follow up or short strike don’t slow your retrieve. Throw back over and over to try the same spot. If you don’t get a hit then throw a dark colored plastic worm or a swim bait.

     Wild river shiners are always your best bet to catch a trophy Bass in Florida waters. Fish them against cover. The staff at Highland Park Fish Camp will give you a free fishing map and point you in the right direction.