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• December 2011

A banner year for speckled perch

Posted Dec 26, 2011 by Tribune Sports

Updated Dec 26, 2011 at 05:08 PM

BY MARK COOK

The speckled perch season hasn’t even gotten into full swing yet, but based on early reports it appears it will be a banner year. Specks from Kissimmee to the Hillsborough River are being reported and are an easy catch this time of year.

Limits of the tasty panfish have come from Kissimmee over the past two weeks and anglers are reporting the fish full of roe. Look for fish to move into lily pads and grass patches on the next full moon. A minnow dipped with a cane pole in heavy cover should get good results.

If you can’t find them in the cover, troll the outside edges very slowly with small jigs and beetle-spins. The next cold front later this week may move the fish into deeper holes temporarily. The cooler water temps will cause the fish to slip into tighter schools and make getting limits easier. Try fishing several rods at different depths. Then, after you catch one, set your other baits accordingly.

Bass catches have been decent and spawning bass should start showing up after the first of the year on the rapid warm ups on the backside of cold fronts. Heavy jigs work great when sight fishing but I prefer dragging junebug plastic lizards across beds slowly, especially in stained water. Watch your line carefully as sometimes all you will see is the bait being moved by bass moving the intruding baits from their beds.