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Fish are slamming baits down south

Posted Feb 9, 2012 by The Tampa Tribune

Updated Feb 9, 2012 at 05:55 PM

By FRANK SARGEANT

Captain Van Hubbard reports from Lemon Bay that 73-degree water temperatures have snook active, along with everything else. He was able to catch white bait (scaled sardines) a couple of months early, and he managed to bring seven grand slams to the boat in a single day—a slam is a snook, a redfish and a trout on the same trip. Hubbard advises chumming lightly with live bait and fishing them unweighted on spinning tackle around oyster bars, potholes and outside bars; http://www.captvan.com.

From Lake Okeechobee, captain Angie Douthit reports excellent crappie action, mostly in open water early and around the weeds at mid-day. Areas to try include Kings Bar, Taylor Creek, the Kissimmee River and several locations on the North Shore. Small jigs and minnows do the job. Douthit says the bass bite is on, with topwaters, soft plastics. Rat-L-Traps and spinnerbaits all effective. Tampa anglers Artie Shaw and Mike Laroche got a fish weighing more than 7 pounds, along with a lot of others on a recent trip. Some of the better areas including Kreamer and Rita islands, the West Wall, parts of Observation Shoal, Monkey Box, some parts of the North Shore, Kings Bar and J&S; .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Water is coming up fast at Rodman Reservoir, but there’s still a good chance for a 10-pound bass there for those who run wild shiners under the hyacinths. The giant baits are available at bait shops in Orange Springs and Salt Springs near the lake, northeast of Ocala.

Tribune correspondent Frank Sargeant can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).