Middleton's Fish Camp

It is Sunday and the weather turned icky, so I want to get this out in case we have some decent days coming up, and it will give you all a heads up on our fishing last week. Banner week for specks! Tony and Jeanne went home today after a very successful vacation week here, and they reported that they caught at least 160 during their stay!

A lot went back, as they cull their fish, and there so many smaller specks out there; these went back too. They gave Joe and me a big Ziplock with 14 filets that looked like they came out of a mold. All big and fat! For the most part, they drift and jig. They use various colors, depending on the condition of the water. Most were caught in about 4 feet, on the edges. Our good friend, Hootie, from Georgia, is a big bass fisherman, and he went home earlier this week. He prefers artificials, but will use a shiner from time to time. His biggest fish here was about 8 lbs, but he decided to try jigging for specks and although he will bass fish up in Georgia, he will most likely speck fish some too. They say it gets in your blood.

Our bass are slow and lazy, with this crazy weather not helping the spawn any! We have shiners, but folks are still using plastics, and some topwater in the afternoon. The tagging is finished and if you are lucky, your trip might be paid for with a $200 tag from FWC! There were fish kills all over Florida, but mostly these were fish that are not native to our areas, like the talipia and armored cats. I have not seen any bass, bluegills or other species here. I am posting this through my host because I am locked out again, and she has to figure out what is happening. E-mails may not get through either, so give us a call if you need help or have questions. Till next week, good fishing and God Bless.

Got blocked again, so we changed things a bit and hopefully, that won't happen anymore.  I was excited to tell everyone about the speck fishing, 'cause it really turned on this past weekend, and so far, this week!  The M canal has been holding a lot of fish and we are selling a lot of minnows!  Terry and his bunch from the west coast took home over 120 beauties, caught mostly in the late afternoon and early evening.  We have some friends from up in Brevard here for a week and they caught about 30 yesterday and atleast that many today , but they culltheir fish, so if it was not a large one, they put them back.  There are a lot of small speck in the lake, which is good because they grow pretty fast.

Not a lot of bass fishermen!  We are selling a lot of shiners and this week has been good weather for the catchers, who work very hard!  We still deliver them to Garcias, but that is as far as we go.  We lost some fish during the cold weather, but no good fish-mostly talipia and those armored catfish that are trash fish anyway.  Have not seen the first bluegill, bass or speck. 

Weather is beautiful and gonna' stay that way, for a change.  WE still have some units available, here and there in the upcoming months, so if you decide to pay us a visit, we'll try our best to accomodate you.

Joe  is making some beautiful jigs, and we have sold many. Each year, he seems to outdo himself in colors and tying.  If you are looking for a different type of speck jig, come on out and see what he has to offer.

Till next week, good fishing and God Bless.

My computer would not let me post until today, but honestly, there is nothing to talk about!  It was so cold this past weekend that we did not open the store Saturday or Sunday.  We are not equipped to handle weather in the 20's and both Joe and I decided no one in their right minds would fish anyway!!

It is warming up nicely (70 today) and gonna' be 80 by Saturday.  We do have some speck fishermen out who have been fishing the canal (deep) and are catching some nice fish.  They are not jumping in the boats, but it is looking better.  There are also some bass guys out today and no one has come in yet. Shiners are non-exsistant!  The weather has knocked them down deep too and the catchers are very frustrated!  They are reporting some fish kills, especially at GArcias.  We haven't seen any dead fish around here, but some species can't take water in the low 50's, and ours has been lower than that.  Hopefully, the shiners will come up to bait and the bass will get hungry!  It is that time of year.

With that said, I will close this better late than never report and get on with the day.  Till next week, good fishing and God Bless.

OK, New Year is here and I hope it will be a good one for all!  It is SOOO cold here.  We are not physically equipped for 30 degrees!  Thin blood they say, for us Crackers!

With the cold has come the wind, so fishing has been cruddy! Some reports in today tell me that specks are being caught in the M canal, where you are kinda' out of the wind, but it is still cold.  Bass are there and the FWC is to begin the tagging this week-if they don't freeze out on the water, so a bass can be worth some money if you are lucky.  Gene Reedy told me that he was catching bass in a foot or 2 of water, which means that the females are begining to bed.  That should last for the next 3 months or so and that is when the fish are fat from the roe.  Best time to go after a big lunker!  Catfish are everywhere, especially around the cypress trees and the mouths of the creeks.  Few shellcrackers, but even the bluegills slowed down with this drastic weather change.

As you know, my reports are pretty accurate, and I try to give them truthfully.  There are a lot of fish in the lake, as the FWC tells us, after shocking.  If you are new to our area and want to give Blue Cypress a try,come on out .  Our birds are coming in each night, so the osprey population is growing fast.  We finally put our sign out at the road, but if you need directions, give us a call. The road is still pretty good, and paving sure makes it easier for boat trailers.

Till next week, good fishing and God Bless!