I naturally had to take a couple of rods and reels just to try my luck on these lakes. I first visited Lake Summit and saw a couple of anglers on the south shore fishing the grass line. I headed towards them, fishing with plastic worms, and believe it or not I did not get a hit for over 100 yards when I approached Robert Harris and Jim Reiter who were fishing for speckled perch.

They had caught about 20 and most were fairly large. They said they had also been fishing with crank baits for bass but never got a hit.

Speckled perch fishing in the chain should be good through March with your best bet to drift with minnows or troll with Hal Flies or small spinners over grass beds for some good action.

Bass fishing in the Chain is slow with some being caught on shiners or plastic worms fished slowly around cattails. Bass should begin to bed this month and continue through March. Try plastic worms along the grass in the june bug color for good results.

Other lakes on the chain are producing good catches of speckled perch but some of them are not accessible by boat as the canals are still low.

In Lake Istopoga, specks are really turning on with the cooler water temperatures. Drift live Missouri minnows and grass shrimp in open water, or troll with Hal flies for schooling fish. Look for areas with sandy bottoms around bulrush and cattails, and fish a grass shrimp under a cork for spawning fish.

Largemouth bass fishing can be tough, with cold fronts slowing the fishing on a regular basis. Live wild shiners are the best bait to use if you are looking for a big one. Bass will begin to spawn in late January, and will be moving into areas in and around bulrush (buggy whips). This will be the best time to switch totally to plastic worms.

Lake Parker in Lakeland has been giving up good catches of specks, which can be caught by drifting live minnows or trolling with Hal flies and small spinners over open water, with chartreuse, pink and white being the best colors to use.

Many specks have been caught while fishing from the pier in the southeast corner of the lake by the power plant. Largemouth bass can be taken during the cooler months on live wild shiners.

Try flipping plastic worms in red shad colors in and around cattails and bulrush (buggy whips). Bass in the canals around the power plant should be more active due to warmer water temperatures than the rest of the lake. Catfish can be caught on chicken liver.

Lake Marion has been producing good catches of speckled perch with some running over a pound. Try Hal Flies or minnows while drifting. Bass fishing is slow but should pick up soon as they will be going on the beds this month and that is the time to get out the plastic worms. At this time, a few big bass are being caught while fishing with large shiners.

Lake Pierce has been giving up a few nice speckled perch catches on minnows. Bass fishing has been slow but with bedding season heading our way it will not be long until some big bass will be taken out of this lake. Some catfish are being caught on cut bait.

Get out on the lakes and try your luck for some of the best fishing right here in Central Florida. Take a youth with you on your next trip out. Keep those lines tight and we will see you on the pond this week.

Bill Chestnut can be contacted at 863-299-1331 or 863-255-3397. His e-mail address is outdoorramblings@msn.com.