Whippoorwill Lodge Lake Talquin
January 7, 2023
I know it’s not quite Spring but some of us just can’t wait that long. And fortunately, the fish tend to agree. Crappie USA held a tournament on Talquin this week with about 40 registered teams. The bite had been slow since the Christmas time cold front. But these pro anglers know how to get it done and they did. By the end of the day, several teams weighed in their bag of 2lb average crappie. Big fish was 2.4.
January 21, 2023
The Reel Money Trail https://www.reelmoneyteamtrail.com/talquin.html fished today with 10 teams. Bass anglers had mixed results with some teams struggling to get their limit. While others stated they caught 40-plus fish throughout the day. Brian Smith weighed in a brag-worthy 8+ pounder.
February 5, 2023
The first week of February started off slow for the crappie fisherman. Anglers have been chomping at the bit for the fish to begin moving out of deep water and into the creeks. The sharp cold fronts we had throughout January have delayed their movement. The water temps have been hovering around 60 degrees so no worries, it’s coming. Long-line trollers and structure anglers have found some success alongside the Iron Curtain and off the main river channel in front of Harvey Mill, Ocklawaha, and Blount creeks. This weekend’s mornings were cool but blue skies and warmer afternoons prevailed. Local guide Mal Gore and Brantly Morris caught both good numbers and quality fish this week.
Bass anglers have had a nice week. The fish are still scattered with reported bites in all types of water. But several anglers have steadily caught fish moving into shallow water. Crankbaits, jerk baits, traps, jigs, and worms have produced fish. Sunday was a good day for Travis Jones he won the Quincy Bassmaster’s club tournament with a 17+ pound string. The big fish of the day was caught by another angler and weighed just under 7 pounds.
February 12, 2023
Here we go again, with lots of rain and another cold front. Just when the water temperatures were getting close to triggering a solid shallow bite! Earlier in the week there were some scattered reports of a few bass and crappie being caught in skinny water. Local guide Don Stringer found a mess of nice male crappie that began moving up. Tech anglers casting ATX baits over specks have produced. Top recent colors have been milk/chartreuse, monster, and of course Daylight to Dark Special. Nighttime anglers also did well live minnow fishing creek mouths and boat docks. This week’s front and rain will drop the water temps once again and delay things a bit. But the azaleas are blooming so don’t blink.
The NW Florida BASS Nation Kayak series held a tournament on Lake Talquin today. High winds and cold temps did not deter the 14 kayak anglers that competed. Their fish are self-photographed on a measuring stick, uploaded to a website app to record, and immediately released. Total length vs total weight determines how they place. Some great fish were caught despite the tough conditions. The leader caught a five fish limit measuring a combined 87.00”. Justin Bricklin placed third and logged in a trophy bass measuring 23.75”. He said he caught bass scattered in all types of water. His bites came on a junebug red finesse worm and a Berkley Slobberknocker bruised bladed jig. For pics of all their fish and total lengths visit TourneyX Talquin results.
February 18, 2023
For those anticipating a shallow bite early this week, their wishes were not granted. Lake talquin water temps remained around 60 degrees. And. it appears the fish have retreated back. Anglers finding any success have done so mostly in deeper water. But, this coming week’s forecast is trending warmer which hopefully will put the fish back on the move. Speck fisherman that have been working in the main river channel are beginning to ease back into the creeks. In fact, some late afternoon speck anglers have caught some fish up shallow. Bass anglers are also reporting catches of buck bass catches up shallow.
The Lake Talquin Reel Money Team Trail held their February tournament today. The day started off chilly, in the upper 30’s and only made it to around 62 by weigh-in. The team of John Gamwell and Titus Langston finished on top with a five fish bag weighing 23.25 pounds. Their biggest was a nice 6lber. I say team, but according to Titus, it was all John today. While they both caught fish every fish coming to the scales was netted by Titus. The next Reel money Talquin tournament is on March 18th.
February 24, 2023
Aside from high winds this week the weather has definitely shifted toward Spring. In fact, you might say Summer-like. Minnows, bug spray, and sunscreen have been big sellers. Water temps are just about where the bass and crappie like it. The morning bite has been slow. But late afternoon and night fisherman have fared pretty darn good. Trolling for specks back in the creeks out in 12’ of water has been good as well. Lake Talquin speckled perch for supper tonight.
Check back later. To be continued…