The Kit Lake Solace

October 2025

          It was a month of doubt in the good on Kit Lake, my home water in central Florida’s largemouth bass country. Good situations added to uncertainty. The Cubs kept on playing. And unusually pretty weather conditions moved our fish to different spots.

Continued low cloudy water, and the novel clear air, gave us concern. Even hurricanes and cold fronts failed to drop water in our lake, and on our lawns. So, we had to find our fish in unusual spots.

Conditions forced Morgan to study. Like trout anglers who make the fewest casts to the surest spots, or catchers eyeing batters as they dig in, Morgan spent a lot of time watching; She watched the wind. She watched the swimming birds. She watched the parade of bluebird days in the middle of the month that calmed the surface of Kit Lake, slowed bug activity, and sent fish elsewhere. (Good days for golf). But the cormorants and anhinga eventually returned, and showed schooling fish to be in deeper water, on downwind portions of the lake, at least forty feet from shore. Between the casts of elementary kids skipping school to toss bait nets, she used a dropper leader of about 36 inches to hang an olive wooly bugger from a small pencil popper.

Diehard anglers, who were on the lake in the good weather all month, got less enjoyment fishing deep, than from other techniques. Elton found success presenting a bait fish imitation with sinking fly line.

          The unusual and changing conditions forced us to scramble. But late in the month, early cool air brought mist to our waters and hope for both topwater action, and crappy action, next month.