I often fish Lake Manatee, a 4,000-acre reservoir located nine miles east of I-75 in Manatee County, Fla. It can be a tough lake to fish – if you don’t know how to fish it. That’s the reason it gets little pressure and I often have it to myself. The lake is full of big bluegill, bass, speckled perch (black crappie), channel catfish, sunshine bass and shellcracker. There are times when the fishing is tremendous.
I usually start out with a No. 10 popper, but I end up using a No. 12 nymph under a strike indicator. You wouldn’t believe the fish I catch on the nymph. Not only do I catch numbers of fish, but also some sizeable ones, too.
Right now, the speckled perch bite is pretty amazing. They’re in the shallows and spawning. Most of them are fairly large, with a small one going at least a pound.
Haven’t caught any channel catfish in the past three trips which is surprising. Usually, I’ll land or hook at least 4-5 cats per outing.
Surprise of the last trip was the largest tilapia I’ve ever caught. I estimate it at 4-5 pounds. Hit the No. 12 nymph. Quite a battles on my 2 weight!
