"Chuggin' down coffee when I shoulda been sleeping"

"Chuggin' down coffee when I shoulda been sleeping..." is a lyric from a Mark Chesnutt song called It Sure Is Monday.

Well, that was me yesterday before work. Right now they are biting hard before the sun comes up. It was a multi-species morning with bass and crappie being caught. 

I walked both ponds in the morning. I missed one really nice bass. It made it to the bank and then spit the lure. Damn! I will say since I changed out my wacky rig to using Gamakatsu Octopus circle hooks I have absolutely increased the number of fish I bring to the bank. For whatever reason, I did not get a good hookset.

Another thing to note was the Crappie hitting top water. I've never experienced that before! I noticed that fish were coming up and hitting something on the top of the water. So, I started to do a "Walk The Dog" retrieval with my Zoom Flukes, and Bam! The crappie were coming up and hitting the fluke. That was fun!  Stay Committed, Stay Driven!

The Bite Is On During The Spawn 2021

 

Friday 5.14.2021 Morning

My son and I have been taking full advantage of the spawn season.  The last three days have been unbelievable in terms of the bite.  The bass are hungry and aggressive.  My last post talked about catching my first fish on the Zoom Fluke. Once I figured out how to catch fish with this lure, I can tell you the last three days have been one of the funnest times I've had fishing.

Lil' Shaka also got in on the action the last couple of days.  I showed him how to use the Zoom Fluke, and he was able to catch some good looking bass with the lure as well. He is also very comfortable using jigs with Berkeley Gulp Minnows. This is definitely his "go to" and what he is most confident with right now.

Lil' Shaka has caught multiple species the last couple of days on his jigs and minnows.  He caught crappie, bluegill, and bass.  Really amazing stuff, and he is turning into a really good fisherman.  It is always fun to "double-up" when catching fish. You know you are on "the bite" when you can catch fish together.

Additional Notes and Thoughts

• Fluke retrieval technique was jerk jerk pause...but also slow retrieve with little jerks that definitely mimicked a dying shad in the water.  It worked very well.
• Going early before the sunrise proved to be the best time. Fish aggressive and hungry.
• I also pulled out the wacky worm and caught a few bass that way as well.
• Wacky worms and Flukes have done really well for me during the spawn.

May 2021 Early Morning Fishing Entry

 

It was exciting this morning! I hit the pond before work. Now that the sun is rising earlier, it is easier to go fishing in the early morning hours. The air temp was still a bit cold (especially for May). I think it was around 47-48 degrees outside at around 6:45am. 

But guess what? The exciting part was being able to catch some bass on a new lure that I have previously never caught any fish on.  That lure my Ohana is the Salty Super Fluke by Zoom in the Bluegill Flash pattern.  I was able to catch 3 bass this morning on this lure.

I fished this fluke in a weightless configuration, and I used a G-Lock hook size 1/0 from Gamakatsu that fits very niceless as a weedless option. The hook seems to be almost a perfect fit and does not look too big for the presentation.  I through this on one of my baitcasters with a medium power pole that works well with "jerkbait" type presentations.  This is exactly how I was presenting the fluke.  The fish weren't really biting on a fast "walk-the-dog" type action.  Instead, I was allowing the fluke to float and sink a bit and did more of a jerk, jerk, pause.  Bam!  They were biting, and I now have caught fish on a new lure. It was fun! Stay Committed, Stay Driven!

Spring 2021 Fishing Check In

I have not posted in some time. I've been very busy at work, with the family, and of course with fishing. This is the time of the year during spawn and post-spawn that the fish are biting like crazy. So, I am taking full advantage of the situation! 

I picked up the wacky rig method for this spring and I am absolutely loving it. I have been fishing the Yum Dingers and Senkos in the weightless wacky rig method and the fish are absolutely destroying these lures.

In the picture, you cannot even see the Yum Dinger because this fish absolutely choked it down. I wish you all luck in your fishin' adventures. Stay Committed, Stay Driven.

Easter Sunday Fishing 2021

 

I have not posted in a little while.  Been busy with other things like work, coach, and training the Lil' Shaka in baseball lately.  I was able to get outside and fish a little bit during Easter Sunday.  I caught this little beauty on a crawdad soft plastic.  

These little craws are called NetBait Paca Craw and they look spectacular.  The one I was using is pictured above.  This is their Black and Blue color version.  Only the tips are a blue flake color.  The producer of these lures is American Baitworks and I was very impressed with the way these craws look in the water.

I've never really caught a bass on a soft plastic craw, so this was the first time.  It felt very similar to how a bass might take a plastic worm. I felt a little tug and then maybe one more tug and I set the hook.  It was fun!

Now that I know I can catch fish on these lures I will continue to try them our and see if I can catch more bass on these craws.  I hope all of you are having a great day, Stay Committed, Stay Driven.