Well, the first fishing excursion of 2022 was at a local pond in the regular location. It was the same pond the Lil' Shaka and I fished at on New Year's Eve 2021, but the conditions were completely different. It was only 30 degrees for the high! Pretty amazing how fast the weather can change here in the heartland.
The first fish of the year 2022 for me was a CRAPPIE. You probably could have guessed as much considering how cold the water was. The temperature the next couple of days will get down into the teens. When I walked up to the pond, there was noticeable ice on the pond in certain places. So the water was extremely cold.
The second, and only other fish I caught on this day was a bass. I was messing around with my ultra light pole with a little jig spinner and curly tail trailer...I was able to get bit one time on it as you can see above. Overall, I did not find the crappie hole yet, and it might be too much of a drastic change in the weather for them. If we get more stable low temperatures, we'll see if the crappie start to get more active. Cheers to all of you, Stay Committed, Stay Driven.
When I woke up in the morning, it was 18 degrees fahrenheit. The high for the day got to a balmy 30 degrees. Lil' Shaka and Lil' Sis do not go back to school until Thursday. Today, we focused on some tee work in the garage, and then headed outside to hit heavy balls. Nothing special, just gettting the time in needed. Stay Committed, Stay Driven.
It is already Monday January 3rd, 2022. Wow! Time flies already. I wanted to make sure that I document the last fishing excursion that Lil' Shaka and I did for 2021. This is a familiar pond that is in our regular rotation. You've seen us catch som really nice bass and crappie from this pond many times over. Well, on December 31st, 2021 we did really great with the bass! We caught 8 or 9 nine total fish, with all of them being bass with the exception of one crappie that I caught on a lipless crankbait.
The temperature that day got into the low 60s. I definitely think the water temperature was above 50 degrees which helped to get the bass active for the day. It was mostly overcast for entire day with the sun barely peeking through the clouds ever so slightly. The current was blowing into some of the points and a cove that we've had luck fishing at times. The bass and crappie tend to migrate into the cove and sit off the points where the current is headed. The wind is moving North West at this pond when this happens and it can produce fish the entire day.
Sure enough, we were ON THEM right away! This was the first one I caught on a trusty jerkbait by H20 Express, the Sexy Shad version. The bass have been destroying this one this fall and winter. I plan on continuing to use this jerkbait through the winter and pre-spawn. I defintely think it will keep producing nice bass.
A big, big milestone was achieved by the Lil' Shaka on this fishing excursion. He caught two bass (first ones ever) on a chatterbait setup. The chatterbait color was all white and the trailer he was using was a zoom fluke junior in white as well. The reason he decided not to use a normal paddle tail swimbait trailer is because he wanted to produce less action in the water for this time of year. Well, that paid off! He caught not one, but two nice bass with this lure. Sometimes, catching your first fish on a lure is all you need to gain confidence with it. I am sure he will now want more chatterbaits for his arsenal in the winter and pre-spawn coming up!
I wish all of you a wonderful and prosperous New Year in 2022. I am blessed to have a great family. I am blessed to spend time with the family at the end of the year. I am blessed to have been given the time to reflect, and to think through how I can be better in the New Year of 2022. I am blessed to have a chance to work with people that truly care about others. Stay Committed, Stay Driven in 2022. Good things to come for all of us!!!
It was the day before Christmas and all through the lake not a creature was swimming...except for this nice 2.5 pounder! 😁 I caught this beauty on the Suspended Jerk Bait by H20 Express (Academy Brand) Sexy Shad Color. It got up to 66 degrees which is obviously unseasonably warm at this time in the year. There is no chance for the white snow Christmas this year as it will be in the 60s again tomorrow.
This bass was a chunk-a-wonka. For whatever reason this bass was nice and fat. It definitely looked like it was still very actively feeding. It was a very healthy bass and really fun to catch. I didn't catch anything else on this day, but catching this one made it all worth it.
Tonight as I write this, I am thankful and fortunate to have a great family and great friends. We made a Rib Roast tonight with some Garlic Mushrooms, Caesar Salad, and Sweet Potatoes. Happy Christmas Eve to you and your families! Stay committed, Stay Driven!
Yesterday, I wanted to practice tying up some mono to braid, and then also braid to flouro leaders. Below is what I did on one of my spinning combos:
The picture does not depict the actual order...but this is what I ended up with on my reel:
Trilene Big Game Mono 10 lbs => Power Pro Braid 10 lbs => Berkley Vanish Flouro 8 lbs => Lure (Spinnerbait)
Thoughts On Leader Knots
If you are anything like me, I am still an old school dude that is running Berkley Trilene Big Game Mono on the majority of his reels. The way I have always looked at fishing line is that I have a limited amount of time to fish, and the last thing I want to worry about is learning about new fishing line tactics. I've used monofilament for many years and have used it in almost every application with success. Remember, at one point it was the only way! But, I am not against trying to learn new tricks of the trade though if it helps me catch fish or even save money in the long run.
I know that braid is super strong and sensitive. It floats...It definitely has it's places in the arsenal. You will tell me that flourocarbon is also strong, sinks, and is invisible to the fish in the water. Again, it has its place in the arsenal...And then there are many places and anglers out there today who are touting the combinations of mono, braid, and flouro. Braid can last much longer before you need to replace it on your reels. You can gain a lot of strength and power in your reel and rods as well for thick grass and lilly pad punching. I can go on and on...
There are many knots out there today that anglers use for connectors between mono, braid, and flouro. There are millions of pages on the internet and videos on Youtube showing you how to tie these different knots. I think the ones that are the most popular are the "double uni knot" or the "FG knot". I will also tell you that anglers get outright religious about their knots as well. You don't want to get into an online comment battle about your knots, LOL.
The one I am using now (Albright knot)
I wish I had a great story behind how I learned this knot. Like my Hawaiian ancestors were using this knot to fish for Ulua and Sharks in the 1600s. 😀 But that's not the case. I just searched "mono to braid" into The Googles. Then I clicked on a Youtube Video, which showed me a guy tying one of these leader knots...the video was terrible because he never zoomed in so you could actually see the knot being created. He was also stalling so his video would be long enough to get monetized. So then I clicked on another one...Here it is:
For me, this video was super easy to follow. I literally had my braid and mono with me and followed along. I found this knot to be super easy to do, and it created a very low profile knot that will slip through my guides easily. I also think I can use this knot in "real world" applications while I am actually fishing. I don't want to spend a lot of time tying knots while I am trying to fish. I didn't even know what this knot was called and had to look up the knot.
I hope this all gives you some ideas for your own knot tying exercises, especially if you are thinking about using some of these new techniques with combining different types of fishing line in your rod and reel rigs. Stay Committed, Stay Driven.
