Beginning of March 2022: Prespawn Fishing

 

 

As you can see in this first picture, the Lil' Shaka and me had a fun little fishing outing to one of our favorite ponds on March 2nd, 2022.  The temperature in the afternoon actually got to 82 degrees!  I caught this 3 pound bass on a white colored chatterbait with a ice colored fluke junior as the trailer.

Lil' Shaka also caught a nice one that day as you can see in this picture.  He caught his bass on a green and white chatterbait as well.  Good lookin' fish!  There was nothing special around our retrieves...just slow rolling the baits back to the bank.  

Prespawn Bass Fishing in March: Thoughts

I will also say that the bite is very subtle right now in the prespawn season.  The baits we've concentrated on so far are:

• Jerkbaits - No Luck (surprising as water still cold)
• Chatterbaits - Catching most fish on these
• Spinnerbaits - Catching some fish on these
• Wacky Worm - No Luck (still too cold)
• Jigs - Catching some fish on these
• Swimbaits - No Luck

It has also been very hit and miss on the weather out there as well.  That is March for you. Have a great day! 

Sunday Smoked Dinner End of February 2022

It is Sunday the 27th of February 2022.  The weather temperature reached 50 degrees today!  It was a blessing considering the last 4 weeks have been consistently and brutally cold.  The ShakaOG kitchen was in full effect.  Momma seasoned up some baby back rib as well as a whole chicken.  Lil' Shaka and I got the Weber Kettle cleaned up and ready to go.  If you have been following me for a while, you know my method for slow smoking on the Weber Kettle is with the charcoal snake method.  This is one of the best methods to turn your Weber Kettle grill into a full-fledged and legit smoker.

As you can see from the pics above, the ribs and chicken turned out exceptional.  The chicken was melt in your mouth quality.  The ribs were not completely flaky, but they came off the bone easily and were juicy.  Once again, the charcoal snake method also lets you "walk away".  You don't have to be right next to the smoker checking it every five minutes.  You can actually walk away for a few hours if necessary.  The only thing I would suggest is making sure you rotate the meat a bit away from the charcoal snake as it burns around the outside edges of the kettle. 

The Schedule

12:15pm started smoking the chicken and ribs
1:20pm rotated chicken and ribs away from potential direct heat from charcoal
4:05pm took ribs off and transferred them to the Weber gas grill (250 degrees)in foil and apple juice
4:05pm left the chicken on the Weber kettle and kept smoking
5:15pm took the ribs out of the foil and painted or candied them up with BBQ sauce
5:45pm took the ribs and chicken off the grills and brought them inside to rest

Let's Eat!

Carlyle Lake Dam Spillway late February 2022 Fishing

 

The Lil' Shaka and me had not fished since early January 2022.  The lakes and ponds that we normally fish have been frozen over for weeks.  I got an idea to go to the Carlyle Lake dam and fish the spillway which is flowing most of the time.  That means that water should not be frozen over if it continues to move.  The weather on Sunday February 20, 2022 also helped as it was sunny and 55-60 degrees.

Previous Fishing at the Spillway

I have been to this spillway a handful of times when I was a young man.  My dad would take the family out to Carlyle Lake over the summer where we would hang out at the beach and sometimes put a line into the spillway.  We didn't really have too much luck in the times that I have been there previously.  We really didn't have a frame of reference of how to fish the spillway, or what types of fish lurked beneath its waters back in the 80s and early 90s.  I do have a fond memory of my dad catching what I think was a Bowfin down near the General Dean Bridge.  I remember him saying "What do you think it is?" 😀 We were used to fishing in North Dakota when dad what stationed at Minot, ND.  We fished for Walleye up there.  So this was a different ballgame all together.

Power of the Internet

I have said this many times before.  We are now in the 2020s...The internet and the digital age has its positives and negatives.  In this case, the power of the information age has enriched the experiences of human beings.  I can use Youtube, Websites, and Social Media to gain knowledge very quickly about the Carlyle Lake dam and spillway.  I can make decisions based on the information I gather about Carlyle Lake and choose a strategy for fishing.  The thing the internet cannot provide is the personal experience itself.  The actual act of physically going to a place, and experiencing it for yourself, or with your family is the most powerful thing.  It's the sites, the smells, and memories that unfold right in front of your eyes...now that is what is special.

Attack of the Killer Bighead Carp

We weren't even targeting these Bighead Carp.  Lil' Shaka and I were actually throwing around Curly Tail Grubs to target Stripers in the spillway.  We actually pulled in three total Bighead Carp and they were all over 9 pounds a peice.  We foul hooked or snagged all three with our Curly Tail Grubs.  So there is the question I thought to myself...how dense of a population (Bighead Carp) exist in the spillway that we were able to snag three of them in 1 hour?

This is one of those memories that you were not expecting.  You cannot believe it is actually happening.  I will never forget the look on Lil' Shaka's face when a fish over 9 pounds fights him and pulls on the rod to the point he cannot do anything. LOL!

Overall, Mission Accomplished...

The overall mission was accomplished for the day.  We caught fish, regardless if it was the target species or not.  Most importantly, Wife, Son, Daughter, and me got to be outside together for a day that ended up being about 60 degrees.  This is the memory I am trying to recreate as much as I can.  Now the weather temperature has dropped back into the teens this week!  Stay Committed Stay Driven...

The Ponds Are Frozen, What To Do?

 

Well, since my first fishing excursion of the year where I caught a crappie and a bass to now...the fishing has been severely limited.  In this picture above you can't really tell but the ponds are completely frozen over.  The ponds have been frozen over for the last two weeks.  We know because Lil' Shaka and I have been taking walks to check during the afternoons!  Last year we were fishing during this time and then the ponds froze over for a couple of weeks.

A couple days ago, it got warm enough to at least melt some of the ice on one of the ponds.  Check out the big lunker I caught on this tail spin. LOL!  I don't know if this little guy tried to eat my lure or if I just snagged him off the bottom.  I have no idea what species this little guy is.  Probably a bluegill.  I have not seen any other species besides bluegill, bass, and catfish in this pond.  It was a blessing to get a chance to wet a line, I will take it.  The sun was shining and the temperature was around 55.  It is amazing just how long it takes for lakes and ponds in this area unthaw from ice.  It is really because at night it has been getting into the teens in terms of the temperature.

If you can't fish, you can still work on getting new tackle.  We went to the Let's Go Fishing Show at the Gateway Convention Center in Collinsville, Illinois.  We went with one of our family friends that we fish with quite a bit.  We picked up some new baits.

Here is a pick of some of the jigs and soft plastics that we picked up.  I think the crappie and bass will KILL this bait when we get a chance to fish it.  I am looking forward to fishing as soon as the ice melts enough to wet a line again.

The other thing the Lil' Shaka and I are doing is preparing for a fishing trip we are going on at the end of January 2022.  We will fish Meramec Springs Park in Missouri again.  This is turning into an annual trip during this time of year.  The January/February fishing at Meramec Springs Park is "catch and release only".  In the picture above you can see I am preparing for trout and smallmouth bass.  Anybody else still love the Rebel Craws?  The Rebel Craw is one of the best lures of all time in terms of multi-species fish catching!  I highly recommend this lure for new anglers too that are just learning.  You don't really need to do much.  Just cast out, and then reel in slowly.

I hope you are all doing great.  The winter time is always tough for me personally.  I like to be outside in the warm sun.  But this too will pass, and the beauty of the whole things is the spring will be here as soon as we know it.  The fish will be biting!  Stay Committed, Stay Driven!

First fish caught in January 2022

 

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.