Grindin' Again

Sometimes you feel like you need something...you don't feel whole without it.  I have been feeling that way.  The latest workouts while productive, have not produced that "raw feeling", that "pump", that overall feeling that you just abused your body in a good way.

TODAY!  Finally that sense of accomplishment, that sense of putting the body to the limit, and that overall pump came back.  So much so that I felt like writing about it.  It's defintely the reason why many people workout, it is for that pump.  When people say they workout to break anxiety, nervousness, or fear...this is why they do it.  

The human body was meant to work.  It was meant to be pushed.  It was built to be used!  I didn't feel all that great in the morning, but now that I got this workout crushed at lunchtime, whatever that was in the morning just got pushed out of my brain.

I hope you are all having a great Holiday Season.  This can be a tough time of year for everybody.  The stress of everything.  I say today, workout...let that float away...and then keep going!  Stay Committed, Stay Driven.

Early December Jerkbait Action 2022

 

I had a bit of a suspicion that one of the fishing holes I have had success at in the winter might produce on this day.  I was right! Anything that is mimicking dying shad...this is what I am throwing in this particular fishing hole.  If you've looked at previous posts from me in the winter, this is the spot that has some very nice crappie in it.

I went to this place right after work for roughly an hour.  The sun sets so early during this time of year, so that is about all the time I had for it.  Today, I am putting up the Christmas lights outside.  Wifey is doing more decorating inside.  We got our "real tree" yesterday.  Time to decorate!  Stay Committed, Stay Driven.

The Mayors of Dinks-Ville Dec 2022

 

If you don't know what the "Mayors of Dinks-Ville" means, then allow me to explain. "Dinks" is a common slang word for tiny or little fish or bass.  And in this video you can see Lil' Shaka and me think he has a decent size fish on the line.  But as he pulls the bass up he was absolutely a DINK! LOL.  Hence when we are catching the dinks, we become the Mayors of Dinks-Ville.  

Catching little fish are better than NO fish.  We were very thankful for the day.  We were able to spend a little time together on Sunday out on the water.  It was very cold though.  It was around 42 degrees out, and it seemed like the constant wind across the lake was chilling us to the bone.  Next time I think we will dress even warmer.  I think it was the lack of thick socks or layers of socks that got both of us.  That wind has a way of getting to those spots that are a bit exposed.

As for what we were catching them on?  Jerkbaits for me.  Good ol' trusty H20 Xpress Ultimate Jerk Shad in Sexy Shad color.  Seems to always get it done.  Lil' Shaka pulled out the Berkley Gulp Minnows on some jigs and was getting bit.  Hell we needed to get out of the house today because the wifey and Sissy have both been down with the Flu and just coming out of it.  Hopefully we don't come down with it either.  That time of year I guess.

It's a blessing to play with the bass in December here in the Heartland of the USA.  My family and I have a ton to be thankful for.  I pray that all of you are doing great this Holiday Season!  Stay Committed, Stay Driven. --ShakaOG

A Thanksgiving Break Excursion to the Lake '22

 Well it is not the balmy 85 degree weather we had in the Florida Canals down in the Everglades two weeks ago, but it was still fun!  The air was cool and crisp, and it was pleasant on the water.  This particular lake we fish quite often in the summer.  It is known for its dense thick grass and algae blooms!  But, as I thought...now that the water is super cold the grass has died off significantly and the water was crystal clear to the bottom.  Lil' Shaka and I mapped out quite a bit of the lake because we could see so clearly. 

Here are my notes:

• Lake is at most 10-12 feet deep, but mostly 2-3 feed on average.
• Grass and weeds still very dense but now mostly covering bottom of lake.
• Some spots are open in the lake on bottom, revealing soft mud bottom.
• Tough to throw shaky head or jig, immediately gets into dense grass or weeds on bottom.
• Caught bass on weightness Zoom Flukes on drop or bottom of lake.
• I tried mojo rig, but no luck.  It does change the presentation a bit.
• Lil' Shaka tried out a jerkbait, but no dice, got caught up a bit too.

We will get some nice days again and go.  We'll try flukes and jerkbaits again and see what happens.  I think we can learn a few more tricks and get after them again.  I think there are some ways to go after these bass in this type of lake with dense grass.  I am very thankful this year for my family and friends.  I hope all of you are doing great.  Stay Committed, Stay Driven.

November 2022 in the Everglades

Day1
The first day in the glades of our November 2022 trip...Quick notes...We absolutely crushed the Peacock bass in the Everglades.  We did some live bait golden shiners and then when that ran out, we were catching them on Rapala Shadow Wraps.  The bite was definitely on.  We caught over 100 fish in 4 hours.  It was one of the best outings we've had with our guide Brett Isackson, who is like family to us.  We've been on fishing excursions in the glades with Brett for several years and he is one of the best guides in South Florida. We've learned at ton from Brett over the years on how to fish the Everglades and appreciate his friendship.

Day2

We fished our normal bank spots in the Everglades, but tried a few other places as well.  We went to Bass Pro down in Miami, Florida after our Day 1 excursion with Brett, and tried to imitate a few things that we learned.  We picked up some Rapala Husky Jerk Minnows, and even found some of the same colors (FireTiger and BlueGhost).  Then, I also picked up some VMC Dressed X-Rap Treble Hooks size 4 and changed out the back treble hooks.

As you can see in the below picture, we had a lot of fun catching Peas from the bank that day!  We really had no luck with any finesse baits during any of the days we fished.  This is quite the opposite from what we experience in the springs months in the Everglades.  In the spring months every day seems to be a multi-species day where you catch largemouth bass, bluegill, peacocks, ciclids, bowfin, and warmouth.

Lil' Shaka caught about nine Peas and I caught one, Ha Ha.  You all know me by now, I like to experiment and try different things...Lil' Shaka will find something that is working and then GRIND!  Quite honestly that is what you need to do in order to be successful fishing for Peacock Bass.  They like aggressive retrieves...these fish are the epitome of what it means to "power fish".  Lots of casting and lots of reeling in baits aggressively.  Next thing I know, he's caught 8 and I have caught none, LOL.  I switched up to what he was throwing and caught one almost immediately.

Day3

Definitely more of the same success!  This time I ditched all the soft plastics and anything finesse and went power fishing with Lil' Shaka as well.  I was using the BlueGhost version of the Rapala Husky Jerk Minnow and had a lot of success.  We fished for a few hours and caught 11-12 from the bank between us.

Conclusion

This trip was a special one. It was one of the first times we've had a lot of success catching Peas from the bank.  And, quite honestly, it was one of the first times we had a lot of success catching several fish in the November time frame of the year in the Everglades.  We've learned quite a bit about the behaviors of these Peacock Bass and how aggressively they want the presentations of the bait to be.  We'll be back in the Everglades next year some time!