End of September 2021 Fishing Session

All I can tell you is I had to fish really hard for this one bass today. 😆 I caught this one on a black zoom trick worm in a Texas Rig. I tried almost everything today! 

The list of things I tried:

-Swim Jig

-Multiple Swimbaits

-Spinnerbait

-Texas Rig Trick Worm

-Fluke

-Stickbait

Yes, I was absolutely tying on everything I had in the tackle bag. And listen, I knew better...This particular pond is going through the fall transition. The water is definitely colder. The water is definitely stained. The fish in this pond are notorious for not biting when the water is very stained. Or, I have yet to figure out what they will bite on in those situations.

I hope you are doing well today. Stay Committed, Stay Driven!

Rio Grande Cocina Alambre Tacos

Rio Grande Cocina in Fairview Heights, Illinois is one of the favorite family hangouts.  We dropped by there for some dinner.  We've known the owners for a couple of years now and they (and their staff) always take care of us. They've managed to work through the Covid Pandemic, and they are one of the few restaurants that seem to have their stuff together in terms of being able to serve people in a reasonable amount of time.

Alambre Tacos

I am highlighting the Alambre Tacos in this post because I enjoyed them so much last night. Grilled steak, onions, green peppers, bacon, and pineapple with cheese sitting on a bed of flour tortillas.  I think the key is the mix of spices they use. You can see in the picture their is a good amount of Paprika and other seasonings on the pineapple.  These were so good last night.  They also give you a side of rice and beans, so this is definitely a full meal. If you are ever in the area, check this place out!  

Beginning of September 2021 Fishing with ShakaOG

 

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 Hello my Ohana. I went fishing yesterday morning before the sun came up. This is the same pond I've gone to in the past which produced some wonderful poison ivy on my legs at least two times. LoL. I've been scolded over and over again by several members of my family about taking percautions against poison ivy. If it were up to me I would go fishing in shorts and sandals all the time, but after this last time of getting poison ivy I decided I am better off with long pants and long sleeve shirts when I go to this specific pond.

The main issue around this pond is that the park maintenance folks do not cut the grass right up to the edge of the pond every time.  They let the plants and grass grow near the edge or bank of the pond for awhile before they cut it all down.  This is where the poison ivy lurks.

The Cold Front

What was interesting around this fishing adventure was that it has been so hot out over the last couple of weeks (literally 110 heat index most days) that the water was still very warm compared to the outside temperature which had dropped significantly.  When I caught some of the bass, they were actually very warm to the touch. They were probably wanting me to put them back in right away! LoL.

What was I using this day?

The last time I fished the pond about a week before this session, I was having a ton of success with the Zoom Magnum Ol Monster worms in the red shad color.  I had these Texas Rigged. This time around, I was using some stick baits by Yum Dinger that put me on fish almost right away.  I had these Wacky Rigged. The only other bait I used in this morning session was the trusty Zoom 5 inch Super Flukes in the baby bass color. 

I hope you are all staying committed and driven today! Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Mid August 2021 Fishing Report

 

Some of the lastest pics of recent fishing adventures...

Foley Park

This was a new spot that we explored last weekend.  It's actually a park that that has a couple of "pay to fish" ponds on it.  I guess do to the Covid pandemic right now, they are not charging to fish in the ponds.  What was interesting is we decided to fish right next to the parking lot in a spot that was basically a canal next to the entrance of the park.  We weren't even fishing in the ponds and the bass were hitting our wacky worms!  Here is another pic of Lil' Shaka with a three pounder he caught below:

We were using the Creme Craw Colored stick baits in the wacky rigs.  He had this one pulled to the bank before I could even blink an eye.  He's turning into a really good fisherman.  This year he has learned to catch fish on wacky worms really well.  I showed him how to fish with Zoom Flukes during spring spawn season.  He has played around a bit with the Texas rig scenario as well, but it isn't his favorite thing to do.

Fletcher's

This is a place we've been going to for the last year.  It has some of the biggest bass I've caught in these ponds.  I caught this one also on a wacky worm.  I was there during lunch hour.  Pretty nice bass as you can see below:

During this time of year, you can catch some really nice bass in the ponds there.  You definitely have to fish weedless.  There is a lot of grass and hydrilla that grows up on this pond, and the fish know how to hide if you hookset them and reel them into the bank.  Good idea to have at least 10-15 lbs test otherwise you risk breaking your line off trying to pull the bass up from the weeds.  There is also a ton of poison ivy, and I had a breakout from this pond the last time I went.  As you can see I am completely covered now.

Neighborhood Pond

This little neighborhood pond has been a great addition to our circuit this year.  As I have said in previous posts, we used to think this pond was completely "lifeless"...but we figured out how to fish this pond, and it has been producing bass ever since.

The storm clouds were rolling in...It did not rain on me though.  This beauty...chased after the Zoom Fluke in the Houdini Color.  Aggressive as well as I did not have to really set the hook.  She chomped down hard.  See the pic below of this beauty:

So there is your report for the middle of August 2021 from the ShakaOG.  We continue to have fun with fishing during this Pandemic.  It continues to be a challenge, it countinues to be fun, and it continues to be a peaceful endeavor in nature for Lil' Shaka and me.  I hope all of you are fine this weekend.  Stay Committed, Stay Driven.

New fishing tactics over the weekend Aug 2021

 

Last weekend opened up some new possibilities for Lil' Shaka and me.  We tried some new techniques at the pond.  The bass were scattered all over the pond over the weekend.  They were hitting on several styles of lures and they were deeper as well as hunting on the banks.

Tokyo Rig

Lil' Shaka's favorite bassmaster is Seth Feider.  We were watching a YouTube video where Seth was explaining how to use the Tokyo Rig, and specifically what the benefits are of this specific rig.

Here is a picture of what I was using with a VMC Tokyo Rig in a 3/0 size.  The bullet weight I was using I think was a 3/16oz.  Well, my first cast got me a nice bass.  This was the first time that I ever used the Tokyo Rig, and it was the first time that I've caught a bass on a Zoom 6 inch lizard Hah!

As you could expect, I was very excited about this rig and the fact that I was able to use a new softbait like a Zoom 6 inch lizard.  About 4 minutes later, I caught another one.  But then afterwards, I tried the Tokyo Rig in several places and the bass quit biting.

What attracted me to Tokyo Rig

• Ease of use, did not have to change line, pole, or reel to deploy
• Seth Feider uses for muddy bottoms, prefers it compared to dropshot
• Keeps the bait just above the bottom where fish can see it
• Provides a presentation the fish don't see as often
• Very versatile in terms of baits that can be presented (use almost anything)

I will definitely continue to throw around the Tokyo Rig.  I think it could become a very deadly tactic in the future.

Weighted Wacky Rig

I have played around with some different ways to do the "Weighted" Wacky Rig over the summer.  I have had mixed results up to this point.  I think some of the rigs I was doing were too heavy and did not drop slow enough the way the bass like the weightless wacky worm rig. 

I picked up some of these Wacky Jigs from VMC and I think the key here is they were only 1/16 of an ounce.  This is just enough weight in the ponds I throw in to get the wacky worm down deeper, but with a slow fall that the bass really like.  I was able to catch a lot of bass on this day, and they were all very good size bass.  It almost felt like spawn season again!  Well, maybe not that good, but it felt good to find the bait and presentation (or the pattern) to what the bass wanted that day.

Final Thoughts

Both the Toyko Rig and the Weighted Wacky Jigs produced great results during this summer weekend.  I will definitely continued to use these tactics going forward.  The Tokyo Rig allowed me to keep my lure presentable above the mud bottom, and the weighted wacky jigs gave my wacky worm enough weight to drop but still float down slow enough that enticed the bass to bite.

Tight lines to all of you! Stay Committed, Stay Driven.