September to October fall transition at the honey hole

It's now the middle of October in 2022.  The air is nice and crisp and the sun still warms the skin in the afternoon.  Temperatures are now dipping into the 40s and even 30s at night, but we are still seeing temps into the 70s during the day.  

I have not written in a awhile, but we've been hitting the pond on a regular basis.  It is amazing just how much the fish behaviors or activity change with the temperature of the water.  In September, the bigger bass in this specific pond were "triggered" to bite.  Some of the notable baits that worked well in September:

• Jigs Black and Blue...other colors and trailers worked, companies
• Zoom Brush Hog Mid-Size Black and Blue
• Zoom plastic worms various, Texas Rigged and shaky head
• Crankbaits, couple I had in the tackle box

Fast forward to mid October of 2022 and it is a much different story.  We are still catching them as you can see in this pic.  The challenge on this day was to fish for 1 hour and see if we can get 5 bass to the bank.  This is a common challenge for us.  A little bassmasters classic tournament style excursion to the pond! We accomplished our team goal.  We caught 6 bass in an hour.  Lil' Shaka was the overall winner with four fish caught to my two!  He caught one fish on a chatterbait, and the rest he found them stacked up and ready to bite a jig.  He was using a little Strike King Bitsy Flip Jig with a Strike King Rage Craw for the trailer.

Now, in October since it has slowed down...what rig have I gone to?  In the pic above, the trusty Mojo Rig that I learned to use a bit last winter into the spring.  This rig seems to work year around in this specific pond.  It is nothing special.  Literally, I use a split shot about a foot above the hook in order to get my fluke to the bottom.  Once my bait hits the pond bottom, I just drag it and jerk it.  Nothing special...really more like a Carolina rig.  In this pond it triggers the fish!

I hope you are all enjoying your fishing adventures and excursions this year.  Get out there and go fishing!  Stay Committed, Stay Driven.

Fall Transition 2022 has started for the Bass

 

I know that the fall transition is starting to happen because the water temperature in the local pond is starting to get a little colder.  The temperature at night is now dropping back into the 60s.  The other indicator is definitely the type of baits the fish are reacting to.  I am still getting some bites on plastic worms and even flukes, but it is not like during spawn when they are biting non-stop.  You have to work a little bit more during this time of year to catch them, and there is definitely no guarantee that you will catch them either.

It will be an interesting fall.  I am hoping to catch a lot more bass this fall than last year.  I am always trying to learn new baits and patterns.  This is what makes bass fishing so fun.  I hope you are all having a great weekend.  Stay Committed, Stay Driven.

Late August 2022 Fishing Still Producing Bass

 

It has been a really fun year getting to fish this specific lake.  Lil' Shaka and me used to visit this lake only to bank fish.  It is actually a tough place to try and bank fish because it is mostly covered by the tall grasses and reeds that you see behind me in this picture.  The Pelican Bass Raider has been a great addition to our fishing adventures.

I decided to get up and go this morning.  It is always great to catch a few right when the sun is coming up.  The sun makes the bass look a deep golden color, which is a pretty sight.  Lil' Shaka decided to sleep in, can't blame him...he is just getting a chance to come back from a hairline fracture in his thumb that he sustained right before the fall baseball season started.  Yesterday was the first time he could hit and catch without pain, so we are hopeful he can come back and perform for the rest of the baseball and football seasons.

I hope all of you are truly having an amazing day.  Enjoy your time over the weekend with family and friends.  I hope you are productive!  Stay committed, Stay driven!!!

Catching Pigs at the Secret Pond

 

 

For me, work was done for the day.  Lil' Shaka finished baseball practice and had a few hours before football practice would start.  We decided to hit the pond not far from the house...well, that didn't work because it was Wednesday and the lawn and landscaper crew was cutting around the lake.  NO!!!!  LoL!!!

Ok, we took a detour and ventured out to another pond that is notorious for two things. 

Number one...this pond has been a keeper of GIANTS or TANKS size bass in the past.  Lil' Shaka and I have caught up to five pounders in this little pond.  

Number two...this pond can disappoint you!  The bass in ths little pond are smart.  You can get skunked at this pond quite often, and it gets hard to find any type of pattern.

Well, as you can see in the video, God blessed us on this day.  We did in fact find a couple things these monster bass wanted to chew on.  Lil' Shaka was able to bring this beauty to the bank using a Zoom Fluke.  This tank weighed in around 5lbs. 

I was throwing around a shaky head with a Zoom trick worm with a chartreuse tail all over the pond.  I was able to get two of these pigs to chomp down on it.  What a fun day!  Stay committed, Stay Driven.

Fishing Lake of Egypt in Southern Illinois July 2022

It was a "scortcher" over the weekend at Lake of Egypt in Southern Illinois.  We traveled down there with some family and friends to hang out at the lake the entire weekend.  It was tough to get comfortable because it was so hot.  But we of course made the best of the situation and still had a great time.

When I think about fishing in the last couple of years, there is a specific time that I have a marker built to reflect and look back.  It was September 2019 and the family and I spent the weekend at Lake of Egypt.  Below is a picture of that time.  I am fishing off a dock with my daughter.

I remember having a fairly good time on that trip.  I remember buying a bunch of tackle, and not really knowing what I was doing. ☺  I don't remember catching any fish during that trip.  I definitely didn't know what I know now about fishing.  That picture reminds me of a time that was innocent compared to the world now after Covid-19.  So much has happened since this picture!  I talked to people all the time who have blocked Covid-19 from their brains.  I think it is a mechanism for humans to actually cope with something as catastrophic as a global pandemic.  So, I use this as a marker because Covid is what brought me back to fishing and showed me that passion could be re-ignited from my young man days.  AND, of course I have given this passion down into my son who likes to chase these little green fish around like I do.

Catching Bass at Lake of Egypt July 2022

Lot's of things have changed since September 2019.  There have been many fishing trips taken during the Covid Pandemic.  It was the only thing at one point you could do!  I remember thinking during the Pandemic that there were only so many garage projects I was willing to do until I need to find something else to do.  And then it happened, I took my son on a bike ride and we brought some fishing poles with us to go fishing.  That is when it all came back to me!

Over the weekend the temperature touched 100 degrees farenheit.  The humidity made the heat index somewhere around 110 degrees.  When we went swimming in some of the coves we also noticed that the water was really warm.  Also, we noticed you would get some water that was colder in the lake, but then warm water would hit you.  So if you think about it, the thermocline that is formed in the summer months was really ALL OVER THE PLACE.  So I think the bass were all over the place.  They were probably located in brush piles or under structure.  

Good news is that my buddy and I took the Pelican Bass Raider out every morning at 5:30am and we were able to catch fish every time.  All of my fish were caught on a Shakey Head Zoom worm with a chartreuse tail or a black and blue Speed Craw.

So as I reflect back about September 2019, and I think about where the world is in 2022...I am appreciative that my family is okay.  I am appreciative that I have a hobby that my son, myself, and my friends enjoy.  With all the negativity, and problems the world is dealing with at this time, my reflection reminds me that I am fortunate.  Stay committed, and stay driven my friends.