Zcoker

I’d like to say another day, another fish story

The heat index in my area has been 105-112 degrees daily…in the breeze. Out in the glades where the breeze is nil it’s much higher. Which means to punch the mats to get ‘em.

Don’t take it too seriously, not yet, at least. Nothing is etched in stone. Dark day, dark lure might not work today.

No, I’ve never had that happen….not yet, at least. I’m very mindful of it. I usually get the fish in the net as quickly as possible. Quick photo and quick release. None of that moving them back and forth underwater with a slow shove-off. Thats just asking for it where I fish. Ironically, I usually seek out the gators at night. Find the gators, found the fish. So anything is possible.

I haven’t lost anything to them. I’ve hooked them a number of times, and, surprisingly I’ve gotten my lures back every time, even on a tri treble jitterbug. I can’t for the life of me know how that’s even possible. The weirdest one was when I hooked a 10 footer on a jig and brought that sucker right up to me. I had that thing hooked well enough to pull its entire mass strait up to me yet the hook still popped right out of its mouth.

While the use of a small hand paddle is great advice, I’ll add to use extreme caution using it in certain areas. Where I fish, anything moving close to the water like a hand or a fish becomes a prime target for a big hungry gator. I’ve leaned the hard way on that one. Few close calls showed me just how ready they are to strike!

You probably did the right thing. I can only imagine a main lake on a holiday weekend, ablaze with heat, bodies, and speeding boats. There was a ton of gators out there! 🐊

4th of July out in the Everglades, the sky lit up, the sun went down, and then boom!

4th of July out in the glades, the sky lit up, the sun went down, and then boom!

I’ll be watching the fireworks off the Big O, hopefully the big O of a giant’s mouth!

Seems like you keep up with subject very well! Good deal. I’m not gonna pretend to have any answers that might directly challenge the chemical system that they now use. There’s the mechanical method that’s been brought up a number of times which, in fact, I believe they used to do. Whether that’s a viable option or not I couldn’t say. I think the best thing to get out of all of this (as it pertains to fishing) is your point about “peaks”in these places. I’ve seen this graphical concept play out from start to finish and I’m glad that you brought it up. As a fisherman, I’ve witnessed first hand the realistic, living result of what’s actually happening when they nuke these places, something the political side just cannot comprehend. Reminds me of that 1971 ‘Keep America Beautiful’ commercial with the Indian crying. In other words, when these places get going, the clock starts ticking. So grab that magic while you can because you’ll be crying later on!

I started out bank fishing and did pretty darn good, sometimes better than a kayak or even boat fishing. I even won a national tournament against 94 anglers fishing the bank only. You said it yourself that you’re a decent bank angler so just take what you learned from bank fishing and apply it to the kayak. Simple as that. You may have to change a few things or make a few adjustments but apply that same knowledge and you should do just fine. That’s what I did. Just make sure you tether everything in that kayak and always wear a life vest!

Lotta that Magic in these places of which you speak is slowly being wiped out by continuous spraying or, as us locals call it, “nuking.” I’ve watched first hand the complete and utter decimation of many areas. Take Lake Kenansville, for example. That place used to be the end-all mecca for large trophy bass. It even got the nickname “Jurassic Park”. My first visit there on my first cast netted me a 9 pounder! Fishing was that good. It was the most pristine place to fish, a hidden gem, crystal clear serene water, lush green vegetation full of vitality, now nothing but a wide open dead and dirty nuked into oblivion mud hole. Same with Stickmarch and even Lake Okeechobee. I was just there on Okeechobee the other day and I couldn’t even see an inch into the filthy water. Now they’re working on Headwaters, closing it down weekly to nuke it into oblivion. Yep, the magic is being striped away. Darn shame to watch this happen to those once upon a time epic places. Wish these water management districts along with FWC would take notice! But that’s seemingly not going to happen because even with all the protesting going on they’re still awarding high dollar contracts to all these chemical companies to continue the onslaught.

I think the finesse part of it just means smaller baits, and the power part of it means heavier line. They slam the two words together confusing everybody. It works for me when the cover is too thick to punch in. I downsize the hook and bait which helps to get the presentation through. The power part of it remains the same 50-65lb braid to jack them with. Common sense, really.

I just can’t see this with the bass out in the glades, especially the lacking energy part, because they will literally try to rip your arm off! I’ve had them break high dollar rods clean in half. Practically spin my yak in a complete circle. Launch to the moon like a raging missile. Talk about brute force energy, the fish below did a number on a BKK 4X big-game saltwater hook. That’s some energy right there in my book.