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.

I fish from Lake Okeechobee south into Broward County as well as the Fellsmere area, Stick Marsh and Headwaters, and Kenansville. All over, really, to get these fatty’s

Aww, those magical moments. Those days (or nights) are rare but I’ve had them. One night I hit into three 7 plus pounders almost back to back, like a wolf pack of giant aggressive bass just tearing up anything and everything in site. Being in the right place at the right time is what it’s all about. No way to plan for anything like that. My best moment happened about 4:30am on a crescent moon where every single cast was annihilated by a fish 22 plus inches, one right after the other with the final top water hit being almost a 10 pounder. The fish were practically boiling in the water like a wild hungry rabid gang not afraid of a dang thing. Never seen anything like it and is why I can’t stress enough how wild and unhindered these Everglades fish are. I’ve caught bass from other lakes in different parts of the state but none of them are as crazy as these Everglades bass!

Yeah, man, some of them pretty swim baits can go into the hundreds, some even approaching a grand! Price we pay for quality, they say. Can’t say the bass knows that, at least that’s what I’m seeing. I pretty much end up using my same old baits anyway, mainly topwater. Just can’t get an enough of those violent explosions!

Sometimes you can get close without breaking the bank with the bait monkey. I think a lot of the cost has to do the way some of these swim baits are made, out of plastic or resin, garage made, custom made or whatever. Some of these custom swim baits command high dollars and do work well but there are alternatives. I bought a $29 6th Sense glide bait, modified the body to tighten up the glide and then lightly sprayed it with gold paint, making it look like a big juicy golden shiner. Works amazingly well! Match the hatch best you can whenever you can, do whatcha gotta do, would be my take on it.

Prima Donna’s? I should say so, at least they seem so out in the Everglades. I also do tons of saltwater fishing and find other species Prima Donna’s, too! I guess each species has its own lure. Snook fishing got me a wife. Tarpon fishing put me in the hospital. Shark fishing almost killed me. Bass fishing keeps me on that never ending hunt for trophies. All these fish combined keep me very very motivated and very very active. Always somethin to do…or buy lol

I don’t mess around in the summer heat. Down here in the south Florida Everglades you can toast the fish as you pull them out of the boiling water. It’s that hot. Nah, I fish at night usually after midnight, wee hours of the morning when it’s nothing but soft, cool moonlight. When morning time comes around and that sun comes up full fury, I’m outta there!

Gettin them good up there! You’d probably triple that number down here in the Everglades. Sometimes every single cast can get a fish, literally! That’s usually when the water levels are low. The bass get concentrated in small areas that are deeper. Great catches….and numbers 💪

I pretty much enjoy most lures that I can throw. Top water is my favorite and just adds to the fun visually. But it’s also gonna depend on what the fish want, then that becomes the most effective bait….and still fun.

With this question about clocking yourself, I’m assuming you’re fishing from a kayak? If so, I always try to go for the 12 o’clock position to have the best leverage, but that’s not always possible. Having the right gear is the first step, stout rod, heavy line. I run 50lb braid minimum on an extra heavy rod. I bend out the hooks on most frogs so you can see a little bit of light between the hook and the body and on bigger frogs I change out the hooks completely. For all around frogging I like the scum frog launch frog because that thing never fills with water! Plus the body is extra soft. I slam them as soon as I see the splash and rarely miss a fish.

I use my light saltwater setup Shimano Stella 4k on a Star Paraflex rod. I’ve caught some pretty big tarpon on it so it’s way overkill for a bass yet still light enough to use all day. So I make good use of it, mainly topwater. I can cast lures further than any baitcaster which helps me cover a massive amount of water. I’ve even won sone tournaments using spinning gear only.