Zcoker

It’s always epic to see them come out of the water thrashing with their big mouth wide open, putting on a show. Either it’s a memory of the one that spit the hook or it’s a memory of the one caught. Still about the same. I cherish just as much the fish lost as the ones captured, probably more so the ones lost.

It gets the big hits, for sure. I’m all about top water at night and many of these off the shelf baits failed miserably for me out in the glades. So I just had to make my own, which wasn’t too hard once I got all the components together.

I had to learn how to do it sitting down in a kayak. Talk about a learning curve! Most often I have to use 2oz to punch through the thick stuff out in the everglades. I learned real quick that those heavy weights can turn into tungsten bullets! It’s more about doing everything in coordination or unison with the kayak, things like positioning, distance, angle, timing, etc. I do more a yo-yo-swimg to hit my target. I basically had to invent my own process which soon became habitual. I guess that’s a good point to make, that anyone can develop their own style to get the job done.

Precisely why I run the heavy mono shock leader. It never runs up the wire. I do a double loop clinch knot which seems to grip the tightest. The heavy mono really torques down. With spinnerbaits I only use closed eyelet wire.

When I’m casting buzzbaits at night out in the Everglades, I have to rely more on sound as well as feel. There’s just so much more to contend with out there besides the fish itself. I run a minimum of 50lb braid. The braid gives me the best feedback for the cover I’m fishing around as well as the actual hits, which don’t really matter because the fish are usually 6 pounds and up and when they hit, they darn sure got it! I also run about 2ft 30lb mono shock leader, old school saltwater trick. And I always run a trailer hook! I make my own buzzbaits to get the sound just right to entice the hits.

Same thing happens to me. Trophy tarpon running our local beaches and I have to switch gears for them, which can last all summer. Meantime, giant bass roaming out in the glades. I agree: wish I could sometimes be two people! But it’s nice to have those kinda problems.

Fish at night right around the full or new moon. Use big baits, preferably big top water baits. That’s what gets them for me all the time….almost guaranteed. It’s also what got them for guys like AJ Brasher, Pat Cullen. Jimmy Zinker uses only jitterbugs, the old wooden ones that he modifies. I couldn’t find the old wooden ones so I just make my own. Deadly. We both agree that you haven’t lived yet until you witness a giant trophy bass annihilating a big black jitterbug!

When fishing isn’t ideal, music is the last thing I would listen to. I’m not out there to relax and chill out to tunes. I keep fishing just as hard through the lows as with highs, like riding a wave. They gonna hit soon, I keep saying. Keep on moving, change up tactics, get busy fishin or get busy getting skunked lol

You can pretty much figure out how you tick when fishing. Same with life, if you stare it down long enough you’ll figure out how that ticking goes. Yet I pay no attention to that. I instead stay focused on the quality of my intellect as well as the quality of my gear to catch those fish! And I’m not after numbers or minnows, either. I want those big smart fish who offer the finest reward. My motivation, excitement, and confidence is always pointed in that direction, for me, at least. Can’t lie to myself. Nature in all her glory can be but a blur when I’m casting. That’s the truth. Happiness and content and the rest of it comes later on when I’m driven home grinning at the image of netting that big fat 8 or 9 or 10 pounder!

I use Piscifun aluminum split ring pliers with a cutter. Very rugged, cheap, and last forever. The split ring remover comes handy when needed. Whatever pliers you get, make sure you use a lanyard. Net is YakAttack leverage net. Lands then all the time! Storage is a Native Watercraft seat back tackle box storage. Front seat is a YakGear front seat storage pack. About it. Keep it simple.

Get out there and fish and write your own book! Most of these well known big bass hunters/catchers did just that. It’s also a mindset: it wasn’t until I started thinking big bass that I started catching big bass. Just works, no books necessary.

When I got into kayak bass fishing, I learned about the “checklist” real quick! I have a fully rigged OT powered kayak, which isn’t fun to cruise around without a battery lol Yep, forgot my battery one trip. Another time was during a tournament, all loaded up with miles of travel and then unloading and launching only to realize that I left my Ketch measuring board in my garage! About it for me. Once I implemented the good ‘ol checklist, I’ve never had a forgetful moment since.

Life is a journey, and this is only a beginning, not an ending. My condolences to Tom and his family.

If there’s a will, there’s a way. It’s been suggested in certain articles that Pat Cullen as a full time accountant offered free services to land owners in exchange to fish their private ponds. He flew around in a friend’s private plane, scoping out the juicy spots, and then went knocking on doors. Seemed to work for him!

I’ll generally move on if I’m not getting any hits, especially where I fish, which is the Florida Everglades. Coming back around to the same spots often nets good results. All in the timing. An extreme example of this was LJ Brasher. He’d spend 2-3 days in his boat, relying on the feeding cycles to get his big hits, which seemed to work for him. Instead of going out for a few hours with the “hope” of timing things just right, he’d play it through day and night until the bass starting feeding. Bass are either on or off; just a matter of being staged in the right place when they’re “on”.

It’s a mud hole, plain and simple. Not only from the congested polluted mess north of the lake but also from continuous nuking (or spraying). Other areas in the glades are getting just as bad. Hard to say what the final outcome will be but I sure do miss those good times when all was green, wild, and so very full of life. Funny how it goes, to watch a dying land, sadly the fish have a front row seat!

With live bait fishing, “you gotta go fishing before you can go fishing” Which can sometimes take a long time. Scouting around, trying different techniques, shiners are around. Might just need to go the distance to get them, same as many do. As far as I’m concerned, never had a need for them, so I can’t give you specific Boca advice. Some of the local areas out west at the Lox preserve are loaded with them. They used to sell them out there along with $50 a day boat rentals…those were the days! Local inner city canals are hit & miss. They’ll probably call the cops and run you out lol

Just buy the cheap plastic ones and use the lip from them is what I did. Held on with deep thread stainless screws. Then I modify or “tune” them just right. I reposition the rear hook directly out of the rear end instead of dangling from the bottom. Heavy duty saltwater split rings along with BKK saltwater hooks hold the big girls. Works wonders in the shallow dead calm glass-like water of the everglades. The explosions split the night wide open! BTW that same lure in the photo has seen the mouth of two alligators and how I got it back both times I can never say lol Just an example how much abuse it can take and still perform flawlessly.

The fact that you’re a cast away from giving bass fishing up means that you never really got hooked!

I don’t think bass “know” what they’re eating, like off a menu or something lol But I do think they’re highly aware of all the attributes that are associated with what they’re eating. Whether it be a frog, a baitfish, a crawdad … all these particular meals ring a different kinda dinner bell. A frog is a frog but move it a certain way, plop it just right and boom! Seems like that for most baits, at least from my experience.

Cast. That’s what I’d do. Surface activity is usually a good sign that something’s stirring the pot, whether it be gamefish hitting bait or baitfish in general, always a good indication to start casting. I’ve never really had any particular area to cast at unless it’s a thick bait pod, which I usually work the outer edges. Most often, my cast is zero’ed in on the central activity. Always a good idea to have multiple rods ready to go to match the hatch, just in case.

Typical everglades spot that meets your description, hard to manage with a much higher risk of loosing them. Holding still for a while and then punching close to the yak increases the catch odds. Distance punching can be very physical, not only to hold them but also to plough over and dig them out. Hopefully they’re hooked good. If not, by the time I get to them, that heavy weight that I originally felt turns out to be nothing but a clump of soggy lettuce!

Happened a few times when first started out but like anything else one learns the moves. Just how it is with punching. I’d be more worried about having someone else around, more worried for them!

They like it thick down my way. I use minimum 65lb braid out in the everglades with a 2oz punch weight and a 5/0 strait shank punch hook. I’ve been experimenting with the 5/0 offset worm hooks with decent results. Rod of choice xtra heavy Saint Croix slop n frog rod with a fast 8-1 Daiwa Tatula. Often times the bass will already be six feet away before the hookkset. So gotta be quick and really sensitive to the drop of the bait. A technique I use is to thumb the spool on the drop so as to feel any such abnormality. Then lock & load. Sometimes the bait seems to stop and remain stationary and you assume bottomed out but lookout, she already has eaten it and is just chillin! This is the time to apply that “hooksets are free” mode. Any weird feeling slam ‘em! Punching baits is one of the best ways to get a trophy fish, imho. Typical everglades…

Hunh? Must be your location. Don’t think it’s temps, either. I’m down here in south Florida and when the sun pops out in the everglades it’s KABOOM time!