Zcoker

I can tell you from hardcore experience that it is. Nothing quite compares and it’s near impossible to put into words the rush when dealing with these gals!

I’m all about the everglades…period. I can go out there and it’s like being on another planet, which is different every outing. Always nice to go home near the ocean, too. Nothing like a spectacular beach sunrise to get the blood flowing…or should I say the fish lol For me, it’s one or the other that keeps things in check.

Way south is pretty darn hot. Was mid 90’s just a few days ago. Next thing you know a front comes down, pushing us into the low 70s. Then a few days later, it’s back up into the mid 80s. Those kinda temp fluctuations don’t mess with the bite that much, which keeps things going pretty strongly in my neck of the woods. So, yeah, could depend on how far south you go. Even still, southern bass can blank out with a bit of cooler weather which can make ya work much much harder to wake their tails up!

It’s also about mindset. Gotta think big bass in order to catch big bass. It wasn’t until I excepted that mindset that I finally started catching the big girls, catching them consistently. It’s kind of like the Super Bowl when a team makes up its mind to win. They’re gonna do just that—WIN!

I don’t fish much in the daytime because it’s simply much harder to trick or fool those big wise older fish. They know what’s up and can see much better than us what’s coming at them. They’re there, for sure, always have been. That’s how they got so big in the first place, by knowing very well what’s up in their environment. I wouldn’t say that they die off or disappear, they simply aren’t gonna let ya catch them.

I don’t get into any metrics or stuff like that, cut offs and so forth. The only thing I focus on is catching big bass because that’s all that I am after and that’s usually what I get, one way or the other. I know they’re there and I just make up my mind before I head out that I’m gonna get them! Easy as that. It wasn’t until I started thinking big bass that I started catching big bass. I figured that out a long time ago. For me, though, big bass would probably be in the neighborhood 7-8 pounds out in the glades. They don’t get too much bigger out there in the wild. So I settle for what’s consistently there and hunt them down and catch ‘em when I can.

Kinda ordained to loose big fish. I’ve lost some honkers. It’s a sure thing to be angry near crying when it happens. It’s those errors that eat ya. The “would’ve could’ve should’ve”. Take it for what it’s worth, a teachable moment. Keep trying to make it right for next time because there WILL be a next time. Happy days ahead!

Tether everything possible in a kayak! Learned the hard way one night, thinking I could get away with it. I was casting my spinning combo and then switched to another rod but didn’t secure the spinning combo when I put it away. When I went to reach for it again, it was gone. I could only assume that the rod I previously pulled out somehow caught it and flung it overboard. Combo had a Stella 4K on it, $900 bucks for the reel alone. Still stings!

I’ve caught some large bass from the bank. I even won tournaments from the bank up against kayaks and boats. Nowadays, I usually take my kayak out, fishing close to the bank or cover. However ya look at it, it’s a logical place to fish. Sometimes it depends on where you bank fish to make it worth while or even memorable. All them pitfalls that you mentioned about bank fishing can also happen on the water. All depends on what ya like to do. I just luv to “park and fish” move on down the road or chill out in the AC if it’s blazing hot out.

I’d have to say blacktip sharks for saltwater, one of my favorites. I got into shark fishing years ago and soon joined forces with NOAA Apex Predator Program. Over the years, I developed techniques along with the right gear to catch sharks on topwater poppers, all on foot off our local beaches. Sorta turning the tagging process into a wild thrill ride! The gear has to be light enough to work a popper yet strong enough to handle extremely large and heavy fish. Nothing like it in the world, seeing a 150lb 6 plus foot shark dive bomb the lure close up and then shoot for the moon over and over back flipping the entire length of the ocean, pulling 400 yards of heavy drag. Psycho blacktip in action. One wild ride! I’ve always called largemouth bass “the sharks of freshwater” with some of them big everglades mamas giving me the same sorta thrill nailing a top water plug!

Been very busy down here in south Florida tagging sharks for NOAA. Fight of a lifetime on surf rod!

No winter formulas down here in south Florida, just a bunch of fronts that always seem come through on Fridays! Where I fish is very shallow, so any temp drop seems to instantly affect the fish. They’re a bunch clowns who run for the weeds when those temps drop. Lockjaw is the name of the game. I caught a few fish the other day that felt like ice cubes, literally. Seems like they sucked in and retained all the cooler weather. Hard to get them to hit when they’re like that. I’m so used to them annihilating everything I through at them during the summer months. I know better when it gets colder out and save my fishing trips for the warming trends. They’ve thawed out by then and are very very hungry! So it really comes down to timing things after the fronts to get the fish, timing things after the fronts as well as before the fronts.

Thinking outside the box, going the extra mile, putting out 100%, willing to be super critical of every move….just some of the more common things that make me good at not only catching bass but basically anything I apply them to. Along with a straight forward pinpointed desire to succeed, no matter what. And if that means going outside of my comfort zone, then so be it. If there’s one thing that I’ve leaned with fishing: if there’s a will, there’s a way! Things may seem near impossible, that body of water may seem near impossible to catch fish in, it may be so dark out making the eyes useless, but it can be done. Barriers can be overcome, most of which are created in our own minds. Heck, look at what a bass has to overcome just to make it to adulthood, let alone trophy status! Nearly impossible odds in certain areas. Yet some of them beat those odds and prevail. Remember that next time you catch and hold a giant bass. Learn what you can from that which you are trying to catch. The secret is there, always has been. Just gotta seek it out and catch it!

Maybe I rely on both intuition and skill. And if you wanna call those art and science, then so be it. I don’t really think about neither of them when I’m fishing. Often with things like art, it depends on how one defines art. I recall the Beeple NFT digital piece going for $69 million. I wouldn't have given 50 bucks for it. Yet it’s called art to the highest standard along with a hefty price tag. I just couldn’t see anything in it no matter how I turned my head. Art is up to the beholder, I reckon. Science is science. Maybe the weather, the technology and so forth. I could also be using a cane pole. Fish wouldn’t care. Art?

Big plans for big fish, making every cast count. I plan to do more surf fishing, maybe one week out in the glades, one week on the surf. Kinda adds spice to the adventure doing both. At least it dose for me. Lotta water to cover in south Florida!