Zcoker

Being skunked in no way defines anyone's abilities or fishing skills, plain and simple, because it happens to every fishermen. It's part of the discipline. It can be expected. It can be tolerated. And it can eventually be overcome. I've seen lotta guys in some of these big tournaments coming back to the weigh-in empty handed. They all have the skills, the equipment, and the tech yet they still can't buy a bite. Many factors contribute to that, most of which we already know about, location, time of year, water temp...many factors. In my neck of the woods, for instance, it's just the opposite. It's hard not to catch fish. But that's just the area, the favorable conditions that promote that. We have a saying for surf fishing for big sharks: time on the sand. The time spent can be many moons without the slightest tick from the reel. But one night, one night out of all those empty nights, the one makes her run for it and all those empty nights with nothing finally become what they were meant to be: victory!

Maybe so. Only reason I suggested the Spin Rocket is because I've seen him use them before. I know his dad makes his own Devil Horse, makes them much bigger, spins them out on a lathe and then adds the regular Devil Horse hardware. I believe the color Scott used is MF Bluegill with the yellow bottom. Can always reach out and ask him. He's very open on what he uses.

For me out in the everglades, I was getting 7-9 pounders on the 130, and I've won a few tournament's using it and only it. So I was sold on the 130. I still throw it once every blue moon. On those calm, flat nights, hard to resist the urge to throw one. The WP's usually shine down my way during the summer months--hopefully again sometime soon they'll get their magic back! These big bass wise up quickly to certain lures or certain sounds, the WP being one of them.

I wish I could relay the vision of a giant bass annihilating a whopper plopper, especially in the dead calm of a summer's night! The hit is like no other. Even in the daytime, the sudden explosive rage is enough to spook the birds away!

I used black when they first came out but later switched to the 'sooner' color for both day and night. I only use the 130. Also added dual split rings which helped out a LOT to keep them pinned. Now they are practically worthless where I fish, which is the Florida everglades. Can't seem to buy a bite on one nowadays, so I don't use them much anymore. Crazy how that works out.

They paved the road to Kenansville instead, Fellsmere Grade Road, nice and smooth now. Although only half was done, it's still a MASSIVE difference. That original 12 mile stretch to Kenansville Lake made the road to Headwaters Lake seem like a cake walk. My truck used to get so jarred up, sensor warning lights would start flashing. Much better now. Ironically, traffic is still about the same, which is hardly none.

I've fished out there solo many nights all night in my kayak on Stickmarsh and have never seen anyone else out there, there or in the general area around Headwaters. About the only place that I've seen activity at night is on Kenansville lake. Airboats idle around the wood-line with floodlights until about 1am and then they leave. I have no idea in the world what they're doing, maybe frogging? Sometimes I have my doubts about that because the floodlights always seem to be aimed at the upper tree-line. The rest of the night is very quiet except for the toads and critters and all kinds of funky sounds that I've never heard before lol.

For the longest time, Headwaters was hardly known by anyone. About the only access was by the primitive kayak launch next to the Stickmarsh parking lot. And even at that, it was still rather mysterious and unknow and didn't attract a ton of people like it does nowadays. That's because it was kayaks only. No boats. Into the beginning of the boat ramp construction, Roland Martin was in the infancy of his YouTube channel. He got the idea to launch his Z21 at the Stickmarsh boat ramp and with his canoe anchored along one side of his boat, he'd zoom up to the first pump station near the 'enhanced area'. There, he'd tie off his bass boat, jump the levee with his canoe and gear in hand, and then proceed to make YouTube videos of him catching 8 pounders on Senkos and buzz frogs. It worked. He got a TON of attention. Word got out. Social media did what it always does and what it's still doing today: as long as Headwaters keeps consistently producing what it's producing--which is trophy size bass--then it's going to get bigger and bigger and bigger. All these things of which we speak about here are going to get worse and worse or better and better. Just a matter of steering it in the right direction. So management is paramount, in my opinion, because it ain't going nowhere real soon unless the food source dies out or the bass themselves die out or, like the Stickmarsh, it just plain dies.

Looked like a Berkley Spin Rocket with a feathered rear hook.

I really can't say what the whole intention was, other than to create an artificial playground full of trophy bass. I mean, the FWC here in Florida was quite aware what they were doing. When they were first making that place, they carved it out, some of the workers carving out big words of their own name "John", another that spelled out "FLA", playing around with the machinery and having a good 'ol time before they flooded it. I've often wondered myself just how many shiners can be taken from these small confined places without totally disrupting the chain of life for the bass. I'd like to think that the same thing happened next door at the Stickmash. That place was fished out, literally. From experience, you'd think with this new place (Headwaters) that the FWC would impose stricter guidelines other than a 25mph speed limit and a sunrise to sunset time frame. Catch and release is about all they did afterwards. I reckon they did the best they could. Perhaps, later, with the diminishing baitfish population, they may in fact come to terms with the biological impacts and enact stricter guidelines for that. When these places get really crowded and off-the-wall, bad things can happen which get the attention of the authorities, thus ruining it for everyone. That's pretty much how it happens down here in Florida. Hopefully it doesn't come to that. Hopefully folks remain responsible. Hopefully! As far as those cages go, my guess is most likely for bass, held there only to be retrieved later on for CPR tournaments. Only reason I say that is because I've seen them many places before, same sorta thing. Poachers would just take the fish and then split. Besides, Headwaters is closed at night and there's no airboats allowed. So anything going on happens in daylight. There's not a large presence of FWC officers patrolling that place, so if someone wants to get away with something, they pretty much can.

Pretty much summed it up @TOXIC Glad your trips are drama free save for a few hiccups. Shiners are very popular there because many of those trips hook into a 8-10 pounders. "Trophy" is the word out there, is why so many flock there and hire shiner charters. Fish of a lifetime. More and more guys are jumping on the charter bandwagon because so many people are booking trips with the hope of catching a fish of a lifetime. And shiners are doing just that. Most boats sell out for months. When a guy with free time with a boat sees the money that can be made, it's all in! It's almost akin to the gold rush days. Netting continues on the lake, same with stake-out poles. Kenansville is a BIG source for shiners. The poles are all over the place out there. Some of those charter guys have airboats. They launch at Stickmarsh and then jump the levee at Kenansville, net up a bunch of shiners and then come back to the Headwaters area to either sell them or use them. So they're not only depleting Headwaters, they're wiping them clean from Kenansville as well. Only a ten minute run from the Stickmarsh airboat launch and a levee jump to get into Kenansville. Shiners are BIG out there and, as their own name implies, are like GOLD on that lake! The hysteria and draw will only continue....just like it did in the good 'ol Stickmarsh days.

Lotta guys who own OT Autopilots have gone (or tried) the airplane prop route for a tad bit more top end speed. Simple and cheap. I have the OT 106 with the same 45 and it gets me all over the place, through just about any situation with no issues whatsoever, stock prop.

Not really. Most of those contraptions are made from stiff galvanized wire mesh. If the gators get interested, they usually shy after the first nudge. Now, when stringing individual bass up to a stump or a tree for a later date, that may be a different story.

I'm not saying that the baskets your found are strictly for kayaks alone, only that it's possible because kayaks do go out there. The baskets could be for anyone on that lake, kayaks or boats. I've heard of the same type of holding baskets found on lake Okeechobee. Heck, they might be everywhere, for all I know. The more we expose them, the more chances we have of keeping them honest....We're on to you, so watch out!

Always look next door when highlighting Headwaters as wonderful fishery. Look over the levee at the Stickmarsh, which was once just as idyllic as Headwaters is now. Stickmarsh is now a mud hole. Hopefully it’ll never happen to Headwates but from what I’m seeing and hearing, it’s getting pretty darn chaotic out there, just like it did years ago at Stickmarsh. Jammed pack with hundreds of boats. Thousands upon thousands of shiners sucked dry daily for profits. Tournements left and right from boats and kayaks. And don’t think for one minute that any area in that impoundment is off limits to a motorized fishing kayak. I’ve transversed that whole place with still juice to spare in mine. Now on to the baskets. They’re obviously staged for cheating. There’s been a lot of cheating going on in these CPR bass tournaments. Staged bass like that can be used very effectively. Just the other day I was unloading and saw a guy launching a Prowler with 3 Home Depot buckets loaded with live shiners along with humming aeration pumps. He had his tournement ID tag in plain view. Must’ve slipped his mind lol Live bait is strictly forbidden in most all CPR tournaments but they still figure out ways to use them. Other stuff they do just blows my mind, like cutting off a fish’s tail to extend the length of other fish. Or using taped up batteries to put underneath a fish to prop it up, pull it in, shortening its length. That way, the same fish can be used twice for scoring! Or bending boards to do the same thing. Crazy stuff they come up with. We all saw the lead weight debacle. Or the Mike Long snagging videos. Yep, some folks will wrack their brains to cheat. Caged bass=cheating, plain and simple, imho.

Regardless of what anyone does as a hobby, sometimes those hobbies need to be taken to another level to reignite them. As far as bass fishing goes, bank fishing can become kayak fishing or kayak fishing can become bank fishing or both can become boat fishing. Can fish lakes or bogs, everglades or marsh pits. Can join a local fishing club or start a YouTube channel or hit the tournament scene....I'm sure you get the idea. Adding a bit of spice to things can open up many new doors. The word "boring" can vanish instantly. I will be the first to say that if anyone is doing the same thing over and over and over again at the same place and at around the same time, then it should get boring! It's the mundane things in life telling ya to kick 'em up a notch!

Probably a mid-life bout. But really, man, I would never put into question what you did (or do) with your life. I mean, it's your life. When you are happy, you're kids will be happy. If not, then that's their problem. They'll get over it, or, at the very least, find their own way, which they eventually do regardless of what you did or what you do now. They will eventually come to realize that you were doing something that made you happy, or whole, or a better person. They mimic that, which helps them do better in their own life. It all works out in the end, really, it does. I have three boys of my own and together with them along with step children, I've raised about 7 kids. I've gone through about everything imaginable with kids. So I know a thing or two. Be who you are and do what you really want to do in life to make you happy because that's what's ultimately best for any child...imho.

Sometimes it gets old, yes, if ya do it long enough, which I do ALL the time! But living in southeast Florida near the coast does give me plenty of opportunities to go after other species, which can be just as exhilarating as well as challenging than any bass will ever be. Surf fishing requires remapping the whole arsenal. It requires great physical stamina, especially if going after big gamefish like I do. We have multiple seasonal bait runs down here along our coast which bring in world class fishing right off the surf zone...right off the finger tips, literally. It's very easy to hook into a 180lb tarpon with the family nearby bathing in the sunshine or playing in the white sand. Ask me how I know lol. Then there's other species like snook, or redfish, or sharks....the list is very long. Then, when all that is said and done, can always go back to the freshwater side of things. Breaking things up and going after something else makes things very exciting. The adventure begins all over again, so to speak. That sorta back and forth keeps things fresh on my end of the rod.

For simple no frills operation with mapping, I have the Garmin Striker Vivid CV. Great little unit, light weight, compact, easily readable, doesn't get in the way. I use mine out in the everglades. It only really comes on just to get a temp reading. So my recommendation may not be the best for big lakes and so froth. The mapping feature as well as the depth and temp reading are the only things I ever use on it. Fish finding is left up to me!

In an attempt to not discourage our bank guys, this leading statement of yours is simply not accurate, or, more should I say, no electronics needed nor boats needed to do just as well. I once fished a national tournament against over 100 anglers from Florida, Texas, and California...the big three. Most all of those guys were boats or kayaks...with electronics. My choice was the bank. At first I thought that I was completely crazy, putting myself in a no win situation like that. But I was already committed to it and so very determined. So I put on my boots and held my head high and hit the road. Well, I pulled off a win on two feet with no boat, no electronics, fishing local lakes, ponds, and levee roads out in the everglades. I've also caught fish pushing 12lbs off the bank, lotta 10, 8's, and many 7's. Bank fishing has proved over and over to me its outstanding capabilities, not only to win tournaments (if that's what ya into) but also to catch just as many trophy fish. Gearing up for a bank day. Nice to have comfy A/C a few steps away! Few regular bank fish lol

It’s all about mindset. I’ve said this before many times: it wasn’t until I started thinking big bass that I started catching big bass. When I launch out in the everglades, for instance, I know one hundred percent that from the time that I start casting to the time that I finish casting, a big girl will hit. I make up mind from the get-go that she will be there. Whether I get her or not depends on just how ready I am. I try to have that mindset wherever ago on any body of water. The best fishing lure in the entire world is your own mind!

Everglades never disappoints! Always a big bite out there, not a question of if but a question of when. So the strategy is to ALWAYS be ready, no matter what!

Maybe so. But that doesn't explain how this survival information is spread so quickly when something is suddenly introduced, like a whopper plopper, for example. I can go to a small, isolated place in the middle of nowhere that has never seen a whopper plopper and the bass there react the same way as they do in other bigger bodies of water that have seen it all the time. How is this info jumped over dry land to other bass? That's kinda my line of thinking here. Interesting stuff, to say the least.

I can certainly see what you're saying about the pack theory, one fish may do something that is a big mistake and then the other bystanders, what, learn from it and then pass on the word? How do you think this word is spread to other bass over many miles? I have this image of all the fish frantically swimming around screaming at all the other fish to avoid something lol Seriously, though, I can go many miles away from certain areas and the bass react the exact same way to certain lures, like the plopper. How is this "knowledge" of one bad thing spread across the lands for many miles or even thousands of miles? It seems to me, that even in places that've never seen a whopper plopper-- and I can tell ya right now, the everglades has never seen much of any lure made--how do they ALL know to avoid it when at one time they ALL used to eagerly hit it? What would be your best guess on that?

I don't have anything else running when I am fishing the shallow water. I usually position or drift in while making my cast--dead quiet. Everywhere out in the glades is skinny water. Very rare to come across deep holes unless in a canal or something similar. Many of these impoundments were once cow pastures which were built up and eventually flooded, places like Headwaters Lake. Places like that are rimmed with canals which were dug out to make the surrounding levee's. The canals are about it as far as depth goes and even at that, you're only talking a few feet, maybe 10-15 feet at the most. Even at night where you'd think a light is a must, it rarely comes on. I only turn on my headlight to net up these big monster bass. I need to see what they're doing in order to get a good fix on them so I can position the net. They're as crazy as crazy can be in the dark!