Double up on an a rig with 2 big fish. This is what fun looks and smells like. Picasso Lures Alabama Rig paired up with the best swimbait for these deals – a Gambler Big EZ mixed with EZ Swimmers. Slow roll it on your local winter school with a few speed changes and you’ll hook up hard. Fishing is fun, catching 2 at once is better.
Got out to Lake Okeechobee for a quick punching session and as the water is falling there’s alot of super skinny water to access. I was kicking up dirt with the trolling motor in this vid. Fishing was post frontal on a cold winter day in Florida. Late in the day I headed in to punch some mats with a Gambler BB Cricket and found one big 5lbs fish that was looking to eat.
Thanks to you guys I’m 1 of 6 vids in the Uploaded Fishing VOY Contest with a shot at winning a 2016 Triton TRX189! It’s unbelievable and I’m stoked to say the least! The vid that’s in the contest is when I caught an 11lbs bass and a 2 lbs bass at the same time on a Strike King 6XD crankbait – one of the craziest catches I’ll ever have. Take a second to check out the vids and vote for your favorite…hopefully VOY 4!
As spring hits in your region fish move to their annual spawn making some of the biggest fish of the year very targetable. I love sight fishing – the game-like process of tracking down fish that are locked on at just the right time and juggling to find more is a total rush!
Fist off, key triggers that signal bedding bass: new moon or full moon cycle (usually best a few days before each); 3-5 day warming trend; water temp (this one is regional, in South Florida it’s usually low to mid 70’s however the further north you go the cooler that temp range will be).
Arsenal of baits can vary but I prefer plastics like the Gambler Why Not, Burner Craw, or Mega Daddy. I also love to throw tubes at bedding bass – especially in Florida since it’s not something they see very often. My got to bait to get a fish started however is a white stick bait – watch the vid for more sight fishing bait details:
What’s the strategy? The way I approach sight fishing – when the environment is telling me they should be on beds is I commit to it 100%. What does that mean, that means when I’m sight fishing I’m not even regular fishing. Trolling motor is turned on high, polarized glasses on, and looking until you see the right size female.
It’s a tough process to explain but here are a few vids that really show off the process and the time it takes:
If you’re an aspiring angler or just want to highlight your fishing via social media I’m starting to offer content production services. Basically you get the spotlight for one day on the water – pics, vids, highlight your sponsors – whatever you want to capture. I’ve worked with companies, tour level anglers, as well as regional sticks, it’s about what you want to achieve! If you’re interested in more details, have some questions, shoot me a message I’m happy to run through the program as well as show off some examples!
Moving into post spawn can be hit or miss fishing. Especially with fish moving towards deeper water my experience has been you’re either catching dinks or you’re on a mega bag. That has a lot to do with the attitude of the fish – they’re beat up they’re done spawning but at the same time temps are stabilizing and the weather is starting to push those fish towards their summer haunts.
One thing I’ve struggled with is getting bigger fish to bite during this period even though I can often see them down there on my graph relating to wood or hard bottom spots as well as bottom contours.
When this happens – and it’s usually after I’ve tried dragging a big Gambler Lures worm, a football jig with an O Beast or a Mega Daddy, even drop shotting Roboworms – I’ve found going to the opposite end of the spectrum can light them up.
So what does that mean? It means throwing big fast moving baits that move a bunch of water and fly by the fish forcing them to pull the trigger on biting. My go to are crankbaits like the 10XD and the 6xd and I like to toss it at hard targets – wood, shell, any isolated target.
Words can only go so far – check out what I’m talking about in the vid:
Been catching a lot of fish cranking of late… catching as well as losing a lot of bass on them.
The vid above really emphasizes the focus you have to put on equipment and terminal tackle when you’re trying to closing the deal on crank bait fish. It’s been a learning experience and in the end there’s no 100% land-rate way around crankbait fishing especially deep cranking; but factors like changing out your hooks to Mustad KVD Short Shanks and going with a high quality, low stretch, low diameter flourocarbon like Sunline FC Sniper as well. On 6XD style baits I’ll go with straight 10lbs test however when going up to 10XD sized baits I’ll use 12-14lbs.
Another big key when deep cranking has been equipment. When throwing cranks like the Strike King 6XD, 10XD, and other so called “mag-diving” cranks the right rod is essential. Your standard 7′ composite stick just doesn’t cut it anymore on baits that can run, casted, to almost 27′.This kind of cranking takes a longer beefier rod. On 6XD’s and 8XD’s or baits that run down to 21-22ft up to 1.25oz I run a Powell Max 3D 804 CB. When going up to the gigantic stuff like a 10XD or greater I’ll turn to a Powell Max 3D 7115 CB. Both rods offer a bit more beef but still a moderate classic cranking style action to allow the fish to do the work when hooking up.
Reels are pretty simple. I like my Shimano Stuff such as the Casitas, Curado I, or Chronarch reels. Speeds are key; on 6XD style baits a standard 6:2:1 is what I opt for so I can get the bait down quick and retrieve the bait fairly quickly. On the 10XD however I do go for a slower reel – something like a 5:2:1. The added power helps crank that beast down and also keeps it down.
I’ve bee catching some stellar fish approaching bass with spoons. In Florida that’s not the most common thing but it’s all about approaching water with an open mind and the right setup.
I’m running my standard sized spoons on Powell Max 3d 795’s and a Lews Speed Spool with 20lbs Sunline. The setup gives enough tip to play the fish and at the same time get the right action out of the spoon when fishing it in 15 to 30ft of water. These fish are targeting large gizzard shad and the presentation really plays to those bigger bass when they’re staging in late winer to come up to spawn!
With fish schooled deep an a-rig has also come into play; specifically a Picasso School E Rig set up with Gambler Little EZ’s mixed with EZ Swimmers. The trick has been to slow roll and drop retrieve keeping the presentation near the bottom up to 5ft off the bottom as the fish are podded and relating to shell and small ledges down deep.
Florida is not usually the place to implement structure fishing however you can’t argue with the quality of fish that I’ve stumbled upon out deep. Definitely make you rethink the Florida situation and how big bass set up for the spawn in late winter.
mikeybalzz fishing 