Is this cheating or fishing? Many anglers go back and forth when it comes to catching bass out deep. In this video I show you how to use your electronics to find and catch fish out deep on brushpiles. We also go through fishing rod and reels setups as well as what lures catch bass when fishing deep water structure (crankbaits, hair jigs, jigs, drop shot, ned rig, swimbait, etc).
Want the fishing rods, fishing lures, and soft plastic baits we talked about?
This is one technique I love for tournament fishing on Lake Okeechobee. We just fished bass fishing tournament and we had a one in a million clutch finish! By the end of the day we won a 2nd place finish against some of the best anglers on the lake. The Roland Martin Marine Series is the biggest fishing tournament on the lake and a first place finish in that derby is huge. The last few events we’ve struggled and our tournament finishes have not been what we were hoping for – but that’s why I love this lake. It’s so dynamic the bass fishing can absolutely go off in a matter of minutes!
Tournament fishing is always a challenge but when it comes together it’s insane. This video runs through a recap and reliving of the punching and tournament strategies we used during the derby. Fishing lures, Texas Rig setup and knot, and lake pattern factors.
Want the gear, fishing rods, and fishing lures in the video?
We fished a HUGE Lake Okeechobee bass fishing tournament and we had a one in a million clutch finish! The waves were rolling the water was crazy and at the end of the day we won a 2nd place finish against some of the best anglers on the lake. The Roland Martin Marine Series is the biggest fishing tournament on the lake and a first place finish in that derby is huge. The last few events we’ve struggled and our tournament finishes have not been what we were hoping for – but that’s why I love this lake. It’s so dynamic the bass fishing can absolutely go off in a matter of minutes!
We had one of the craziest and luckiest final hours of tournament fishing I think I’ll ever experience – it just went off! We ended up weighing over 26lbs of bass and winning big fish with an 8+lbs monster bass! Tournament fishing is always a challenge but when it comes together it’s insane – not to mention it came together doing something we love, punching for bass in heavy cover!
Want the gear, fishing rods, and fishing lures in the video?
I really hate punching heavy cover for bass on places like Lake Okeechobee and Lake Kissimmee…Florida bass fishing is terrible…SERIOUSLY?!?!? SUBSCRIBE https://www.youtube.com/user/mikeybalzzfishing
This is one of the most intense ways to cheat bass in to biting during high pressure situations and it’s flat out the funnest fishing technique I have ever learned. When you have semi clear water and heavy vegetation or cover using a heavy tungsten weight, a fairly heavy action fishing rod, and an attitude to grind whatever lake you might be on! There’s nothing more raw that targeting these type of fish when the situation is right. Heavy cover provides bass a hangout where they can live in low light water conditions and ambush whatever they want to eat as it passes by. Vegetation like hyacinth, penny wort, and water lettuce are some of the key types of vegetation we looks for as well a underwater hydrilla or milfoil. All provide those canopy characteristics that are perfectly suited for using this fishing technique. Braided fishing line, heavy guage hooks, and a solid snell knot. The fish bite is usually a slight tap or dead weight and sometimes you might be tricked thinking you are hung up on vegetation especially during fall and winter seasons when activity levels can be lower. Isolated targets are the best for bigger fish but that can be a challenge – it can mean targeting less fish more spread out.
So you want to try this fishing technique, punching for bass, what kind of fishing rods, fishing line, and terminal tackle do you need? Here it is:
Summer fishing means cheating HUGE bass and we busted out the spoons and kitchen utensils in this technique video. Hot water temperatures can make fishing for bass tough this time of year but it can also lead to huge catches if you use the right fishing lures or utensils….and sometimes you have to cheat and go HUGE with big spoons like the NIchols Magnum Ben Parker Spoon.
The bass seemed to school up in the water during the morning period and I tried to show Fishing With Norm a quick cheat walk thru to the basics of the spoon technique – funny part is we also helped out a couple high school anglers try out this kitchen utensil spoon technique as well! By the end of the morning I think Fishing with Norm thought it was cheating too!! Things just got crazy and the lake showed off unbelievably!
There are few techniques for bass fishing in summer that I love as much as this one. The NEKO RIG has caught me so man fish in the hot summer months it’s INSANE. It’s such a simple technique and basically allows you to deliver a wacky rigged fishing lure at depths bass normally don’t see such a rig. The other reason I love this technique is it catches small fish up to mondo huge bass! It’s perfect for clear to moderately stained water and in most situations should be fished where you find open hard bottom. Not a lure you want to throw into heavy cover but more geared for targeting pods or schools of fish setup on offshore structure. We break down the 3 soft plastic baits I use, the terminal tackle, how to set up the Neko Rig, and what types of fishing rods work best to fish the Neko Rig.
Make sure to SUBSCRIBE, LIKE, and support #RealFishing
Want to try this fishing technique? Everything you need to set up a Neko Rig is right here:
Bass Fishing such an emotional sport that you hate to love it sometimes. Lake Okeechobee fishing for bass can have you on the lowest low and keep you there – it’s why I love it but struggle not to hate it when you hit a dry spell. This is the first vid of a collabo with youtuber Bass Quest and his family who came down from Lake Chickamauga to do some Lake Okeechobee Florida fishing and enjoy some beach time in South Florida! We managed to tap into some shad spawn fish and had a flat out good time horsing around and causing some shenanigans! Stay tuned though – community and Karma come thru on the last day for an ultimate punching for bass session on Lake Okeechobee that was INSANE!
We’ve all been there strutting the angler walk of shame at the end of a hard fished tournament. It’s tough to swallow after having put in so much time and really committed to laying it all on the line – but that’s the reality of tournament fishing, especially on Lake Okeechobee. There’s no shame in losing – even badly if you’re able to reset as an angler and come back and fish again. And sometimes that’s all you can do – fish, fail, and get right back out there. The walk of shame is just a reminder of how humbling this sport can be and how mother nature is never predictable when it comes to fishing for bass.
Once again the topwater frog was a top fishing lure out here on Lake Okeechobee as well as punching with a jig and Mega Daddy combo or a 1/2oz. Hawgtech tungsten paired up with a bulk plastic bait.
MAKE SURE to SUBSCRIBE, LIKE, and TURN ON Notifications
SUPPORT #RealFishing
Want the gear used in the vids – check it out below:
The frog fishing bite has been on fire as well as punching but this tournament practice on Lake Okeechobee was a flat out nightmare. Nothing seemed to come together and when we did get a good fish to bite on the topwater frog or punching the grass it seemed like it was totally random. This is the game though, you put your time in, see what’s happening on the lake and hope that something will come together tournament day. No doubt though, with the amount of fishing time both me and Donny put in we were hoping to not be in such a nightmare scenario. With that said some of my favorite ways to catch bass on Lake Okeechobee are frogging and punching so who knows, maybe we can patch something together the day of the tournament out here!
MAKE SURE to SUBSCRIBE, LIKE, and TURN ON Notifications
SUPPORT #RealFishing
Want the gear used in the vids – check it out below:
mikeybalzz fishing 