LONG POST ALERT (I cover the month)
November 2023 has been a very busy fishing time for us. I will cover my notes for several days in several areas for the month.
The Glades Nov '23
As you can see in the photo above we had some success out in the Florida Everglades again with the Peacock Bass. I can't tell you enough how much fun it is to get one of these fish on your line. All I can tell you is "HOLD ON" because you are in for a fight!
Tuesday Nov. 21-
We headed out on a dear friend's boat...Captain Brett Isackson. He has been a fishing guide in South Florida for over 30 years. If you ever want to learn how to fish for all the specicies down in Florida, he is your guy. Look him up! Here he is on Fishing.TV. Good news is we caught a ton of Peas on this day. Lil' Shaka and I caught several specifes of fish, but even more important got to catch up with our old friend Brett. It is a tradition in our family to fish for the Peas with him.
Wednesday Nov. 22-
We continued our pursuit of the Peacock Bass the next day, but from the banks in the Everglades. We have some spots that we like. I was actually able to pull out a plastic work and get bit! A good ol' trusty Zoom worm did the trick. But, that was the only plastic bite that I got on this day.
I think I caught 2-3 Largies on this day, but nothing super big. We both caught several Peacocks on this day. I will give Lil' Shaka a ton of credit as he stayed on the jerkbaits the entire time we were down there. As you can see here, he caught a very nice Pea on this day! I looked over and saw him fighting it to the bank and of course I got excited to run over and help him. I smacked my knee into the metal barrier that I was trying to jump over. LOL, Ouch, felt like a helmet to the knee from the old days.
Friday Nov. 24-
This was the final fishing day for Lil' Shaka and me during our trip. Again more of the same success! We both caught several Peacocks by staying on the jerkbaits the entire time. I ofcourse tried several plastic baits but the fish weren't have it! He kept saying Papa why do you even try plastics right now? Ha Ha. Anyways, as you can see we had a lot of fun from the banks of the Glades!
Neighborhood Pond Nov '23
Tuesday Oct. 31 and Friday Nov. 3-
I know this is a November post, but this was the last day in October. The fall transition was absolutely in full effect. I caught a bunch of bass in the pond using a Bitsy Bug in the orange and brown color 3/16 oz. I actually had a lot of luck with this lure in 2023 as you can see from earlier posts from the summer. I use a Zoom Speed Craw for the trailer. I caught 7 of these bass in about an hour after work. This is definitely a fun bite and speaks to the confidence I have with this lure.
Friday Nov 3 the pattern was still around. The bass were still biting on my jig set up. The weather on these days continued to get warm during the day and of course cold at night. Perfect fall transition type of weather. The fish were definitely more finicky during this time. They "want what they want" and only that...so you have to figure out the pattern during this fall transition period.
Sunday Nov. 5-
I changed it up to a Mepps inline spinner because the bass where NOT having the Jig set up anymore. I was able NOT to get skunked by catching this one on the Mepps spinner. That is how it goes...the pattern changes during this time of year and you need to figure something out to catch a fish. I think I even tried a dropshot minnow as that was producing earlier in the year, but no dice. The weather was beautiful, but I can tell you the fishing was slow! I think I only caught one or two bass on this day.
Saturday Nov. 11, Sunday Nov. 12, Friday Nov. 17-
Both of these days were colder weather. The water was definitely colder on both of these days. The pattern had again changed up!
On these two days, the pattern was really a black and blue zoom brush hog, and also flukes! While writing this, or documenting this...I do this so I can definitely get ideas when looking back to get ideas of the day that will happen in the present and future. Then, take a look at the pictures below, and see that on Friday (Nov. 17) of that week the black and blue brush hog from Zoom really did work well! So again, the pattern definitely changed again, and I was able to improvised in order to truly catch some fish out of the pond.
The Canal Nov '23
Saturday Nov. 4-
I went to a body of water next to my parent's residence (in the neighborhood) that I dub "The Canal" because it reminds Lil' Shaka and me of the Florida Everglade Canals. Like clockwork because of the cold temperature outside, I was catching a ton of bluegill and also crappie. Mepps inline spinner was getting it done! I tried some plastic tactics for bass, but did not catch any bass on this particular outing. All I can tell you is this little "Canal" is a honey hole for multiple species and a lot of fun to fish. I am glad I discovered this place, and look forward to fishing it for years to come.
Maramec Nov '23
Friday Nov. 10-
You see a picture above and you understand real quick that we made some great memories. The Maramec in Missouri is a river that is magical. In the winter time, it is catch and release only on trout. There are not that many people who fish the Maramec during this time, just people who fish for the the thrill. Check out this beautiful Brown trout that Lil' Shaka caught! In true form, he was using his favorite lure, the jerkbait.
It was perfect conditions out at the Maramec. You could see clear down to the bottom of the river. We had some "deer" friends come by and say hello while we were fishing. And, I mean they literally came within five feet of us while we were fishing! It is so calm at the Maramec and so quiet during these times. Again the conditions were ideal as the water was low enough in the river that we could walk to almost any spot in the river we wanted to explore. When there is a ton of rain and the river levels are up and "roaring" then it becomes difficult to fish in the right spots. Also, the water becomes cloudy and the fish cannot see as easy. We still catch fish during these times, but it isn't the same as when we have the conditions we had on this day.
We caught several Browns on this day mostly on jerkbaits. I did start out the day catching a Brown and several smallmouth bass on the good 'ol trusty Mepps inline spinner. I didn't take any photos of the smallies because they weren't really big enough to be photo worthy. They were little dinks.
As you can see November 2023 has been a VERY FUN fishing month for us. It has been one of the best fishing months we've ever had, and I am glad I was able to document the experience. I hope you enjoyed this post, and I wish you luck on the water! Cheers and tight lines to all of you that are in the angling pursuit.