Holiday Hustle: Father & Son Forge Iron (and Memories)

 

Put the Turkey Legs down! This holiday season has been about iron and gains! Lil' Shaka and I, have turned the gingerbread house into a house of sweat. We're swapping sleigh bells for dumbbells and eggnog for protein shakes. We've stayed on the workouts and have stayed consistent during the holidays. It isn't easy to do once his baseball seasons or football seasons get moving. So, it is a special time to workout together, to make gains together, and to just focus on the pump.

I know we are more consistent because we get to all of our workouts. There are certain lifts and body parts that we always hit, and then there are those that fall off because of time. Shoulders!!! You should obviously not neglect them, but in our case they are not hit as much as the other major body parts like biceps, triceps, chest, back, and legs.

I haven't forgotten the gingerbread house either. His girlfriend came over and they attempted to make a gingerbread house together. But, for whatever reason they didn't realize you need to heat up the frosting that comes in the package...LOL. Like I said 14 year olds 😆

We've had some great times this holiday season. I hope we continue on the grind for years to come.

Day after Christmas 2023 biting bass

 

The day after Christmas, most folks are still recovering from sugar comas and fruitcake hangovers. Me? I decided to trade in the tryptophan for adrenaline and chase some green ghosts in the lake. Now, I'm no ice-fisherman, but the sun was surprisingly high, the thermometer inched its way up to a balmy (well, for December) 45 degrees, and the itch to try and catch a few green fellers was too strong to resist.

I started out with an underspin with a nice Strike King Rage Swimmer 3 inch swimbait in the three inch flavor. I would consider this a fairly big lure when you consider the size of the underspin and the swimbait together. Now, I know what you're thinking: "Dude, there is no way they are biting that lure." But hey, desperate times (and freezing fingers) call for desperate measures. And guess what? It worked! One of the bass slurped up the bait near the bottom and closer to the bank. I feel like the bass was following it from the deep and decided to slurp. I had a very slow retrieve on this one. i hoisted him to the bank – a beauty, his scales shimmering like Christmas ornaments. I got a really good picture that you can see above.

The second underspin catch I was mimicking a dying fish or dying shad. I was popping the underspin up off the bottom and letting it float back down. The nice bass hit the bait of the float back to the bottom. Again, I have to believe that this bass was also deeper and came closer to the bank to eat.

My final bass catch of the day came when I casted out an H20 Academy jerkbait. I casted into a well known spot...definitely a high percentage of fish I have caught in that area (near a drain). Very slow retrieval, basically deadsticking...Nothing. Then, BAM! A tug that jolted me back to reality. I set the hook, and brought the greenie weenie to the shore. He was chunky largemouth, glistening in the winter sun. Score one for the crazy Christmas fisherman!

As I released the magnificent bass back into the water, I couldn't help but laugh. Who needs Christmas cookies when you can catch fish like these? The post-Christmas chill may have nipped at my fingers, but the bass-catching thrill warmed me from the inside out. I always have a sense of greatfulness when I catch and release these beautiful creatures. Have a great rest of the Holiday Season! I definitely am!

Workout Notes from Mid December 2023

 

The workouts are of course in full effect. These days I am training with Lil' Shaka. I started him on the path last winter, and he's really loving the grind. Last night's workout was good.  The notes are below:

We've been into the off-season pyramids sets lately which absolutely put you in your place. Some of the lifts are foundational to our workouts, and then we will mix it up with what I like to call the "cosmetics". It was definitely a good workout as we continue to push each other. I am looking forward to continuing his education in the grind.

We were out at the Bills v Chiefs game on Dec. 10th. It was the first time we had both been to Arrowhead. What an amazing stadium! If you are a football fan it is right up your alley in terms of atmosphere. The fans really get behind their Chiefs team, and heck why wouldn't you? The Chiefs have been great for several years and are coming off a Superbowl Win last year. They didn't play that great in this one and actually trailed Buffalo for most of the game. They were able to come back in the 3rd and 4th quarters and almost pull off the win, but they had a penalty deep in the 4th quarter tht called back a touchdown on the play that would have put them up over Buffalo in the final minute. They actually did get the ball back, but failed to move the ball and Buffalo won.

We had some great seats. Here was out view (pic above) that I took from my phone and I was hardly zoomed in. It was definitely a great NFL experience to be there up close to see these amazing athletes "run". They are so fast and the speed of the game is truly amazing.

The other thing that we were able to do is workout in a gym that is near and dear to my heart. Back in the early 2000s, I used work for a company that sold and distributed sports supplements to gyms, fitness centers, and health food stores throughout Southern Illinois and Missouri. Blue Springs Fitness was one of our customers at the time.

If I was to describe Blue Springs Fitness it is really a fitness center or gym that is designed for folks who are serious about their gains or goals. You see bodybuilders and powerlifting folks in this gym. The other thing I love about this gym are all the different "peices" of unique workout equipment that exists. 

There is equipment in this gym from the 80s and 90s that are legit! AND, they also have the newest equipment on the market as well. If you are a bodybuilder I definitely recommend going here. You will be delighted to see all the great equipment you can use to hit different angles. We were able to get a night and morning workout in during this weekend. We will definitely be doing this again when we travel out.

That is all for now, have a great Holiday Season!

Still getting them to bite in December 2023

 

I was out there yesterday for about 45 minutes and caught three of them. They were all very healthy, large, and in charge! The weather conditions were ideal. It warmed up to around 55 degrees even though the water was still very cold. Without a doubt the bass were activated and willing to chase a bit during this session.

The Sexy Shad Jerkbait from Academy's H20 brand is still getting it done. I have been using this one for a couple of years and it seems to be versatile for several ways that you might want to fish it. I have been using it in extremely clear water and it works. I know people will tell you to use for transparent jerkbaits for very clear water and that might be the case...but this one definitely works too even though it is more solid or opaque in color.

From some of my previous posts it has been about the retrieve. It has been a very slow retrieve and a more subtle jerk that has been getting it done. It has been about stopping, pausing longer, and then retrieving. FUN! One of my favorite times of the year to fish is right now!

Dec 8th End of the Week Fishing Report

 

As Ice Cube would say..."Today was a good day". I got done with work, and it just so happened to get up to 57 degrees on the day. I went to two different lakes and sure enough the Jerkbait in the Sexy Shad color was getting bit! I watched a few Pros on Youtube around winter jerkbaits and just got some additional ideas on retrieve in the winter when the water is really, really cold. Here is a really good video from Randy Blaukut in which he diverges some really good ideas around when to use specific types of jerkbaits, and even some focus on the retrievals. I caught 6 largies on this day!

I started to catch them when I really slowed down the retrieval. The normal "jerks" that you give to a jerkbait in the prime of pre-spawn is really not what you need to do during this time of year. It really is a retrieve that I already use for Flukes. It is much slower and really a feel and twitch. They come up and hit it!

I also caught some really nice ones on this day too. I can attest to the fact that bigger bass go after the full size jerkbaits! Also, I was surprised that these bigger bass were not deep.  These bass were located closer to the bank and specifically in some places that were predictable...places that I know very well. 

It was the first time that I had had true success using jerkbaits at these two specific lakes. The success on this day really came down to "trusting the process". Trusting my ability to utilize the jerkbait in the right way. The day actually started slow, and I tried several different baits and set ups. AND, sometimes it doesn't matter what you do because you still don't catch anything. But god willing,..I started to get bit on the jerkbait! I appreciate very much this time on the water.

Beginning of December 2023 Fishing

 

It is the beginning of December in 2023 and I am not going to lie...been a few skunk sessions out there already!😄 I pulled out the crappie rigs to see if I could get a few bites and luckily this happened. The good ol' trusty bobber and jig rig did the trick. This time of year is tough with the water temps being very cold, but there are ways to get them to bite sometimes. I will be using the crappie rigs and jerkbaits a lot during this time of year. This is just a quick post, hope all is well and the holidays are treating you all well.