Thanksgiving Fishing Adventure in South Florida

Hello all. My Son and I decided to go fishing on Thanksgiving morning. Under a balmy 75-degree sky and bright bluebird sunshine, we headed to our usual spots in the Everglades off of highway 75. I won't give away all of our secrets around locations, but that should be enough for you to take a look at on a map. 😆 We figured there should not be as many people out their bank fishing on Thanksgiving, and for the most part, we lucked out. We had many of the places we like to fish off of the highway to ourselves.

Armed with a great plan to be successful, we got up around 5:30 AM and were out the door a little before 6 AM. We normally just go to the gas station, grab some donuts or something, some coffee, and some energy drinks, and we're off and running! You also definitely have to make sure you have enough water in your vehicle that you can drink while you're fishing. Even in November, it can get very hot, so you've got to stay hydrated.

I had done some research at home around some different techniques to try a few things that are different. Son likes to "grip it and rip it" with the jerkbaits. And I have to say it is a really fun way to fish if you've never done it before. The peacock bass down here in South Florida are so aggressive that they like fast movement, fast herky-jerky darting action from the lures. Most of what we like to use is really different sizes in the Rapala Husky Jerk or X-Rap. And really it was more the Husky Jerk that was getting it done on this day. More than anything for the peacock bass.

I've really been using the shaky head quite a bit in November and have had a lot of luck back home in more of a normal fall, cold, transition type of weather. But, I had an inkling that a shaky head will work in any type of condition as long as you know how to fish it, which I think in the past has been something I needed to figure out. Now that I've learned more about what type of rod, reel, line, and weight is necessary to match what the bass want at that time, I really think I've had a lot more success with catching bass with the shaky head.

In all the years that I've been fishing in South Florida and have caught many peacock bass, I've never seen a peacock bass bite a shaky head worm. That was definitely a new thing for me and it was pretty amazing! I really think it has to do with the style of presentation at the end of the day. When you really look at a Zoom Trick Worm, and the action of it in a Texas rig scenario, it looks a lot different than what the action looks like with a shaky head. The big winner on this day was really the shaky head for me. I was catching a ton of largemouth bass and a few peacock bass that were going forward as well.

The other lure that I tried was the Zoom Ultravibe Speed Worm because I've heard a lot of great things about it down here in the Glades. Sure enough, I was able to catch a couple of bass on the speed worm as well. It has a really great looking action to it that I think the fish really like as well. I did not catch a peacock bass on the speed worm but I did catch a bunch of largemouth bass on this day using it.

My son caught a ton of peacock bass with his normal jerkbait setup. He was very happy that he could fish this way and didn't want to fish with any other poles or lures 😄. He said, "You know, Papa, we're on vacation, and I don't normally get to fish like this at home, so I'm going to take full advantage," which he did!

We ended up catching over 30 bass on this day, with my son landing the first cast of the morning. It was a truly memorable Thanksgiving, a day filled with gratitude and the joy of fishing. Later that day, we gathered with family to enjoy a delicious turkey dinner that I smoked on our gas grill. As we shared stories and laughter, we gave thanks for our blessings, our loved ones, and the incredible experiences that fishing brings into our lives.

Classic Fall Baits in November

 

I like to follow too fisherman in the area where we live... We live in the heartland of the United States or what is known as the Midwest. I follow two individuals Gabe Montgomery who runs a YouTube channel called TinHorseMonty and Randy Blaukat who runs a YouTube channel called Intuitive Angling. I've learned many great techniques from both of these individuals. I had some luck with a shaky head a couple of years ago, but I think I forgot how much I was actually using it. From time to time there are so many lure choices out there and you become stagnant, or at least I do. I find myself using the same lures that I have been very confident with in the past. 

But, I noticed as I continue to fish favorite spots that some of those lures aren't working as well as they used to. I think a lot of this has to do with the fishing pressure on these ponds and lakes, and it also has to do with the popularity of certain lures at the time. The fish absolutely learn and can become immune to some of the baits that are used over and over again. So it is good to focus on new techniques... And also realize that it's not just about the bait, there are several other factors that are out there in the fish environments that caused them to be active or not active.

So back to Randy and Gabe... Both of these guys are great fishermen and have great ideas. One of the techniques they use very effectively is the shaky head. And some of their videos lately have been about the environments in which to throw the shaky head at different times of the year specifically in the November, December and winter time frame. 

Based upon some of their ideas around air temperature, atmospheric pressure, cold fronts, cloudy skies versus bluebird skies, wind, and several other factors... I've been able to have a lot of success on the shaky head here in November. It has become a go-to and I'm really enjoying it. I can be honest there's nothing better than being able to use a finesse worm in cold water, which I really did not have a ton of experience with.

The weight of the shaky head lure and also the size of the actual bait definitely matters when you get into the winter months. What I'm realizing is that I might have been using shaky heads in the past that were too light. Instead, I'm using shaky heads that are 3/8 to 3/16 and are three ought four ought hooks. These allow you to cast farther and then also make sure that the bait can stay on the bottom in windy current conditions. The other idea is to downsize your bait in the winter time. The idea is the fish are not as active and they might not be looking for a large meal. They are looking for something easy to feed on that doesn't take a lot of time and energy to make happen. I would say these are the reasons why I've had really good luck lately with fish biting it.

So in essence, don't sleep on your shaky head. I know I'm not going to! I am going to try to continue to perfect it and maybe try some other styles of baits on a shaky head as well. 

The other successful bait that I've had a lot of luck on over the course of the years in the winter time is the jig. I normally use a smaller jig anyways... I'll use something like a Bitsy Craw. But what I'm doing now is taking a Zoom Speed Craw and cutting down the body a bit to make it smaller as a trailer. And, I think this is allowing me to have even more success with a jig in the winter time and I think that's going to be a go-to for me. I will say there are plenty of folks that like to go half ounce even in the winter with a bigger profile for the bigger bass, but I think the places I normally fish in the winter haven't been great places for that type of profile bait. But I could be wrong! That's the beauty of fishing trying new things and figuring out what the pattern is.

I hope you all have a great holiday season and I wish you much fishing success in the coming months.

November Surprise: Adapting Tactics for Unseasonable Bass Fishing

The air was thick and muggy, a stark contrast to the usual crisp November chill. A persistent drizzle hung in the air, and there weren't any other human beings outside at the neighborhood pond. With the temperature hovering around a balmy 70 degrees I tried to take advantage of the day if the bass were active. My thoughts were to start with moving baits and then move onto finesse if they aren't aggressive.

I started off with a Square Bill Crankbait in a sexy shad pattern. I really did not have luck here.  I only caught one bass after fan casting for some time. So I think the bass were not "lit up" and aggressive.  I then moved onto throwing a jig. I learning a little trick for November from Randy Blaukat that you can find here.  The key here is he reduces the profile of the jig by trimming the skirt and also the trailer length.  He said this might work for those tough fall fishing days and he was right!  Thank you for the tip Randy. I was able to catch a few bass on this modified jig set up.

I also picked up a Zoom Fluke in the Houdini pattern. The Fluke definitely proved to be the day's hero. I caught most of my fish on this bait. I cast it into the wind and let it float towards the bank with a couple of twitches from time to time. The occasional twitching in my mind mimics a wounded baitfish. The strikes were NOT ferocious on this day. The bass were more subtle in terms of picking up the bait. I would feel a small tug or see the line tighten.

As the day drew to a close, I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. The overcast skies, the persistent drizzle, and the unseasonably warm temperatures had presented a unique challenge. But by understanding the fish's behavior and adapting my tactics accordingly, I had managed to catch 5-6 bass on this day. It felt good to find the pattern, as it always does!  Tight lines to you all!