If you ever have the opportunity to fish around flowing pipes, go for it! Bait fish and Bass love hanging around actively running water. If there are weeds near by, that is even better! Try pitching a Carolina rigged soft plastic in to the area where the water is moving, and let the bait do what it is supposed to do…Catch a fish!

I’ve found that it is best to allow plastic worms fall freely as opposed to ripping and reeling them. The action bass need to see musts be natural, or at least as natural as you can make it! Here is a picture of a big ol’ bass that I caught on a pipe dispersing some rain runoff.

I also wanted to mention the importance of Bass Care. We have all seen someone release a bass and it goes belly up. This doesn’t need to happen! In fact, once you understand the swim bladder of a Largemouth Bass, you will start to think about all the bass you could have saved. Here is a short video I found at BassResource.com on “how to Fizz a bass.” Link: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/how-to-fizz-a-bass.html

I was in Cape Coral, Fl over the weekend, visiting with my family and got to see my aunt and uncle, who I haven’t seen in a long time. It was awesome catching up with them and of course we talked fishing. My father seemed to be inspired by the topic at hand, “vintage fishing baits.” We went digging though his boat and he pulled out some soft plastics that he said we’re over 30 years old. That’s older than me! In one particular bag, there were clear purple worms with flat heads and paddle tails. I knew right when I saw them that they would work great back at the pond.

Today, I went back to the pond. It was extremely windy and the water level is at least 5ft higher than a few days ago. I fished for an hour or so without any bites; that is until I put on the vintage purple plastic worm. It seems like finding the right colors always has something to do with turning the fish on. Wouldn’t you know it, I caught the biggest fish I’ve pulled out of Spring Harbor yet. This sucker must had to have been 5lbs plus! I almost thought she was going to get away for a second there. For whatever reason I was losing confidence in my gear, but my gear prevailed! Sorry I couldn’t fit her all in the picture, she was too big for a self snapshot!

I’ve fished a lot growing up, and I can tell you for a fact, the Spring Harbor Apartments’ pond is the most consistent place I have ever been to. With the right tackle and the right presentation, I have successfully been able to pull out at least one 3lb fish every time I have been here.

The largemouth bass here seem to be attracted to Junebug color plastic worms with curly tails. I am convinced the movement, visibility, and slight vibration caused by the curly tail is what triggers these bass to bite. The fish I caught today followed my 6″  Culprit plastic worm for almost ten feet, and struck just as I busted out of the weed line. Remember to swim this worm for short distances and let it fall for a few seconds. For long falls, keep your rod tip high and be patient. Do this several times and you will catch more bass!

I’ve recently returned from a windy day of tournament fishing on Lake Okeechobee. Unfortunately a member of our club submitted incorrect dates on the required Lake Okeechobee size exemption permit. This permit allows tournament anglers to keep 12″ bass for weigh ins. Standard length requirement for Largemouth bass on Lake Okeechobee is 18″.  Needless to say this made it an extremely tough tournament with very poor fishing conditions.

Here is a link to the required Lake Okeechobee size exemption permit: http://myfwc.com/license/freshwater/bass-tournament/

We launched out of Belle Glade and started looking for some non blown out areas near Pelican Bay. My boater Walt and I thoroughly fished here for most of the day and wouldn’t you know it, we caught about 40 fish, but none were over 18″. This was very unfortunate, because we each would have had 13-14lb bags had there been the permitted 12″ limit. Walt lost a 5lber that he said had a bad hook set. I was so excited when he got the blow up I quickly grabbed the net and step on one of his rods laying on the deck. Thank God it didn’t break and Walt was kind!

Four days of rain, two additional days of 60 degree temperatures, and where did all the bass go? Well if I had a boat I could tell you. But here at the pond, they just moved one canal south. I got to the Spring Harbour pond around 9:30am this morning and I didn’t get a bite for at least an hour. I tried all my favorite colors and baits, with no luck .

I moved one more canal to the south and it was on! I was throwing a 5/8″ CAMO colored Flick Shake worm, but Texas rigged, not with the Jackall wacky jig head. I immediately caught two smaller bass, but I seemed to have found them. You know what the say, “Where there are small bass, there are big bass.”

Eventually I switched back to the Zoom Junebug G tail, and hooked an incredible fighter. She dug deep in the weeds, and moved left to right aggresivly in 5′ sprints. I was very cautious with this bass because I new she had some weight to her. The funny thing is, right across the canal an entire family was outside feeding geese, and saw me catch this fish! They must have thought I was a nut.

I fish Lake Okeechobee tomorrow. This will be my first official tournament as an amateur with the Lake Worth Boynton Beach Bassmasters. I will do my best, I can promise you that. Special Thanks to www.FishFreakOnline.com for the new tournament jersey! Be sure to check out their website for the hottest South Florida fishing baits and lures from Live Target fors and Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper to Jackall Flick Shakes and plenty more!

If you need a Florida Fishing Liscense, please click here: http://myfwc.com/License/Index.htm

I have always been amazed at how wide a Largemouth Bass’s mouth could actually open if it sees a satisfying meal. I found this bass laying on the shore of the pond…I think she bit off more than she could chew. That’s too bad…she was a nice sized fish close to 4lbs.

It was super windy today; good thing I just watched a Bill Dance Episode on how to fish in the wind! I’ve heard contradicting opinions on how to fish in the wind, so I guess I can only tell you what has actually worked for me.

First, you can pretty much rule out top-water baits on windy days, unless of course you find a quite cove with less wind. Strong winds can cause small waves and sometimes create whitecaps that disturb sunlight penetration, and it make it harder for fish to top water movement. With that said, because wind stirs up the water, it causes bait fish to move, which in turn makes, bass become more active and aggressive.  Fishing in the wind can help or hurt you depending on the choices you make that day. White spinnerbaits are a good place to start if you are having troubles with wind. You can always try a crankbait, but I personally prefer fishing with a Carolina rigged worm.

Shout out to the AT&T guy, in the parking lot, that asked me if I catch anything in here! Yes sir I do. The wacky rig strikes again! I am telling you right now, the Jackall Flick Shake is on FIRE in Florida! For those of you that don’t know, the Flick Shake setup is more or less a wacky rig with a jig head. I ran out of Flick Shake worms and then tried using some 6″ Bass Pro Shop Tournament series wacky worms. They worked just fine, just didn’t have the right colors!

I started out throwing a BPS Tournament Series bubble gum color wacky worm for the hell of it; had no luck, then quickly switched to a junebug color wacky worm (BPS Tournament Series Junebug looks nothing like standard Junebug). The worm I am talking about was very purple, and didn’t catch me any fish. As soon as I put on THE REAL DEAL Zoom Junebug Mag II, the fish turned on. I must say, I have never in my life wacky rigged a MAG II, but it was all I had on hand. I did improvise the wacky rig a bit. Instead of hooking the Zoom Worm through the middle, I hooked it closer the head, so it allowed the tail to float, and move more. Shake, Shake, Chomp!

HOT TIP: Presentation is KEY! When fishing a wacky rig, shake your rod tip from 11 – 12 o’clock moving upward, then slowly let your bait sink as your rod tip moves down you reel in the slack, and repeat.