The beautiful thing about fishing is just when you think you're onto something it all changes. I meticulously plotted my plan of attack for my Florida vacation. I figured reaching out to other anglers, researching successful baits, studying pre-spawn patterns in Florida for this time of year gave me an advantage. Yeah, this was going to be awesome. Well it was awesome..ish. Not much went according to plan in South Florida. Four days of fishing only produced four fish the entire week. That's okay though. At least I caught something.
Florida is sunny. Really sunny. And the areas I fished the water was extremely calm and clear. Clear enough that I could easily see into the water about 3-5 feet. It was pretty cool to watch all the species of fish swim around. I saw everything from bass to snook to sunfish to carp. Problem was - they saw me too. And they wanted nothing to do with me trying to catch them. Every cast into the clear water spooked any fish within a six foot radius. The few bass that I did land came on a windy day while fishing a canal out in the acreage of West Palm Beach. Moving water and overcast resulted in a few bites on a lizard imitation bait. I can check Florida canal fishing off the bucket list. May give salterwater a try next time. I hear you can't go wrong with a guided intercoastal tour.
So let's fast-forward to when I get back to Indiana. Six inches of snow on the ground and I'm digging out my warm clothes to go 40 degree fishing in my neighborhood. I've fished for about an hour and I figured those lethargic bass aren't biting. Moments later I land a whopper on the most unlikely bait: KVD caffeine shad (basically a small green worm). Couldn't believe it.
Three days later the snow turned to heavy rain. It's warmer but man is it wet. Water looking like chocolate milk. Apparently that didn't matter to the 4.62 pound tank that chomped my bluegill swimbait! Reeling her in, I knew this fish had to be my personal best. Just glad my fishing buddy had his scale on him that day. That would be the first of 11 bass that day. I was soaked to the bone but it didn't matter. Fish biting in the rain was much better than fish NOT biting in the sun.
Pictured above: 1. Personal best 4.62 lb largemouth bass 2. Canal fishing in West Palm Beach
