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Podcast by a Panhandle Surf Angler for all anglers of any level. We will talk weekly to guests that are anglers and also industry professionals. I want you to walk away from this podcast with some knowledge either refreshed or new for you to become a better angler. Though it will start in the Panhandle of Florida, it will be around the entire United States so we can all learn something about fishing in different regions.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This episode of Finding Demo Spearfishing is being brought to you by DS Custom tackle. Head on over ds custom tackle.com. Take a look at the website and go ahead and get your hands on. Geez, so many great things to get your rig set up, floats, beads, swivels clips, uh, all sorts of good things for putting that together. Uh, if you like to make on other teasers and stuff like that, yeah, they got you covered there with hooks and a bunch of other good stuff. So it's a kind of a one stop shop if you're into making your own rigs. Yep. They can supply you. You just gotta do all the fun paperwork stuff. Head it, send it on over to ds custom tackle.com. Get get your order in today. Everything will be golden.
Speaker 1 (01:12):
Oh yeah, new week, new episode. Hope you're doing well. Wherever you are, things have been going smoothly for you. We are finally transitioning out of the good old Florida summer and, uh, into the, almost wanna say, my favorite time of year for fishing fall. Um, on the same note, fall is kind of my favorite time of year in general just because we're, you know, we're finally getting out of the, the, I can't take any skin off , weather, and I, I am not, uh, I'm not built for summer. I don't know if you've seen me in person. I'm, I'm kind of medium extra, extra husky. Uh, I've never been a big fan of the heat of summer, so, uh, it just part of it, and it slows my fishing down. It does. I will admit that, um, I don't find the en enjoyment being out on the beach and, uh, being a rotisserie chicken out there and, uh, trying to enjoy fishing.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
It just doesn't do it for me. So fall, fall is one of my favorites for that. You get back out there and yes, it gets cooler, but there's a lot of cool things that happen with the transition from summer to fall and fall into winter, uh, with the different species and the changes that come with that. So, lots of fun things in there. Uh, today's episode we're gonna be talking about that. We're gonna be talking about seasonal fishing and adapting, uh, adapting to changing conditions. So, uh, yeah, I'm gonna basically pull my pool of knowledge. Yeah, you're stuck with me this week. Sorry. No guests. You're stuck with me. Um, I'm basically gonna pull from the knowledge that I've gained, uh, while doing this show and, uh, kind of share synopses and other pieces, and maybe there's some things you've heard in previous episodes or forgotten about, and maybe this'll help you out.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Um, I don't know, maybe, but, uh, yeah, let's go ahead and let, let's talk about that. Um, let's, let's talk about the first thing that everyone wants to really talk about, and that's targeting. We've talked a lot of times in this whole series, uh, the whole show. Different thoughts on targeting. Um, one of the ones that always stands out though, is the guys that talk about, oh, you know, if you say you're just going fishing, then you're going fishing. You know, you're not fishing for Pompano or Whiting. You know, be specific of what you're trying to fish. And yeah, that's cool. Uh, I really, I, I believe that's pretty cool that people, uh, are really successful at targeting out here. I kind of have a different thought on it, and I know people will say what they're gonna say, but, hey, okay, cool story.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
We have such a myriad out here that feed in those zones and go on the same bait. It's kind of hard to just target one. That being said, if I'm targeting Pompano with set rigs, obviously I'm not targeting blue fish. It doesn't mean a blue fish isn't gonna hit a double dropper, but less likely. So when it comes to certain species, yes, there is a targeted style of fishing from the beach versus, um, set and throw and just sit back and wait. Uh, actually, uh, yeah, we know what we're gonna get into that part later. We're gonna talk about the, the fun thought I had on that one. So, with fall, let's start, let's start where we're at and we'll move on from there. How about that? That's probably the better one. So we're, we're talking about targeting there. Um, the species that change, we always have Pompano here in Florida.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Um, the difference being the quote unquote run when they're in bigger droves because of the migration. Uh, yeah, that, that's kind of a big one there. We'll have a couple of different changes here with Spanish kings moving around, uh, moving out coia and then, you know, we'll start getting into some fun winter ones start popping their head in the, the, their pumps will become less, um, the colder species will start coming in Bobos and, uh, tuna, uh, here in our area, specifically in Navar, uh, we get tuna right off the end of the pier. So, and, and Okaloosa is, Okaloosa Island is great for that. But, uh, let's get into also the other fun ones. You get a lot more black drum come, uh, fall into winter. So with this fall in redfish are gonna become a little bit more, uh, in the surf. You're gonna see that a little bit more.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Definitely inshore, no problem there. Speckle, trout, uh, in Alabama, in our area here, I will say that you'll see speckle, they'll catch specs. It's, it's pretty impressive to see that they catch 'em from the surf. We don't really get 'em here in Navarro. I've, I've, I'm, I'm not saying they're not here, I'm just saying I haven't seen it and I haven't caught it. So it's not as, uh, not as common, I guess, for the bar side. But anyway, uh, throughout your areas, that's kind of another one. You, you've seen the species change, um, up in New England, oh man, Stripe bass. Oh, Stripe us. Yeah, they start getting real fun. Uh, blue fish. Uh, my, one of my favorite fish to eat. I still don't know why people call it a trash fish. I really don't. I, like I said, I've said it and every time I've ever talked about blue fish, cut out the dark meat and you're gonna have a delicious fish.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
Frigging amazing. But, uh, yeah, they're gonna change in, so you're gonna have that one. So as the water, uh, water temperature is the big piece here. So the water temperature, uh, for the summer, uh, hot obviously cooks it all up, gets a nice bath. Fish don't like it anymore than we do. If it's too hot and they're gonna be lethargic. If it's too cold, same thing. They're gonna be lethargic trying to maintain energy or they're gonna move. They're gonna transition to somewhere where it is comfortable and they can thrive and be comfortable and happy. So yeah, there's that bait fish, the bait mar, uh, bait start moving around. They start going out, they do their thing. Sand, fleas, worms, all that fun stuff that starts repopulating back up because you know, the temperatures are changing. It's all there. So that brings the fish closer in to come get their food.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
That brings up a great point that's not written down on my notes here as I'm reading from, if you know that your species likes coconut, clams, sand, fleas, stuff of that nature off the bottom go shrimp, you probably want to use that kind of bait, right? Probably you can get it. I also highly recommend using synthetics. You've heard me talk about it a lot. Fish bites. I love using it. Um, it's useful, it's helpful, you know, all these things. A myriad of bait is important. Shrimp always great, you know, you can't go wrong with shrimp. Everything eat shrimp. Pour almost like bottom of the freaking food chain at the ocean. And I was like, yeah, thanks shrimp. Uh, all those bait are gonna start kind of coming back up and moving close to shore and doing their piece and with the spawning. So these other fish, they're gonna come in and they're gonna come grab that stuff, they're gonna eat it, and they're gonna, you know, the cycle of life, right?
Speaker 1 (08:08):
So that brings the, the kind of the thought process with that. So if you're gonna get into with the, the bait, now you gotta get into the strategy. Okay? So now that we've gotten into the strategy, one thing I will say is walking around the beach prior to going to your spot is key. I set it in my episode of, you know, getting back into the game, going back and trying to find old spots, and it didn't work out so well. Right? Same thing. You gotta walk, you gotta go take a look. If you're not high, you know, kind of scouting out your spots, you're all right. I mean, yeah, you're fishing, sure, but you're not exactly setting yourself up for a little bit of success. So get out on another day where you're not gonna fish or take, take a lure rod with you and just go walk the beach, throwing the lure rod, having some fun, you know, getting your, getting all the rust off from last time you went out there trying out some new lures and, oh, hey, mark it on your phone.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Drop a pen, put a mark on there. This is spot a I wanna try or carry the notebook. I love talking about the notebook because I always go back to that episode with Spencer from Broken Reel 23. You know, that whole, he's got a years of years of years, uh, of knowledge written in the book. And he's shown it in his YouTube. He really has, he's gone over numerous times, uh, of like, Hey, yep, on this day, this is what I caught. This is what the wind conditions were. And he is used it again. Huge, right? So the same thing with the phone or your notebook. Mark your spots, mark your GPS and look around like, okay, this is how far it was. Nothing wrong with any of that because you're gaining intel with fall coming as well. There's another big one. Good old tournament season starting out. Oh, I need coffee here. Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
So coffee or coffee, coffee season. No man, I'm not awake. Um, tournament seasons starting, so you need your spots for the tournaments. This is another advantage. It's gonna do that. So if you haven't had a book from before or marks or spots like that, it'd be a good time to start as we, uh, we transition in that one with tackling gear. Um, if you are just getting into the game, I'm gonna do an episode on this more and more. I'm gonna do several gear tackle and, uh, other ones in the upcoming future. And, uh, yeah, it's gonna some people off. I know that that's gonna happen. But if, if you haven't used, um, your gear from before and now's a good time to start researching what you're gonna need. Now I am a fan of all encompassing if I can. Um, I don't like single use things.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
I really, especially in fishing, it's, this isn't a cheap hobby sport. It's not, um, I mean, hell take a look at the rods and reels that we all fawn over. You know, it's, it's very simple to walk into the tackle shop and spend 300, $400, uh, in a sitting, really just to get a one or two pieces of gear. It can get really, really pricey. So, I mean, if you're going to do what most surf fishing, three to four rods, you know, that adds up. So, um, I personally know with my setups what I like to use because I know that I can take out perfect example. My ninja rod, my dagger, my 12 footer. I can use that just about anywhere for any species of fish from the beach and not have a problem, minus big sharks. But I don't fish for sharks so that, that doesn't fit my mold.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Um, I can catch black drum, I can catch itty bitty frigging, what are they called? I can catch spades. Yeah, have caught or yeah, I can catch a ton of tiny things and big things. I know it's con, I'm confident in it. My fishing line. I know what size I use. I know what I, all this stuff. I know my gear. I know what I'm working with. I also know what I can change to after the last good God, four years playing, uh, in this area. Yeah, I know what I can change to. And that one of them being, uh, I probably am gonna change my main line from 30 down to 20. I haven't done it. I still haven't done it. I think I've talked about it every year of doing it, but I just never do call it financial. Well, yeah, I'm gonna go with that.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Financial reasons. Now, , we all know that ain't the truth. So, um, knowing your gear is good, but with that, your tackle hooks, floats, beads, uh, all of that is gonna play a factor. So know you have your stuff ready. Um, one other thing I wanna talk about with tackle, and that's gonna be rigs. And there is going to be a self episode with Rigs, and that one is going to stir the frigging pot, um, with a blender, not a spoon. God, that one's gonna create some turmoil, man, that's gonna be a fun one. Um, I have kind of adjusted my mentality starting last year. And uh, yes, I do fish, no, I don't post it all to social media anymore. Uh, I've kind of backed away from that. Um, I've actually backed significantly away from social media, but that's a different podcast. Um, each one of my rods now does not have the same rig on it.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
I've completely changed that mentality, uh, from what it used to be. Whether I've One Rod, uh, could have a Bruno rig from the Sinker guy. Uh, the next one could have a salty Pompano rig on it and then help. Yeah, I've used it. Uh, frisky Fins James' stuff. Uh, I maybe have one of those on and Cliff love Cliff stuff from Green Get 'em Rigs. Uh, yeah, I mean, it could be anything. I could have all that on there and I could have very well, a completely butt naked rig, just a hook. It just, I've, I've gotten to the point now where I think that we've gone a little too flashy that also being said in the exact same coin. I think that sometimes they are attractive to something different, some different color, some different size, some different motion. So I, I've decided they have that every rod will have something different on it for Pompano and or for a high low rig.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
Um, if I'm going red fishing, I'm still keeping into the line of, I'll use two rods maybe for that if I want to get into the Cut Bay game, and in which case I'm using two different rigs. Um, normally I'm using a DS rig for the drum one, and I'm using Rob's from Rogue Reels. Uh, I'm using his style for the, uh, red, red drum. Oh, and, and yes, I do use the demo HD rig still. I very much so do, it's still out there. Sorry, I just, the first four came to my mind 'cause I was thinking four rods. But yeah, I still use all that stuff. So having these different styles gives me more opportunities, in my opinion to target these fish in different zones. And then when I find out where they're at, I'm gonna concentrate on, I'm gonna concentrate the rods in those zones, and then I'm gonna see if a rig makes a difference.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
If it does, okay, I'll switch, I'll move everything to that style. If it doesn't, then well, why change things, you know? But that said, next time I go out, it might not be the exact same thing. And maybe they're gonna not hit that at all. Maybe they're gonna want a, a different bait. It could be I have everything sitting there with one style of bait on four different styles of hooks and yeah, hey, no, they didn't touch it. Well, what the hell? Right? So that kind of stuff's all gonna play into the game, but, um, we're getting really far into the weeds with that. So it, it depends on how far you want to go. If you want to go that route.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Location, location, location. We've talked about it, but, you know, just look 'em, look 'em up. I mean, find your new ones. Gotta walk it out. We've, we've got so many different things here, but don't forget, you know, look at other things. Inlets, outlets, the the points. Um, listen in on what other people have do, done. You know, talk to your friends. Look at social media. Yeah, I know you're stealing spots 'cause they're all individual spots, right? God, I hate that. That's gonna be a no. I should do another podcast on that. This is my spot. Yeah. All right. You were here first like 20 years ago. It's yours and only yours.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
That's a fun conversation. I can't say 'cause I've done it. , I've said that. That's my spot. I like that spot. I'm not gonna get off and throw blows about it though. It's like whatever. We go from there. So with the adaptation too, when it comes to fall, we also have night fishing's gonna be still pretty, uh, pretty good. You're still gonna have some good opportunity for decent temperatures, decent weather with that. So getting out and playing on that one, you're gonna see some different timelines and real fun to go with. Uh, turtle season is in fact here. So make sure you got those red lights for your headlight. You don't need a white light, you'll be fine. Just go out there and throw. Uh, that's another thing to think about. And, uh, pay attention to your surroundings. You know, nighttime, you gotta be, you gotta be a little bit more safe at night in my opinion.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
You know, you didn't see the holes in the divots that were there earlier. You don't see the, uh, the crabs that are walking around up on the surface. You don't see Fred lurking in the back until you turn your head with your headlight and his eyes glow at you and it's just creepy. Still important right there, right? So, uh, lot, lots of fun pieces there with fall and I'm very excited for those ones. And, you know, I can't wait to play into fall some there. So that being said, it's been, uh, wow, it's been almost 20. Let's go ahead and knock out a paycheck because you should be checking your bait when you're out there. Yeah, remember that? Check your bait.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
This ba check is being brought to you by the Kids. Can Fish Foundation. Kids Can fish.net is a great organization that is taking these kids out to fishing camps and showing 'em how to throw cast nets, fish with rods and reels from the beach, how to bait their hooks, all these things. I mean, they take people that have never done fishing. Then next thing you know, they got gear. Yeah, they're showing 'em how they're getting these kids out there. And at the end of it, the greatest part is the kids get to go home with the gear they use that day for the rest of their life. It's theirs. They didn't have to pay anything, it's free. But that also, there is a cost to them and your support is what makes that happen. So if you, they live off of donations. And there's also the tournament coming up, the running of the bulls out of St. Simon's Island, Georgia, Georgia and Jell. We just did an episode on it. You can find out all about that on there and go take a look. So head on over kids can fish.net. Hook them up because they're hooking everyone up.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
Let's move into winter. Oh, winter. A lot of people don't like it. Um, I don't really know why, I guess is the best thing to say. I mean, winter is fun. Sweater weather, love frigging winter for that. Get the old blue flannel out pants, thicker shoes out on there. Yeah, I have no problem with winter. Wintertime brings in a whole different type of playing or playing thing. When it comes to species. You're gonna see a lot more big black drum, especially in this area. Like big, we're talking 30 plus inches and they love hitting set rigs, man. They absolutely adore 'em. They will come in, bite it and go to town. They're gonna fight you for a good minute or two and then they're like, oh God, just bring me in already and send me back out. Oh, they're fun to fish. Um, earlier into the transition, you'll see the, uh, the eater size, you know, the slot, the lower slot and slot ones.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
Um, I still have yet to eat one. I've heard they're delicious. It's on my list this year. But, uh, I've caught the big ones and they've been fun. So you, you'll see that a lot. Uh, Pompano, you'll probably get residential style whiting Whiting are normally always around. So you're gonna see that the blue fish are gonna start backing off a bit. Uh, a little too cold. So they'll run Spanish. You'll see them way off. You won't pull that one. And if you want to go to the pier, especially in Navar around a certain time, I'm not gonna say when, um, you can catch Black fin Tuna. Yeah, you can get after 'em around here. It's pretty cool. Up and down our whole little panhandle area, there's quite the run. We got a lot of really good winter fish. Uh, and if you like going inshore in this area, you can get on sheep's head, the old human teeth looking monster.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
And they're delicious. They are really good. Uh, I will definitely try to go back out. Sheep said fishing this year to try to get my hands on some more. So just a great fish, uh, targeting wise. So you already know what you're gonna do. You're gonna run around the same things. So, but colder weather equals lethargic. They're going to slow down because they need to maintain that energy. You could put, I mean, we've seen it. You can put a lure or a piece of bait right in front of a fish and they're like, uh, no, I'm good right here. And they won't eat. It sucks pain in the, I'll drive you nuts. But it does happen. So, uh, remember the colder water is gonna change things up. So you gotta kind of pay more attention to, you gotta be a little bit more finer on your fishing.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
A little bit more under the rips, a little bit more under the backside, you know, make sure using the right bait. Uh, I do recommend this for earlier in the fall. Um, I did this in the spring and they're still good. Uh, I got a bunch of sand fleas in the spring for the summer fishing. And what I did is I took them all and I did the saltwater brine that uh, I'd seen online and put 'em in there and I put 'em in the freezer and the water's still cold. You know, it's still salty so it doesn't freeze up. It's good. And the sand fleas haven't frozen either 'cause they're all B brined in there and they're gonna hold. I have found that that brine does better than blanching or me. I'm not gonna get into a match with you. If you're all about blanching your sand fleas good for you. I don't care.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
That feels really nice to say. Yeah, it does. If the blanching thing works for me, they don't, the shells crack every time. Doesn't matter how long I boil it for pink, red, don't the things break. So, uh, the blanching works out really well and the shells maintain their exact same integrity. So I like doing that. So this, uh, if you did that in the fall for the winter, you're gonna have, uh, a lesser problem of trying to fine sand fleas in the sand when they're cold and they're buried deep. So you gotta ba set up from before still a great one to use. I mean, imagine these fish haven't seen sand fleas and all of a sudden they swim by like, oh, crunchy. You know, they go for it. Something important to think about. Right? Okay, so play with that one. Um, patience is gonna be a big one.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
And you need to also protect yourself when you're out there in the winter, wherever you are here in the panhandle, yes, it gets cold, but it doesn't get that, it doesn't get into England cold. Yeah, if I'm in Connecticut, Chris, love you man. Um, I don't wanna be out there in the middle of winter. It's frigging cold and it's biting and it's not a good time to be on the shoreline like that. 'cause you got the Atlantic Ocean just staring at you sending wind. I don't want that here. Okay, I'm gonna be a little bit warmer. So dressing layers, wherever you are, if it's cold, you know, not just one thing. Put on several layers. Uh, I personally go out in a, my finding demo shirt and underneath, that's normally my favorite fishing hoodie, which is my sword fishing hoodie. God, that thing, they sell 'em every year around this time.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
So if you're looking for a really good sport hoodie, that one's frigging phenomenal. Absolutely super comfy. And then the blue flannel, I mean, it goes right on over it. I'll put a beanie on on my head and I'll probably use one of my warmer neck gators. Probably my, my polypro one. I like that one. It's very, keeps the wind off and it's comfortable and it's warm gloves. Um, I've had a couple conversations about gloves. Some people don't like 'em, you know, they're worried about the water getting into 'em. Uh, I got a pair, I believe. Yeah, they're castings, um, for Christmas last year. And they are waterproof windproof, but, uh, they're not super thick. Uh, so you can't use, like, I've, I've got a couple pairs where you just can't use the things. These ones, I've been able to move my hands, move my fingers.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
They're designed for fishing. They're designed for us. So you can still bait your hooks. Grab these fish, use your tools, reel ev all of it without taking your gloves off. It's pretty nice. Um, pants. Uh, it depends on how cold it is. I might even wear my waiters. Uh, I, I love them. They're comfortable for that. You, I do also remember, uh, you're gonna buy the sock layer, the lay, uh, layers if you're gonna buy that style of waiters. And they have the booties on the bottom. Yeah, they have special boots designed for them if you want. I didn't know that. It only took me like a year to real, two years to realize it. And then I was like, oh crap, I got boots that I can wear with this. This is nice. Yeah, so special shoes for that. But, uh, a lot of times it's just jeans.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Maybe a pair of long Johns or poly pros underneath. And, uh, probably either my boat shoes or, uh, some form of, you know, high ankle boot that's waterproof. Uh, windproof, keep my feet warm in socks. I will absolutely wear good, comfortable socks bait. Uh, we talked about bait a little bit. Uh, the tide is going to, the tides are gonna be the same, but they're gonna be a little, a little seasonally different. I need, I'm, I'm not gonna go into the science of that. The, the, the flow is a little different. So take a look at, uh, Noah. I would say definitely go look at Noah. That's a, that's a bit of a change one there. So, uh, cool stuff to learn with that, right? Okay, so now we're outta winter and then we're going into spring and, uh, spring everyone. Spring run, spring run, spring run, spring run.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
Why do people talk about spring run? Because it brings back a ton of species and pumps, blues, mackerels, uh, kings. These so many different things. Things are, things start coming back to life in spring because the water temperature's gone from super cold back to warm right now. They're happy they're gonna come back out. So again, same thing. You know, restock on your pond or on your, uh, sand fleece, you know, get that rake back out there 'cause they're gonna start coming back up so you have some for the summer or later on. And you can change it up a little bit more with the gear. You know, maybe you wanna change the lighter tackle or maybe you wanna try more bait, more lure. All that stuff matters when it comes to spring. So you, you got more pieces come in, uh, south Florida, I wanna say snook, mid high side here, more to the east. But definitely, uh, you're gonna start seeing them come later spring, early summer. But yeah, you're gonna start seeing some fun stuff come back up and you, you just can get really fun I guess really after it there. 'cause uh, it's just a bigger runtime, right? Also, tournament season kicks back up again in spring. You got another set of tournaments. So again, what we talked about before, check your spots because they change every season constantly. .
Speaker 1 (28:32):
Yeah, this coffee's good today man. I'm feeling it. Yeah. Love doing these like this on my own. 'cause you're just like, what the hell you doing? You could be in your car. I'm like, why is this guy ? I'm gonna stop and get coffee now. You're welcome. Have some coffee. Um, backing up, I forgot to mention this with fall, hurricane season in our area is predominant until November. Um, so September is real and we're in September right now as I'm recording this. It's uh, actually it's the eighth. I'll happily tell you the date. There you go. We got a couple of storms brewing. I know when hurricane season starts, I know that I need to pay attention one to the weather, but also after they run or whether they hit Louisiana or off to the point. All of that matters because it changes the surge, it changes the tidal flow, it changes so many pieces.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
I know my holes and my brakes and all that, that's gonna change. So knowing those ones again, go back out and look at those spots, right? Same thing with spring winter, a little bit of turmoil, a bit of changes. Go check it, see what's changed. Uh, see if there's something new that came back. Uh, yeah, you just made me think of something else, but I'm not gonna talk about that. Nope. And then we just talk and then we get back into summer and yay. Summer. I hate summer here. June grass. That's why I hate summer here. Heat, whatever. I can get in the shade. But June grass, 'cause it shuts everything down and it sucks. Uh, summer, also, wherever you're at, you know, more crowded beaches, it's gonna happen. People are on vacation the time kids are outta school, you know, you're gonna have to deal with that.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
So you're gonna have to move into the morning time, maybe into the evening when people are actually walking away. You know, change those ones up, go with that. And bait can be different depending on what you're doing. 'cause you can target more in the early pieces of summer because you got that late spring run. Uh, midsummer, you know, you're not targeting it as much because it's too hot. Uh, the water's too warm, probably not gonna play a lot. And that goes up and down the coast, you know, you, you see different times. What the Carolinas are doing in the summer is different than what we're doing here in Florida because their water temperature is different. So you have to know your area and know what you're running with on that, right? Kind of a kind of a big deal. So, um, this one's gonna be a shorter episode. So we're gonna do another paycheck at 31 minutes here. And like I've said before, 20 minutes is about where I like to be at for bait check in real life. 2025. Why? Because things pick things off, man. I don't wanna be sitting there fishing on credit. Some guys I know will wait 10 minutes in a spot and call it. That's cool. That works for them. That's their spot that's gotta work for you. So without further ado, let's check.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
This paycheck is being brought to you by the sinker guy. I run over to the sinker i.com. Take a look what chip's got going on in the sinker guy garage. Sinkers in his name. Got you covered. Lots of good sputniks. They are super, I love him. And uh, he's talked about it on his stuff. He's got a big series going right now with some knowledge over on his YouTube channel and his Facebook. Go take a look. But you know, certain times you can adjust that. Uh, the legs on there for more tension, less tension. He goes into a whole piece there. You need the Bruno rig, he's got it. The Uno, yep. Covered there. Rigs, other floats, uh, beads, hooks, tackle. He's got you covered all on the website. Quick shipping, good customer service. Get you right to you. The secret guy.com.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
Alright, tides, man, I love talking about the science of this stuff, man. It, I know it's stupid, but I really, really enjoy that. So weather is gonna be here no matter what. And you've got so many apps you can look at. I mean, it's the only industry that you can get things wrong and still have a job and not get fired. That's pretty nice, right? Um, must be nice. You can get away with that stuff. Understanding your ties is going to be important. East coast, west Coast, you got two a day here in the Gulf. We have one a day frigging awesome. Love it. And so tides don't have a super super effect on us here. However, that being said, the coefficient does the water movement, how it flows, which direction, excuse me, that has a ma that does that matters. So if the tides coming in, right?
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Uh, you've heard about this, the, uh, from several episodes. One of them that comes to my mind is the one with Seth. We were talking about how the, what was it? The scent, right? All that scent. When it's going out, it's being pulled away. So more fish are gonna come, right? But when the water's high, they're coming in because they know where the bait is. They know the bait fish. You're coming in to eat on the smaller fish, the cos um, sand flea, stuff like that. So your predators are gonna start coming in and they're gonna try to munch on that. So, you know, growing up bigger ones there. So the high incoming tide, knowing how to fish that is big. And then on the out, you know, hey, stuff's going. Water's receding away. It's gonna pull my scent out. I'm going after X species, I need my scent to go away.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
Which means, hey, there you go. Low tide, right? Cool. And you got the high, uh, the big one I've heard is the, everyone kind of talks about is the high side, what the first, first two and after of the high. And then on the falling tide, the bottom, and basically the four hours in between. So the high side and low side of the tides. Most people have told me in the show, yeah, hey, that's where I fish. I like the high and low. The not mid. They won't, you know, they have to fit the mid feed, the mid, then they're gonna jump on it. Normally like, okay, cool, that's just at the end of my trip. Or they're getting out there at the beginning of the mid before they really start playing and 'cause they know they're gonna hit their timelines. So, uh, go back and listen to a lot of the episodes.
Speaker 1 (34:25):
They'll talk about it. But that's normally where it runs. When it comes to rain. Uh, fishing in the rain is not bad. Uh, especially in the summer, it's probably pretty comfortable. Get an umbrella if you want to stay somewhat dry or wear wet weather gear. That way you're protected and all that stuff. However, when the, uh, oil, electricity starts getting into the sky, get the hell out of there. Yeah. You don't need to be fishing in that. Oh, it is worth you getting electrocuted. It's just not. Um, if you want to have some enjoyment to see what happens with that, because that seems to drive the algorithm of people getting hurt, injured, and possibly dying. Uh, yeah, you can see plenty of videos on that. And if you just wanna Google it, whatever the, um, it's, it's no. People. It, I mean, you got a 12 foot rod off the ground, another two. So you're 14 feet in an aluminum sand spike or metal driven into the sand down to hold it there. Um, there's a weird term for that. Oh, what's it called? What's it called? Lightning rod .
Speaker 1 (35:26):
Seriously, man. get the hell outta there. Uh, in aviation, which this one always makes me laugh. We shut down operations and we call it L five. If there's lightning within five miles, we're clearing the flight line. Why? Because lightning travels a long way and a whole negative, the positive from the ground to the sky. Yeah, you wanna get into the science of it? Go Google that one. That's a fun one. But yeah, no, if lightning's within a certain distance, get the hell outta there. And you all have seen numerous ones. And I, Justin and I did a video. Not to God, it was a long time ago. Good god. Um, Justin and I were in our kayaks. We are out there and we're looking at it. We're like, eh, we, we, we've got it. Yeah, we, we see that storm, we're gonna make it.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
We barely made it back. Storms move faster than you think they do. And yeah, when you look into the sky and you think, oh, that's like, that's like 20, 30 miles I got time. Yeah, no, you don't, don't play with it. Pull up an app, take a look at it, hit the, you know, take a look at what the winds are doing, all that stuff. But if you see weather coming, take a look at your frigging phone, you're out there with it. Don't lie to me. You're out there with it. Look at the frigging weather, get an idea of what it's doing and make a plan and get the hell out. If you're out in the middle of the beach. Especially here, this is one of the big ones. Where's cover? Where are you gonna go to run for cover? A lot of times it's back to the car.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
Are you willing, you comfortable with leaving your gear out there in the rain while you know you run for cover? Did you loosen the drag all the way so when you know or loosen the drag up so something's there, you won't lose your gear Mm. Kind of a game to play, right? So have a plan, get the hell outta there. So pay, pay attention there. Um, yeah, apps and those ones kind of, those are your things to look at there for those. So with the seasons changing and all the, I don't know, excitement that comes from that. One of the ones that we really haven't mentioned is changing conditions.
Speaker 1 (37:36):
A lot of times they don't change on the fly. That'd be nice if they did. You know, sometimes it'd be nice to have a someone, but one that does, uh, that we didn't talk about is wind Man. The wind game can really, really affect a whole lot of different pieces when it comes to fishing. One of the ones that I love that always comes back to mind is from Salt Strong. Um, they talk, I mean, salt Strong's game for inshore. There's no competition, man. Salt Strong has got that frigging game dialed in. They were playing into the surf quite a bit. Um, I haven't been on there in over a year. I canceled my membership because I wasn't doing anything with it. In reality. I, I mean I enjoyed the, the community for what it was, but, uh, I wasn't really, I'm not really into the inshore game as much.
Speaker 1 (38:26):
It's not really my jam. So, um, when I did have it, I watched a lot of the classes on, uh, I wanna say wind was something that they talked about a ton. They talked about getting behind points. You know, 90% of fish are in 10% of the water, I believe it was. So at the beach, you've got the wind coming at you, you there is no safety. You know, if it, for us here, obviously in Florida, uh, in my area, if it's a south wind, huh? It, it's hitting me in the face, that means I got a less casting distance. That means I gotta deal with probably an increased set of waves. The flow is going to change from the high to the low side of the column. That, that's something to pen put into mind. So being adjustable to the wind is going to play into the game as well. Now let's talk a little bit about, uh, let's, we'll talk about shifting winds from east to west here. But let, let's do one more paycheck because this one's gonna be a little bit more of a longer topic.
Speaker 1 (39:34):
This paycheck is being brought to by Ninja Tackle. Yeah, buddy Ninja tackle va.com. Great website. They got the rods man. They got the rods Love the Dagger series seven footer, the traveler all the way up to a 13 footer. They got you covered on the entire string of rod sizes here. And man, I'm telling you there's not, there's so many videos that'll show you what has been caught. I have caught some big fish on my seven footer. Got a big old black drum on that thing. Didn't even, I wasn't even worried about the rod, I was more worried about the reel. Yeah, it's good if you need their rigs. They've got you covered their bait. Other style, they have conventional reels in there. They've got a lot of good stuff. Matt really keeps it stocked up with so many pieces. If you need other things that you may not, uh, you don't see on the website and you want to go through a company that's really good and supporting, reach out to Matt.
Speaker 1 (40:27):
He's got you covered on the other side. He's also got you with Ninja Tactical optics for your, uh, firearm accessories. And there's other pieces. I don't wanna say too much because I don't know what the algorithm is doing with this right now. If you hear certain words, it might shut down my hold feed. But Ninja Tactical definitely another great piece there and great prices. I mean really, really, really good prices for optics and gear like that. Yeah, definitely worth checking out. Nja tackle va dot com's a website. Get on over there right now when it comes to the shifting and this is something Cliff from Green Get em, uh, I believe it was a Southwest wind is what he really liked. South winds are nice because they do force the fish up. It's pretty cool. It, it does cause them because the way that the, the effect is it's gonna push 'em a little closer to shore a lot of times.
Speaker 1 (41:23):
And it's gonna do that same thing with the bait. Little bait does not swim well in high current, right? So wind's gonna push 'em up. That's another thing to fight with there. South winds are cool, uh, kind of because if they're further out, you're not getting the casting distance you want. Doesn't matter what kind of gear you got, you, you're still fighting with the wind. You can't, you can't beat that one. A direct west or East Wind absolutely hate it personally. The full on bow in the frigging line, I watch 'em all bow out to the side. They got their, that I'm contending with wind one direction and I'm contending with water going the other direction. And yes, my sinker holds. You've heard me talk about that. I have to adjust the legs a little bit for a certain design, but it sucks 'cause now I've got that bend and when I'm bringing my rod, you know, my line back in, what's it gonna do?
Speaker 1 (42:15):
It's gonna curve. Just happens that way. It's part of it. 'cause the way that the forces work, right? So I don't like direct well east or west. I've never had good success with full, full value. East, west winds, north wind. All right. Those are fun for us here because that's the heman day. That's the day you just send it and watch it sail away and you can cast 180 yards if you get it right. Man. It, it's, it's pretty intense being sad. North wind days are your common days to overthrow the fish. Yeah, you heard me. You're overthrowing them man. I, uh, I can't tell you how many times I've heard that you're overthrowing the fish yo up. No, no. You don't know what you're talking about. Yeah, I know that guy knew what he's talking about. I watched that man beat my after me sitting there four hours, not catching thing.
Speaker 1 (43:07):
And I watched him catch 30 whiting with a seven foot rod and an itty bitty J hook with a quarter ounce egg sinker. Might have been a half ounce. I got schooled because I was overthrowing the fish. Way the hell out there. They're not always 200 yards out guys and gals. They're not, don't, don't, don't do it now. It feels really cool to cast it really far out. Sidebar with that, if you cast really far out and a can of fish hooks up really far out, what do you have? You have a long fight ahead of you. .
Speaker 1 (43:53):
That is going to be, if it's 180 yard, if it's 150 yards, that's 150 cranks on your reel as most reels run. 36 inches per crank. That's a lot. God, that's a lot. And on top of it, you're dealing with your sinker floating behind or skipping off the bottom. You're dealing with other fish, following it in to possibly grab the other one. If you've never seen Blue Runners, they'll do that. It's pretty fun to watch. You're dealing with the current, uh, if it's coming in or out or sideways. Yep, that fish is gonna run. It's trying to get away. So you're dealing with that fight, you're dealing with drag manipulation. Uh, so many things you're dealing with. You're dealing with the waves and the backflow and the undertow doesn't need to be that far. Doesn't, it's not that fun. So don't always, uh, on north wind days, don't, don't get crazy with the cheese whiz. If you got a strong wind at your back adjust your swing adjust or your swing and just your cast, it's power. You don't need to go get it ever that far out there. Um, yeah, I could go on on that one. I'm not going kind of common sense there. Right? Okay, so we, we talked about weather, we talked about winds, tides, gear, seasons, the patterns, all of that is, it all plays a factor into this sport.
Speaker 1 (45:18):
Apps are, apps are great, man. And I, I put this in here in my notes specifically for this. Um, in my phone I've got one file called phishing and it's got a bunch of apps in there, you know, and it's for me to know where my markers are, where my things are for Phish identification. It's worth having because we all walk out with our phones. We all do. And use it to your advantage besides a meme machine. Do something with it. Um, definitely put them on there for those and go for gear. If you wanna upgrade your gear. Uh, I'd recommend right before the fall and spring season. Uh, that being said, I'm gonna do an episode on that here in the future, talking about gear and changes and, uh, testing, testing, testing, testing. Because what I like versus what somebody else likes is a complete different game.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
And I bring this up with a perfect example of Justin, my best friend revision Justin Reed fishing. You guys know I'm always out there with him. Yeah. Very rarely am I, uh, if I'm fishing alone, cool. If I'm out with people, cool. Um, nine times outta 10 if I'm out with somebody, it's more than likely Justin. So, uh, Justin is one of the few people that can grab a nine foot rod and send it as far as most people throw a 12 footer. Yeah, I'm serious. I'm, I'm not even joking. Uh, I have a hard time. I can't keep up with him with a nine footer. I can keep up with him one my 12, but that man can cast his style of rods and the way he casts is different from mine. And the way he likes his setup is different from mine. We both have different feels.
Speaker 1 (46:52):
And if we're ever reeling in the other one's, rod, we both know, hey, remember it's a different feel, different style. But that being said, what I like in my rods, uh, um, he doesn't like in his. So if I were to take a recommendation from him and get a piece of gear, how am I gonna know it's gonna work for me? I don't right? I, I, I don't know anything about it. So you can walk into a local shop. Um, I mean, I mean, for me, I'm gonna walk into half hitch more than likely in Navar. I I'm gonna walk in there and say, I need this. Well, they know me in there, so they're gonna be like, dude, you don't want that. That's not your style. When I first went in the very first time, if you go back to one of the earlier episodes, I'll talk about it, especially when I talk about half itch.
Speaker 1 (47:36):
Um, the lady that hooked me up with the, the gear she gave me, I think it was, I bought three or four different styles of rods with four different styles of reels. I found what I liked at the time, and then my tastes have changed over the years to what I have now. Um, and I've fallen in love with my ninja series, my daggers. I absolutely love them because they fit the execs my feel that I enjoy. And I've also gone accustomed to them. So the buying of gear outright and blind is a tough, tough game to play. And we're gonna go really heavy into that in that next podcast episode about that. But, uh, if you're gonna upgrade, think about that before you start upgrading what you're upgrading to, why you're upgrading it, and what do you want to get out of it. That is the important pieces that, that I'm really emphasize heavily on that show.
Speaker 1 (48:27):
That's, uh, yeah, without me actually walking into that man. 'cause I could talk about that one right now for sure. I'd, oh, I'd love to talk about that. But that's a whole nother podcast. And I got another day for you. I hope this episode was helpful for you. If it was, you know, share it out. That's the, that's the way we grow. Um, I don't, I know I need to write more articles and get 'em up on finding demo searching.com. It's on my to do list. Kind of, sort of. Not really. It's, it's there. I'll get it done. But share the stuff out because this is all designed to help us either get back to basics, help somebody new, maybe a PC didn't know about with that. All of this helps out in our community. That's my goal, as always has been, is to be a helper. I'm not here to change your mind. I'm not here to frigging influence any of that. I'm not an influencer. I don't even like using the term. People say you are. No, I'm not. I'm just a guy that likes to fish and talk about it and hopefully helps somebody out. So share it out. Do the good stuff. Keep following. There's more to come. You've been listening to finding DO surf fishing. Glad you were here. I'm out.