Kickin' it Old School

For as long as I can remember I have always had a Smithwick Lures Devil’s Horse in my tackle box.  I liked them because they were simple, classic looking and just flat out caught fish. Who doesn’t love to see Bass hit a top water lure, right? The Devil’s Horse was once a heavier sinking lure that still had the shape, props and treble hooks that the modern day one has but according to Smithwick they started making a floating model due to the growing spinning and spincast reel market. With only that minor change the Devil’s Horse of today remains the same as the day of their inception in 1949. 

Devil's Horse Bass

Honestly, the only shortcoming of the lure I experience is the treble hooks. The size, make and way they are fastened to the bait I feel limit an angler’s hookup rate. For that reason I modify all my Devil’s Horses to sport a split ring and sharper, larger trebles. Not only does the larger and sharper hook grab a few more bass but by adding the split ring it doesn’t allow a Bass to use the lure to torque on the lure and possibly shake it free. 

Devil's Horse before upgrade

For the adjustment you can go as crazy as you want or stay somewhat simple in your hook selection.  I grab a pair of split ring pliers, Owner split rings and either VMC or Owner trebles to get the job done. I buy in bulk to keep the hook cost down a little and plus I use the extras to replace dull or rusty hooks on my saltwater MirroOLures or Skitterwalks. You can add a longer treble on the back end to help with short strikes or keep them all constant as I do. I am using #4 all around on both size baits and its pretty self-explanatory from here on out. The one thing I do recommend is cutting the stock hooks off (use eye protection please) because screwing the clasps in and out of a wooden bait could weaken the connection, plus it taken more time to do so. Then just throw on a split ring and the new treble and get after ‘em.

Devil's Horse after upgrade

March Bass with Zman Lures

There are certain times of the year that really get a bass angler jacked-up and right now is one of them. All over the state of Florida waters temps are in the mid-sixties and love is in the air. This winter was unseasonably warm and after the drought in many areas of the state it has been anything but a normal year. The one thing that is constant though is anglers all over the state are weighing big bags of fish and catching them in numbers. From small neighborhood ponds to larger lakes and even the St. John’s River is going off like crazy, much to the excitement of Elite Anglers arriving to compete this week.

Just last week there was an open tournament out of Palatka which took over 30lbs to win and in the tournament my partner and I fished on Santa Fe it took over 25lbs to take top honors. Other big fish stats from our tournament were; out of 22 teams four fish over 10lbs were weighed and 10fish over 7lbs were weighed. Hell, we won big fish with a 11.61 pound monster and only won it by 3 ounces!!

Scott with his 11.61 !

Right now we are finding fish one of two places, either in the grass or on the edge of the grass.  Throwing search baits like spinner baits to find fish then dropping the powerpole to hold us in an area as we thoroughly work it with soft plastics has been paying off. One of the most successful baits this year have been the ZinkerZ from Zman Lures. For those who have not seen or heard of a ZinkerZ just think of it as an improved Senko type worm. It can be fished, wakcky, weighted, and a trailer or my personal favorite, un-weighted. This bait when fished un-weighted, darts erratically and had a wobbly death fall that drives fish nuts. The one major difference in this bait that NO OTHER manufacturer can even touch is its durability. This is a six or eight fish bait whereas most soft plastics are done after two or three fish. I have also found that with the increased durability this does not make the bait harder or more dense, it is actually quite the opposite. These lures from Zman are much more flexible which adds action to their whole lineup of baits from the ZinkerZ to the PaddlerZ. In addition these baits are more buoyant than most soft plastics which increases their versatility. When fishing these plastics weighted, the bait actually stands on its head when at rest on the bottom rather than lying on its side and when fishing a ZinkerZ un-weighted it hovers in the strike zone just a little longer to increase strikes.   

To show the flexibility of these ZinkerZ not only do we fish them hard but check out the stretch test! We stretched this 5 inch bait over 7 times it original length and it snapped back as perfect as it came out of the package. 

Stretch Test

 Now to the on the water coverage. A nice fish came from bumping pad stems. We dart this baits through the lily pads and when we feel it hit a stem we allow it to fall as if it is stunned.

ZinkerZ Watermelon Red

 Now with many local ponds being low due to the drought, fishing this ZinkerZ parallel down the banks makes for a nice after work break and lots of little fish crushing this bait in the shallows.

Redbug color in my pond.

Find these ZinkerZ at Zman Lures or just add it to your next order from TackleWarehouse, remember its free shipping over $50!

Back to Bass

Wow, I cannot believe it has been a year since we moved back to Jacksonville. Although our time in Ocala was relatively short, sometimes it felt like we were there for ten years. In that time I think my wife and I learned a lot about ourselves and each other. That time in our lives was not always easy but we fought through it and came out much better people for having lived the experience. 

Now where does fishing fit into this story? I believe it was the time spent in Ocala that brought me back to my first true love of fishing, bass fishing. Granted, there was saltwater access from Ocala but it was a world of difference from the east coast and what I really loved about saltwater fishing and fly fishing. So, as all fishermen tend to do, we adapt. I started fishing the local lakes of Orange, Rousseau and Lochloosa which were fisheries that I visited for the first time almost 20 years ago.  

Summer of '88 at 5 years old.

Quick flashback. Growing up I was very lucky to have a father and an uncle who were die hard fisherman and I got to tag along at a very young age. Whether they knew it or not, I remember them pushing me to get better. At the age of five I was asking for an Ambassadeur baitcasting reel rather than my zebco or a spinning reel because it was cool and I wanted to be like them. Now that I think about it, maybe that is why I am excellent at getting out knots or a backlash because that was all I did for a month after finally getting my new reel. I was out at my grandparents’ lake every day afterschool for countless hours throwing a red shad soft plastic. With dad building houses and mom running the office it allowed me to spend my afternoons and summer days fishing. During most of my elementary years mom or dad would pick me up from school and drop me off at my grandparents’ house to fish. During the longer days of spring and summer dad would come by and spend the last hour or so of daylight out on that lake fishing with me before coming inside for dinner. The summer after second grade they bought me an 8ft bass hunter with a 30lb thrust motorguide trolling motor. I thought I was the next Bill Dance and a big shot for an 8 year old. Each morning I fished, I would get everything ready and Bubba, my grandpa, would help me put the battery in the boat and I was off. I would fish two hours before coming in from breakfast then back on the water till lunch and then out till dinner. This was the life for an 8 year old and many summers after until I picked up a baseball for the first time at age 12.

Ok now back to Ocala. I felt alienated in central Florida, not really knowing anyone and working all the time, so my fishing time really took a hit. Then one day just by chance on facebook, a college buddy of mine noticed I changed my town to Ocala and dropped me a line. Turns out he was living in the neighborhood behind us with his wife and made the comment “we should go fishin’ sometime”. Thank god, I was working at a place I disliked and living in a small apartment. I needed to get out. Our wives hit it off instantly but I think it was mainly because they get a kick out of making fun of Scott and I for our silly fishing obsession. Whatever it may be, they have become some of our closest friends and we were lucky to have them in Ocala then and now.

Rodman Reservoir March 2011

From my time spent in Ocala until now I have rekindled my love for bass fishing and remember the times from my youth when all I had to think about was fishing. Now, grown up, married, working and all the other stresses that come along with life I still feel like I did when I was eight years old every time I get out on the water and lip a bass.  

Welcome to AdamsFishing and I hope you enjoy this blog on my bass and tournament fishing experiences. I still keep up with my flyfishing blog, theadamsproject so you can click over and check that out as well. Also, check out the company links to the right because if it wasn't for them I wouldn't get to do as much as I do.