Spent the weekend fishing with Tom Spoljaric . He escaped two feet of snow in the frozen tundra aka Ohio and brought his boat down behind his rv to fish barefoot. We toured Okeechobee and The Harris chain. We fished out of his Triton the first day and my Falcon the second. Content was recorded, fish were caught, power poles were adjusted and memories were made. The guy is an excellent angler and all around good dude.

I did a thing today. Now there is 2 in the stable. Another chapter is beginning.

First BFL for me is in the books. Ironically the most intimidating part of the entire experience was knowing I was launching as a boater with 152 other boats. Spoiler altert. It’s not that big of a deal.

Life Lesson:

Yesterday’s club tournament on Lake Okeechobee didn’t go as planned. I have a BFL derby there in 6 days. I’ve won big bag and big fish before on that lake. Quite frankly I got my teeth kicked in and skunked. I could blame the weather, the lake, the launch site, etc. As Jocko teaches, I take extreme ownership.

At this point I have 2 options.

1. Sit around today and lick my wounds agitated.

2. Go out today and practice making some adjustments.

I choose door #2. It’s cloudy and warm. Let’s fish and overcome unexpected results.

Fished lake Underhill today and got a few of these. Running scout and forward mode simultaneously.

Trained by Latimer.

Electronics by Lowrance.

Mixing old school and new school.

“Ya’ll about to have a problem” -BLat

#straightupfishing

2025 Review:

This past year was a mixed bag of personal gains and losses. I’ve gone through both quite extensively. I’ve lost friends and family members. I’ve also gained friends, licenses and skills. At the end of it all I continue on my life mantra.

Life is a series of stumbles and getting back up. We walk l, we fall down and we get back up. The key isn’t in getting back up. The trick is to make a decision to keep moving forward and never go backwards.

I’ve gained quite a bit personally from the SUF community. Skills, training, and opportunities are second place to the actual friends and bonds I’ve been able to enjoy.

Here is my only picture for 2025. One last look at the sunset off my stern. Looking towards my bow for 2026.

Thank you all for just being YOU.

Celebrated my final treatment on Monday by hitting the water today. Got 14 LMB and this Fatty Tilapia that came in 3 1/3 LB. Threw my typical Jerkbait and SMH all day.

Thought of Tron and caught 8 or 9 of these in 35 foot of water this Friday. I was fishing a natural sinkhole to test a new rod and reel combo for deep water. Super clear water and using the Doodle method, but with a heavier jig head and minnow. I didn’t upsize the bait on purpose but FFS showed the window of opportunity and I decided to try the method anyway. I consider myself lucky to be in a climate and the SUF community where we can try new things all year long. #makeeverycastcount

#makeeverycastcount : Tron Strong