A-Jay

Yea - seems like more of the same. Just sprinkle is a healthy dose of drug use, alcohol abuse, domestic violence & pants on the ground. ? A-Jay

Nicely Done. Toasting a lower unit is rarely a good thing. Hope you continue to enjoy retirement without blowing anything else up. A-Jay

Agreed. Besides, each of these broadcasts would be much truer represented if they chose to correctly identify it for what it is - People acting badly, making ridiculous decisions and things that we all hope & believe happen to 'other people'. I'll occasionally watch the local news, as a reminder of who & what's living around me. A-Jay

I hear that @Tim Kelly Last half of this season was like nothing I've experienced and hope it never repeats. Definitely makes one appreciate the better trips and appreciate every fish. Perhaps it will set up a banner 2020 ! #lovethenorthwoods A-Jay

Me too and no doubt the rig can be a problem. On an Avid X, I attach the hook to the keeper on the rod (right above the fore grip) and use a short section of pipe cleaner (twisted wire) to keep the weight secured to the rod at the split grip. On my Diawa ASG, the clip style 'keeper' in in the split grip which allows the drop shot weight to be attached there. This keep the line and hook tight to the rods. A-Jay

Hate putting the Pro-V Bass up for the winter but this was a good way to end it. The challenge is what makes it so satisfying. A-Jay

Killer walking bait I have to fish mine with wire - apparently old Mr Toothy likes them too. A-Jay

Yes Sir ~ A-Jay

Hello and Welcome to Bass Resource ~ A-Jay

Seems they were not hurt - so that's a plus. I used to call people who make those type of decisions job security ~ A-Jay

Nicely Done ~ Congrats A-Jay

Back in my element - and it feels good A-Jay

Wow ~ What a Beast ! Congrats A-Jay

Wow ! Congrats on the new PB Hope there's a pic or two of that tank ! A-Jay

I have tried them. Nothing. Seems too big when compared to the real deal. A-Jay

Looks like Mr Zona's finally catching on . . . . https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/big-smallmouth-zona.html?fbclid=IwAR1Rgd2rj-oNO45AWoHNkssJu4wbxo_Jw51WRW3QF2H7WZ38zdn3Y90LppM A-Jay

Boils down to self respect. Either you have it or you don't. A person's reputation & character are defined by actions not words. There was a time not too long ago when people said a lot less but did a whole lot more - with much less I might add. The more people I meet, the more I like my dogs. A-Jay

Thanks Blue - You should do it - Perhaps come fish with Jeff & I next Fall ? What !!!!! A-Jay

Thanks If I can, I try to go once a year. Been twice a year a few times in the past. What I pay for each trip has zero bearing on what you or anyone else pays. Lodge Cost is directly related to length of your stay. Costs for getting to & from the lodge via US & Mexican Commercial airlines can & will differ wildly depending on your situation and when you go but can still easily be realized though any number of travel web sights like expedia.com The lodge offers airport pick up service to & from the lodge free of charge from either Los Moches or Culiacan Mexico (approximately 3 1/2 hrs either way). There is also a charter plane option from the US directly to the lodge. It's convenient but quite a bit more $$$ as compared to Commercial airline fares. For you and any BR members interested - if & when you are thinking seriously about making one of these trips, Feel free to PM me for additional info. I can & will do my best to help you out. And if I can't, I certainly can hook you up with someone who can. A-Jay

I was turned on to this special place by a BR member and I'm just paying it forward. A-Jay

No Worries . . A-Jay

I was fortunate to spend 6 ½ days on the best big bass lake on the planet with my good friend and incredible stick, Jeff Howell – otherwise known as Big Fish Jeff. My travel to the lodge this time was decent except for a rather lengthy delay in Chicago before my connector into Dallas Fort Worth. Spent a planned overnight in Dallas and then hooked up with the chartered aircraft just before sunrise. Then it’s wheels up. A couple of brief stops along the way in Mexico for fuel & to clear customs, and we touched down 10 minutes from the lodge on their private air strip just before noon. Totally the way to go. Arriving at the lodge, we are greeted by the attentive & always smiling staff along with the nicely chilled traditional Lake Baccarac Lodge Margarita. After a quick and delicious lunch, we hooked up with our guide Manual and headed to the boats. The anticipation of making that first cast is always very intense. We fished from about 3pm to dark the day we arrived and it didn’t take long to find the bass. As for tackle, Jeff & I both fish 200 & 300 size Shimano & Quantum casting reels, mounted on Medium Heavy & Heavy action G. Loomis Escape & Fenwick Methods Casting Travel rods. Each Rig was loaded with fresh 20lb Seaguar InvisX and Tatsu fluorocarbon line; which we replaced half way through the trip. Exception being our topwater rigs, which were set up with 25lb Sunline Shooter Defier Armilo Mono. Lake Baccarac routinely produces Giants, so it is no place for light gear or chaffed & worn line. This was the also the first trip where we used the Cush-It Big Bass Rod Floats. In every previous trip, after just a few days of fighting these crazy super charged Mexican bass, we have both been left with that oh so familiar torso bruise from jamming the rod into our side; during both the hookset and the majority of the battle. And while the Cush-It is designed to float a rig should it go over the side, the rod butt padding it provides is where it was awesome for us. I don’t put that much pressure on fish at home so these will be a Lake Baccarac exclusive for me – Highly recommended though. 5, 6 & 7 inch swimbaits presented over deep flats & humps as well as ¾ oz jigs with 6 & 7 Inch stick bait trailers are Lake Baccarac standards this time of year and were our weapons of choice much of this trip as well. Other presentations also took decent fish, including but not limited to a Hog Farmer standard A-Rigs with 4 inch swimbaits, ¾ and 1 oz Rattlebaits, a ¾ oz shakey head paired with a 10 inch watermelon or green pumpkin worm, and even had a couple of mornings where topwater was the deal. Poppers & a Whopper Plopper scored for us. Fish were feeding on smaller shad this time around so we had to down size off & on to keep getting bit. The first full day of fishing on this magical lake, Big Fish Jeff and & were treated to a wide open swimbait bite that lasted all day. It was killer and accounted for several 7, 8 & 9 lb bass. On days 2 & 3, some rain moved in and seemed to cool off the big bass bit quite a bit. We still got a few but we had to work for them. After the clouds finally moved out of the mountains – the bite seemed to pick back up quite a bit. As the rain was moving out mid-morning on day 3, Manual put us on a shallow topwater bite that was a ton of fun. The first cast with a popper, Big Fish Jeff got a smashing strike from a scoreable bass, which had me scrambling to tie one on. Who doesn’t love stout green bass on top water ? The session after lunch on day 4 was most memorable, as we got on a huge school of 4-6 lb. tanks. With the bass holding at the base of a rocky drop in about 15 feet, Manual positioned the boat perfectly about ¾ of a cast away and we went to town ! The ½ Scrounger jig with a 4 inch Zoom Fluke trailer (in Baby Bass) we were throwing, rarely made it back to the boat without being totally crushed by a Mexican Mutant Bass. For what seemed like 2 solid hours (and it might have even been longer) cast after cast, hook set after hookset – they kept coming. There was a lot of laughing. Days 5 & 6, we bounced around quite a bit from spot to spot scoring a few mutants at each spot. Again a swimbait & a big jig & stick bait did most all the heavy lifting. Sometime around the middle of our trip, one of my GoPro’s went FUBAR – and unfortunately toasted a good pile of recorded content. I managed to recover some but not all. I’m offering up what was left & useable. And then, like a really great dream, it was over way too fast. All in all a most excellent time that included so many great bass & even better memories. Until Next time . . . . . October 2019 Lake Baccarac Scoreable Bass Stats ~ 25 Total Over 7 lbs ~ 7.25, 7.36, 7.53, 7.07, 7.56, 7.49, 7.42, 7.03, 7.56, 7.43, 7.45, 7.38, 7.84, 7.71, 7.18, 7.47 Over 8lbs ~ 8.81, 8.24 Over 9 lbs ~ 9.01, 9.34, 9.20, 9.67, 9.25 A-Jay

Nice Job on the 4 & lb test ~ The quarry I seek often requires a little more in the way of line strength. YMMV A-Jay

Thank You for the heads up - I'll admit to being a total geek on line shopper - I use an app called 'honey'. It's a shopping assistant & price comparison tool that is very helpful. A-Jay