king fisher

My fall fishing spot I go big and on top because there is nothing like watching a giant bass crush a surface bait and the bigger baits cast further.

My favorite lake had a high of 82 degrees, and a low of 56 today. It will be within a few degrees of that same temp from now until next July. Buzz baits and frogs all winter. Down side is I miss out on the good ice fishing bite.

I tried to get my girl friend now wife into paragliding. Just when she was getting to be a good pilot she crashed in to a tree and never wanted to fly again. It worked out in the end, because her not wanting to fly and me not wanting to travel to flying sites with out her, is what got me back in to bass fishing. She tried bass fishing, but like gliding, can't seem to stay out of the trees. Now bass fishing has become my only hobby. Another plus is she lets me use the rod and reel I bought her.

They charge over $20 for a bait the angler imparts most of the action to, and you have to change out the hooks?

Fred Young the inventor of the Big-O Because that is as close to finesse as I like to get.

I agree you have to be careful. I just got a Medium heavy spinning rod when what I ordered was a Medium heavy casting rod off Ebay. I am in Mexico and the cost and hassle of sending it back isn't worth the bother. The price was very good, and now I know why.

I did an experiment with line in a swimming pool. My observations were. Floro is less visible than mono and braid. Mono is very close to floro in visibility, but is more visible. Braid is very visible compared to both Mono and floro. Dark braid is more visible than light colors, with white being the least visible. I'm not saying this is a scientific study, and I only looked at lines in a clear swimming pool with snorkel and mask. Results in dirty water could be way different. Especially with the visibility of dark braid compared to light braid. As far as bass fishing goes, I don't think visibility would be a factor most of the time. Only my observations in a pool, in no way am I saying anything about visibility in real fishing situations, or if bass even care.

Identify which make model and color of lures are on the line. If a bass jumps out of the water and eats one, buy all of that lure you can find, and tell the Bait Monkey to go away for life.

When I was a kid we plucked all our ducks and geese. My Dad thought filleting the breasts off was a big waste of meat. We didn't shoot many so it wasn't too big of a chore. My Mother would roast them and they tasted great. For about ten years I would finish the big game season in Alaska and go goose hunting in Alberta for 5 weeks. It was a great break from shooting and packing very heavy animals and some of the best times of my life. Problem was what to do with all the goose meet. I found a sausage maker that had a good recipe for goose, and I would take all my geese to him. He would mix in pork and it was delicious. I would give all the land owners where I hunted goose sausage and smoked salmon as thanks for letting me hunt. I never was told I couldn't hunt on any property all the years I hunted there. There is lots of ways to make goose taste good.

Magnum willow blades also called Oklahoma, wide willow, and other names. are the preferred blades for salmon fishing in the northwest, and Alaska. There are many mail order shops in the Northwest that sell any size and color you could possibly want. Two I like are Fisherman's Shack Don is the owner and will be the one who answers the phone. He will give you a deal on shipping and almost always throws something new in for free. He has way more inventory than his web site shows. It is best to call him and tell him what you want. Spinner Dave's has a more modern web site and catalogue. Google Salmon spinners and parts and you will find many more. Barlow's, Jann's Net craft and Lure parts online, are more well known national mail order stores that carry Mag Willow blades.

I have had a Victorinox Swiss Army Officier in my pocket at all times except on commercial flights since 1988. I have had to donate a few to customs over the years. One time leaving Dillingham AK Airport I hid one above the doorway above the entrance to the airport, rather than have to give it away. The next year when I was back in Dillingham the knife was right where I hid it. I don't know why I could remember where I hid the knife, but can never remember to take it out of my pocket and put it in a checked bag before boarding a plane. My wife calls it selective memory. I also carry scissors pliers and clippers when I am fishing.

I own way too many crankbaits, but I will continue to buy and try more. I bought my first Rock Crawler last year. It has become one of my go to baits. I'm not sure which crankbait it replaced on the starting team, but it is a starter for sure. A must have for any crankbait addict.

My Outback has more tackle storage than I can use. Bait Monkey goes with me every time out on the water. Lots of well thought out places to store scissors, plyers etc. Easy access water proof box in front of seat, I put wallet, phone, scale, and misc. tackle in. I stash two tackle boxes under the seat. You pay for all the extras in price and weight but you don't have buy separate accessories later.

I live in Mexico and own 3 Diawa Ardito travel rods. I use the medium for most crankbaits, and the MH for everything else. I have landed double digit bass in thick cover with all three rods. MH will handle 1OZ lures but if I am going to use anything heavier I bring a one piece extra heavy action. Many days I only bring the Travel Rods. I wish they made an extra heavy Ardito, then I would never need a one piece rod.

My wife said she would buy me a new reel for Christmas so I thought I would ask what members think I should get. I currently own Diawa Tatula CT and Diawa Coastal reels. I am very happy with them, but I can't pass up a new reel. I am thinking about jumping up in price range. I have never made the next leap in price and am curios if there is much of a difference in performance and longevity. The two choices I am considering so far, are the new Zillion SV and the Curado 150. I will be putting the reel on a Diawa rod, but since I am in Mexico I don't think It would matter if I used a Shimano reel. After all what goes on in Mexico stays in Mexico. Thanks in advance.

I would tow it across the country for you and wouldn't charge a dime. It might take a couple years, and there would probably be a few hundred more hours on the outboard and trolling motor. Slight detour through Mexico would also be a possibility.

I have an Echomap plus 64 CV for my kayak, that I like and highly recommend. You can find them in your price range on Ebay. As others have said if you don't move up to the Echomap series in Garmin you are better off going with a Lowrance, or Hummingbird because those brands can use SD cards with maps. Side imaging would be nice, but can make mounting the transducer more difficult.

I have had great luck this year on a 6th sense cloud nine mini mag square bill. 7/8 oz casts great, holds up well in the rocks, and comes with excellent hooks. I'm not saying the bill wont break, but I haven't broken one yet and I crank mine through the rocks as fast as I can reel.

Depends on where I going to fish. I fish a creek where all I bring is a a few inline spinners, and two floating Rapala's. I fish a lake where I bring more baits than I can fish in a lifetime. The Bait Monkey Plays the what if game with me until I almost sink my kayak. What if the water clears? What if I loose my best crankbait? What if I loose my back up to my best crankbait? What if they only want a certain color or size? It is an endless game, that I can never win. I should just tell the Monkey if they don't hit what I got, then they don't deserve to get caught, and I'm going to have a good time anyway. The Monkey would die laughing if I ever said that.

Yard work is for people that don't fish. Skip the lawn equipment store, go straight for the tackle shop.

I highly recommend the Outback. Great for bass fishing, very stable and maneuverable, lots of well thought out accessories, and launches well in surf. They are heavy but you can't have everything.

My favorite lake the wind blows 15 - 20 mph out of the west every afternoon. The bass know the wind is coming, and many days wait for the afternoon to feed. In the morning I fish slow, tight to the cover and watch my line for soft bites. In the afternoon, when the wind picks up its, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and A rigs fished fast along the bottom of rocky points and flats exposed to the wind. I love the wind. On the days when the wind blows 30 mph, the fish still bite, but fishing is difficult to dangerous. I can fish the lea sides and hide from the wind, but I will also be hiding from the bass. Those are the days I wish I had a boat.

I used to fish a short arm by Bass Buster, called a Scorpion. Was a very popular spinnerbait in the 70.s. Any one know when they quit making them?

I live 3 hour drive from the lake, and only have a kayak, but I would gladly show you the lake and loan you some gear. Spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and frogs all winter.

Repairs on the house! What's wrong with the house? Is it on fire? If so, get your fishing gear out and call the fire department. Anything else can wait for another day, or, put a tent up at lake and call it a new home for a weekend.