king fisher

Get the BG if there is even a remote chance you will use it in saltwater. Otherwise you may prefer a lighter reel.

Hollow Braid splice, for 100# plus leaders, 30#to 100# leaders, FG. Alberto for leaders under 30#. Alberto if leader, and braid are close to the same diameter. With practice, Alberto is as easy or even easier, than blood, or Uni to Uni. FG can be tied with just your hands and no tension making it easy. There are a couple videos showing this method. I am not trash talking Blood or Uni knots. I used them for years, I simply prefer the Alberto. Not a fan of Albright, or improved Albright. I tied my last Albright the first time I tried the Alberto.

I prefer magazines, newspapers, and paper catalogs. All of which will be gone soon. I am not saying it is a bad thing, just that I will miss flipping through pages.

I flew direct on Alaska Airlines, from Puerto Vallarta to San Diego and back last week. No problems with travel. Only trouble I had was Bait Monkey met me at the airport. I will be bass fishing San Pedro this weekend. Light rainy season this year so far. Water lower than normal.

I don't run trailers very often. When I do I use the ribbon part of a ribbon tail worm. I like to make skirts with lots of material, theoretically eliminating the need for a trailer. I figure I can always trim the skirt, but can never add.

I made some 3/4 ounce hidden weight spinner baits today. I like the small profile, for 3/4 ounce. First try with this style. I will see if the fish like them this weekend. I have had good luck with bullet weight 3/4 ounce in these colors and blade combos at my local lake, I am hoping to have even more luck with the smaller profile.

I have a Fujinon that is water proof down to 65 feet, and shock proof to 6 ft. It cost around $250 a couple years ago. It takes great pictures above and underwater. Problem is, it is very difficult to take selfies with. If any one has seen some of my pictures taken while in my kayak you can see the big disadvantage of a camera compared to a phone. A phone is easy to take selfies with and you can send the pictures to friends without having to down load on to a computer. Only reason I don't use a phone for fish pictures is, I don't own one that is water proof. My camera has been dunked in the water more than once, and works fine. Camera durability is great, but one more poor picture of a trophy bass, and I may start using a phone.

Mostly Lumiflex, some silcone material, and crystal flash mixed in. Top light colors working on one lake I fish. Chart. and black has been by far the best on the other lake.

As others have said, when you Finnish your knot, make sure the line goes back through the leader loop the same direction as when you started the knot, then bring it through one more time. Pull hard to tighten, no need to tighten extremely hard like with the FG. Biggest mistake people make is not getting the wraps cinched tight against the very end of leader loop, there should be no gap. Also trim the tag end on the leader very close. This keeps the main line from catching on the tag eventually making the main line week just above the knot. Tied correctly it is a great knot. I can tie the Alberto faster with less difficulty than either the blood, or double Uni and I used both those knots on a daily basis for over 30 years. Great improvement over the Albright, or improved Albright.

I have way to many. Here are some of my favorites this year.

Diawa Shimano combo. Is that legal, ethical, dangerous, or even possible? Do you actually practice this kind of behavior yourself, or just recommend such heresy to others? I would consult with a lawyer before making such a potentially dangerous politically charged recommendation. LoL.

I have never had a knot come untied on any line, but I have had many knots fail. Most failures were on snags, very few lost fish. Most of the time the line breaks just above the knot with all line types. I have tested many lines and every knot I am able to learn from U tube or friends. From my tests I strongly believe floro knots are weaker than mono. This does not mean you will loose fish because of a knot with floro? Probably not. I use Floro for both leader and main line, but I don't claim it has equal knot strength. All lines have advantages and disadvantages each angler has to balance for their unique situation. I believe braid knots are weaker than mono, but make up for it by having a huge advantage in the strength to diameter category. Even a 50% knot with 60 pound braid is not going to break. If you don't loose any fish from breaking off, than use what line you have had success with. That doesn't mean the line has great knot strength. Only means you are a skilled angler that also ties his knots well.

I don't know about black and Chartreuse. jigs, but that color combo spinnerbait has been my best producing bait this year. Now that I think about it, my best crank bait color has been chartreuse. and black too.

Conventional wisdom is never dry start a motor even for a second. I personally subscribe to this advise, and have not or will not dry start. That said, I spent a winter on the East Cape of Baja fishing a few years ago. Every day the charter captains would not only start their engines out of the water before launching them in the surf, but would put them in gear, and run them full throttle before pushing them in the water. I would cringe and had a hard time keeping my mouth shut, but did not witness a single water pump failure during the six months I was there. Of course if the OP was referring to running his motor with ears, or hooked to a hose, than why not? Probably not necessary but can't hurt.

The fishermen catches the fish not the gear. I know kids that fish every day with line wrapped around a can, throwing lures made from tire weights, and tooth brush handles. They can out fish almost any one, with any gear on their home waters. I know a guy that can take half of any fly rod and cast further than most fly anglers can with the most expensive rod made. He can even cast a fly line with just his hands as far as many can with a rod. Top of the line equipment is for the anglers enjoyment, not his ability to catch fish. Today's top of the line gear will be considered junk to some people 10 years from now. Of course it will still catch fish, and bring enjoyment to the angler that has grown to like the gear he has. I only hope I get to fish so much I completely wear the gear I have out and have to replace it because it doesn't work. Not because it is out dated.

A trick you can use in an emergency for a popper is one I came up with while guiding some anglers for Silver Salmon in Alaska. I forgot to bring poppers with me one day, and the silvers were very aggressive. After catching many on streamers the guests wanted to try top water. I got some yellow and pink foam earplugs out of the plane and strung one on the leader in front of a pink bunny bug. They worked as well as the foam poppers I usually used.

Fish have no problem biting a lure tied to straight braid. The fish don't care what kind of line you use. Each line has advantages depending on technique and angler preference. If you don't like the way braid tangles on treble hooks , then add a leader, switch to mono, change the way you cast, or decide you can live with the tangles. Each anger has to decide how they want to balance the advantages and disadvantages of each line. I use all three types of line solo, as well as braid to leader, depending on the technique, and water conditions. I have many reasons for using each, and change my opinion on what line is best as often as a politician changes promises. I am the one that prefers one line over another. The fish will bite the lure if presented in the right manner. They don't care what line I use.

Maxima Ultragreen. It worked well, when there was no Floro, the only braid was dacron, and many people didn't realize monofilament was a big word for fishing line. I use all types of line now, but remember catching lots of fish when mono was the only line.

F 4 --F7 size Flatfish. Twitch on the surface, or slow retrieve just under the surface.

I need a reel handle for a Phlueger President 30. Any one know where I can get one?

I always have a spinner bait tied on. I try hard to make a jig or soft plastic my go to lure, but a spinner bait is still my confidence lure.

Yesterday, I fished a small lake I have had success catching large bass at this summer. The fish have been suspended in large trees. Water depth is 25 feet, with the bass typically at the surface first thing in the morning and mid depth after the sun comes up. Strong wind in the afternoon brings them back near the surface, and has been when the best bite occurs. Yesterday, I started the morning with surface lures, then switched to spinner baits, which have caught the majority of my fish. Surface temp. was 88 degrees, up a few degrees since last trip. I assumed the fish were deeper, so I tried working jigs and soft plastics through the branches to the bottom, again no luck. I then grabbed a spinning rod, and fished a weightless Senko, passing the time until the afternoon winds picked up. For some reason the wind didn't come. Hoping to catch anything, I decided to throw a #3 Vibrax inline at some Tilapia that were swirling on the surface. First cast I landed a 5 pound large mouth. After finding out there were bass mixed in with the Tilapia I switched to lip-less crank baits, swim jigs, small swim baits, square bills, and a 1/4 ounce spinner bait. Not one bite. Switched back to the inline, and caught a few bass from 2 to 3 pounds, and some Talapia. This is not the first time I have had a small inline spinner save the day. I often wonder why I don't start the day throwing them, instead of waiting until I start to smell skunk before giving them a try. Maybe I'm just scared of loosing my good friend the Bait Monkey.

I have jumped in to save lures, and fish in both, fresh and salt water numerous times.

I fished Lake Chapala for the second time this year last Sunday. The wind was blowing 15 mph when I launched my kayak. Picked up to over 20 within and hour. I Tried to fish a point I have been wanting to fish but couldn't deal with the waves. I pedaled to a more protected spot and landed 3, the biggest around 4 pounds. Loaded the kayak and went to another spot. Was drifting with the wind throwing a spinner bait at stick ups, when I hit a submerged branch , and flipped the kayak. Managed to save my rods, but lost three tackle boxes. The boxes with crank baits didn't sink and were easy to retrieve. The ones with weights, jigs and one box with mostly spinner baits are at the bottom. It was stupid to bring so much gear on a day like that. When I'm on the ocean, I bring a small amount of gear and I make sure it's tied down, but I get lazy on lakes. I could handle the waves, but should have stayed further out side the submerged tree line. I went back to my friends house, got some dry clothes and launched from another spot I have been wanting to try. I landed another three all around 2 pounds. Now I have no terminal tackle. No hooks, no weights, and no jigs. Will be fishing spinner baits and cranks for the next few weeks. I placed some orders today, to replace most of what I lost, but don't expect any one to be coming down for a few weeks. One friend will be coming here from San Diego next week, but he doesn't like to check a bag, and the airlines wont let him bring hooks on the plane. Checked out the tackle store in PV, but they didn't have any worm hooks, bullet sinkers, or any other terminal gear for bass. Most of my bass have been on Spinner baits this year, so I sure hope they keep hitting the moving baits, or get creative with adapting some saltwater gear. I did purchase some parachute cord, and bungees, the Bait Monkey is only going to get a chance like this once.

2020 started slow for me. Off shore fishing was so so. Had to cancel the last couple trips in April May, due to covid. My season in AK was cancelled. This is the first summer since 1988 I haven't been guiding salmon anglers in AK. I miss Alaska, but it has been fun doing something different. Had a couple good offshore trips, lots of tuna, Wahoo, and a few Marlin. I bought a Kayak, and found a small lake that has trophy bass. First few trips to the lake were frustrating. I could catch baby bass anywhere on anything, but no bass over a pound. My luck changed in June. I fished the lake four days since the middle of June, and have landed three bass over 10 pounds, one 7.9 pounds, and a few 3-5 pounds. It is a 3.5 hour drive one way but well worth the effort. Fished Chapala one day, landed many bass with biggest 6.7 pounds. Until this summer my PB was 5.5 pounds landed in 1977. Needless to say, I'm not missing Alaska right now.