king fisher

I need the bearings that go in the drum that rotates on the main shaft. They are about an inch long cylinders and I need 15 of them. I just found a guy on the East Coast that has them, and I am trying to find a way to get them to me in Mexico. If your guy would be willing to ship to Mexico, and would gladly pay the extra cost, and take him bass fishing here if he ever gets a chance.

I had a nut come off of my pedal drive while bass fishing last weekend. It should have been an easy fix, simply replace the nut. I don't like to do things the easy way. I pulled the drive out to see what was wrong while still on the water. One pedal separated from the shaft, and a few bearings fell out into the water. My problem is, every dealer I call to get new bearings tells me they are out of stock on almost all Hobie parts. Hobie has been sold, and production is moving. Parts are not available. Does anyone know where I can get new bearings? Does anyone have an old pedal drive unit that doesn't work, that still has some bearings I could buy? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Bass can get very specific even with live bait. A nightcrawler is the best overlap bait ever, but there are days when a live crawdad will work far better. Try fishing a live crawdad, when the bass are busting shad on the surface and see how many bass hit the crawdad. If bass can get picky when it comes to the real thing, than thinking they will hit any general artificial category is wishful thinking. This ad was Bait Monkey approved and is intended to sell fishing tackle, to those that already have more tackle than needed. Yes 99% of the time there are dozens of baits that will overlap, but for those other times when nothing but a certain lure will work, I want to have at least 10 available to throw. If I were wise, I would simply throw a few all around producing lures, in a variety of depths, and cover. If I fail to get bit, I should go home early and spend some extra time with my wife. Why would I want wisdom, when I can buy tackle? I hope to someday own the one lure that will work better than all others on every water, every day. I thought it was going to be the Banjo Minnow, but I'm glad I didn't sell off all of my tackle after I received my special order from the TV add. I'm still looking and am still in debt.

I landed bass on dozens of lures in 2025. All lures in picture caught bass 7 pounds or over except for the Rattle Trap, which was included because it was my best numbers bait. Biggest was 9.9 pounds caught on a Junebug Ole Monster. I tried hard to stretch the 9.9 to 10 pounds, but two scales reset a dozen times are better at telling the truth than I am.

This says it all.

I have fished my favorite lake for 5 years. I know two things. How to get there, and I can get skunked on any given day.

I'm sure it works well for you, but I suggest you take the bladed jig out of the package and tie it on. I grew throwing spinnerbaits, and they are still my favorite lures, but many days, bladed jigs flat out out produce spinnerbaits by a large margin. I dabbled with them a couple of years ago, with no luck and gave up. A couple years later I decided if they work for so many other anglers they must work for me. It took awhile for me to catch on, but now I always have one tied on a rod. In Almost every tournament around the nation one of the top 5 baits will be a bladed jig. Where you fish the bass have probably never even seen one. If you have to simplify remove another bait and give the bladed jig a try.

Most baits are interchangeable, and most bass caught on one bait may just as well have been caught on a variety of baits. A person could get by with a couple surface baits, ones for mid depth, and a few for bottom baits. There was a time when all I fished was a single colorado blade spinnerbait for all three and landed many bass. It sure was easy to pack my fishing gear back then. There are differences in practicality that usually make the difference for me, and that is way I buy have more baits (thousands more and still buying). I basically use a square bill, spinnerbait, and bladed jig for the same application. There are many bass fishing scenarios, where all three will work, but they do have differences. I tend to use a spinnerbait around wood, because they don't get hung up in wood as much as the other two. I use chatterbaits in grass, for the same reason, and square bills in rocks, because they deflect well of of rocks. Each bait will catch the bass but one will work the cover better. There are many other examples of this, Trigs, and Carolina rigs, deep diving crankbaits and jigs, etc. There are also times when one lure significantly outshines one lure over another. A couple days ago a ribbon tail worm worked well and a straight tail worm didn't. This was unusual because I always do well with a straight tail worm in this lake. Because of my past history here with the straight tail I pushed it to hard and wasted valuable time before giving up and catching bass in the ribbon tail. I grew up waking a spinnerbait, but many days a buzz bait will outproduce a waked spinnerbait by a large margin. If it is windy I will always try throwing a spinnerbait, regardless of depth or type of cover. I tied one on a two days ago when the wind picked up and threw it in grass that I normally wouldn't try a spinnerbait and hooked my biggest bass of the year( not going to say what happened with that bass). as well as many quality fish. I also will fish a spinnerbait around rocks if the wind is blowing. There are days when a square bill deflected through tree limbs will catch monster bass, that refuse to eat spinnerbaits, or T rigs ( Bait Monkey loves those days) I don't know if chatterbaits would work because I'm too chicken to throw $15 baits in to trees. One day my tried and true popper didn't work, as well as other favorite topwater baits, so I decided to try and old devils horse that has sat in my box for years. First cast in the same area, and the Devils horse got smashed by a large bass (how large I'm scared to estimate) Now I am now going to change the 30 year old stock hooks on that bait, and start fishing it more. My long winded point is there are many times multiple baits will work, but there are just as many times when one bait will be more practical, and a few times when one bait will shine above the others for no reason. The Bait Monkey loves those no reason days.

One of the best small river smallmouth baits made.

Why do people always set the bar so high with unreasonable goals? My goals are close to the same as last year. Make it to 2027, New PB. fish more, keep Bait Monkey on a shorter leash, and improve my casting accuracy. I didn't accomplish any of these goals last year, but 2026 is going to be my year.

Yesterday I landed my last big bass of the year. Today my pedal drive broke on my kayak, and I won't be able to get parts before the New Year. I tried to finnish out the day by paddling, but got frustrated and came home. I am in awe of anyone who can catch a bass paddling a Kayak or canoe. Once my pedal drive broke, all I could do is get snagged and swear. Yesterday I landed 37 bass, biggest was 8 pounds even and caught on a Tilapia Magic Zoom Ole Monster.

If you have never experienced it, this is a backlash.

This is how it always starts. I am happy with the lures I have, then other people tell the Monkey how great another lure is. I decide it wouldn't hurt to try just one, and I'm on the road to the poor house. I use Zoom Ole monsters, and Zoom Mag Trick worms every time I fish for bass. I catch many quality bass on those two worms, and have enough to qualify to be on the hoarders reality show. I am lucky this thread came out after I made my last order or the Monkey would have forced me to try a pack of Magnum speed worms. I'm positive I would catch a giant bass on the first day trying a Magnum speed worm. Then the Monkey wouldn't even have to encourage me. I would stock up on a truck load all by myself. This wouldn't be a problem except for what would I do with my life time supply of other Zoom worms. I'm sure they would still work, and I would have to bring a few pounds along with me every time I go fishing, but they would never get wet. I would be hooked on the new greatest thing, and my old favorites would just take up space in my kayak. Eventually I would permanently store them in a giant box with my other lures that were replaced. The sad thing is I wouldn't ever know if the bass cared. They would probably still like the old worms as much or more than the new ones, but I would never know. Please just once when someone asks about a lure, somebody post something like it is a great lure, but not any better than many other similar lures most people already have. Is the speed worm way better than an Ole Monster or Magnum Trick Worm? If they are please don't tell the Bait Monkey. I have already spent this years Christmas allowance.

A friend was flying down for the weekend, and had room in his bag, the Monkey wouldn't let an opportunity go by. I was able to get a Tackle Warehouse order in at just over 50$ for free shipping and Sieberts Outdoors included a free pack of Rage Bugs in my order. I decided to try a new color Ole Monster. I don't know how well the bass are going to like Tilapia Magic, but I'm completely sold. I have never seen the color before, and I was hooked the minute I took one out of the package. If the bass like it half as much as I do, I am going to have a good day.

You have landed thousands of bass. You catch more in one year than I do in 10 years. You already know how to fight large bass and other fish. There is probably nothing you do wrong as far as technique goes. That leaves equipment as the only advice I would be able to give. Standing up fishing out of a boat would help the most with landing bass, but you would not be able to fish where you do, and would not be hooking the bass you want to land. That leaves changes to fishing gear, as the only advice I could give to help your hook up to land ratio. I'm sure your casting accuracy is far better than mine, with any type of gear, and that is by far the most important factor in landing large bass, which is to get them to bite in the first place. All things being equal, baitcasting gear will you give you a slight edge on landing larger bass in thick cover. If switching will harm you accuracy, or change your ability to work the lures properly, than there is no advantage and will actually cause you to land fewer bass. You are a highly skilled angler. Switching gear will come naturally. If you already know how to fish, than learning new techniques is not difficult. You already know how to cast a baitcaster, so a little fine tuning is all you will need. Don't leave your spinning gear behind, just bring a baitcaster along to play with now and then. If you don't like it, than leave the bc at home. I recommend giving the Baitcaster a try, but don't blame me if the Monkey ends up firmly attached to your back and you end up with more new baitcasting outfits than a Bass Pro shops store. Making that perfect bomb cast with next to zero brakes, right on the edge of a backlash, can become addictive and there is always a new real out, that might get you an extra foot or two.

It would be difficult to tell you what you are doing wrong without watching you land a bass. I would suspect that you are not doing anything wrong. Bass get away, that is one reason why they are America's most popular sport fish. Because it would be impossible to critique your landing technique without watching you fight a bass and the fact that you most likely don't do anything wrong, the only advice I could give, is how I have had success landing bass. The only thing I might be able to consider a disadvantage in your technique is the use of spinning gear. You fish for large bass in heavy cover with mid to heavy tackle. I believe you would land more of the larger bass you hook using baitcasting gear fishing the conditions you describe in your posts. I have landed fish anywhere from 1/2 pound bluegill to 200 pound tuna on spinning gear. The modern spinning gear we have now combined with modern lines makes it possible to replace conventional gear for any kind of fishing. I can also use my Swiss Army knife for a screwdriver, but prefer to use a more specialized tool most of the time. Bass fishing in heavy cover with power techniques in my opinion is best done with baitcasting gear. If you like to use spinning gear use it. Bass fishing is all about having fun. You land far more bass than I do, know you lakes, and the bass in them far better than I ever could, and have fun fishing for them your way. Why would you want to change?

Where do you fly in to? If you go to Mazatlan stop at an ATM and get as many pesos as your card will allow. You will get a good exchange rate from your bank at an ATM. Use Pesos for tips if you can. Mexican banks do not give the locals a good exchange rate, and it can take hours to for them to exchange dollars to pesos. The staff will be accustomed to dealing with dollars, but they will appreciate anyone who tips in Pesos. It is your hard earned money, and they work hard for tips, so why let a bank get a cut? If you go to a bank ATM and the machine asks if you approve of their exchange rate, press decline. You will still get your money, but it will be at the exchange rate your bank gives which will be significantly better than what the ATM is offering. A decent exchange rate right now is 18.2 Pesos to one US $

El Salto and Picachos both have Cartel problems. One of my crew has family that own a house at Picachos, and they haven't been able to go there for months. You will be fine at Bacarac, and the fishing has been excellent there.

Loan it to me. With the condition it will be in when you get it back, your only decision will be, keep it or throw it away.

I know you prefer spinning rods, and there is nothing wrong with that, but baitcasters can give you more control over the fight. You can thumb the spool when you need to stop a run, but still have the drag set loose enough to keep from pulling hooks when the bass is in the open. The same can be done with a spinning rod by palming the spool, but I prefer to thumb the spool on a baitcaster. The drag on a spinning reel must be set looser than on a baitcaster because the line does not pull directly from the spool. There is a slight lag time between the force pulling on the line, then transfer to pulling on the roller, then the force being switched to pulling on the spool. Modern reels have mostly overcome this problem by putting quality bearings in the roller, and improving drags, but there is still some lag. Once the drag starts letting line both reels are equal, but in order to make up for the first hard pull the drag on a spinning reel can't be set as tight. Reeling while drag is going out on a spinning reel will twist the line. A skilled angler will not reel while the line is going out with either reel, but if an excited angler makes a few turns on the handle with a baitcaster, no harm no fowl. As far as fighting technique there is no right or wrong way to land a bass. I prefer to take my time while others prefer to get them in quickly. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages and it is way too early in the winter to start that argument. Basically I apply maximum pressure and try and move a bass away from any cover as quickly as possible. I then switch tactics and fight them with finesse once away from any cover. Many people put the wood to them all the way back to the boat, and are very successful, but I prefer to play a bass until the bass are through fighting before dealing with their boat side antics. I feel because a bass does not go on hour long runs, causing time for hooks to wear holes in their mouths, and I am in no danger of getting spooled, I might as well take it easy and let the bass fight it out. If the hook is in well enough to stay put for the first part of the fight, I don't want to horse the bass to the boat, and lose it at the end of the fight. For those that like to bring the bass in as quickly as possible, I'm not saying you are wrong, it works for the majority of bass anglers, but It just doesn't work well for me. I have landed many large fish of multiple species on very light tackle with extremely small hooks, and most of the time when I have lost the battle it was because I tried to land them to quickly, not because I gave them too much time. The same goes for the thousands of fish I have helped others land. I don't know how many times someone has brought a fish to the boat that is still way to hot, and been mad at me when they have been knocked off by the net, or I have missed a gaff. When a fish is ready to be brought to the boat, most of the excitement should be over. As far as rod positing goes, that changes for me multiple times during the fight. I may have my rod high one minute and the tip in the water the next. I occasionally change my drag setting during the fight, but usually change pressure with either my thumb on the spool to increase tension, or bowing my rod toward the bass to quickly let up on the pressure. Bass rarely go on long enough runs, to overcome the amount of line I can give them by bowing my rod, and if they do, the drag although tight, will give before the line breaks. I lose my share of big bass, and most of them are lost when I fail to instantly turn and get them away from cover. Sitting down in a kayak does not help with the hook set and turn portion of the battle. If I lose a big bass during the middle of a fight it is because they jump. When they jump I have tried praying and swearing with equal results. I rarely lose a bass at boatside. When I reach down to lip a bass they have been played out far enough away from my kayak that I don't have to worry about loosing them at the end of the fight. From the description you give of the places and conditions you encounter in Main, I would recommend you use heavy baitcasting gear, and play your fish aggressively. You are always around thick cover, and I never see pictures of your canoe in open water where playing a bass with finesse would be to your advantage. Of course you have proved this can successfully be done with spinning gear, but you did ask for recommendations, and I would recommend a different tool for the job.

If the crawdads in a lake are red, than I will at least try red in any water clarity. If there are no red crawdads, then I prefer chart. white, and black for dirty water. I fish a lake where there are lots of red crabs. When I fish around the rocks where the red crabs live, red colored crankbaits work well for me. When I fish around the weeds and tulles, I fish shad colored spinnerbaits and swimbaits. When I fish worms they are Junebug, because I always fish Junebug worms. I always catch bass on this lake, but I don't know if it is because of the baits I throw, or because it is loaded with dumb bass that have never seen a lure.

I quit buying tackle once, it was the worst day of my life.

Put the weight three feet above an Original Floating Rapala, fish it slowly, with softer jerks, than you normally do with a suspending jerkbait, and tell everyone you are fishing for walleye.

It's complicated http://sacompassion.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/monkeyandfish2.jpg

Unfortunetely all of my life, I have had to either budget my fishing expenses, or my time. When I was young, I had an unlimited budget on my time to fish. I had no money, and minimum tackle. I fished often and caught more fish than I ever dreamed I would. Now that I'm grown up, I have more gear than I ever dreamed of, but seldom fish, and don't catch many. Now I constantly organize my tackle while dreaming of catching bass. When I was young, I caught bass and dreamed of having a huge horde of tackle. Back then I didn't have much and always wanted more, now I have more, and wonder if I should have less. Either way, my tackle budget will always be more than I can afford, and my time budget will include every minute I am able get on the water, plus one more cast.