king fisher

One rod to many, but 1,000 short of being enough.

You are around so many bass they just jump in the boat, and you can't catch one on a spinnerbait?

If I only needed 10 I wouldn't own 1,000. That is my story and I'm sticking to it.

I like to go over the point and mark cover, bait fish and or bass with my down imaging. Once I find what I think will be the best spot, I throw out a marker buoy. If the place I marked was 15 feet deep or less, I may have spooked the bass while going over the top of them, so I will leave and come back later. I am fairly stealthy in my kayak, so if it is 15 feet or deeper I will assume I didn't spook any bass, and will back off and make long casts at my marker from every angle with a crankbait. If I catch some fish and the bite stops I will switch the color of the crankbait. Before I leave I will drag a Carolina Rig to pick up a few more bites. If I catch some quality bass I will fish the whole point looking for a few more. If the C Rig produces more than the crankbait, the next point I will start with the C Rig, and follow up with the crankbait. If the point produces well I will leave my marker, and come back later to try again. I am fortunate enough to fish lakes where I can leave a marker buoy out for a three day weekend and not worry about someone fishing the spot. I know I can just put a waypoint on my plotter and forgo the marker buoy, but I prefer to cast at a visual target. One time I put out a marker on a small hard to find place. I landed some bass off the spot and left to fish another place. A commercial gill net fisherman saw my marker and thought he would do my a favor. He picked up my marker and rowed across the lake to give me my buoy, he thought I had forgot. I thanked him and later that day spent a half hour trying to locate the small piece of cover again. Even with a waypoint marked on my fish finder, it can be difficult to find a single rock or other small piece of cover peddling a kayak in the wind.

I never see the pros try to catch the difficult bass in the same places I do. Like on top of a dock, high up in a tree, 30 feet up on dry land, or on the back of my outboard. They always seem to cast for the easy bass in the water.

I have marks on my kayak for a quick length measurement. The first mark is 23 inches. Anything over 24 inches I will weigh. If it is over 7 pounds I will take a picture. Any bass under 24 inches gets released immediately. I don't get to fish very often, and there is only so many hours in a day. I try to not waste as little time as possible. I even fish while eating my lunch. When I do catch a big bass I immediately put it on a lip gripper, attached to a line. I put the bass in the water while I get my camera and scale ready. If the scale hits over 7 pounds, I take a quick picture, then release the bass. I believe as many fish die from a camera, as die from a frying pan. In the past I have been guilty of letting a bass go that may not survive because of my efforts to get a better picture. I have learned from my mistakes, and am confident that the bass I release have a good chance of surviving.

I carry four in my kayak. 1- 7 foot medium fast bait caster, Top water, shallow to mid diving crankbait, jerk bait 2- 7 foot medium heavy bait caster, T Rig. 3- 7.5 foot medium heavy bait caster, Deep diving crankbaits, magnum square bills, jigs, 4-6 inch soft swimbaits. 4- 7.5 foot heavy. C Rig, A Rig, large swimbaits. The A Rig and large swimbaits are to heavy for this rod, but I can get by. Some lakes I leave my heavy rod at home and bring a spinning rod for drop shot, and lighter moving lures. I do miss the days when I was young and only had one rod, maybe if I went back to one rod, and a few baits I would catch more bass.

I think the biggest controversy on FFS. isn't weather it hurts bass populations, it is weather or not it should be allowed in bass tournaments. Methods such as trolling, the A Rig, or using a net are not detrimental to the over all population of bass, but are not allowed by many tournament organizations. I personally like the idea of FFS being used in competition, but do believe those that oppose it's use have solid arguments against it. Water quality, habitat, bag limits, proper release techniques and some good luck will determine the health of a fishery,

It would be interesting to hear what you agree, and disagree with as a fellow biologist. I liked his honest answer I don't know to the question of how do bass see color.

I watchd this video, and thought it had lots of interesting information. It is a little long, and of course I'm sure that some of the opinions could be debated by other biologists or fisherman, but all in all I think it is worth watching.

I use the cheapest ones I can find. After loosing more than one Leatherman overboard, I learned to keep any tool I wasn't prepared to loose off of the boat.

Twitch an original floating Rapala minnow on the surface in the evening. Try a #3 inline spinner during the middle of the day. Both techniques will usually catch something, and can surprise you with a PB at any time.

Right now my fishing gear only takes up one corner of our condo, but the Monkey and I have bigger plans.

When the wind blows fish a spinnerbait around wood any time. Wake a short arm Colorado blade spinnerbait on a calm summer evening right before dark. Start by reeling the bait fast enough for the blade to break the surface, then slow the retrieve down until the blade causes a wake, but doesn't actually break the surface. It takes some practice to get the speed just right, but when done right, it can catch giants. If your bait goes by a log, or other visible piece of cover, stop the retrieve for a split second and hang on. Waking a spinnerbait was the most popular way to fish the bait, before buzz baits became popular and is still very effective.

I would get 10 - 20 years in jail, because the only way I would be able to afford either of those reels is if I robed a bank.

That style of hook is designed to have the line run through the eye, and the knot tied on to the shaft, usually referred to as a Snell knot. The angle of pull is not correct if you simply tie to the eye. You may loose less fish because of the soft split ring, but you will loose more fish because you are using the wrong hook. I would use a single hook that has the eye of the hook inline with the shaft of of the hook, or snell the hook you have and tie to the lure that way.

I always land the bass on the left side of my kayak, because the fish finder is in the way on the right side. In order to do this, I have to switch the rod to my right hand, but I'm not exactly sure where I hold the rod, but I don't seem to have a problem with the switch. I do loose my share of bass, but usually they get off early in the fight. I take my time, and always use a great deal of finesse when any fish is at boat side. If a bass has made it all the way to my kayak, I assume the hook will hold as long as I don't horse the bass. I have landed many large bass that were skin hooked, because I was gentle with them when they got near the boat or kayak. I am right handed, so I probably should lip them with my right hand, but the way I have my Kayak set up it is better to land them with my left hand. I don't use a net because I am awkward with a net unless I can hold the net with both hands. I'm already at the same level with the bass making grabbing them by hand almost as easy as using a net. Slowly reaching to grab a DD. bass when she is only inches from me is a magical moment.

My line.

If you are using bream for bait the best thing to do to increase the number of hook ups is use a circle hook. No hook set at all required. Resist the urge to pull back, let the bass run off with the bait, then slowly reel. The hook will securely hook the bass in the in the corner of the mouth. Not only will your bass landed to bite ratio go way up, but you will not gut hook any bass. Circle hooks and live bait go together like jigs and pig.

I don't think it will repel the bass, but it will melt anything plastic. I have seen way to many tiller handles on outboards, as well as many other plastic products ruined by DEET.

My confidence is in the next new bait I just can't live without. I can't catch them with what I got, but that new bait I saw on You Tube will turn me in to a pro. Now that's confidence.

I ordered a Zillion from Digikita a couple years ago. It got to my address in the states in three days. I did not have to pay any shipping or duty. My only complaint is it was way to easy, and the price to cheap. The Bait Monkey has been on my back whispering Zillion Japan in to my ear, over and over every day for over two years now. Before you buy a reel from Japan, remember the road to bankruptcy starts with one small step.

Even the Bait Monkey wont be able to find a use for those hooks.

The real question isn't weather it will work, anything will work, you can fish a Whopper Plopper with a soda bottle wrapped in line. You have to decide if you want work that hard or would it be better to buy a more suitable rod.

The reel is junk, it wont work any more. Don't buy a new reel. I will come with my own equipment and cull those pesky 7-9 pound bass for you.