king fisher

What brand of rope, was it a cheap knock off from China, how long, where did you buy it, how heavy was the weight, what color of white is it, and does it work on bass?

I was watching a bassresource video today on topwater lures. I didn't own a single lure they were recommending. They catch many bass on the lures and all of them looked like they could be the magic lure that would turn a skunk into an epic day. The Bait Monkey was still sleeping luckily before he woke up and I broke out my credit card, I realized with the exception of a couple novelty lures they were discussing, I already had similar lures in my box. They went on and on about a certain popper, but I already have a box full of poppers, same with buzz baits, they couldn't say enough good things about two buzz baits I have never tried. My question is, if I bought the new lures, would they work better than the ones I already own, or how many times does a bass angler crush them on a certain bait thinking it was the only lure that would work, when in reality there were dozens of similar lures that would have worked just as well that day? Taking it a step further, how many times does a certain technique crush them, making an angler believe that only one technique will work. Example would be slaying them on a deep crankbait, when a C Rigged worm would have worked just as well. Same goes for not catching them. How many times does an angler assume because he didn't catch them on one lure, there must be another lure that would have crushed them, in reality the angler was simply in the wrong spot. I believe this happens often, and with the exception of spinnerbaits on the Tennessee River, most of the time a location change may be better than a lure change. Short version of my question, if they don't hit my Pop R are they going to crush a Pop Max? Because anglers don't like to take a hot bait off to experiment, how often are they fooled into thinking they have the hot lure, when almost any lure fished in a similar manner would work just as well?

I'm all for being quite and I'm sure there are many noises that spook bass. I always try and be as quite as possible, and make long casts. I also believe bass can't run and hide every time they hear a noise that spooks them. Bass are very in tune with their environment. I'm sure they know when your boat or kayak is near them no matter how quite you tried to be. Tolling is an excellent technique to catch bass. If a bass is terrified of every sound we make, why would you be able to literally run right over the top of the fish with your outboard, then catch the same fish 30 yards directly behind your boat? I believe they can hear you, and may get scared, but they wont completely freak out and stop eating every time they hear a scary noise.

Best. Detecting a bite. Worst. Getting bit.

Diawa J Braid 8 in gray. May not be popular, but works for me, and the price is lower than many other braids. I don't understand why a black lure shows up on the surface better than any other color, but in order to make a line less visible you need to color it black. I think a lighter line such as gray is less visible to a bass looking towards the sky. Looking down black may be less visible, but the techniques where I fish braid I'm not concerned about the bass seeing my line anyway.

Best - removing a backlash Worst.- having to remove a backlash

Best - buying tackle. Worst- using it.

I start to consider changing line after I break off more money in tackle than a large spool of line costs, I will go from considering to actually changing my line after I break off a giant bass.

If you are ever on vacation in Puerta Vallarta, stop in at Vallarta fishing center. They are very limited in bass fishing gear, but have a great selection of saltwater tackle, and excellent customer service. They will give you the straight scoop on the local fishing, what charters to use, and where and if the fishing from shore is any good. If the manager recommends a certain location or time it is truthful information. He gave me the location of a secret bass lake, where I have landed multiple DD bass. His wife landed a 12 pound bass there, on one of her first days bass fishing ever. I asked him where she caught it, and the next thing I know he is telling me how to get to the lake. I am eternally in his debt. I highly recommend going there if you ever get a chance.

I own four Diawa Ardito travel rods. I put them in my checked baggage, and as a carry on. I use three of them every time I go bass fishing even when I don't need a three piece rod. Sensitivity is equivalent to my Tatula.

I fished a different lake this weekend. This lake is only 2 hours away, and I have fished it a few times, but never had much luck. I do know there are some big bass, but I haven't been able to catch any. The water is at it's lowest, and starting to go up with the first rains. I didn't have much luck with a 2.5 pound bass being the biggest for 2.5 days of effort. I did find a cliff that might be good when the water is higher. Looks like a good place for a big bass to hide out. Any one else think a big bass may want to hide in a cave when the water is up? High water will be at the very top of the cliff. The water will be at the top in about a month, but very muddy. It will stay high and clear up in November. The cliffs are the only place I have had much luck catching bass.

What lake are you fishing? Do you fish out of a boat or kayak? Do you want to try other lakes, or are you limited to the one you currently fish? Right now is the best time of year to fish some highland reservoirs. When the first big rains come, at the end of each canyon there will be a water fall or small creek dumping muddy water into the extremely low lake. The bass will leave the deep water and move far up into the side canyons concentrating the fish in easy to fish places. A few weeks of rising water will make the entire reservoir muddy and high. The fishing then can still be good, and the fish will be shallow but they will be spread out over miles of flooded shoreline. Some lakes the water clarity doesn't change much during the rainy season, the lake will rise slowly and not nearly as big of change as the highland reservoirs. The best fishing of the year at Chapala is August through September when the water is at the highest level. The best fishing in many other lakes is right now. Most of the bass fishing lodges in Mexico shut down for the summer, but the bass fishing in most of the lakes does not shut down at all and some lakes the bite is better than during the winter. Water temperature will be about the same as the rest of the year, so it isn't much of a factor. Water clarity will change drastically in some lakes. My favorite lake gets so muddy, that even with big highly visible lures, it is hard catch bass. The big ones are spread out in thick cover, and wont go far to hit a lure. Other lakes have a large enough population of bass that you can find them in the mud just by covering lots of shoreline. Other lakes the visibility changes very little, and the bass will maintain a certain depth, the location of which will change as the water goes up. The bass do like to bite during the storms, but be carful, the severity of the lighting storms can be impressive. Watch out for roads flooding out if you fish any high land reservoirs. A big storm can make the road impassible, especially if you don't have an off road vehicle. I once put a rock through my oil filter trying to get across a ditch after one of the first storms of the season. The fishing was fantastic, but getting back home was an adventure. Horse back can still be the main mode of transportation in some areas during the rainy season. I understand if you don't want to give the name of the lake out, but it is hard to recommend what lures will work best without at least knowing what type of lake you are fishing, and how drastic the lake level and visibility the changes are. My old favorite lake is past prime time, now that the rain has started. My new favorite lake should be on fire for the next couple of weeks. I hope to be able to go fishing before the lake gets muddy, but my schedule doesn't look promising.

When the rains first start and the lake is just starting to rise. Go up the side canyons as far as the clear water goes. Fish the color line with a variety of lures. Once the lake is at full pool fish any flooded flats and all flooded vegetation with buzz baits. Fish all creek mouths with large jigs, spinnerbaits, large square bills, chatter baits and large worms. If you are fishing Chapala disregard previous advice and flip punch the same places you fish the rest of the year. Follow the water level as it rises. Fish heavy cover in 6 to 8 feet of water.

When I grow up I want to have as many reels as A-Jay.

1.Hard baits 2.Soft baits 3.live bait. I would hate to limit myself, but If I was forced to be more specific, I would choose 1.Top water 2.Bottom contact 3.Mid water.

That's because big bass like spinnerbaits

I was slow to try the C Rig. I fished it for the first time two years ago. Now I fish it almost every day. The only time I don't give it a try is when the water is high and muddy, and I'm pitching baits into heavy cover in 4 feet or less water. I fish the C rig mostly on points and humps in deeper water. I fish it in the same way many people fish a wobble head, reeling at a medium speed keeping the sinker contacting the bottom. I usually try a deep crankbait first, but always throw the C rig out to see if I have missed some with the crankbait. Because I have zero patience while fishing, I prefer to rig my C rig the classic way with a heavy weight( 3/4 or 1 OZ.), barrel swivel, and bead. I like the heavy weight because I like to make bomber casts, and get my bait down quickly not caring about getting bites on the fall. If I am trying to get bites on the fall I will use a T rig. Once on the bottom I work the bait back fairly quickly until I feel the heavy weight hit something different on the bottom. Then I slow down and give the bass some time to investigate. I can cover almost as much water as with a crankbait, but pick off bass that want something more subtle than a crankbait, but far from needing to go the finesse rout. When I get a bite I reel until a feel the weight of the fish, then make a big sweeping hook set while continuing to reel, and backing my Kayak up at the same time. My hook up ratio is as good as any other technique I use. I use the C rig as much as deep crankbaits now which would have been complete crazy talk a few years ago. I may be slow to change, but change is not impossible. Maybe I will even be talking up the split shot rig in a couple years. I will at least have to give it a try. I fish three baits on my C rigs. 1. Zoom Ole Monster. 2. Strike King Magnum Rage Bug. 3. Zoom Magnum Trick worm.

I started fishing a lake a few years ago, and all I could catch were dinks. I could catch them along the entire shore line, and even out in the middle of the lake away from any structure, or cover. At first I thought I needed to try bigger lures, I still caught only bass less than 1 pound. I tried fishing jigs, because they have a reputation of catching big bass. Then one day I found a tree in deep water. First cast with the same spinnerbait that I was catching dinks with hooked a giant bass but I lost it. I returned to the same spot a week later and caught 2 bass over 10 pounds, one on a spook, the other on a spinnerbait. The water dropped exposing more trees, and I caught more big bass. I will still catch dinks off of those trees, but only on days when I don't catch any big ones, or I have caught a big one or two first. The big bass seem to hit right away, and if I keep pounding the spot I may catch a few small bass. Sometimes I hook a small bass on one of my first few casts, but most of the time if I'm going to catch a big bass it will come right away. One time I hooked a small bass, and I giant bass came up and ate it two feet from the side of my kayak. It was then I realized the dinks don't want to hang out with the big bass because they may not survive if they do. If you catch a couple dinks off of a spot I would give it a few more casts, there may be a big one you missed. If you catch many baby bass, I would recommend going somewhere else. You can try a different bait, or retrieve, but most likely you are in the wrong spot.

Blame it on the moon. Better luck next time.

Call the Authorities. It sounds like an international conspiracy to me. Fish stealing hooks off of SPY baits could lead to a national security threat, or at least a big congressional scandal.

Don't change a thing. If you buy a new rod, and she still out fishes you, your ego may get hurt, and you wont have an excuse for why you can't catch as many bass. If the rod helps and you start catching more bass than her, she may not be as happy, or worse yet, she may think she needs a new rod. Starting a new rod competition, that can quickly get expensive. The Bait Monkey will be drinking Champaign watching the competition as if it were the Super Bowl. If she is currently catching more fish than you and is happy, than I say if it aint broke don't fix it. Besides you know you are letting her out fish you because you love making her happy. Buy her a new rod, and she might let you fish with her old one.

A few years ago I decided I needed to try wake baits. I bought the largest size Manns Minus-1 as well as a couple smaller size ones, and a SPRO Rat. The Manns cost around $4 and the SPRO was the most expensive bait I had ever bought at the time, around $20 I have yet to catch a bass bigger than the bait with the SPRO Rat, The Large Manns Minus -1 has worked OK, and the smaller size ones are flat out fish catchers. I don't fish that style of bait often, but if you do, I don't think you can go wrong with the Manns Minus -1 I don't see them listed on Tackle Wharehouse so they might not be in production anymore. If that is the case, they will be worth more in a few years.

My problem is I can't remember if I have good balance or not.

I fish lakes in Mexico, where a 10 pound bass may bite on any cast. I find many of my bigger bass in suspended in trees, or next to flooded barbed wire fences. Large bass can easily pull me into the cover instead of me pulling them away from cover. For this reason I am ready to reverse on every cast. Smaller bass are not a problem and I can get a good hook set and land them without going in reverse. I never know when a DD bass will bite, so I am always ready. A peddle kayak makes it easier but I'm sure most of the time, even with large bass you wont have a problem landing bass in a paddle kayak. Just be in position, and be prepared to make adjustments before you cast. It is not the same as fishing from a boat.

I fish two colors of worms. Junebug and Green pumpkin. If one of those colors doesn't work, I fish some other lure. I often fish jigs, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits that are purple or have purple in them. Why? Because I always have. I was catching bass on purple spinnerbaits long before I found out all spinnerbaits should be white. Black would probably work just as well, but after only having black and white TV clear in to the late 80's, I always prefer to have color, and it might as well be purple. Now that I fish lakes where the primary forage is white, I do fish white spinnerbaits, but I still have some purple ones. One lake I fish the crawfish are black and blue so black and blue jigs work well, but I'm going to give some jigs with purple a try. I like some purple on my crankbaits, and I don't know why.