king fisher

Zoom magnum trick worm June bug T rigged with 1/4 oz bullet wieght.

I need a checklist to remember my check list.

I go big or go home. Big jigs, big worms for big dumb bass. I don’t know the Spanish word for finesse.

Bass size = length + weight x time after catch squared

Do you have too much money? Are you too healthy? Does your favorite football team win too much? You can’t fish too much!

30 years living and flying in the Alaskan Bush stuff happens.

Ran over by a bull moose 5 miles from cabin no way to communicate with any one. Not due to be picked up for another month. Bruised and a broken finger. Charged by brown bear at night while crossing a river. Shot bear. In a plane crash I was not the pilot no one hurt. Plane totaled. 3 complete engine failures while piloting aircraft. One at worst possible time while taking off. No injuries to self or plane Fell through ice while wearing snow shoes. Temperature was - 25 degrees 3 miles from cabin. Set land speed record. broke up fight between Bait Monkey and my wife. Lasting emotional scars.

All I know is the people that fish the shore line furthest away from the one I'm fishing catch all the bass.

My experience has been the complete opposite. I grew reading about how fast a bass spits out a bait, and how fast you have to be on the hookset. I fished for years with a hair trigger hook set. I was always locked and loaded, one small twitch away from instantly yanking back as hard as I could. I was fast as electricity, and always running on 220. I would loose a large percentage of the bass that bit soft plastics before the fight even started. After years of fishing for other species of fish, with techniques that required a more subtle approach I was willing to try something different for bass. My method now is soon as I detect a bite, either by line twitch or feel. I stay calm, slowly reel in slack, gently feel if the fish is still there, then set the hook while continuing to reel. My hook up percentage has increased significantly. I don't purposely give the fish more time, but I don't just reflexively yank back. I take enough time to make sure I am prepared to get a good hookset, while not giving the bass too much time to reject my bait. Slowing down has definitely helped my fish landed per bite percentage. I will admit, I am very high strung, so if some one were to watch me set the hook, they would probably say I am very quick on the trigger. I do take my time, but I have never had enough time to say there she is before I set the hook.

Your good to go. Very similar to my 5 combos. May not be perfect but works ok for me.

I'm glad to see the Bait Monkey did not suffer after getting kicked out of my house. Please keep him for awhile longer.

My first attempt at modifying lures took place in the winter of 1977. I lived in Eastern WA and all the lakes were froze solid. I had read every bass fishing article from every magazine I could get my hands on. Hunting season was over, so I was getting cabin fever in the worst way. One day I decided to see if I could modify some plastic worms I had bought. I may have invented the first creature bait, but my experiment never got past the experimental stage. I had a pack of ribbon tail worms, that I had never caught anything on. At the same time Mister Twister had came out with a soft plastic they called a centipede. The adds for this new plastic were in all of the magazines. Of course I wasn't able to buy any of these new lures where I lived so I decided I would make a similar lure only better. I cut the ribbon tail off of two worms, and used a soldering gun to weld the tails to a intact ribbon tail worm. The result was what I called a three tail monster. A few days later I decided to add two more tails further up the worm body, making a real dinosaur of a bait. I was sure this would be the ultimate soft plastic. I had never had luck with worms, and was convinced they didn't have enough action. I was sure this new creation would have action in spades. O course it got the bath tub test and yes all of those appendages created an irresistible disturbance in the water. I even envisioned using it as a surface lure. Finally spring came and I tried my new creation at the lake. My friend took one look at the lure and laughed. I made a few casts and didn't get bit. I never caught anything on my proven old standby lures that day, but the ridicule from my buddy was enough to shelve the creature bait project for good. I also ruined a productive Arobogaster, and a perfectly functional Hot N Tot that winter drilling holes in them trying to add rattles. I was able to get the baits to rattle, but they never swam true. I never gave up attempting to modify baits, but success has been rare. I am certain my first creature bait would have worked, but it was years before I ever caught a bass on any soft plastic, so my confidence level in the bait was zero. If I had gone fishing with a more open minded friend that spring day, and a big bass would have hit my creation, I may own my own soft plastics company by now, but Peer pressure and cold high water in the spring, may have cost me a fortune. Maybe I still have time to hit on the next great thing or at least ruin more lures.

The few basic lures mention here are not only all you need for a beginner box, but is all you would ever need. Buy a small box a few of the lures already mentioned and watch out for this guy. If you see him run the other way.

Ever since I was a kid I have had the exceptional ability's to take a lure that catches fish daily, and by modifying it make the very same lure never get another bite. When I modify a lure, it is impossible to bring the lure back to its original fish catching form.

I understand you point, but there are also things that would be considered normal in a community, that I would not consider ethical because of where I am from or how I was raised. I consider Bass Resource my community, therefore, greatly appreciate the opinions from members on this forum.

In Mexico as far as I know there are zero fresh water fish classified as sport fish and I am sure it would be legal. Dynamite would be an excepted method of fishing in the local community. I don't have time to go back before the rain comes and floods the lake. By then fishing with live bass would be a waste of time, and the opportunity will not come again until this time next year. I probably wont ever get the chance to give it a try, but I am interested to hear what members here think about fishing with live bass, is it right wrong, or who cares. There have been many interesting responses. So far most members wouldn't do it themselves, but don't seem to think there is anything wrong with doing it. I did forget to mention I had fished the exact place the bass ate the small bass many times through out the day with a variety of lures and never got a bite.

Expert casting technique casting a spinnerbait with a 5 wt fly rod.

Roger Staubach. Because every cast is a Hail Mary.

If I got caught with a cast net at this lake, I would be banned from the lake. The commercial Tilapia fisherman are very protective of their lake.

I would, but I haven't found a way to catch bait size tilapia. I have tried minnow traps and hook and line. I catch 12 inch bass all of the time. I wouldn't even have to have a way to store the bait. I could simply go fishing and when I catch a small bass, put a hook in it and see what happens. What feels wrong to me is just the fact that I would be using the very same sport fish I'm trying to catch. It's difficult for me to think bass are the greatest sportfish alive, and then put one on a hook for bait. It is interesting reading how others view the subject.

What size motor do you plan on using. I had a Lowe 1648 that I used for years duck hunting and some fishing. A 15 horse 2 stroke would get it on plane with me a friend and decoys. It was not as heavy as the Grizzly, but didn't take a lot of horse power to get it on step. I beat it up for many years with no leaks. I would launch it over steep embankments, drag it across rocks, and many other crazy places to get to the ducks and never had a complaint. A majority of the lodges in Alaska use Lowe 1852 john boats with either 30 to 40 horse props or 30 horse power jets. Lodge boats take a beating and will leak after a few seasons. The Grizzly is far tougher, but the weight makes them less practical so not many are used in the same areas. They need more power, and take longer to get on plane which is a huge disadvantage in small rivers. You can row a 1852 easily, I know because most of me guiding was done rowing one. The 1648 is a big jump up in size from what you are using. The Grizzly is a well made tough boat. It very well be the perfect boat for you. Just remember it is heavy for it's size and will need more horse power than many other aluminum Jon boats.

It is a small public reservoir. It was stocked with tilapia. There are a certain number of local residents that are allowed to commercial fish with gill nets. No one knows when, who or what sub species of bass were introduced. The bass eat Tilapia so the commercial interests don't like bass. A local fishing lodge has recently talked the community in to letting him take his clients to the lake, in exchange for a fee. Other sport anglers are allowed to fish the lake, but cannot guide other anglers. The lodge owner has exclusive rites to run any commercial sport fishing business. The lake was fairly popular with the few Mexican bass fisherman that new about it. The past couple years the catch rate of big bass has significantly gone down. I don't think the lodge owner will fish there next season. I didn't see many big bass posted on his website. Not many people continue to fish there. I was surprised to see another boat there, and they left by noon with a big skunk. I had given up on the lake myself, but went last weekend because it is the closest lake to me, and the best time of year for that lake. Fishing was slow as I had expected, but I never expected to have a bass of a lifetime eat another bass that was on my line. I have new hope for the lake, but will have a hard time spending hours and hours fishing for only a few bites, with the memory of that bass in my head. Most of the big bass I have caught previously in the lake have come from giant trees in deep water. The bass suspend in the trees and are hard to reach with most lures. I wouldn't be able retrieve glide baits through the branches, even if I could afford to do so. I might be able to get a big bass to come close to the surface and hit a glide bait above the branches, but it would sure be less expensive to fish a live bass on a circle hook in the trees.

I previously posted about a giant bass that tried to eat a 12.25 inch bass I had hooked on a Zoom Ole Monster. The big bass engulfed the bass along with the worm and swam off. I tried to hook the bass but failed, and was able to measure and release the smaller bass unharmed. I do not feel trying to hook the larger bass was unethical, simply because I did not intentionally intend for the small bass to be bait. The Bait Monkey instantly started screaming at me to buy an expensive glide bait in a baby bass color. A practical voice in my head told me to start fishing with live bass, save money while kicking the Monkey out in the cold. Another voice in my head told me that would not only be unethical, but not even in the least be considered a sporting way to fish for a bass. It would be perfectly legal, to use a bass for bait, and the manger of the lake I fish at, wants people to kill every bass that is caught. The bass were planted by bucket biologists, and he wants all of them gone. I do release the bass I catch, and I think by now he realizes that the other sport anglers do too. What do members think? Would it be ethical to fish with a live bass? Should I give in to the dark side, or should I consider even the thought as unsportsman like conduct and continue fishing with artificial baits only. It is tempting to go over to the dark side just once. After all the bass had zero difficulty eating a bass over 12 inches. That is not your ordinary big bass. I could use a circle hook and release any of the big bass caught unharmed. I might even be able to release the bass used as bait that doesn't get eaten by bigger bass. I am truly haunted by the big bass that got away, but I am worried I might not even get a feeling of accomplishment if I catch a PB fishing a live bass. I feel a clear conscience is far more important than even a 15 pound bass, but the dark side is strong. I have always considered myself to be an true sportsman, and I don't want to tarnish my reputation as an angler because I got obsessed with one big bass. I don't hesitate to use any type of live bait in Saltwater fishing, not because I feel it is ok, but because the Saltwater angling community as a whole does not seem to think there is anything wrong the method and,I learned to fish that way from my many mentors. The bass fishing community as a whole has a much higher standard for what is considered sportsman like conduct. I am curious what members here think. Is it unethical? Would a 15 pound bass caught in this manner be considered cheating. What do you think. I do want to catch a giant bass, but do not want to feel like I cheated doing it. Would using tilapia for bait be considered OK? but using a small bass not be OK? Where would you draw a line? is there a line? One thing for sure the Bait Monkey is not going to talk me in to buying expensive glide baits and casting them into the trees where the big bass live. I will probably simply keep buying and fishing traditional bass baits. I have found if I have to question whether something is ethical, it usually isn't. I am interested in hearing what members think.

In the summer of 1976. I was 13 years old. My mother would drop me off at the local lake, where I would fish off the small dock at the launch. Some days two brothers that were friends and lived by the lake would walk down and join me, other days I fished by myself. I fished with worms under a bobber for whatever would bite, and usually came home with a limit of rainbow trout. One day I had been fishing off the dock by myself for most of the day. Another angler had joined me on the dock and we were watching our bobbers when we saw what didn't look like a carp break the surface near the shore on the other side of the lake. I new it had to be a bass. I had a couple of bass lures in my box I had used at another lake when I went on a camping trip with the boy scouts and wanted to try for the bass. One of the lures was a Jitterbug that I hadn't ever had a bite on, but I was sure it would catch the bass I had seen jump. The man asked if it was legal to walk around the lake to the other side and fish, and I told him I new who owned the land, and I didn't think he would care if we fished off his land. It was a 30 minuet walk to the spot we had seen the bass. We had to cross two fences, and climb over a couple rock piles and find a way down a steep bluff to get to the waters edge, but I had been there before and was determined to catch that bass. We made it to the other shore, and I found a place we could stand on the rocky shoreline. The rocks were large and jagged making it hard to keep my balance, but I was young and used to fishing from hard to reach places. The other angler prefered to wade out and stand on a level place in the water. I saw a swirl in the water right where I had seen the fish jump before. I made a cast and slowly starting working the bait back to shore. I remember it like it was yesterday. Blurp Blurp Blurp splash. The bass came all the way out of the water and exploded on my Jitterbug. It was only about 2 pounds, but it was twice the sized of any bass I had caught, and I thought it was the biggest fish in the lake. It swam over to where the man was standing and he reached down and grabbed it. I was scared he was going to drop it, so I waded out to get my bass even though I was going to get my leather boots wet, I didn't care anymore about anything but holding on to that bass. He laughed and said it was only a fish, but to me it was far more than a fish, it was the holy grail of my life, a giant bass. At that time of my life catch and release was not something I had never considered, so I made a stringer out of a piece of wire I got off of a nearby fence. The sun was starting to set and I was expecting my mom would be there to pick me up soon. I made a couple more casts then walked back to the dock to place the bass with my stringer of trout. That bass changed my life. It was then I new fishing was more important than baseball, bicycles, go carts, or any other thing I liked at that age. All I could think about was blurp blurp blurp splash. It was also the bass that introduced me to my life long friend and nemesis the Bait Monkey. Since then there have been other bass that changed my life, but this first top water bass was the one that started me down a long fantastic road I still travel to this day. This picture was taken during a drought. The water in the lake was a foot higher when I caught the bass. It was two high to cross on the rocks in front of the dock. We had to walk to a bridge, cross, then walk around to where the small bluff boarders the water. I spent every day I could sitting on that dock watching a bobber. The dock washed away in a flood, but I still fish from the bank when I go home to visit.

Rapala shad rap gold black back