king fisher

Why is it I am the one that always has to change? The bass are part of the relationship, maybe they should be less selfish, and change once in awhile.

If the bass wont bite Green Pumkin, and they wont bite Junebug, then that is their problem, not mine. I gave them a chance, and I will hope they are in the mood for a crankbait.

I like the way my rods look when giant bass have them bent almost to the point of breaking.

Lunch is the only time of day I can force myself to slowly fish a soft plastic bait. I make a cast, take a few bites of my sandwich, then slowly work the bait back, make another cast, and eat an apple, then slowly work the bait back. If I get a bite, lunch is over. After half my lunch is gone, I'm back to fishing way to fast, and eating even faster. I fish minimum of 12 hours so I bring a big lunch, most of it is eaten while peddling to new locations.

For bass only, 6th Sense. For multi species, Normark which includes Rapala, Storm, VMC, Blue Fox, and Luhr Jensen.

Diawa Ardito. I have three, and have no trouble fitting them into the carry on compartment on planes. I like them so well, that I use them even when I don't need multi piece rods. When I fish out of my kayak, the only one piece rod I bring is a heavy fast Tatula, and that is only because they don't make a heavy fast, Ardito.

I don't know what the bass like, but I throw purple worms. That is my story and I'm sticking to it.

The way I abuse my fishing gear, nothing I have will be worth anything, and the Bait Monkey will be sure I have the latest mid priced gear I can afford.

When I was a kid in the 70's I had a spinnerbait called a Scorpion made by a company called Bass Buster. It had a short arm with a single Colorado blade. Not only was that bait great for slowly crawling along the bottom, but was the best spinnerbait I have ever owned for bulging a wake on the surface. It stayed on top at a slow speed, and wouldn't roll on its side when on the surface like other long arm spinner baits I had. I may be wrong, but think the same company also made the original Beatle spin.

A guides number one job is to make sure you have a good time. If you do not have a good time, than they did not do their job. Does not matter how many fish you did or didn't catch, if you did not enjoy your day, the guide has failed.

I can get by with one rod, but more is better.

I don't know why, but so far the Monkey hasn't been a great influence when it comes to worms. I fish two worms, T rigged or C rigged. Zoom ole monster, and Zoom Mag. Trick worm, in either Junebug, or Green Pumpkin. I also fish a 7 inch Senko weightless in shallow water. One of these will always be on one of my rods.

I have more crankbaits than any sane person would ever need, but I am sure I could catch just as many fish if all I had were an original Bomber, Bomber 7A, Rebel Deep We R, Cordell Big O and a Rattle Trap. If I were forced to use only Mann's Jelly worms, for soft plastics I am sure I would catch as many bass I do now with an endless variety of soft plastics. As far as topwater goes, nothing is more fun to fish than a Jitterbug, and I fish a Pop R almost every time I am on the water. My old Fleck Weed Wader spinnerbait is as good as any modern design. The Bait Monkey and I have been close friends for many years, but as far as catching fish goes, I would be as well off if I only fished the lures I owned in the early 80's. The one thing I don't miss is the hooks tangling on the Rebel Deep Wee R.

You will need a passport.

I have a friend, I consider to be a more skilled angler than me. He casts more accurately especially pitching, and is more proficient with a variety of lures. He likes to fish for numbers, and counts every bass he lands. If we are at a place catching one pound bass every few casts we are going to stay there until we can't catch any more. If I catch 20 he will catch 30. I don't even count the small bass, and don't care if he is ahead of me by 100 but he likes to be completive, so I keep my mouth shut, and try to learn what I can from him. I always want to leave and not only try a different place, but a different type of location. My theory is if there were big bass where we are fishing, we would have hooked one before we landed more than 10 dinks. Besides the bass I want to catch would be eating the small bass, so I doubt there are many giant bass around the area. When I suggest we leave and try something different, he always reminds me of the time we were catching dinks every cast and a he hooked and landed a nine pound bass. I simply go along with the flow, because If I believe if I only want to fish for big bass my way, than I should go fishing by myself. When I do go fishing by myself, I avoid small bass like the plague. When I start catching bass over three pounds, that is when I start trying to dial in a pattern. If I start catching bass over 6 pounds, my big bass meter starts to red line. At this point I am only fishing for large bass, and will not give up on the area, or technique until I am certain I have wore out my welcome. At the end of the year, I will have multiple bass over 8 pounds, and my friend will be lucky to have one. My large bass success does not in any way alter the fact, that he is by far a better bass angler. It only means I prefer to only chase larger bass, by staying away from the baby bass, and am willing to only catch a few bass a day. We both love bass fishing, and always have a great time every time on the water, so in the end that is all that matters.

I prefer Junebug for worms, Black and Blue for Craws and I don't know why.

When I was 13 a bass would strike my Jitterbug, faster than the speed of light, I would jerk back so hard the bait would land at my feet, and the bass would be swimming around wondering what happened to its meal. Now I am Sixty, and nothing has changed. Maybe when I am 80 either my reaction time will slow, or I will finally have the wisdom to let the bass take the plug long enough to get hooked. Hopefully by then, I will be quick and smart, not dumb and slow, either way, I hope I will still be throwing a Jitterbug on a calm summer's evening.

I like to fish topwater, lures in clear water except when they are crushing them in shallow, flooded muddy water, on cloudy days except when they are hitting on sunny days, when there is no wind, except when the wind is causing a ripple over rocky flats, and only on days that end with the letter Y. I do believe I catch bigger bass on topwater, so no matter the weather, or water conditions, I always give them a try.

Even if the rod worked better with a new tip, I would always reach for another rod, because in the back of my mind the Monkey would be telling me the fixed rod was junk. I recommend you put a new tip on, and give the rod to a kid who doesn't have one.

Your PB is 7 pounds. That is a big bass. Just keep fishing. If you want to drive somewhere, Mexico is closer to you than Florida.

Best saltwater reel for the price. A little heavy for freshwater only, but you can't find a better reel if you will be fishing for both fresh and salt, for twice the price.

I was a kid I would fish for trout, off a small dock at the only boat launch on my local lake. My mom would drop me off in the morning and come pick me up sometime before dark. In the summer on a normal day the wind would blow lightly out of the south west. Once in awhile high pressure would move in and the wind would blow strong out of the North East. The fishing for trout of the dock was always better with the prevailing South West breeze. There was a small shallow bay about an hour walk away, that was known as one of the best places to catch bass on the lake. Some days in the afternoon the wind would make a small shift, and blow more from the West than the South. From this direction the wind would blow directly in to the bay. The bass would move from the deeper water outside the bay into the three foot deep water in the bay. When the wind would make this shift, my friends and I would instantly reel in our rods, take the bobber and worms off, tie on whatever bass plug we had, and take off running across the cow pasture to the only place we could access the bay from the shore. We had to make long casts, and lost many of our few bass plugs, but if the cast was long enough, we would hook a bass. providing me with for some of my best child hood memories. We would always wonder why the few bass fisherman with the fancy boats, and giant tackle boxes, who could fish the whole lake, would bother to fish that bay when the wind wasn't right. They would come back to the launch and ask us if we thought the bay was good fishing. Usually they had heard rumors of great bass fishing there, and were wondering why they didn't have any luck when they fished it. I couldn't keep a secret and would always tell them why. Most would just blow the advice off as coming from some kid with a Zebco, bobber and worm outfit who didn't know anything about bass fishing. One day an older couple launched their boat and asked me where I thought they could catch some bass. The wind was blowing perfectly and I told them about the bay. They asked if I would like to join them. As quick as a cat I was in their boat rod, and tackle in hand. Fishing the bay from a boat was way better than from shore. A person cold access the whole bay, and we caught bass every cast for about a half hour. My only lure was an old Heddon River Runt, and they had the first spinnerbaits I had ever seen. My River Runt worked ok, but that was the day I became hooked on spinnerbaits. They were like magical baits, and I still give one a try every time the wind blows. Since that time I have found other places where the right wind strength and direction can improve the bite, but I have never found a place that is as magical as that bay, when the wind blows directly out of the West, on a hot summer day.

Smith makes quality sun glasses in your price range.

My new favorite fishing terminology.