king fisher

One medium spinning rod, with 8 pound mono. A few #3 inline spinners with some silver, and some gold blades and a couple original floating Rapala's.

King Salmon

My first Bait Casting combo was a Fenwick Lunkerstick with a Heddon reel I purchased in 1977. I bought the combo with money I had made raising pigs. I picked the Heddon reel over an Ambassador because the level wind disengaged for casting. I assumed this would be a game changer on how far a reel would cast. It was a great Idea, and almost all bait casters now disengage the level wind, but unfortunately one new concept, doesn't necessarily make a reel great. My Heddon didn't cast well, and the line would constantly get behind the spool. My friend paid a few dollars more for an Ambassador which the level wind kept going back and forth during the cast, and he still uses that same reel. The Lunkerstick rod was short, and heavy. It cost $22 which to me was a fortune for a rod. I compensated for the shortcomings of my new combo by only fishing larger lures that would cast well. Unfortunately there were many days on my home water when the best baits were a floating Rapala, and a # 3 Mepps spinner. I eventually went back to spinning for most of my fishing, and didn't buy another bait caster for 10 years

Some people get by with dull hooks, and dull knives. I'm not one of them. I sharpen my hooks with a hook file often.

I'm not sure it really matters. Josh Jones has caught a nice size fish or two without any trailer.

Thanks for the replies. I decided to not buy the Shower Blows. I'm sure they are fantastic lures but I already have top water baits that have performed well for me in the past. If those lures are not working it is probably not the lures fault, I simply need to improve my skill level with them or switch to something below the surface. I'm also not buying the LV 500 for the same reason. If one of the dozens of rattle traps I have isn't working, maybe I should try a diving crankbait, worm, or jig. I don't feel bad for the Monkey. He did get 6 months supply of line, terminal tackle, skirt material, and a couple less expensive hard baits. He can still watch the Tactical Bassn' videos with me, but I will be concentrating on learning their technique, not drooling over all the cool lures they have.

I just cut a Bacca Burrito from my order but still have to trim some fat if I'm going to be under my budget. I'm down to deciding between a lucky craft LV 500 a bait I really don't need considering I have many Rattle Traps but I would like to try a lipless that can be worked more effectively in deeper water. Or the Shower Blows which would be unique to my top water arsenal but again I have top water baits that seem to work well already. Both baits are more expensive than other similar baits. Any opinions on weather a LV 500 would up my lipless game, more than a Shower Blows will help my top water bite? Maybe I should scratch them both, and continue to fish my old school baits. The Monkey says buy a few of both, but the monkey must not remember how he got kicked out of the house the last time. I can't believe I put so much thought in to how to spend another $20 but I have found if I don't set some kind of limit, $20 quickly turns in to $200. My wife will be in the States next week, and can bring a tackle order back with her. I don't often get this chance, so I had to make sure I got a few months worth of line and terminal tackle which puts me at the limit of what I can spend. A package with just line and terminal tackle is kind of like getting clothes for Christmas when I was a kid. I may have needed the clothes but they sure weren't what I was hoping for.

Just when I was thinking I could cut the SB out of my tackle Ware House order both you and WRB chime in and say it is a great bait. Then you happen to mention they work well south of the border and the Bait Monkey is telling me to order a half dozen of them. I might have to scratch some other items off my cart before I place my order tomorrow. Maybe I will skip buying the terminal tackle, the cost of one Shower Blows could buy lots of hooks, but I like to fish top water more than soft plastics.

I realize the Jumping minnow is strictly a walking bait, which I have had great success with over many years on many species of fish. I owned a Cotton Cordel pencil popper once, and never had any success with it. The Shower Blows looks to be a similar lure long with a small popper shaped mouth. It may have a completely different action I am curious. Being cautious of spending $17 for what looks like a pencil popper to me. I currently own many walking baits, Spooks etc., and a few poppers, trying to decide if I need to buy an expensive lure that combines the two, or just stay with the inexpensive lures I own.

I'm thinking of buying a couple Shower Blows. They seem to be in almost every Tactical Bassin' video lately. I already have numerous walking baits as well as poppers. I'm not sure if I need any more, especially at the price. The bait looks to be nothing more than a standard pencil popper to me. Do members here use them? Does any one think they significantly out perform other similar baits? Bait Monkey is pushing hard for me to upgrade my top water baits, but I don't know if these are truly an upgrade or just the next new thing. I trust the members here will be far less inclined to encourage me to spend my money than Tim and Matt are. Currently my most used walking bait is a Rebel Jummpin minnow, and a Rebel Pop R is my popper of choice. Both of these baits are not new or cheap. Should I stick with the cheap classics, or listen to the Monkey.

I finessed a magnum square bill through the middle of very snaggy trees the last time I was fishing.

It will catch bass, but I wouldn't t advertise the fact that you are fishing them that way. Remember the Bass police are out there watching. You may get away with putting a Diawa reel on a Shimano rod, or never owning a Jitterbug, but wacky rigging off center is a whole new ballgame. Sure hate for you to get a knock on your door in the middle of the night.

I like June Bug worms, chartreuse and black crankbaits, Chart. and black spinnerbaits, black and blue jigs. I have no idea what the bass like, but if they are going to bite my hook they better like my colors.

They have worked ok for me so far this year. Here are a couple I caught with them in May. T Rigged 1/4 oz weight June bug.

When I tie on a buzz bait first thing in the morning, I'm still throwing it when I quit at night, and none of my other lures have been used.

I fish a lake that is deep at one end and shallow in the other end. Baby bass are everywhere at all times, but big bass are in specific places with the dominating factor being water level. Water temp. varies very little, and clarity is a main factor, but is dependent on the water level. In the spring and early summer when the water is low, the big bass are all in the deep end because the shallow end is completely dry. Most of the big bass suspend in large trees in the deepest portion of the lake. Some are on humps in 20 feet of water and a few are on steep points. When the rain comes and floods the lake, all the big bass move to the shallow end as far away from the deep water as they can get. The first time I fished the lake at flood level, I assumed the bass would still be in the deep end, only pushed up in to the newly submerged vegetation along the bank. I didn't see any reason why they would leave that end with deeper water close by, when they could travel a short distance and be able to hunt and hide in nice green flooded vegetation, which they hadn't seen in months near to where they already were. While launching my kayak a fellow kayak angler told me to go to the far end of the lake and fish the flooded hay flat. I asked him why, and he told me the giant bass ate frogs at the far end. I thanked him for the advice and started fishing the flooded grass at the deep end of the lake. At the end of the day I had zero bass over 2 pounds and eventually pedaled all the way to the far end of the lake. The water for the last half mile of the lake was 6 feet or less deep. I found the other angler and he was excited to show me pictures of his bass. He had landed multiple big bass with one over 11 pounds. He had also lost many more, and even lost one breaking his rod horsing a giant out of the grass. All the bass were caught in 3 foot or less of water a half mile away from any water over 6 feet deep. He had the greatest bass fishing day of his life, and I had the worst day I ever had on that lake. I told him I hadn't had any luck, he laughed and said I told you they eat frogs at the far end of the lake. He showed me his popping frog that was all tore up and pictures of all the giant bass he caught on it. I wasn't surprised that the bass were in very shallow water. After all the visibility was less than a foot, and moving to flooded grass made perfect sense. What I didn't understand is why they would swim a mile to hang out in flooded grass when they could find the same grass a few yards away from where they had spent the past 6 months. I camped at the lake that night but didn't get any sleep. The noise of the frogs at the far end of the lake was unbelievable. That was when I finally got it through my thick stubborn head. Exactly as I had been told, the big bass were at the far end of the lake, because the frogs were at the far end of the lake. Most of the time the answer to where the bass are is simple, but I for some unknown reason try to make it complex. I caught many bass that next day on a buzz bait with the biggest being 9,5 pounds. I didn't have a frog in the box but I got together with Bait Monkey when I got home and solved that problem. I ran in to that friendly angler that tried to give me good advice the next spring. He was heading down to the far end of the lake. I told him it was almost dry and even the places where he could manage to get his kayak would not hold bass. They were all in the standing trees in deep water. He attempted to paddled and dragg his way down the lake, He was forced to give up and left early. On his way buy me I told him a had caught one over 10 on a square bill bounced off the tree limbs, and he said it was a fluke. He wouldn't be back until the rains began and the fish started biting again. I guess I am not the only thick headed stubborn fisherman on the lake. The bass may be deep, shallow, or in-between, but they will always be where they want to be, not where I think they should be, and sometimes the reason is so simple, all I need to do is pay attention to what my eyes and ears are telling me.

A good day is any day I can go bass fishing. A great day is when I catch more bass than lures lost, all backlashes are removed without the use of a knife, and I catch the big one on my final, "one last cast".

I fish a lake with steep banks. Most places it is 100 foot deep or deeper within 5 yards of shore. It is impossible for a bass to be more than 20 yards from deep water. Most of the year the best places are where it is shallow the furthest from shore, any flat no matter how small, and the points that drop off slowly. Another lake is the opposite, not very deep most of the banks are gradual, and the best places are where the points drop quickly, the banks are steep, and the flats are only good during the spawn. Hard bottom and cover are key in both lakes.

They are OK if you don't mind getting a little wet if it rains hard for short periods, and you can dry out at the end of the day. Not good if you are camping, and can not get dry when you are through fishing for the day. Definitely not suitable for all day cold hard rain. I used them in Alaska, because they were light and comfortable, but always had my heavy duty rain gear close by.

I left the Bait Monkey at home and only picked up what I absolutely needed ( Translation, my wife was with me when I went to Bass Pro Shops.) My first chance to go to a tackle store in the US for over a year, and the Bait Monkey was not at my side.

My 7 foot medium fast rod is rated for 1/4 - 5/8 ounce lures. I use it with almost any technique where the lures weight falls in between 1/8 and 3/4 ounce. Only techniques I don't ever use use a medium fast rod for are T rigged plastics, and jigs over 1/4 ounce. The only rod that is more versatile in my quiver is a 7.5 foot medium heavy. Both these rods fish many of the same lures, depending on the situation. Many times I use the medium fast with a technique that I would prefer using my medium heavy, but I already have a lure tied on the medium heavy, and am confident the medium will do the job. Over half of my biggest bass have come on my medium heavy fast. Some of those while fighting the bass, I did wish I had switched to a heavier rod, but was able to make do. Others it was the perfect rod for the job.

If a 7 inch Senko rigged weightless or on a drop shot can be considered finesse, than I fish finesse quite often.

I throw buzz baits every time I go bass fishing here. It doesn't take long to find out if they are working. If they are on, I will find out right away, when that happens I know I am going to have a great day. During the rainy season July - October, many days it is the only lure I fish. I don't know why, but my average size of bass goes way up, when the buzz bait bite is on. I fish them the way they come out of the package, black with a skirt, no trailer, or trailer hook.

I know a kid that can out fish me on most days, and all he has for a rod and reel is a soda bottle. It's the fisherman not the gear that is important. He buys what he can afford, and I buy what my wife say's I can afford. I got a new Zillion for Christmas, He might have got a new soda bottle for his birthday, but it sure looks like the same old bottle.

Don't fish them in that condition. If you do, I guarantee you will start catching bass like crazy with one of the most damaged ones you have. You may even catch your new PB. After loosing the one magical bait, you will go through hundreds of crankbaits, and three microwave ovens trying to duplicate it. By the time you realize it is impossible to get one to swell exactly the same way, it will be to late to go swimming for the one you lost.