king fisher

If someone were taking me to a random lake, and I could only have one lure, I would take whatever lure that person recommends for that lake and hope that person knows what works on that lake. If not, I just left a small fortune in tackle at the house for no good reason.

More than I can count, but less than the Bait Monkey thinks I should.

Depends on what they are feeding on. If they are feeding on schooling baitfish sometimes matching the size of the bait is very important. If they are feeding on bluegill, or crayfish, than it most likely wont make any difference. Much of the time there is not a big concentration of a particular bait, (basically not hatch) and the bass will hit what ever swims by. When there is a large concentration of a particular bait, the bass are more likely to key in on that particular bait, and they can become frustratingly selective. Sometimes when there are large amounts of a certain size bait the bass are feeding on, picking a lure larger or smaller may help your bait stand out from all the live bait, making it a more likely target. Other times matching the size is more important. No set rules, every day is different, and every bass is different.

I live on the border of Nayarit, and Jalisco Mexico. I fish for bass in waters of both states. No crowds, most days I am the only bass fisherman on the lake. Big bass, a DD. largemouth can hit on any cast, any time of year and Margaritas, not bad.

Spinnerbait catches fish for me from top to bottom, slow or fast, through heavy cover, out in the open, fished around rock, wood, weeds, in heavy current, no current, wind no wind, sun, clouds, day or night. Other lures can work better for me, in specific conditions, but none work as well in all conditions.

Winters are a bummer for me in Mexico, no ice fishing.

I used to brag about how much money I saved with my lure retriever, until one very windy day, I lost my lure, lure retriever, broke a rod, and almost flipped my kayak trying to save one $4 crankbait.

I have a friend who tried for three years to bag a particular whitetail on his property. He hunted or scouted almost every day of the year. He saw the buck many times, and found it's shed antlers every spring. He new every inch of the deer's home range, like the back of his hand, was an excellent marksman, had eyes like a hawk, trail cameras, Ziess binoculars, and was an expert woodsman. He never even got a shot at the buck. Catching a world record bass is even more difficult than bagging a trophy deer. A deer you only have to find them, and get a clear shot at hundreds of yards. A bass not only do you have to locate the bass, you have to be able to get them to bite. Modern electronics may help locate a bass, but like a deer, the bass will always be able to find a place to hide. My friends big buck eventually got hit by a car at night. Just like the world record bass could easily get caught by some one fishing for catfish with a cane pole.

I know it is a long shot, but it worked for Pete Carol, I thought it might work for me. Would anyone be interested in trading. THIS FOR r

If he hits over 70 home runs in a season without using steroids' don't use it. If he doesn't pick up a bat, and keeps his day job, use the reel.

No. Not your fault. In my boat it's always the rod and reels fault.

Any Denver fans want their draft picks back. Not sure if Russ can cook.

I set my reels as recommended in the instruction manual provided by the manufacturer. Then I play with the brakes until I can cast effortlessly far enough to catch any fish that I am targeting. After fishing with the reel, for awhile, and catching bass with absolutely zero difficulty, I always decide to start backing the break off in order to get a few more feet of distance. Even though I already know the few extra feet, wont help me catch more or bigger bass. I continue to back the breaks off until I get a grade 10 AA backlash. I then spend the next 20 minuets of prime fishing time practicing, my already highly perfected back lash removal skills. After once again proving my master angler untangling qualifications, I adjust the break back to a more conservative stetting's, and resume catching fish. Why I always think I need to back the breaks off to the very edge of the casting cliff, I can't say for sure. Maybe it is the thrill of feeling the line start to explode while I adjust my thumb pressure successfully avoiding disaster at the very last micro second. Most likely I just don't feel like I have had a complete day of fishing if I haven't had the pleasure of picking out a monster back lash. I'm not really sure, but it happens so often, I don't foresee any behavioral change on my part. Maybe a new reel will help?

Everyone is different. Whatever it takes for you to present the lure correctly to the bass. I have seen people hold spinning rods upside, down, that put the lure softly on target every time. Fishing is the best way to find what mechanics work best for you. Catching trees, is part of the learning experience, but so is landing bass. Having a fun time on the water, while perfecting your casting skills is a win win.

I will share my story of the fish I lost in 2022, as soon as the nightmares stop, and I can tell the story without crying. My wife say's I need to move on, but she doesn't believe letting the Bait Monkey move in the house is the best first step in the healing process.

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Chapala Jalisco Mexico. Perfect climate, highs in the summer are in the low 80's, with lows in the mid 60's, winter highs mid 70's, with lows around 60 degrees. 50 mile long lake full of bass, and on a busy day there may be 4 or 5 bass anglers on the water. There is a large US and Canadian retirement community. There are many hiking trails, bike trails, coffee shops, gyms, and yoga classes for my wife, and big bass for me. Drug violence in Mexico is over exaggerated. Yes drug gangs do shoot each other, just like they do in the states. The police and politicians are often in the cartels pockets, but that has nothing to do with the safety of retired people minding their own business. There are zero road rage shootings, and I haven't heard of any school kids getting shot in school. Most of the time when you hear about an American getting killed in Mexico by drug gangs, the press didn't bother to find out the whole story. A Canadian was murdered in PV a few years ago. It was all over the news in Canada. Head line read Canadian killed in dangerous Mexico. I new the man and was shocked. He was shot in the back of the head while getting a coffee at Starbucks. It ended up he was the head of a gang in BC. The hit was done by a Canadian mobster, and he had been hiding out in Mexico for years after they tried to blow him up in Vancouver. He wasn't even shot by a Mexican. Another time some college girls from Sweden were murdered in Acapulco. It was a terrible crime, and caused many tourists to quite going there. Again the news papers did not convey the whole story. The girls spent a week hanging out with some drug dealers snorting coke, and smoking meth. in the drug dealers condo. After a week, they got bored with the drug dealers, and decided to move in with some tourist men they met on the beach. When they moved out of the drug dealers condo, they decided to take some drugs and booze with them. When the dealers came back to their condo and saw the girls had moved out with their booze and drugs, they did exactly what a drug dealer in the states might do. Of course these women did not deserve to get murdered, and I assume the police made zero effort to apprehend the murderers, but if they had not spent a week taking drugs with obvious cartel members, they would have had a nice tropical vacation. Can you get killed by a stray bullet in Mexico? Yes, but the odds are about the same as getting shot in the US. If you want to take drugs, and party all night long, it is easy to find trouble. The attitude, what happens in Mexico, stays in Mexico can get you in trouble. Catching giant bass that have never seen a spinnerbait will only get you sore arms, and a permanent smile. If you want to live somewhere that is inexpensive, has a large US retirement community, a fantastic climate, very little fishing pressure, is safe, and has giant bass, than Chapala is the place.

All my lures were practice plugs last time I went fishing.

Zoom- Trick worm, Magnum Trick worm, Ole monster. Green Pumkin, Watermelon candy, and Junebug. Gary Yamamoto -- 7 inch, and 5 inch Senko. Black blue flake, Junebug, Green pumkin. Reaction Innovations -- Skinny dipper, and little dipper. Purple smoke. Spicy Beaver- Hematoma, Sexy shad. Strike King-- Rage Bug and Rage Craw. Okeechobee Craw, Falcon Lake Craw

I don't worry about it. I use whatever handle is on the reel when I buy it. I retrieve the lure the speed that makes the bass strike. If they want it fast I turn the handle fast, and if the want it slow I turn the handle slow. If I can't retrieve the lure fast enough, I try another lure. If I get tired I take a break. If I don't catch any fish, I will not blame the lack of success on my fishing skill, because it has to be the result of my handle not being the right size, or maybe moon phase, depending on the day.

My Alaskan truck. My Alaskan Truck

I am the worlds worst knife sharpener. It was very embarrassing making my living as a big game guide in Alaska, and not being able to sharpen a knife. I would start capping and butchering a moose, with one of doze sharp knifes, and by the time I was done, their would be dull knives and whatever latest knife sharpener I bought from the guy at the last years sportsman's show littered all over the tundra by the kill. I would go in to a sportsman's show with a bag full of knives, and keep coming back to the booth with a guy hawking a new knife sharpening tool, until they were all sharp. Then I would buy what ever sharpener he was selling and would leave with high hopes. Hunters would feel sorry for me, and leave me their knives and sharpeners as tips. I have owned them all. In order to save weight in my pack I started buying light Victornox paring knives, which I would give away at the end of the season. I even did all the hide work on a large brown bear once with a scalpel and a whole pack of disposable blades As luck would have it. After my guiding days were through, I discovered a knife sharpener that works great for me. When I told my friends I discovered a sharpener that I could get a knife razor sharp with, the first reaction was shock, then uncontrol able laughter, and finally they purchase the sharpener. If I can get a knife sharp with this tool, than I'm am sure anyone with a pulse can do it too. Only problem is you have to be where there is power. It would be nice if they made one that ran on batteries. Maybe they do, It's been a few years since I bought mine.

I lost two spinnerbaits a few weeks ago, and the Bait Monkey talked me in to making 9 to replace the two. I fall for the same trick every time, I must be a slow learner.

I went on the Academy website, to see if I could get some good deals on H2O crankbaits. They show only two hard baits, and they are the regular price. I looked at other of brands hard baits, on their site, and was surprised to see the same thing. Normal soft bait selection, but hard baits are no where to be found. Strange that Rapala, and Strike King crankbaits were also being eliminated. I hope this is a temporary situation. H2O square bills are as good as any plastic crankbaits made.

Problem is in the Descriptions on TW and other sites don't say what the platform is, and they use different line sizes on their capacity ratings, making it difficult to compare models. Do you know what platform the Coastal 200 is? I preferred it over the Coastal 150. I don't remember it being larger than the coastal 150. What do they do different besides paint them blue for the coastal classification? Thanks Tim.