king fisher

Yesterday, I couldn't find the bass, or the right lure, so I went home and ordered more tackle.

I'm going fishing tomorrow I will go for two days, so cost could be divided in half if considering cost for one day only. 1. Gas will be $35 per trip. 2.Tackle varies, but I average one pack of soft plastics, and two to three hard baits lost every day. I am happy if I only loose $35 of gear a day. There was a day last year when I lost $70 in baits, trashed a full reel of line, and broke a rod but was still happy with my day. 3. Water Sodas, and food. $25 per trip. 4. Flowers for my wife $10

Even my wife got a laugh out of this one.

Are you the Bait Monkey, or is he just sitting on your lap while you type? He will definitely be climbing all over my back by the end of the day.

One I should fish more often is the Bomber 7A. I will fish a half dozen new crankbaits for nothing, then tie the 7A on and I get bit. I am not sure why I don't just start with the Bomber to begin with.

Yes switch to sing hooks. Not only will you do less damage to the bass, but you will loose fewer bass that you hook. There is no need for a treble hook on an inline spinner or small spoon.

My favorite lake I fish with my Kayak is 1.5 miles long and less than .5 miles wide. I almost always find a pattern, and stick with it. In May when the lake is low and the water reasonable visibility, I fish points ledges, and humps 10 to 20 feet deep. I try and locate bait and bass with my fish finder, and usually start with crankbaits, but will use anything from C rigs, to A rigs. I use a variety of baits, but I wouldn't call it junk fishing. If the bass are not on the structure they are often suspended in trees in 35 feet of water. I will start fishing the trees with top water, and work my way down with a variety of baits. Again I am fishing a definite pattern, not junk fishing. During the rainy season when the lake is high and muddy, I fish the flooded cow pasture with Buzz Baits and Frogs, throwing bomber casts covering as much flooded grass as I can. Occasionally I will flip flooded bushes with jigs or soft plastics. The bass usually prefer willow bushes, and I will concentrate on those first, before flipping other flooded trees. Again, sticking with a pattern. The rest of the year, I may start simply working my way down the bank with a variety of lures, (Junk fishing) but I usually can identify what type of cover the bass are using and narrow my lure selection down to what fishes that specific cover most effectively. A couple weeks ago the bass were tight to fence posts on submerged barbed wire fences. Not my favorite type of cover, but after catching a few on fences, I didn't waste any more time on other structure or cover and spent the remainder of the day fishing fence posts. Usually by the end of a day, I will only be throwing a couple baits and fishing specific structure or cover. If I was fortunate to have a bass boat, I would not fish the lake any different than from my kayak. Other lakes I fish may not have the variety of structure and cover and I may be forced to simply pick a place to launch and junk fish, but most of the lakes I fish have enough variety and places to launch that I can at least attempt to find a pattern for the day.

Don't spend all the money on a reel. Save a little and use it to buy her something. Then next year she may give you enough money for a rod too.

The rainy season starts in July here. By August the visibility is less than a foot, and some days less than 6 inches. The bass move to the flooded flats, buzz baits and frogs is what works best.

Crankbaits. Especially a chrome blue Rattle Trap. I realize they may only catch grass in many places you fish in South Florida, but if for no other reason, a full box of crankbaits looks good.

It wasn't me. Honest I wasn't even in the country. Should have been here yesterday is the explanation I have heard all of my life. Everywhere I go the fishing goes from record highs to record lows the minuet I get to the lake or river. Sometimes all I have to do is cross a state line and all the fisheries in the state take a nose dive. I fear some day the authorities might start putting up road blocks to keep me out of any state during fishing season. I was at a sportsman's show once and they had a fishing pond for kids to catch trout. I walked up to watch the kids catch some trout, and the bite completely shut down. I disappeared before any one figured out what happened. I hadn't seen all the show yet, and was afraid they would kick me out if any one put two and two together. This time I can guarantee the poor fishing at Lake of the Woods was not my fault. I was thousands of miles away in Alaska shutting down the king salmon fishing on the rivers of Western Alaska. Probably best to blame it on the moon cycle, that is what all the saltwater fisherman here do when the bite stops, and I'm not going to clue them in on the real reason.

Leave the bead. It helps keep weeds from interfering with the blade

Yes. If you ask my wife my kayak is full of junk and I keep buying more.

Electronics will cost the same regardless if installed on a boat or Kayak. Kayak with no accessories, and a small john boat with small outboard and no accessories, are about equal in cost. Start adding electric motors, and fish finders, and sky is the limit on the cost for both.

Yes I would fish, but probably wouldn't forget it again.

Yes, but don't set the hook. Slowly reel until line is tight. Circle hooks work best with live bait. The fish must take the bait deep in order for the circle hook to work correctly, and this can take time. If the fish tend to spit the bait out quickly, than you will loose more strikes using circle hooks. If they typically take the bait deep and hang on, than you will hook more fish with them.

Any day is worth fishing.

Your biggest mistake is underestimating the size of your fish. Any fish that gets away is at least five pounds 7 pounds if it jumps, and should grow bigger as time goes by. Other than that you catch some and loose some.

If you don't mind extending your search to lakes south of the border I have a few recommendations that have trophy potential. 1- Presa Calles Aguascalientes.- near the town of Aguascalientes in the state of Aguascalientes. This lake is at its peak, and is unique because of an abundance of aquatic grass.(many big bass lakes in Mexico have very little aquatic vegetation). Bass over 15 pounds have been caught in Calles this past year. Big bass are caught on almost any technique from punching mats, to cranking 10 XD,s. This lake gets mild to moderate fishing pressure, with a couple full time guides, but no lodges. It is close to the City of Aguascalientes, which has many quality hotels and a thriving tourist industry. 2- Presa Calderon Jalisco. - This lake is near the city of Guadalajara. It is a small clear lake with a restriction banning boats with motors. I'm not sure if electric motors are allowed. You have to drag your boat, or kayak a small distance to get to the lake. Being so close to such a large city the lake does get a fair amount of fishing pressure. Most people fish this lake from the shore. Many are not fishing for bass, but bass fishing there is getting more popular. There was a 17 pound bass caught there last year, and I wouldn't doubt if other truly huge bass have been caught. A common rumor is a diver speared a world record bass, and another rumor is another diver saw a bass he estimated was 25 pounds. Like most rumors of big bass in Mexico, I think tequila might have a big influence on the validity of the claims. Rumors aside, I am sure there is a chance at catching a bass over15 pounds, and numerous 12 pound bass are caught there each year. 3,- Presa Trigomil Jalisco- I have fished this lake a few times, and am impressed not only with the size and number of bass, but the amazing amount of forage available for the bass to gorge on. The biggest bass I personally know of being caught there, is 14.5 pounds but I am sure there have been larger ones landed. My PB from this lake is 9.5 pounds, but I saw many bass bigger than that on beds this spring. This is a larger lake that gets almost zero bass fishing pressure. On a busy weekend there will be one or two boats, and a half dozen shore anglers, in pursuit of bass. This is a deep high land Reservoir with many steep canyons and bluff walls. Primary food source for bass is Tilapia, but there are also bluegill, and freshwater lobsters for the bass to gain weight on. There are no lodges or guides fishing Trigomil. The owner of a lodge on Auguamilpa was going to start a lodge at this lake but decided against it because of its distance from any Airport. Guadalajara is 3 hours away, and Puerto Vallarta is a 4 hour drive. The road getting to the lake is rough, and can be washed out at times during the rainy season. There is a quality hotel in a town called Union de Tula about 30 minuets from the lake. There is a nice safe place to camp right at the launch and that is what I do when I fish this lake. There is some commercial netting for Tilapia at this lake, but very little compared to other lakes half it's size. All the nests are well maintained, and I have yet to snag an old ghost net. I had to pry information about this lake from a deck hand I hired, and it took me a long time to find the access road. The few people that fish the lake have tried to keep it a secret for a few years. Due to U tube the cat has been out of the bag for a year or two, so I don't mind sharing information about this amazing trophy bass fishery. This lake is probably the best chance of multiple DD digit catches in all of Mexico. 4.- Baccarac Sinaloa - Of course any recommendation for giant bass in Mexico would not be complete without mentioning this big bass lake. The lake record is over 19 pounds, and many people have caught 5 fish stringers over 45 pounds. There are a number of lodges with excellent guides operating on this lake from October until June. If you are on a due it yourself trip, don't rule out July though sept. This is the rainy season, but the bass are still willing to bite and you will have the lake to yourself. Due to a drought Baccarac has appeared to be on the decline the past couple years, but I would not write it off yet. It still has an amazing bait population, and more quality size bass than any other lake in Mexico. It could be back at its peak for DD in a couple years or less. Even at less than its peak, there are an amazing amount of giant bass in this famous lake. The drought ended last July so the lake should be on the rebound by now. Bass Resource member AJ can attest to the big bass potential of Baccarac. El Salto and Picachos get an honorable mention. They both can have giant bass, and the El Salto lake record is over 18 pounds. Both lakes have arguably been in decline for a few years as far as true giants go, but both lakes can still kick out DD bass at any time. Both have fantastic lodges, and guides and are probably the most popular lakes in Mexico to bass fish. There are many other lakes in Mexico with giant bass potential, but these are the ones I know of with your best chance at catching a true monster. I have only been fortunate enough to fish a couple of these lakes myself. Much of the information I have mentioned is from talking with friends, and reading fishing reports. I didn't list my favorite lake Presa Pocho in Nyarite because of its small size and difficulty getting to. The biggest bass I know of caught in this lake was 16.5 pounds, and I know of one 14.5 pounds. This lake is not anywhere near what it once was, but still has potential for big bass. There are numerous other small unheard of lakes are spread throughout Mexico, with giant bass, as well as larger more known lakes that are better for numbers of quality bass rather than true giants.

Bait monkey. You need a bass boat. My wife. Are you crazy? A boat to fish for a fish you don’t even bring home to eat. Me. How about a kayak?

I haven't fished any rivers in Mexico myself. Most rivers are hard to access, making the logistics of a launching and picking up difficult. I have heard rumors of the Rio Grande de Santiago River below the Aquamilpa dam has good numbers of bass, and I have a friend who has fished below the dam that creates the lake Cajon De Pena and caught bass, and snook.

I would get hooked, just trying to tie that on my line.

I have no idea which one the bass will want, but I would buy that jig. That is an awesome looking jig.