king fisher

This is only getting worse. The whole area is in lock down. They are even closing the beach at some hotels. I recently had lymph nodes taken from my armpit due to stage three Melanoma. I have a drain tube coming out of my side that empties in to a container that is supposed to be removed on Monday. Problem is I live in Nayarit, and will not be allowed to cross the bridge to Jalisco in who knows how long. I may not be able to get to the doctors office for a week or more. I hope this is a one day thing, but I don't see all going back to normal for awhile. At least my family and I are safe at home with plenty of food and water. Two days ago I was complaining about how my cancer was making it impossible to catch the big pre spawn bass at my favorite lake. I was upset for the second year in a row, I would have to wait until May to fish for bass. Now that seems like such a trivial concern. ( If it is possible to consider DD bass trivial). I have a far different perspective now.

You are correct. They killed him.

From what I have heard, they arrested the head of on of the Cartels. The fires are in retaliation to the arrest. Most of the fires are cars and buses. The fires at Costco are of cars in the parking lot not Costco, but more are getting set. My wife just told me they took over the airport in Guadalajara. Which is the biggest city in Jalisco. This is big. Life in Mexico will never be the same. Who know what is next. Revolution, occupation, or any number off possibilities, but I do not see life going on as in the past. I hope I am wrong and things will get back to normal, but this will escalate long before it gets better.

I'm safe but this is getting worse. All the roads in and out of town are closed. Fires are everywhere. Costco is on fire. A friend of mine borrowed a boat to get his wife and kids out of another marina. They were trapped there due to closed roads, and the only way to get them home was by boat. He sent me a video he took while on the water. It has a good view of the whole bay. Smoke is everywhere, the whole bay looks like a war zone. I don't foresee life ever being the same in this beautiful part of Mexico.

As many of you know, I have lived and worked in Puerto Vallarta for over a decade. I have always laughed at the thought going to Mexico could be dangerous. I have experienced nothing but friendly people and peaceful communities the whole time I have lived here. I have traveled and camped without fear all over the states of Jalisco, and Nayarit. I have also been to many ports of call on the mainland and the Baja Peninsula by boat and have felt as safe as any time anywhere in the US. Unfortunately this may have changed today. There are fires all over the Banderas Bay area and fighting among police, army and drug gangs is going on right now in Downtown PV. A friend can see columns of smoke from his balcony by the beach. They have closed the airport, and I felt an explosion at my house north of Puerto Vallarta. I'm not telling people to avoid this area at this time, but I felt it appropriate due to all of the times I ridiculed others for expressing concern for safety in Mexico. It isn't often I have to eat crow, but I do feel I currently have a big crow pie cooking in the oven. This is happening live now, and maybe will not be as big a problem as it seems right now. I hope to someday be able to in good conscience to be able to recommend tourists come to this part of the country without any fear or bias. As for now, I can not honestly say it is a safe place to be. Most of the bass fishing is done far north of here, and I haven't heard any reports about increased violence in that area. I won't comment on that area without more knowledge. I hope all is well at Baccarac, El Salto and etc, and anglers with trips booked there will be able to go forward with their plans and catch a new PB. I'm in no danger at my house, and as long as I stay off the streets for a couple days I don't expect to be in any danger. My biggest worry is the owner of the boat I am captain of is here vacationing, and he may decide to move the boat north leaving me with difficult decisions on where my family and I will live and work. I am hoping everything settles down and life goes back to normal, not only for me and family, but for all of the fine people that live and work here. I do have to apologize for making comments over the years about the safety in Mexico. I now realize that just because I live here and have had zero difficulties, that does not make me the ultimate authority on all matters relating to the safety in Mexico. In my defence I will say any comments in the past have been made from honest first hand experiences, but after today's events I wish I had been a little less optimistic when giving advice that can affect someone's safety. I will keep bass anglers updated here, because one thing is for sure, the bass here are big, hungry, and not going anywhere.

I would say Swamp Girl, because many days, she catches better stringers of bass in Main than I do in Mexico. How is that possible? I would also include A-Jay because he owns the world's biggest collection of Vision 110's. After all, what could be more hard core than owning the best tackle collection? Inthe end the person with the best tackle collection wins. His hard core tackle porn photos are almost as impressive as his giant brown bass videos.

Getting that extra two feet of distance in a cast rarely impresses the bass, but makes the Bait Monkey smile. Don't feel bad. I always swing for the fences when I don't need to, and have sent baits to another zip code while standing there staring at a grade A 10 out of 10 class backlash. Too bad about the Bass Puzzle, they are expensive and hard to come by, but if you only cast lures you don't want to lose, you will only catch fish you don't want to catch. Nothing wrong with your equipment. It's fishing, S-- happens. Switching to straight Floro may help. I fish many setups with Floro, and only a few with braid to leader. One thing to consider if you do get an impressive backlash with Floro, change the line or you may launch another lure in to space or worse, get your heart broken. Remove minor backlashes with extreme care and all will be fine. For those that never backlash, I despise you.

If the bass don't like my 1/4 oz weights, that is their problem not mine. I will go find some bass that appreciate my minimalist terminal tackle. If I can't find any, I prefer to fish crankbaits anyway.

If I had to go back to fishing with only one rod, a Rattle Trap, Hula Popper, Tiny Torpedo, Rapala Floating Minnow, Mepps #3 inline spinner, Rebel Deep Wee R , and a crappie jig. I would most likely catch as many bass as I do now with the Bait Monkey permanently attached to my side.

I had a similar experience. I had been fishing a favorite tree on and off all day with zero bass. At the end of the day, hooked a 14 inch bass on a plastic worm, and a true giant inhaled the whole bass while I was reeling it in. The giant bass didn't just grab it, and simm off with half the bass hanging out of it's mouth, the smaller bass in an instant completely disappeared into the gullet of the bigger bass. I gave the line slack and waited, but failed to hook the bass. When I reeled in the small bass the giant took one more swipe at it right next to my kaya. I won't say how big I thought the bass was, because I don't want readers to doubt my ability to estimate the size of bass, or wonder about my fish story skills, but I will say for sure it would have shattered my current PB. After the incident I asked this same question on this site. I live in Mexico and it would be legal, but I was wondering what members thought if it was ethical or not. The answers varied, but most thought as long is it was legal, and the bass population needed culling, why not. I have yet to try and fish a small bass as bait. Since then I have often cast to the same tree, and have pulled 9 to 10 pound bass from it's limbs. I occasionally catch a smaller bass and think about hooking it up, but I am usually moving around, and taking the time to rig and slowly fish a live bait is something I have not wanted to do. If a person were to try and fish a live bass. How would you rig it? What gear would you use? How would you fish it? Some time when I have a few days to fish the lake, I will not be in such a hurry and may give it a try. I do know for sure I giant bass lives there that is capable, and likes to eat 14 inch bass.

I was fishing my favorite big bass lake a few months ago. I started the morning throwing topwater around some flooded bushes and grass. I tried ploppers, buzzbaits, walking baits and poppers. Everything was a bust except, I had some success on a popper with a few dinks and a 7 pound bass. I fished a line of bushes that have been excellent in the past at the current water level, and clarity. I didn't get a bite and opened my box to try a different size popper. While trying to decide on a popper I noticed an old Devils Horse that I had been keeping in the box for years. I had never tied it on before, but kept it because I always wanted to try one. Usually I only experiment with different lures when the bite is good in order to be able to give the new offering a fair chance at success. Too many times I have tried a new lure when the bite is off and I get a negative belief in the lure that should have been attributed to the location and timing. For some reason I felt it was the right time to try the Devils horse. After all the day was young and I could change it for a popper after a couple of casts if I felt my wild experiment was a failure. I wasn't too concerned about unfairly getting a negative opinion about the Devils Horse, because after all I hadn't thrown it in all of the years I owned it anyway. First cast I placed it in a perfect pocket next to a willow bush in same line of bushes I had previously tried my popper. I let it sit for awhile then gave it a small jerk. The blades made the amount of noise and splash I had expected, subtle but fishy. Similar to a Torpedo but lower pitched, and ofcourse action on both ends of the lure. After another pause I gave it a much harder pull. Instantly a ten pound plus bass came all the way out of the water and dived on the plug. Unfortunately I did not hook the bass. I did learn two valuable lessons that day. The first one is not to set the hook at the first sight of a bass blowing up on a topwater. I told myself to wait until I feel the weight of the bass before the hookset. Problem with this lesson is, it is the same one I have been learning for 50 years. I guess you could call me a slow learner. The second lesson I learned was don't throw a lure in a perfect spot on a lake where DD bass are likely to be with 40 year old rusted, dull, junk hooks. The Devils Horse is an old lure that may work well, but old junk hooks wont. I didn't fish the Devils Horse any more that day. I didn't want to take the time to find and replace the hooks, and the topwater bite was starting to subside. I got home and was able to fend the Monkey off. I didn't order a dozen new Devils Horse lures, but I did change the hooks on the one I had. I haven't been able to bass fish since that day, but when I do the Devils Horse will get a place in my starting lineup. I hope the strike was not a fluke, and I will see why Florida anglers still swear by the old horse.

In a perfect world, I would have a rod reel line combo for every cast I make. Unfortunately I do not live in a perfect world, so I switch reels to different rods depending on what line and lures I think I'm going to need for the day. One of many examples, is I have a 7.6 heavy rod that I use for punching. On the days I use if for punching I have a reel with 65 pound braid I put on that rod. If I'm fishing another lake where I never punch, the same rod gets a reel with Floro on it. If my planning is off, I may have a spare reel in my bag and can switch, or many times I simply use what rod reel I have while adjusting my presentation to somehow make it work. I remember when I was a kid and had one rod reel line combo. I fished baits, that were way to heavy, and way to light for the rod, with a variety of techniques. Not an ideal situation, but I was fishing often, landing more bass than I do now, with multiple combos spending most of the time in my closet at home.

This is crazy talk. Does not work. C rig is for soft plastics only. Cat is now back in bag, please secure the bag better this time.

Don't pass up any opportunity to fish. You can never get that time back. One thing is for sure. Any day of the year, any time of the day, you can't catch them if you are not on the water. If I was forced to make a choice for time of day in the early spring, with cold water temps. I would pick afternoon, but would prefer to be on the water from sunrise to sunset.

By the time I quite using a rod or reel, even the Bait Monkey doesn't want them. I keep all of my fishing gear regardless of use, because I am a fishing gear hoarder. I have a problem, but I find comfort in the knowledge that there are others out there with the same incurable condition.

I would be more worried if I saw a kid that didn't throw rocks in a lake. Most lakes have lots of room, for both fishing and rock throwing.

I always recommend rod reel and line combinations that allow you to work the lures you are going to use best, rather than the size of the bass. If you are going to be fishing light lures, than light rods, with light line is what will work best. You can land any size bass on 6 pound line as long as you are not around thick cover, but you can't work a 1/8 oz ned rig with a medium heavy rod as effectively as you can with a light rod. The same goes for the opposite end of the spectrum. Working a large topwater with a light rod, makes for a frustrating day. Burning a spinnerbait under the surface requires a long rod, that can cast far distances, and different size crankbaits work best with different weights, and rod actions. I would assume most of the time you will be casting smaller lighter lures requiring light line and light rods, but if you plan on bombing a spook, a medium heavy BC. would be nice to have.

When I retire, or win the lotto, whichever comes first.

I use Stanley Wedge for my willow leaf blades, and Hildebrandt for Colorado blades. I have tried many less expensive blades from Barlow's, Lure Parts Online and Janecrafts and others. I always seem to gravitate back to the Hildebrandt and Stanley. I'm not sure if you can get the Stanley any more, but Hildebrandt are readily available. You might want to try many different brands. They are easy to change, and can be recycled after your spinnerbait is beyond repair. I have caught bass on every make and type of blade I have bought, and my preference for the more expensive blades is more due to the Bait Monkey than the bass. I have not found a good painted blade that I like. The painted blades I have tried all chip quickly and I am forced to repaint them myself. Here is a final suggestion. If you ever fish for Mexico bass, have some painted blades on your spinnerbaits.

Most of the time Profile is far more important than color. For Those rare times when color is what makes a difference, it is the difference.

I was trying to find out the Nayarit State record and couldn't find it. Therefore because I have no state record to go by, I have decided to catch a 23 pound largemouth in order to make sure there is no controversy for a Mexican bass to win. I am currently recovering from a surgery, and will not be able to bass fish for a couple more months, but prime time is in May and I hope to land and post the giant bass then.

I prefer to have my lures running straight. Even a crankbait that hunts needs to run straight. If it is out of tune and runs off to the side it will not get to depth or hunt correctly. A good hunting crankbait temporarily kicks off to the side then returns to running straight. It does not constantly run to one side or the other. I don't catch bass on spinnerbaits that don't run straight because one that rolls over drives me insane, and I will change the bait. A bass will never get the chance to hit one before I have either tuned it or changed it. Buzz baits can run off to one side, but still must remain vertical. Again the bass may not care, but I do. Lipless crankbaits that run on their side are worthless in my opinion and not worth taking the time to tune. I don't buy expensive ones, so if they don't run straight they get thrown in the injured reserved box at home and will remain there for eternity. Topwater prop baits that turn on their side drive me crazy, but I get used and bit because some only do it when the speed of the retrieve is excessive. I do prefer Chopos, over Whopper Ploppers because they do not roll over at higher speeds as much. Torpedoes role on their side and often get bit when not running straight and I have had to learn to live with this annoying trait because they can be absolute bass catching machines reeled straight back at high speeds. Prop baits with two blades that counter rotate run straight and I am very happy when they are what the fish want. I tune floating Rapala's even though most of the time it is not necessary because I am twitching them on the surface, and they only run off to the side when retrieved, but I am an anal angler, and tune them anyway. The few other jerkbaits I have tried run straight and I like it that way. Lately I have started purchasing slightly more expensive crankbaits from 6th Sense and Spro,(I refuse to take the first dangerous step down the Megabass road) because I do not have to tune them as often as my old bombers, and Normans. The Spro Rock Crawler, and Rapala DT series are two baits I don't think I have ever had to tune. My old favorite Norman Deep Little N's I have to tune once or twice a day, but they still get some starting line up time because they do produce. Acadamy Sports H20 crankbaits often need to be tuned, but usually stay tuned after the first adjustment, and the square bills are as good as any plastic square bills on the market. My old Bagely square bills need to be tuned often, but don't get much playing time becasue I'm scared to loose them. No square bill outperforms a balsa bait that has the IT factor, but they can break the bank, and the new Bagley's don't seem to have the magic for me. Short answer, yes I want my baits to run straight.

I have never been there, but Dworshak reservoir in Idaho is on my dream bucket list. Nearby Snake river is also excellent.

spinnerbait

When my ice runs out I run to the store and restock my cooler. As far as lures go, I will have everything in my box year around. South of the border fishing does have some advantages.