king fisher

Inline spinner.- will catch anything. Works best cast up stream in runs and riffles. 4" hula grub with 1/8-1/4 ounce jig head..- for when they don't want a spinner. Works great in eddies, and deep pools, but can be drifted in current. Floating Rapala - great twitched on top for surface strikes, then finish retrieve by reeling straight in. Small mouths in creeks are not usually picky. Will hit anything if the presentation is right. Pick a lure that will work depending on current speed and depth. The lures I mentioned will cover top to bottom, riffles, runs, tail outs, pools, eddies and pockets behind rocks, logs, and weeds. Many other lures will work just as well, these are the ones I bring when I fish creeks for both bass and trout.

I fished almost every day for the last two weeks in Eastern WA. Caught fish on everything in my box. Best producers were. Lakes Spinner bait ( single Colorado, and War Eagle finesse) Black or Bluegill ( most fish) DT 10 any color with some red in it. Hula grub green pumpkin, or purple rattle trap orange (biggest large mouth 5-6 pounds Rebel minnow. Rainbow trout. ( biggest small mouth 4- 5 pound) 5 inch Senko color of purple Rivers #3 Vibrax any color ( largest small mouth 4 pounds) Hula grub green pumpkin ( largest rainbow trout 24 inches) Here in Mexico Any soft plastic, Texas rigged 1/4 ounce weight. Norman little N crankbait.

Making your own inline spinners is easy, inexpensive and work as well as any name brand you can buy. I have made hundreds of them for steel head, salmon, as well as bass and pike. I even make some of them on the water with two pairs of needle nose pliers. The ones I make with pliers don't look as good as the ones I make with a spinner twister tool, but the fish don't care. Parts are cheap, and the blade style, size, beads, hooks, and color make for endless combinations. You can rob parts off of old spinner baits, or bent in lines making recycled baits even cheaper. Only lure I con't care if I loose.

I can't tell what color a couple are because of glare in the picture. I didn't see the craw color with the purple back. Do you have one? I just bought 3 of them off of E Bay. I always seem to have good luck with purple.

I realize my deck hands eyes and local knowledge are more important than any electronics ever developed. I have to depend on technology while he depends on experience and instinct. Although he is impressed when I can tell if there are tuna or not under a school of dolphin with my search lite sonar. Same with the fishing for bass on Aguamilpa. The local guides no where the bass are, when they feed, what lure and presentation to use and can even get a novice to catch an impressive amount of fish. Even with the best equipment it would me years if ever to match their success. I like the challenge of finding my own fish in new places. My past experience has been with Furuno and Garmin products, but will buy the Lorance as recomended. Thanks for the advice. Looking forward to learning a new fishery. Tim

Thanks Tom. The lake I will be fishing is Aguamilpa. Steep canyon walls, with little shallow water. I have fished with guides there, that know the lake well, I have caught many bass with their instruction. None of the guides use any electronics, and the few anglers that fish the lake on their own, simply fish the bank seldom using their electronics. I want to try fishing some off shore structure, and find schools of bait with my electronics. Probably wont catch as many fish, as I could fishing the bank, but fishing isn't just about catching. That is what I meant when I said I would use my electronics more than most. Same as in Salt water. Some people like to chase birds, and crush the tuna. I like to use my electronics to find the fish. When I do chase birds I prefer to use my radar to find them instead of the more popular method of using binoculars. I will have more fun finding an unfished rock pile, with suspended bait, and catching a couple of bass that I located under the bait, than landing 10 bass casting at a popular bank. I know I will need top of the line electronics as well as many hours on the water learning how to use them. No experience with fresh water fish finders. Thanks for stearing me in the right direction. Apprecieate your help. Glad to find out I can get very good equipment in my price range.

Didn't mean to make a bold statement. I'm sorry if I offended any one. I do know lots of fishermen that don't use their electronics as much as I like to. I like to spend lots of time learning and putting to use my electronics as much as possible. I know many fishermen that catch way more fish than me that only use their electronics to get bottom depth and location. Finding the fish with my electronics is all part of the challenge for me. I only meant to say I would prefer to have top of the line equipment because I will rely on my electronics and less on my fishing skill than many anglers. I'm not familiar with structure scan, so I wouldn't be comfortable with it. If people on this forum think it is important I am all for learning how. Need all the help I can get.

Anyone recomend a particular model? Is there any need to go over 500 W of power? Offshore I have a 3 KW transducer and black box, but for 100' or less I am assuming 500 W would be more than enough. I do see all the major brands offer a 1 KW model. Is that much power just a waste of money? I love Chirp tech. for the increase target separation, but have no experience with down view, or side view. Are they worth while options? Is it possibe to spot fish and bait schools in water under 20'? It seems like the cone would be so small at that depth, that it would be difficult?

I'm buying a 18 foot aluminum boat to bass fish a deep canyon lake. Will want to accurately mark targets as deep as 40 plus' good target separation with bait schools. Not interested in side scan. There are no maps of this lake making some form of mapping capabilities a must. I come from salt water fishing back ground where, the boat I captain has over $35,000 of electronics that read thousands of feet deep. I wouldn't leave the dock without top of the line sonar. I have no experience with fresh water units. I am accustom to high end electronics, but do have a budget. Trying to save money on boat and motor, in order to get a good trolling motor, and electronics. I see you can get units for $500 but assume target ID and separation would be minimal at that price range. Other issue is the boat is aluminum, I assume the transducer will have to be mounted on the transom. Is it difficult to mount properly? Will a transom mount work on plane? Should I buy transducer separate, or is a package deal the way to go? I don't want to break the bank but plan on depending on my electronics more than the average bass fisherman. I will be willing to spend more if need be. Is $1500 a reasonable price range? Thanks in advance.

I think it is to long to be a Cordell wiggle o. I had a strike king Crankbait that looked exactly like this one back in the late seventies. I forget the name. Didn't catch many fish on it, and remember it was discontinued after a couple of years. Could be wrong, its been a long time.

I have never caught a fish in a tree, or on land, but I keep trying . I even tried to catch a fish on a power line once. Thanks to the bait monkey, I buy more lures than I loose, the more expensive the lure, the faster I loose it. Must be a law of physics.

Banjo Minnow, and Dynamite.

Bass are no different than people. When I'm full and tired, the last thing I want is a big meal. I do have a hard time passing up a small piece of candy any time. When a bass is hungry he will want a big meal, regardless of temperature. When he isn't, he still might like a snack. In cold water a bass isn't hungry as often as in warm water, odds are better offering a snack. Not saying you won't run into a very hungry bass in the winter, that will chase a big lure and eat it. Just happens less often.

Wiggle Warts catch fish. I don't know why, just a fact. Only way to not catch fish with a Wiggle Wart is to not fish with one. For variety, only lure I have caught more on is original Rapala. Here is a short list of fish I have caught on Wiggle Warts. Some species it is my favorite lure. large mouth bass small mouth bass crappie perch carp walleye rainbow trout cutthroat trout brown trout char lake trout king salmon personal best sockeye salmon chum salmon pink salmon Artic grayling white fish cat fish dorado snook corvina many different species of rock fish and snapper amber jack jack Cravalle skip jack tuna bonito yellow fin tuna spanish Mackerel pompano

The Bait Monkey is patient. He can wait for years, then strike when the time is right. He is always out there. I have got him off my back many times, but he always comes back. Good luck.

If the fishing is slow, I stick to my favorite lure for that time of year and body of water. I will try to cover more water hoping to find active fish. If the fishing is medium, I will slow down, move around less, and try to cover the water from top to bottom with a few different lures, at different speeds. If the fishing is fast, I will try every thing in box, especially lures I have no confidence in, new lures I haven't tried yet, and cheaper versions of what is working. I love to experiment on good days, going from my favorites to something new, back and forth, until I find what works best and what doesn't work at all. Then I will go to another area that I have never fished before and start all over again. I drive my freinds crazy with my experimenting. They always say if it aint broke why fix it, I say lets try to breaK it, then see if we can fix it a different way. Then there are the days I want to keep it simple. A shovel, dig some worms, one rod, one hook, a bobber, and a frying pan.

When I was a kid I fished a local lake almost every day for two summers. One of the only lures I had was a Heddon Sonic. It had no rattles, but It many bass and was my favorite lure. The following winter, I got a rattle trap. My first day fishing the rattle trap was the best fishing I ever had at this lake. I caught fish on almost every cast. My friend was fishing everything in his box including his favorite sonic, but didn't get a fish. Have been a fan of baits with rattles ever since. Now that so many baits have rattles, maybe I should try my old sonic again.

I don't remember, and if I could I wouldn't say, because it is classified information. I will say the bait monkey has my numbe,. knows where I live, follows me home from work, and I can't prove it, but I'm sure he has hacked into my bank account.

Great work. Have you tried using EP fibers, or other similar artificial hair? I started tying jigs for saltwater a couple months ago. I used to tie flies, so I'm not exactly a beginner. My favorite salt water jig has a combination of Yak hair, and Steve Farra's Flash blend. I just started making smaller jigs I plan on using for small mouth. Just curiouis if anyone has tried any other material than bucktail. Also have been experimenting with bunny strips to add action. Anyone use bunny?

I have been tying jigs with EP fibers, and Yak hair, with lots of flash. They seem to have more action then buck tail, and keep their profile better than Maribu. They have been working great for Snook, and red snapper, haven't had a chance to try them in fresh water yet. Has anyone been using these and other similar fibers, for their bass jigs?

I have not made any spinners that I used for bass, but have made hundreds for salmon, size #3 and up. I have had best luck with .031 -.035 size wire depending on spinner size. The Thicker wire doesn't get bent as much when releasing fish. I have used wire that came in a roll, but it is impossible to get completely straight. You can buy pre cut straigt pieces with one end twisted for almost as cheap as buying a bulk roll and they are perfectly straight. I used to use a wire forming tool, but have found two pairs of needle nose pliers to work as well. As others have said a small barrel swivel, on the front, and a split ring on the back helps with line twist and changing hooks. Making spinners for salmon is very popular in the North West. Look on line and you will be able to find numerous sites selling more components than you can try in a life time. Many of them will have charts showing recomended sizes for hooks, weights, swivels, beads, and blades in their catalogs.

I used to think the only part of a surface lure a fish could see was the belly. Then I tossed some lures into a swimming pool, jumped in and looked at them at many different angles without taking my eyes out of the water. Depending on the angle, I could see almost the entire lure, and had no trouble making out different color paterns. I'm sure a bass can do the same. As far a catching bass goes, I don't think color matters much with a surface lure. If a fish is aggressive enough to hit a bait on the surface, I don't think color is what the fish will key in on. That said, I like Rebel Jummpin minnows in bone, for both fresh and salt water fish.

I have never had luck with white. I always have used either black, or purple single colorado blade sinnerbaits. Always had good luck with them, regardless of water clarlity. Sometimes bulging a wake on the surface, other times slow rolling on the bottom. After reading this post, I'm going to give white a try more often.

The reason many states don't allow the use of live fish for bait is because many people will use gold fish, and other species that aren't native to the waters in the state. Bait that get away end up starting populations that can be difficult to eradicate.

Ten years ago I was guiding two fly fishermen for Artic Grayling in Alaska. The silver salmon run was late, and they chose to spend a couple days fishing for grayling. There was a hatch going off at the first place we tried. I tied on what looked to be a similar color and size of dry fly. Grayling are usually not picky, and I expected to get fish every cast. After fifteen minuets without a fish, and watching a few perfect dead drifts go right over nice fish I was getting frustrated and thinking of moving. Then one of the hatching flies landed on the front of the boat. It was brown like the flies we were fishing, but had a small amount of yellow on the body. I looked through my box and found a fly with a yellow body. Caught fish every cast for an hour after tying on the one with some yellow. Tried a nymph below the surface with a bit of yellow, it worked too. Then tried many different flies without any yellow on my rod while the No bites. The clients continued catching fish every cast on the yellow flies. There was no doubt the color was what made the difference. The next day I went to the same place. No hatch going, but the fish were still there. Tied on a couple flies the same size as the day before. Again no bites, from what many believe are the dumbest species of fish alive. One of the clients failed to mend his line causing the fly to skitter across the surface. I was about to tell him he had to mend his line in order to get a drag free drift when he got a bite. That was the key. Most of the time a dead drift is what works, but that day the fish wanted the fly skittering across the surface. Changed our presentation, and landed fish every cast on many different colors, and sizes. Color was not a factor that day. Color may be at the bottom of the list most of the time, but some days it is at the top.