king fisher

I have changed my prediction. My biggest bass will be a 25 pound largemouth. I will catch it on a Diawa rod, Diawa reel, Sunline line, 6th. Sense lure, with VMC hooks, fishing from a Hobie Kayak. I am willing to accept any free gear or cash right now from any sponsors who want to get to the party early.

Over 11 pounds, early June, 15-20 feet of water, on a steep rocky point, with a crankbait.

I am not saying that either technique should or should not be allowed in tournaments. That in my opinion is solely up to the organization running the tournament. I was only pointing out that either technique can be as simple or complicated a a person wants it to be. Done skillfully both techniques are far from boring. I don't live bait fish for bass simply because I lack the skills required to catch the bait, and have no clue as to how to effectively fish the bait if I could catch it. The couple times I have managed to trap some tilapia, and crayfish I have gotten skunked when I attempted to use them as bait for bass. It has taken me many years to be successful casting a handful of lures, and I would assume it would take the same amount of time to become proficient with live bait, and even though I have success trolling, I would not claim to be even moderately skilled at trolling for bass.

Just like fishing with live bait. It can be as skilled of technique as you want to make it, or as easy as watching a rod.

I have had good luck with their premium blades, but I bought some of the cheaper painted blades, and the paint chipped off with very little use. The gold and silver premium are good blades for the money. I usually spend the extra money and buy Hildebrandt, or Stanely in silver and gold, along with Picasso painted blades, but have caught many big bass on the Lure Parts Online blades.

Why is trolling not permitted in BASS tournaments? If it were legal, would the pros ever do it, and could they win trolling? I troll when moving from spot to spot while fishing in my Kayak. Often I am surprised at the fish I catch, and the number of great fishing holes I have discovered while simply moving from one location to the next. While fishing in a kayak I am always moving at trolling speed, so why not have a lure out, but having to slow down to troll may be a big waste of time for a boat angler. Curious to see what members think.

If someone paid me to fish with a helicopter lure, I would find a way to catch fish with it and promote the company at the best of my ability. Being paid to fish is a job, and like all jobs there is a down side.

My biggest bass was caught on a T rigged Junebug Zoom Magnum Trick worm. My rod was a 7' medium heavy Diawa Ardito, and the reel was a Diawa Zillion SV with 15 pound Seaguar InvisX line. Best bag of five were caught on a home made spinnerbait, 7.5' medium heavy Diawa Ardito rod, Diawa Tatula 150 reel spooled with 30# JBraid, and a 15# Maxima Ultra green leader. Most bass over 7 pounds were caught on a Storm Arashi Cover Pop, 7' medium Diawa Ardito rod, Tatula Ct reel, and 30 pound braid to 15 pound leader. In past years soft plastics have not been a big player, and I have shunned braid to leader. I guess this was the year of hypocrisy for me.

I use #3 Blue Fox Vibrax. silver or gold, single hook, no skirt. Best all around lure for any species of fish in small shallow rivers. They even work well on big bass in Mexican lakes.

I went to Bara De Navidad for a week. The marlin fishing was slower than previous years on this trip, but we caught plenty of fish. The fishing was slow on the trip from PV to Bara but we managed to land one striped marlin, and a couple dorado. First day of fishing at Bara was great. landed 7 tuna biggest 100 pounds, 2 dorado, 2 sailfish, and one striped marlin. Day two was slow, but we still landed 2 sailfish, 2 striped marlin, and 3 dorado. Day 3 was great, with 17 dorado, one sailfish, and two tuna landed. On the way back home we fished my favorite shore line, and landed 25 rooster fish.

I know of a practically unfished lake near me, that is semi clear, and the big bass like to hunt along steep banks, feeding on large tilapia, next to the bank. They hide out below the color line, and ambush any big baits that roam to far from the shore. They seem to be constantly on the move. I have climbed high up the bank on calm days and personally observed this behavior on many days all times of the year. I am positive an angler that was highly skilled with forward facing sonar, could catch so many double digit bass, it would make OH Ivey look like a lake full of dinks. Unfortunately due to the lack of time and money that person wont be me. I don't have the money for the equipment, or the massive amount of time it would take for me to become proficient with it. Because that fortunate angler will not be me, I will continue to fish the lake without the latest electronics, and will continue to climb the bank, and watch DD bass swim by while getting lucky with a blind cast now and then.

I make my own spinnerbaits with a variety of premade forms. I use Stanely Wedge willow leaf blades, Hildebrant Colorado, or Indiana blades and Lumaflex skirts. This is what I previously posted, but it some how got changed to Lumaflex skirts game changer. I don't care, but it was odd.

Lumaflex skirts Game changer!

Hope and a prayer.

Zoom Ole Monster, Zoom Mag trick worm, 7 inch Senko.

I will be fishing the same 4 lakes I fished last year. All have Spanish names, and big bass.

The second one down is a Heddon River Runt, or River Runt knock off. If it is a River Runt, it would say Heddon, River Runt Spook Floater on the bottom of the lure. If it doesn't than it is a nock off, but a very good copy. The color and shape is exact to an original Heddon. The next one down is a knock off of a Cordel Big O. If it were an original Big O it wouldn't have the Japan on the lip. The color and shape are very close to the original Big O I don't know about the prop lure. It is two fat to be a torpedo. There are so many double prop baits that look similar, could be one of many originals or knock offs.

22-250 predators, cayote or smaller, 375 HH Magnum for bears, and moose, 458 Win Mag. for Cape Buffalo,and Elephant, 30-06 for everything in-between.

If I ever am fortunate enough to hook a 14 pound bass, that is wrapped on a tree, I am immediately going swimming, and wont care how many rods I may step on.

We took Redneck out for the first time in 2024 yesterday. We landed 3 tuna, and one Dorado. Tuna were all caught on live goggle eyes under helium balloons, Dorado was caught trolling a lure. Screen shot of high spot where the biggest tuna was caught. My wife is happy I have fresh tuna for her.

I am still young, my muscles are still strong, and my heart is up to any challenge, but my back and joints are not always up to the task. Some days just getting out of bed, walking the dogs, and going to work is a full work out, but as long as I can breath, I will be able to fish, and the bigger the fish the better.

Just remember you bought every lure you own for a logical specific reason. If you get rid of ten lures, one of those lures is going to be the only lure in whole world that will get the skunk out of the boat on a tough day, and another one would have caught you your PB. I recommend you reverse your strategy, and buy ten lures for everyone you loose. Not only will you have the benefit of more lures you can't possibly have time to use, but you will also not be fighting the very forces of nature that make the world stable. You can always buy your wife a new coat, which should solve the stove pellet problem, and remember there are many fisherman like me that would love to have a garage to fill with baits. Consider yourself lucky.

Thanks for the warning. I may have to paint my kayak camo colored, and hide in the bushes when I see a plane.

I don't anticipate any openings in my schedule to allow me time to bass fish until April. I'm sure to get some big bass then, but they will be post spawn, and not at their full potential on the scale. On a more positive note, I will probably be hooked up to a marlin before the this week is over. Good luck to all those anglers fortunate enough to catch bass early in the new year.

It is better to be lucky than good.