king fisher

I don't know why, but so far the Monkey hasn't been a great influence when it comes to worms. I fish two worms, T rigged or C rigged. Zoom ole monster, and Zoom Mag. Trick worm, in either Junebug, or Green Pumpkin. I also fish a 7 inch Senko weightless in shallow water. One of these will always be on one of my rods.

I have more crankbaits than any sane person would ever need, but I am sure I could catch just as many fish if all I had were an original Bomber, Bomber 7A, Rebel Deep We R, Cordell Big O and a Rattle Trap. If I were forced to use only Mann's Jelly worms, for soft plastics I am sure I would catch as many bass I do now with an endless variety of soft plastics. As far as topwater goes, nothing is more fun to fish than a Jitterbug, and I fish a Pop R almost every time I am on the water. My old Fleck Weed Wader spinnerbait is as good as any modern design. The Bait Monkey and I have been close friends for many years, but as far as catching fish goes, I would be as well off if I only fished the lures I owned in the early 80's. The one thing I don't miss is the hooks tangling on the Rebel Deep Wee R.

You will need a passport.

I have a friend, I consider to be a more skilled angler than me. He casts more accurately especially pitching, and is more proficient with a variety of lures. He likes to fish for numbers, and counts every bass he lands. If we are at a place catching one pound bass every few casts we are going to stay there until we can't catch any more. If I catch 20 he will catch 30. I don't even count the small bass, and don't care if he is ahead of me by 100 but he likes to be completive, so I keep my mouth shut, and try to learn what I can from him. I always want to leave and not only try a different place, but a different type of location. My theory is if there were big bass where we are fishing, we would have hooked one before we landed more than 10 dinks. Besides the bass I want to catch would be eating the small bass, so I doubt there are many giant bass around the area. When I suggest we leave and try something different, he always reminds me of the time we were catching dinks every cast and a he hooked and landed a nine pound bass. I simply go along with the flow, because If I believe if I only want to fish for big bass my way, than I should go fishing by myself. When I do go fishing by myself, I avoid small bass like the plague. When I start catching bass over three pounds, that is when I start trying to dial in a pattern. If I start catching bass over 6 pounds, my big bass meter starts to red line. At this point I am only fishing for large bass, and will not give up on the area, or technique until I am certain I have wore out my welcome. At the end of the year, I will have multiple bass over 8 pounds, and my friend will be lucky to have one. My large bass success does not in any way alter the fact, that he is by far a better bass angler. It only means I prefer to only chase larger bass, by staying away from the baby bass, and am willing to only catch a few bass a day. We both love bass fishing, and always have a great time every time on the water, so in the end that is all that matters.

I prefer Junebug for worms, Black and Blue for Craws and I don't know why.

When I was 13 a bass would strike my Jitterbug, faster than the speed of light, I would jerk back so hard the bait would land at my feet, and the bass would be swimming around wondering what happened to its meal. Now I am Sixty, and nothing has changed. Maybe when I am 80 either my reaction time will slow, or I will finally have the wisdom to let the bass take the plug long enough to get hooked. Hopefully by then, I will be quick and smart, not dumb and slow, either way, I hope I will still be throwing a Jitterbug on a calm summer's evening.

I like to fish topwater, lures in clear water except when they are crushing them in shallow, flooded muddy water, on cloudy days except when they are hitting on sunny days, when there is no wind, except when the wind is causing a ripple over rocky flats, and only on days that end with the letter Y. I do believe I catch bigger bass on topwater, so no matter the weather, or water conditions, I always give them a try.

Even if the rod worked better with a new tip, I would always reach for another rod, because in the back of my mind the Monkey would be telling me the fixed rod was junk. I recommend you put a new tip on, and give the rod to a kid who doesn't have one.

Your PB is 7 pounds. That is a big bass. Just keep fishing. If you want to drive somewhere, Mexico is closer to you than Florida.

Best saltwater reel for the price. A little heavy for freshwater only, but you can't find a better reel if you will be fishing for both fresh and salt, for twice the price.

I was a kid I would fish for trout, off a small dock at the only boat launch on my local lake. My mom would drop me off in the morning and come pick me up sometime before dark. In the summer on a normal day the wind would blow lightly out of the south west. Once in awhile high pressure would move in and the wind would blow strong out of the North East. The fishing for trout of the dock was always better with the prevailing South West breeze. There was a small shallow bay about an hour walk away, that was known as one of the best places to catch bass on the lake. Some days in the afternoon the wind would make a small shift, and blow more from the West than the South. From this direction the wind would blow directly in to the bay. The bass would move from the deeper water outside the bay into the three foot deep water in the bay. When the wind would make this shift, my friends and I would instantly reel in our rods, take the bobber and worms off, tie on whatever bass plug we had, and take off running across the cow pasture to the only place we could access the bay from the shore. We had to make long casts, and lost many of our few bass plugs, but if the cast was long enough, we would hook a bass. providing me with for some of my best child hood memories. We would always wonder why the few bass fisherman with the fancy boats, and giant tackle boxes, who could fish the whole lake, would bother to fish that bay when the wind wasn't right. They would come back to the launch and ask us if we thought the bay was good fishing. Usually they had heard rumors of great bass fishing there, and were wondering why they didn't have any luck when they fished it. I couldn't keep a secret and would always tell them why. Most would just blow the advice off as coming from some kid with a Zebco, bobber and worm outfit who didn't know anything about bass fishing. One day an older couple launched their boat and asked me where I thought they could catch some bass. The wind was blowing perfectly and I told them about the bay. They asked if I would like to join them. As quick as a cat I was in their boat rod, and tackle in hand. Fishing the bay from a boat was way better than from shore. A person cold access the whole bay, and we caught bass every cast for about a half hour. My only lure was an old Heddon River Runt, and they had the first spinnerbaits I had ever seen. My River Runt worked ok, but that was the day I became hooked on spinnerbaits. They were like magical baits, and I still give one a try every time the wind blows. Since that time I have found other places where the right wind strength and direction can improve the bite, but I have never found a place that is as magical as that bay, when the wind blows directly out of the West, on a hot summer day.

Smith makes quality sun glasses in your price range.

My new favorite fishing terminology.

I am addicted to every type of bait except glide baits. I am terrified of taking even one step down that dangerous road.

I have used this for over a year now. Works well for me. First time I put a DD. back in the water while I got my camera ready was a little nerve racking, but now It is simply part of my routine.

You can't catch a fish if your worm is not in the water. A friend told me this 50 years ago. Best fishing advice I ever got.

I agree and would add, find a place the bass can easily catch their food. Current break, ledge, good ambush spot, shade, color, line, etc. A place with an abundance of prey, as well as a location, giving the advantage to the predator, is great combination.

You landed 36 bass in one morning. You should be giving advice, not asking for it. You know you are doing something right, when a bass angler from Mexico, is jealous of the bass you are catching. If some bass don't get away, there would be no( the big one that got away stories) told, ruining a centuries old tradition. You win some you loose some, if you win as much as you do, you are doing it right, brag about the fights you win, and tell great stories about the ones that get away.

Any angler can get skunked any day on any body of water no matter how skilled the angler, how good the conditions are, or the quality of the lake. If it hasn't happened to you, keep fishing it will happen. Hopefully not often, but every fisherman will eventually have a skunk in their boat.

Like a guitar that has the perfect sound, a baseball bat that feels just right, or a shotgun that naturally points just right. Some Crankbaits for some unknown reason, simply catch more fish.

Most of the bass I fish for are not pressured and have never seen most lures. Many have never even seen any lures. I have had some success with Whopper Ploppers, but have yet to have a day when they work as well or better than other top water baits. So far my experience has been, buzz baits, spooks, and poppers out fish them by a large margin. Every day is different and I'm sure there will be a time when the Whopper Plopper bite is on, so I will keep giving them some playing time, but right now other surface lures are in the starting line up.

I recently ordered some Sunline Sniper from Tackle Warehouse. It came in this simple container with a whole in it for spooling. I don't know how long they have been packaging their line this way, but it was a pleasant surprise to me. Great idea. Now if they would cut the price in half, I may buy another spool.

My wife was going to the states, so I had to place an order for her to bring down to PV. I started off with what I thought was the bare minimum, only what I really needed in my Tackle Warehouse cart. The total was almost $600. As much as I hate to see the Bait Monkey cry, I had to whittle the cart down to a reasonable amount. It took some time and some items were taken off then put back on numerous times, but this is what I felt I could not possibly live without. Total was under $200. Package arrived in time for my wife to bring back on the plane. Mission accomplished. check out the new line dispenser packaging from Sunline. Great idea, all line should be packaged this way.

Thanks for the warning, but I gave up drinking with the Bait Monkey back in the days when I had to send a check to get something from Bass Pro Shops. I can't imagine the damage a drunk Bait Monkey can do with a smart phone.