king fisher

No snow in the forecast here.

No plans. I'm just going to cast my line and see what bites.

I once had a lure like the one on the third rod from the left. It casted ok, but I was never able to catch a bass on it.

I have fished a very small reservoir for five years. This lake is exceptional for trophy size bass. I have averaged one bass over 10 pounds for every five days I fished the lake. I am certain an angler with exceptional skills could get that average down to one every two days of fishing. Unfortunately I don't have time to fish the lake more than about 10 to 15 days a year. This year I was only able to fish it for five days and caught one 10 pound bass as well as a couple over 7 pounds. The fish are big, but the fishing is slow at this lake. Most days I only get one to three bites from decent size bass a day. There are almost zero bass between 1 pound and 6 pounds. I have caught more 10 pound bass than I have two to four pound bass in the five years I have fished there. I can catch many bass under one pound, but do not fish for them, and if I start catching baby bass of that size I change location, and or tactics. The reason there are very few mid size bass is the lake is heavily commercial fished for Tilapia. The mesh size of the gill nets used is also very effective at catching mid size bass. The baby bass go through the mesh without getting caught, and once the bass get over 6 pounds there heads no longer fit past the gills in the nets so they don't get caught. There are so many nets, I don't think many bass make it to the larger size. I can only assume enough make it to that 6 pound and up size because of the very high number of baby bass every year. Apparently there are enough to account for successful spawns every year. I have no idea what percentage of the bass the nets account for, but I would bet it is way more than would end up in the frying pan, if an average number of sport anglers were keeping 5 bass limits. I let the large bass go, not only to hopefully help the population in general, but in hopes that I can catch the same trophy bass again some day. I'm sure that even though I have been successful, there are really not many of these monsters swimming in the lake. My success has been more do the fact the lake is small, bass have not seen many lures, and are not nearly as educated as big bass are in most lakes. In other words, my success is due to the bass being stupid, not because of my angling skill. In the past years I would have to believe most of the bass in this lake never would see a lure in their entire life. The last couple years a lodge owner from another lake has discovered my secret lake, and has been taking clients there every week. I have noticed a big change in the numbers of fish I catch, and don't think the population has changed, the fish have just adjusted to the added pressure. I have found I am not near the angler I thought I was when forced to fish for more highly educated bass. I talked to the lodge owner and he is disappointed in the fishing. While his clients have landed some very large bass, most are not happy with fishing all day for a couple of bites. He wants to make a deal with the commercial fisherman to back off on the netting in order to have more bass for his clients to catch. He is willing to compensate them for the lost revenue, in order for them to help improve the bass numbers. He wants his clients to be able to catch a dozen or so 2 to 4 pound bass a day as well as have a chance at a DD bass. I tried to explain to him that this was most likely impossible. The bass in this lake were huge because of the heavy commercial fishing, not in spite of it. I told him the best thing he could do is back off on the number of clients he takes and keep the commercial fishing the same. The lake his lodge is on is known for great numbers of bass, so why not leave this lake the way it is and only take a few clients that are willing to put in the work for a bass of a life time to this trophy destination. I may be wrong, but I don't see how a lake can produce on average this many DD bass, and also have a large population of mid size bass. This lake has never had any official management for bass. The number of commercial tilapia fisherman are limited, but there are more than enough gill nets to catch most of the tilapia as well as the bass. The management for bass has been a complete accident, but I don't think it could be managed any better. As far as a trophy bass fishing lake goes, I don't think it would be possible to make the lake any better, and I hope the lodge owner doesn't end up over managing a lake that is already perfectly managed. I only wish I had found out about it, a few years back when no body fished there. I got in on the tail end of the good days, but at least I was able to take advantage of the fishery when I did. I am not a fisheries biologist, and don't recommend over netting a lake to remove bass in public waters that are heavily sport fished, but I have witnessed that taking out a large portion of the mid sized bass in an underfished lake can result in fantastic fishing for large bass. I have always believed in catch and release, but I do realize there are times when keeping bass is the best thing an angler can do for the fishery.

Some people are just plain lucky, the rest of us have to work for our bass.

With the price they charge Megabass should include spare hooks, a ball cap, and free tickets to a Japanese baseball game.

My soft plastic swimbaits are some shade of white, my plastic worms are Junebug, my creature baits are Greenpumpkin, and my craws are okeechobee craw. That is what I buy, if the bass don't like it that is their problem. On days the bass don't like those colors, I can go back to fishing crankbaits.

How hard did it rain, and how long were you out in the rain? The great advantage of Gortex over traditional rain gear is it breathes, and is very light. A Gortex jacket is very comfortable, and you don't get soaked with sweat when you are active. The one disadvantage is Gortex does have a saturation point. If you are in very hard rain for a long period of time any Gortex jacket will start to leak. Gortex waders with triple layers of Gortex fabric are an exception, but most jackets are not built like the waders. There is a reason you see deck hands on commercial fishing boats in Alaska still wearing Grundens, or Helly Hanson traditional heavy cumbersome rain gear. Gortex is great for most situations, and is so comfortable many times I don't even take it off when the rain quits, but if I'm going to be out on the water in heavy rain for a long period of time, I put on my old heavy, uncomfortable, Helly Hanson bibs and jacket.

2024 was a tough year bass fishing for me. I let work get in the way of my bass fishing again this year, and when I was able to go I had less success than previous years. I managed to remain good friends with the Bait Monkey, but even though my tackle box was always full, I struck out more than I care to admit. The good news is my wife and I had a cabin built one kilometer from a lake with bass. The bad news is I am having a difficult time catching bass there, and when I do they are not very big, with the biggest being around 6 pounds. I spent most of my available bass fishing time there, because it is now my home lake. When I was able to go to other lakes I did ok at one and horrible at another. I only fished Presa Pocho a couple times, and managed to catch one 10.2 pounds along with a couple 7.5 pounders. My success on large bass was down from previous years, but I had just as much fun, and even though my new home lake isn't as good as I would like it to be, I enjoy having a lake I can call home. If five small bass is a good day at new lake, than I will try hard to catch 6 bass. It is all relative, and a 6 pound bass on one lake is equal to a 10 pound bass on another. I hope to take more time away from work next year, and I still have time to catch my PB before this year is over.

I have moved away from techniques that catch bass. This year I didn't waste valuable casting practice time landing and releasing bass. I hope to go back to techniques that catch bass next year, but only time will tell.

I have had days when fishing was so slow, I am positive I couldn't get hit, even by lightning.

I own one, and buying it was a big mistake. Now the Bait Monkey wont give me a moments peace. He reminds me how good my Zillion is every time I use one of my other reels. I have never in the past cared about any financial markets, after buying my Zillion from Japan, I find myself looking up the exchange rate every day, sometimes even twice a day. I find myself hoping one of my other reels breaks, so I have an excuse to buy another Zillion. The Bait Monkey even talked me in to using one of my other reels in salt water, with the idea that it could always be replaced by a Zillion. I refuse to be bullied, and for now I only own one.

Store the rods in your house, and move yourself and your family to the out buildings.

Anyone fishing for large fish neear ocean reefs with 50 pound test line, has no clue what they are doing. I fish for Cubera Snapper that range from 30 to 60 pounds on rocky underwater islands in Mexico. I use 130 pound braid mainline, with 250 pound mono leader. The rods are 130 pound big game rods, with 50 Wide reels. The drags are set at 30 lbs full drag. If the snapper will bite 10 feet above the reef, the angler is strong, and doesn't let the fish get turned, the fight will be short and successful. If they are biting within a few feet of the reef the only way to land them is to leave the rod in the holder, push the drag to full, and use the boat motor to pull away from the reef. If the snapper gets into the rocks it will break the leader like it was thread. A 100 pound Giant Trevally is not going to be landed if it is close to a reef on anything but the heaviest of tackle.

When I was a kid, I fished for anything that would bite a worm under a bobber. Then I discovered bass fishing and met the Bait Monkey at the same time. As I grew older I started fly fishing for trout, and continued to fish for many species of fish, but still considered myself a bass fisherman. I moved to Alaska when I was 25 and started guiding for trout and salmon. I loved the AK wilderness, and became skilled at catching All of the species of fish, where I resided. Even though there are no bass in AK I hadn't fished for them in over 30 years, and it makes zero sense, I still considered myself first and foremost a bass fisherman. I continued to read articles on bass fishing and every new lure that came out while I tried to think of a way it would work in my old childhood bass fishing holes. When I moved to Mexico I became a saltwater angler, for a living. I do enjoy catching many species of saltwater fish, and like my fishing in Alaska, I am far more skilled at fishing for fish in the Mexican saltwater than I am at bass fishing. I spent many years in Mexico,befoer had an opportunity to catch a bass, but I always considered bass my favorite sport fish. A few years ago I got the opportunity to go bass fishing again. The passion returned with the first cast, along with my friendship with the Bait Monkey. Now, other than for work, I rarely fish for anything else. I wish my skill has improved as much as my tackle collection, but slowly I am becoming a better bass angler, and so far haven't allowed the Monkey to put me in bankruptcy. I have never fished a bass tournament for two reasons, one I have never had an opportunity, and two for the same reason I don't gamble. I know I will loose money, so why give money to some one else, when I know the odds are not in my favor. I do hope to someday go as a co angler simply to have the experience. I have kept close track of tournament angling for over 40 years and have great respect for all the professional fisherman that have worked so hard and taken the gamble to make their living fishing for bass. The answer to the question of why I bass fish, is really I don't know. I am better at catching other species, I have to drive many hours to get to a bass lake, when the ocean and great saltwater fishing is only a mile from my house, Most of my life I lived where there isn't even any bass to fish for. It makes zero sense and I have no logical reason for why I am a bass angler. I may not know exactly why I bass fish, but when I hook a big bass I know there is nothing else I want to be. I am a bass fisherman and I am happy.

Because I can. If I was a mountain climber, I would climb mountains, if I could play a guitar I would be a musician, if I could hit home runs, I would be a baseball player. I can't do any of those things, so I am a bass fisherman, therefore I fish for bass and I wouldn't want it any other way.

I am from the Northwest and have many family members living on the coast. My family is not part of, and I have not noticed or believe there is any rapid societal decay, and would appreciate you keeping your opinions on the matter to yourself. By the way the owner of this site lives on the WA Coast, and as far as I no has no plans of fleeing the societal decay. You could have said you moved to Montana to expand your hunting and fishing opportunities, and socialize with people of like interests without insinuating some how Montana has better people or as you put it no societal decay. I appreciate the fact that this site does not tolerate any political content. I realize I am being hypocritical by replying to the this post in this way, that I have in fact broken the policy, and I apologize for my infraction.

I understand the theory of subtler lures working better for bass conditioned to loud flashy lures. I basically subscribe to this theory. I do have to wonder why most of my biggest bass have been caught on loud moving baits such as crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and buzz baits. The bigger bass are older and should have been conditioned to prefer the soft plastics, that are so popular with the smaller bass. The opposite seems to be true in many of the waters I fish. The bigger bass may be bigger because they are more aggressive, and more competitive. They may feed more often, and might be prone to getting to there food before other less competitive bass can. Making them more likely to chase down a fast moving bait. How many members PBs have been caught on noisy baits, the large bass should have learned to avoid by the time they are trophy size? I doubt a 10 pound bass has never seen a rattle trap, but plenty of them get caught on traps every year. Buzz baits don't always work for me, but when they do, on average they catch far larger bass than plastic worms. The worms will work on more days, but when the buzz bait bite is on, the worm rod gets put away for the day.

I usually have four rods in my kayak. Most of the time they will have different techniques on all of them. Once in awhile I will have two top waters tied on, a popper and a walking bait. Other times I may have two different crankbaits. Those are rare occasions, and It depends if a square bill and a deep diving crankbait qualify as the same technique. I dream of the day when I can have 20 rods all rigged and laid out on the deck of a fully equipped bass boat, but I also long for the days when I only had one rod and reel to fish with.

I was sure you have three different spinnerbaits tied on at all times.

There is a dam, but it has no flood gates, or hydro electric generators. When the reservoir gets full the water flows over the top. The area gets zero rain from around the first of Nov. to the first of July. Then it rains almost every day, with thunder storms in the evenings, that can dump over an inch of rain in less than an hour. The lakes in this region, fluctuate 50 to 80 feet from low water in June to full pool in October. Water level, and clarity determine the location of the bass far more than water temperature. The surface temp. never gets below 60 degrees, or above 80 degrees, and is between 65 and 75 most of the year. The bass do like the many flooded fence lines. My guess is they use the fence line to travel from deep to shallow water, or maybe they simply enjoy cutting anglers line off on the wire. Whatever the reason, I am forced to spend a lot of my fishing time casting to these lure eating fences. The Bait Monkey wants me to try casting glide baits for the bass in this lake. The Monkey and I are good friends, but I don't ever see myself casting an expensive bait anywhere near this area. Just to make sure I never do, I wont even purchase a glide bait.

He used my rod's and reels while he was here. He was impressed with my Zillion, but left the Bait Monkey with me.

If I don't consider the arthritis in my joints, my poor eyesight, loss of hearing, and other obligations taking up most of my time, I might be at my peak, not sure, I can't remember. I do know I enjoy bass fishing as much as I ever have.

If I bought a rod that cost over $150, my bank account would hit bottom, and my head may get contacted by my wife. That is what sensitivity means to me.

I fished Presa Corinches for two days. I landed 10 total bass, with 4.5 pounds being the biggest. I always struggle at this lake. My best spot is a concrete block next to a barb wire fence. This picture was taken in May when the water is low. This cover is now 15 feet under water. I hooked a couple nice bass, here but hooking them in this cover and landing them can be difficult. Best bite is on crankbaits, but I try to catch them on a T Rig before attempting to work my crankbaits around the fence without getting snagged. I did manage to land 5 bass, and only lose a few baits.