king fisher

Spinnerbait. Bought my first one summer of 1976. It was a Fleck Weed Wader. I fished that Weed Water every time I went bass fishing for many years. I now own dozens of spinnerbaits and still fish them every time out. Rattle Trap. First time I tried one in 1978 I caught so many fish compared to my friend, that he begged me to loan him mine. We spent the rest of the day taking turns fishing that trap. In all the years of fishing for many species of fish, that was the biggest difference I have ever seen a lure make. Catching bass every cast was fun. Watching my friend beg, priceless. I always have a Trap tied on.

I haven't given up on the A rig yet. I will say snagging an abandoned gill net with one made me do the math and consider the logic of fishing with such an expensive lure in my waters. I was able to break it free from the net, so I'm positive I will get it back if it snags again ( bait monkey logic). I plan on using it the next time I see bass busting bait in the open water away from all snags. I wont be throwing it near wood in 30 knot winds any more. At the time, I was thinking they should not only be illegal in some tournaments, but banned in all 50 states, and many foreign countries.

I fished two days dawn to dusk. First day I mostly pounded the banks. Lots of small bass around a pound or so. I was excited to try a chaterbait for the first time, but not luck. As usual for me, spinnerbaits and crankbaits caught the most bass. Next day I found a submerged tree in 20 feet of water, with a large bait ball above it. I marked larger fish in the branches, I assumed were bass. The afternoon winds had not picked up yet so I was able to fish many different baits including my new A Rig. No luck. I placed a marker buoy and left planning to come back later. A couple hours later the wind was blowing over 20 MPH and I decided to throw a crankbait as I drifted by the buoy. I made four drifts for four fish. Two 4.5 pounds, two over 3 pounds. Wind then picked up to 30MPH forcing me to fish a sheltered spot the remainder of the day catching only small bass. Fishing was slow, and no big fish, but I was happy to find fish with my electronics, and catch some. The four pounders were long and very thin. I'm confident that I will be able to fish this same spot later in the year for more and fatter fish. No luck on the A rig. Another new lure I bought somehow thinking it would be magical and make up for lack of knowledge, angling skill, or both. I will try it again with less expectations. I did catch a bass on a Jack Hammer for the first time. The bait was bigger than the bass but it was a bass. I guess the bass didn't realize the chaterbait was $15 and my H2O square bill was $4 because they liked the square bill. The log I snagged definitely understood the dollar value between the two.

Along with many of the others mentioned. I occasionally use. Heddon Sonic. -- lipless Crankbait Heddon Sonar-- Blade bait Rebel Deep WeeR -- medium diving crankbait Heddon Crazy Crawler Bomber Model A all diving depths, and sizes. Bagely Balsa B and Diving B Heddon River Runt-- Good wake bait, or shallow diver.

The only lure my friend has that I don't.

I would have to say everything in my box. Someone already got me to bite when I spent my hard earned cash on them. Probably wouldn't be any different if I were a fish.

The old lure from Heddon that looked like a beer can.

I use trailers on jigs all the time. Most of the time I don't use one with a spinnerbait. I use a trailer hook on a spinnerbait if I get bites, but don't hook up. I don't use a trailer hook if I am getting snagged. If I am getting snagged and missing strikes, I try a different lure.

For 30 years my favorite was a single gold Colorado with black skirt. Now one lake I fish often I prefer the light colored ones in first picture, Lake Chapala I have luck with dark colored skirts in second picture. Dark colored ones crushed them at Chapala a few days ago.

I currently use a 7'6" medium fast bc. with 12 Ultra Green line. for bass. 9' medium fast bc with 50 lbs. braid for inshore use. Sometimes use the salt water rod for bass. Casts a 3/4 0r 1/2 0z walking bait a mile, and is soft enough tip to walk the dog easily.

Rebel Buzz Frog worked great for pike on lakes in Alaska with thick weeds. I have never tried one for bass. I'm not sure if they are still made. I have a few that survived many ferocious pike. I may have to dig one out and give it a try for bass.

Inline spinner. Mepps or Vibrax #3 floating Rapala Rebel Craw 1/4 oz hair jig Hula grub

I forgot one picture. Five and a half pound bass really wanted this 6th. Sense Crush 100 square bill.

After fishing salt water for 6 weeks, I finally got a break from work. I was going to go to my favorite small lake with big monster bass close to home, but my wife suggested I take a few days and go on a vacation in Chapala Jalisco. I was able to Kayak fish for three days. The first two days were OK. I fished an Island I never fished before and landed 14 bass between 2 and 4 pounds, with one 5.5. The next day I fished a spot I had fished before and had a similar day with a 5.7 being the biggest. The last day the wind was blowing and the waves were big. I had planned on launching at a different spot, and when I got there I had second thoughts. Launching was similar to launching the kayak on an ocean beach. The wind was blowing 15 MPH. straight in to the bay I was going to fish. I almost cancelled, but my wife assured me the weather was going to improve, so I unloaded my gear and she drove off. I had previously flipped my kayak and lost gear on this lake before, so I was extra cautious as I tied everything down. I managed to launch without incident and pedaled towards a rock island I planned on starting at. I was completely wet by the time I got to the first rock pile and decided to only make a couple casts with a spinnerbait, before going around the point to more protected water. I never made it to the protected water. The first cast on the windward side of the rocks I hooked and landed a 3 pound bass. The day only got better from there. Every time I would drift by one of several rock out cropping's, I would cast just outside the breaking waves hook another bass and try and land it on the lee side of the rock. If I didn't catch a bass I would either go to another rock close by, or change spinnerbaits. I was planning on fishing crankbaits, but new I would snag in the abundant tilapia nets, and wouldn't be able to get them loose without risking flipping my Kayak. The spinnerbait bite continued for 2 hours until as predicted the wind died down to zero and within a couple hours, the lake was calm. I tied on a square bill and started fishing the same rock piles. One rock I found when a large breaking wave revealed its location. When the wind calmed I pedaled over, and with my fish finder found not only one rock but a 100 yard ridge I wouldn't have found if the water had not been so rough. I spent most of the afternoon fishing that ridge. When they quite hitting square bills I could get a couple more on a spinnerbait. I would then fish a few other rock piles, before returning and crushing them on the ridge again. When the day was done I had landed over 30 bass. Six were 5 to 6 pounds, and many 3-4 pounds. I had just landed a 5.5 and decided I had time to make one last cast. I hooked and landed one last bass of 8.3 pounds. For the first time in my life I didn't extend the day with multiple last casts, and met my wife at launch at the exact time I said I would. I know this is the kind of day people expect to have fishing for bass in Mexico. The truth is a day like this is rare. Even the best lakes with the best guides can be slow at times. A day like this for me is epic. Chapala is not a well known bass lake, and I can only fish there a handful of days a year. I only have a kayak, I have limited places close to where we stay to launch, and there are hundreds of nets to tangle in. With these limitations, I am happy to catch some decent size bass with a chance at one or two over 5 pounds. With my best 5 bass weighing over 30 pounds' it was by far the best day of bass fishing in my life. And to think I almost didn't go because of the wind. The bass in the picture taken at dusk looks like a 4 pound fish, but really was 8.3 pounds, just a bad picture. The other pics. are of 5 to 5.5 pound fish. I fished almost every lure in my box, but kept going back to the ones in the picture.

I put a spinnerbait or crankbait on and cover lots of water. If I'm not going to be catching anything at least I'm going to get to see lots of new scenery. I might even find a new hot spot I didn't know about.

I spent some time in Tallahassee and became a Seminole fan. Gators are the enemy.

Did you make that spinnerbait with the French blades? How well does it work? Do you use those blades in with other colors?

7 foot 1.23 inches.

Thanks Tom. I will give the area you described a try All winter the big bass were in flooded grass on the shallow west end. Last summer they were suspended in trees in the deepest water on the east end. Bass less than a pound every where top to bottom. I'm not sure where the bass spawn. Most of the lake has shallow areas with gravel bottom. The west end is protected from the strong winds, but the water is dropping fast and most of that end will be dry in a couple months. I don't know if the bass realize this and avoid laying eggs in dropping water. There are a couple small bays protected from the wind with deep water close by. I will try these bays, the points protecting those areas from the wind as well as simply cover most of the shoreline.

You are not a poor angler, simply a good friend. Sure was nice of you not to sore mouth those fish so your friend could catch them. You really went the extra mile by going back and blanking on the Ned Rig. You should be proud for helping you friend, who obviously is an inferior angler, gain some confidence. Hope he returns the favor sometime.

I'm not sure how long the spawn is. The water temp. never gets below 65 degrees so the spawn isn't dependent on water temp. From what I hear from lodges on other lakes, the bass spawn mostly on the full moon in Jan. and Feb. The few sport fisherman that fish the lake prefer to fish Nov, Dec, Jan. when the bass are in the flat west end. The local tilapia fishermen attempt to net the bass during the spawn, but are not very successful, if the fish are in cover that tangles their nets. Fishing is tough on this lake during the best time of year. In June I would only get 2 to 4 bites a day, but almost all the fish I caught would be over 7 lbs. If the fish are in a post spawn funk, it could be next to impossible. I'm hoping a couple weeks is enough time for their activity level to come back. I guess I will just have to go give it a try.

For bass three hour drive one way to fish with kayak. For salt water five minutes to launch kayak. I will be driving the six hours Sunday, can't wait.

My wife looked at my gear and couldn't believe I was ordering more. She told me if I couldn't catch a fish with what I already had, than either their were no fish, or I was a poor fisherman. I had to agree, but then ordered a chaterbait, and umbrella rig, both of which I never tried before. After all these are relatively new techniques that are guaranteed to turn a skunk day into a once in a lifetime personal best bass catching frenzy day. A friend of mine only throws a single Colorado black spinnerbait. He fishes it 10 different ways top to bottom. If he doesn't catch any fish, which is rare than he declares the bass aren't hungry and goes crappie fishing for dinner. Needless to say the bait monkey is not a friend of his. We both love to fish, and enjoy our time on the water, that is what is most important. It would be nice if just once, one of my new lures would catch more than his old spinnerbait. I'm confident the A rig will be the one.

I have read that large female bass are not very active for awhile after they spawn. Does anyone know how long the recovery time is after spawn? When do they go back to normal activity? How long does it take them to regain their strength, and weight? Where is a good place to find large post spawn females, and what techniques work best? I wasn't able to go fishing during the pre spawn, in my local lake, and I'm assuming by now most of the fish have spawned. Last year I didn't start fishing the lake until June long after spawn. I had success June thru August, with big bass suspended in deep water with trees. After the rainy season the fish moved to shallow flats. Water has been dropping since Dec. I will be fishing this weekend. I'm trying to get an idea where to start. The lake is a small reservoir with large shallow flats, rocky points, 35' deep near the dam, and many large submerged trees, in 20 to 30 feet of water. Surface temp. will be around 74 degrees. Afternoon winds 15 to 20 MPH. Almost no sport fishing pressure, Tilapia main forage are netted year around. Attached map made with Garmin Quick Draw.

I feel Diawa has the best in the $100 range. The Diawa BG spinning reel blows the competition away for an inexpensive salt water reel. As price goes up I give a slight edge to Shimano. All brands have great products in the higher price range making personal preference the only significant difference.