king fisher

Surprisingly, it has become one of the most popular baits for punching on lake Chapala Mexico. A guide turned me on to the bait Texas rigged with a straight shank 4/0 hook and a 3/4 ounce tungsten bullet weight, pegged with two bobber stoppers. I was reluctant to try it at first and kept fishing with my favorite beaver bait. When I finally switched over to the Skinny Dipper it was like a light turned on. Rigged that way it is also good for the occasional cast on the outside edge, of the weed mats with a slow steady retrieve along the bottom. Now it is my go to bait on that lake.

I have always preferred baitcast, and use them whenever practical. Modern spinning reels have improved to the point, I can't really come up with a reason why I prefer the bait casters. Years ago spinning reel drags were so poor, I would opt for reeling backwards rather than use the drag. Now drags have improved as well as bearings in the roller making the transfer of force to the spool instantaneous. No longer do I have to reel backwards or loosen the drag to the point of the line almost coming off when retrieving a hard pulling crank bait, because a hard strike could snap the line before the spool would start to let line out. Super braid lines are the other major game changer with spinning reels. As far as accuracy goes, I don't notice any difference between the two. I have always feathered the line with my finger when casting with a spinning reel. Slowly stopping the cast the same as I would with my thumb on a bait caster. I am starting to use spinning gear more in salt water, but still only use it for light presentations in fresh water.

you can patch the holes with either Marine tex or Z Spar. Will still leak but can be usable. Depending on the type of aluminum in may be welded. Most likely it can't. I have tried many times to have riveted aluminum jon boats welded with not much luck. That is why they were riveted in the first place. Same goes for airplane floats, impossible to weld but can be patched with Z Spar. I know a guy that salvaged a jon boat that had been shot full of wholes, and had numerous ax marks too. The owner gave the boat to a native in Alaska for free. He fixed it with Marine Tex patches. I saw that boat on the river every summer for the next ten years.

Times sure have changed. When I was young, I liked anything made by Rapala, but couldn't afford to buy them all the time. I purchased Rebel instead. Now Rapala is considered affordable compared to many other brands. Even Lucky Craft prices are considered bargains compared to others. Where will it stop? If I had to pick one company it would be Rapala as long as Storm and Luhr Jensen are considered part of rapala. So far the Bait Monkey has always convinced me to buy quantity over quality, but lately he has been trying hard to convince me to add some higher priced baits for bass. He won that battle long ago with saltwater gear.

Depends on the knot. Blood knot, Uni to Uni, and nail knot to nail knot will work as long as the leader (mono, or Floro) doesn't make the knot to big to go through the guides. FG knot requires the leader to be larger in size than the braid, otherwise the braid wont dig into the leader properly. Alberto works best with the leader being larger, but will work with lines the same size. FG knot is the strongest and slimmest, and is becoming the most common braid to leader knot for many salt water applications. I would be surprised to see it have that kind of popularity for most fresh water fishing. I don't use the FG with the lighter lines I use bass fishing, though I'm sure there are many on this forum that do with great success.

Some days I only take one rod and a couple lures determined to catch fish by fishing those lures in different places, experimenting with retrieves and location instead of baits. Most days I throw everything the bait monkey made me buy. I am opposite of my friends. When the fishing is good I'm always trying more baits, and ways to fish them. When the fishing is slow I will stick to my old favorites. Drives one friend crazy when we just start to catch fish and I start switching baits as fast as I can tie them on. I have to remind him I don't fish to catch fish, I fish to have fun. I look at fishing as a scientific experiment. My friends tried and true lure is the control group and the Bait Monkey and I are the experimental group. A few days a year I like to relax and just use a bobber, with a night crawler, and see whats for dinner. Most of the time I am a tackle junkie.

Alberto will work well in any temperature. I use it and the FG. exclusively for braid to leader. Used the Uni to Uni for many years without problems, bu found through testing that the Alberto is a better knot. I prefer to pass the line back through the loop the same direction as it came through at the start, then pass it through again. Hard to explain, I recommend watching a few videos on how to tie correctly. Not saying that you are not tying it correctly but wouldn't hurt to see how others tie it. I tied the Palomar wrong for over twenty years before watching a video that showed I was crossing the line as I tied it. Yes I did catch many fish tying it wrong, but am glad I tie it correctly now.

I have never counted, but I assume others have more than me, and that is not fair. My wife claims I hold the record, bait monkey assures me she is wrong.

The FG knot is easy to tie just takes practice. There are many ways to tie it, and I have tried almost all of them. Look on Yu tube, and find the the way that works best for you. I use the FG mostly for salt water fishing. Large leader makes a slim knot more important than when using most bass size leaders. Alberto is my go to with smaller leader. Very slim and strong. There are some tricks to the Alberto. One is to trim the leader end as short as possible. This keeps the tag end from catching on the main line eventually weakening it. The other is making sure all the raps slide down the knot as far as possible. There are some good videos on the internet showing the correct way to tie the Alberto, while also showing the common mistakes. I learned the hard way, and wish I would have watched the videos. Double Uni is a good knot, that I used to brag about all the time, not as big a uni fan as I once was.

I use all three types of line. Mono is my standard default go to line. If I am using a technique that a feel It would be better to use braid or floro I will use it. I use straight braid for punching and flipping, because I need the strength of heavy braid and anytime line capacity is an issue. I use straight floro for some crank bait fishing because it sinks and has smaller diameter per lbs. test. I use braid to floro on finesse spinning outfits because I want the sensitivity, and for most live bait fishing because fish have the opportunity to look live bait over for a long time before deciding to strike so visibility could be a factor. All other applications I prefer mono, and if I could only use one line it would be mono. Braid to leader knots are a weak, link this is a fact. I'm not saying that you can't land thousands of fish, and never have one fail. I'm sure many have. I have done many knot tests, and there is no braid to leader knot that is any where close to 100 percent. I used double uni knot for years and swore by it, but when testing knots I found double uni is only a 60 percent knot at best. I know there are people that will swear that the double uni is 100 percent knot, never fails and have landed thousands of fish using it. I'm sure they have and will continue to another site. I was in the same club for years, but now use Alberto for light braid to leader, and FG for leader 30lbs and up. I rarely have the line break,( almost always on a snag), when using braid to leader, but when I do it will be within one inch of the braid to leader knot. Some times I just like my fishing to be less complicated, by Filling a reel with cost effective mono, and tying one strong knot.

Rebel Deep wee R , but make them so the hooks can't catch each other. Original Bomber, orange, with black herringbone.

I make my own. I tie artificial hair with crystal flash mixed in underneath, then lumaflex material on the outside. Inside hair has bulk and flash, and the lumaflex material has lots of action. I doubt if the fish care, but sure looks cool to me.

Bait Monkey taught me years ago to open as soon as legally possible, (even the bait monkey wont encourage me to open before I pay for it) try as soon as possible, loose as soon as possible, and replace as soon as possible. Waiting would be like a kid waiting to open Christmas packages until noon on Christmas day. Have to admit I have held buzz baits out the window of the car on the way home, and placed crank baits in the bath tub. My wife thinks I have a problem, she may be right.

silver is way more popular than nickle for salmon. Problem with silver is it tarnishes easily. Has more flash when bran new, but you need to polish it after awhile to keep the silver shining. Nickle keeps its shine longer. I believe I catch as many fish of all species with nickle as I do with silver. I do prefer gold plate over polished brass and don't mind paying the extra dollars for gold.

When I was a teenager in the late seventies, I red an article by Doug Hannon. In the Article he had done some studies that he believed proved bass are repelled by the color yellow, and attracted to green. I believed everything I red back then so I stopped using my very productive yellow sonic, and yellow spinner bait. A few days after reading the article a friend of mine and I went fishing at our favorite fishing hole. He put a single blade yellow spinner bait on exactly like the one I owned. Of course I had robbed a green skirt off of a Hula Popper and replace the yellow one on my spinner bait. I then informed my friend that it was a scientific fact that yellow was the worst color to fish. He landed four bass, to my zero. You would think I would have given up on the theory at that point, but I was a little stubborn. My friend was just lucky. The fish he caught hit out of a defense reaction, because they were so scared of the color, and had to strike out of fear. I was sure it was just a once in a lifetime event. After all, the bass professor had science on his side. Science will win out over luck in the long run. I continued to avoid all yellow lures. The funny thing is I no longer believe yellow repels bass, but still avoid yellow lures. Some superstitions are hard to ignore. I'm sure that friend still fishes yellow spinner baits and continues to have great luck. I still have the yellow sonic, I'm going to force myself to fish it some time.

When I was single, the bait monkey was my best friend he only had the hunting gear monkey for competition. I drove a junk car, wore rags for clothes, thought going to KFC was splurging for a Friday night dinner, spent most of my money, and all my spare time fishing or hunting. Then I got married, and learned that money can be spent at stores that don't even have a tackle section, a heater, good wipers, and brakes that you don't have to pump are all essential items on a car, restaurants that serves wine are a requirement for a Friday night dinner out, and their is no such thing as spare time. The bait Monkey is so scared of my wife he only dares show up at Christmas, and my birthday. The good thing is years of being friends with the bait monkey have left me with more than a lifetime supply of fishing gear.

Beware of the man with one gun, he probably knows how to shoot it. Same goes with fishing lures. When I was a kid I would go a whole summer with one lure. One summer it was a River Runt I found on the shore just after loosing my only Heddon Sonic. It didn't dive deep so I caught most of my fish near the surface. Sometime I would put a weight ahead of the lure and catch some a little deeper, I avoided the bottom at all costs, because if I lost the lure I would be back to bobber fishing with a night crawler. Now I have a more disposable income, and the bait monkey and I are best friends. I don't catch any more fish than I did back then, but I have a great lure collection.

I start with a spinner bait most of the time. I start off fishing it fast on the surface, if that doesn't work I slow down and fish mid depth, finally I will slow roll it along the bottom. If that doesn't work I find another place to fish. If I catch fish on the surface, I will try a buzz bait, or other fast moving surface lure to see if it preforms better. If I catch some in the middle of the water column, I will try swim baits, crank baits, and chatter baits to see if one of those is a better choice. If I catch them slow rolling, then I will switch to jigs, or soft plastics. Sometimes I switch back to the spinner bait, but usually I find another lure that works better. I love the rare days, when they hit a spinner bait any way I fish it and I never have to take it off.

I have way to many crank baits that I have collected over the years, and buy new ones every year. Hard to imagine starting from scratch. If just getting started with crank baits, I would go to Academy sports and buy a variety of models, colors, and sizes. They are inexpensive, and catch fish. As you fish and find a style, size and color that work on your water, consider buying something similar from a more expensive brand. Less chance of having expensive baits in your box that you never use. Size 1/4 to 3/4 oz., 3 to 20 ft. deep, colors, shad, crawdad, something with chartreuse in it.

I have tested and used many braid to leader knots. For years I only used Uni to Uni. It worked fine, but when I tested the knot against other knots it was by far weaker than Alberto or FG. Even though I caught Thousands of fish with a uni to uni, the test results made me switch. I use FG which is the strongest in tests, with heavy line, leaders 50 lbs. and above. With practice I can tie it correctly in a rocking boat with out any difficulties. The Alberto is as easy for me to tie as the uni to uni, and has the added advantage of going through the guides better. this is a big advantage when you are using 20 lbs, or larger floro leader. As with most knots, the Alberto tied incorrectly will fail. The leader tag end must be trimmed as close as possible to avoid the main line from constantly catching in between the main line and tag, becoming weak in that spot. The wraps have to slide all the way down the knot when tightened, to avoid from slipping a fraction of an millimeter, breaking the knot where the line enters. and the knot should mostly be tightened with the tag end. There are a few good Utube videos, on how to tie both the FG and Alberto, but some do not show either knot correctly.

Maxima Ultra green

I like my Outback. I really like the stability. I flipped it over a few times on purpose, even in a big chop, it takes a concerted effort to flip, I don't see much chance flipping over on accident, but anything can happen. Getting it tuned back over and in was not a problem. It is heavy in the surf. Much more difficult to launch from the beach than lighter kayaks. I spent half a day practicing launching in small to medium surf at a place I paddle surf regularly. Got knocked over a couple times, and would not want to try launching in the same conditions, with any gear I didn't want to loose or break. Have landed some jacks and snook. Will give it a try for bass this weekend. I think it will be the perfect kayak for the fresh water lakes I fish. Will have to pick my launch spots carefully in the ocean. Thanks for the cartopping tip.

I got them to come down a bit in price on the Outback so I bought it. Tried it out in the bay this morning and love it. Was a little heavy to get on and off of the car, but I can usually find someone to help. I was surprised at how stable it is. can stand up and cast no problem. Speed was about the same as the old revolution a neighbor let me try. I think the turbo fins might be what made the difference, because the Rev. is lighter, and slimmer, should be faster. I'm going to launch from the beach and try to catch a rooster fish tomorrow, bass fishing at lake Chapala next week end. Any recommendations on accessories I should get?

I think that would be my choice. Unfortunately, the dealer here does not offer a 180 upgrade. I would have to buy a 180 drive and keep the one that comes with the compass for a spare. Do you use the reverse? Is it important for the way you fish, or more of a gimmick?

I'm buying a new Kayak. I have narrowed the choices down to two that are available at a dealer here in Puerto Vallarta. I will be using it for both bass in freshwater, and inshore saltwater fishing. The Compass is .$1000 less, but does not have the 180 turbo drive system. The Outback has the 180 turbo drive system. Has anyone used both? Do you think the reverse, and extra storage is worth the added cost and weight? I will not be able to demo either boat. The only pedal Kayak I have tried was a friends 11' Hobie Revolution. I liked the Revolution, but am looking for a more stable platform. I am 6'1" and weigh 200 lbs. Will be transporting Kayak on the roof of a Toyota RAV 4 when I go bass fishing. The Salt water fishing will be off a dock in a marina. Thanks in advance