Last Minute Christmas Gifts--Sparky's doradokiller spinnerbaits

In the past few years, spinnerbaits have accounted for more giant golden dorado at La Zona than any other lure.  The best of the best spinnerbaits are those constructed by Joe "Sparky" Bullock.  Joe uses extremely strong wire which is bent at a machine shop.  The spinnerbait has a rotating since hook compared to others which have a fixed hook.  This gives one a good advantage when the dorado jumps and often bends fixed hooks.  We pump the rod rod causing the blades to rotate around the giant boulders in La Zona where the true giants lay.  We have found double bladed spinnerbaits to work the best with a large willowleaf and a medium size colorado blade.  Joe provides skirts and hooks.  So if you after 50lbs+ golden dorado look up Joe here on Facebook or get in touch with me.

Last Minute Christmas Gifts/ KLures

Looking for that last minute Christmas gift for the fisherperson in your life?  Well, Kermett Adams of www.klures.com makes without a doubt the best wooden lures on the market.  Kermett has become extremely popular with the peacock bass fisherman with his choppers which have been responsible for catching countless numerous of trophy peacocks exceeding 20 lbs.  Kermett also has a selection of wooden lures which I helped design for the golden dorado of La Zona.  Currently, Kermett and I have worked on giant poppers and stickbaits for the ferocious Giant Trevally.  Soon, we will be working of lures for the lure destroying Papua New Guinea Bass!  Kermett can paint any lure to your specificiations.  He takes enormous pride in each lure and guarantees they run true out of the package.  So if you looking to land some monster fish, get some of the lures constructed by Kermett.  Look him up here on facebook or you can contact me for more information.

Trophy Bass/ Lake Toho/ Guide Durwood Day

Forget Texas' trophy bass lakes, forget the trophy lakes in California, as they attempt to steal Florida's trophy bass reputation where Lake Toho is number 1!  Friend and avid angler, Dr. Gary Clark, recently fished on Toho with guide Durwood Day.  Gary says the fishing was exceptional with numerous bass weighing up to 7 lbs being landed throughout the day.  Dr. Clark says the upcoming big bass season should be fantastic as water levels in Tomo are ideal.  Guide Durwood Day has been guiding Dr. Clark for numerous years with high praise.  If your on a family vacation this winter in the Orlando area and want to catch a monster bass, give Durwood a call at 407-719-0215

Fall Venice Bull Redfish action

Captain Keith Kennedy, of Born To Fish Charters, reports the action is on fire for bull redfish out of Venice, LA.  Friend, Billy Taylor, and a few of his friends fished with Keith for 2.5 days earlier in November.  The guys landed 92 bull reds!  Keith says the fishing has been on fire as the reds are on a feeding frenzy anticipating an upcoming cold front.  Yesterday, Keith says the fishing was simply amazing as one drift produced non-stop action.  According to Keith, November is one of the top months for constant action. 

Redfish are a great battling species and are simply delicious when cooked up by Captain Keith.  As mentioned in numerous posts, THIS trip rates right up there with the best International trips for a fraction of the cost.  Keith provides all meals, housing, and even tackle.  So, get out of the cold weather and give Capt. Keith a call at 504-908-3108

Misima Expeditions/ Giant Trevally/ Rock Expeditions

Luke Wyrsta of Rock Expeditions is perhaps the most knowledgeable Giant Trevally Angler on earth!  Luke offers expeditions in the remote Milne Bay Province with base camp on Misima Island.  His expeditions provide the opportunity for a limited number of adventurous anglers to experience this incredible location.  Exploration is made possible by establishing reef camps on some of the last remaining wild islands in the South Pacific. Anglers need to be highly independent when it comes to managing their own tackle, rigging, comfort and safety in this wild environment.  Expeditions are conducted as a wild reef camp format which is one of the reason I really like this trip.  I like the remoteness of camping under the stars, the opportunity to fish new waters each day, and eating the local menu.  This also helps defray the cost of the trip.  If I wanted luxury, I would be staying a few weeks at the Chicago Hilton!!

  Here, the fishing opportunities are countless.  Monster Giant Trevally, Coral Trout, Dogtooth Tuna, and others await to smash your popper, stickbait, or jig.  In all my fishing experiences, nothing gets my blood boiling as to see a monster GT exploding on my popper. 

In these waters swim my dream fish, the Napoleon Wrasse.  Huge doggies are present and later in the season even Yellowfin Tuna.  Spanish Mackerel literally knock your topwater lure into the sky. Huge Coral Trout and monster barracuda are always waiting to devour your tackle.

Papua New Guinea is a long flight for most, but the experience and memories last a lifetime.  I have fished with Luke the past 2 seasons and give the organization and overall experience 5 stars.  I will be heading back to the land of monster fish on Expedition #4 in late January 2020.  I believe a few openings remain if your arms and shoulders can handle these brutes. 

The people in Papua New Guinea are extremely friendly.  I have never had an issue in 3 trips to one of the last remaining countries where the majority of waters have never seen a lure or matter of fact a human!  Contact Luke here on Facebook or give me a shout for more information on this outstanding opportunity.  Also last season Luke started an operation to chase the Papua New Guinea Bass which is the toughest freshwater fish on earth!!

Goliath Tigers--The Congo!!!

Deep in the heart of Africa, swims one tantalizing beast!  This brute has roughly 32 razor sharp teeth with 18 of them always showing even when its mouth is shut. I am sure that Jack The Ripper would be very proud of these giants!   These monsters can grow to sizes exceeding 70 kg according to locals and have even been known to battle a crocodile.  These tigers are not cats, but the Goliaths. 
The Congo River occupies practically the entire territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The Congo River ranks second in rate of flow next to the Amazon River.

David Watmouth of Reel Monsters, Ltd recently gave me a shout telling me about a great opportunity to fish for the "Holy Grail" of freshwater species.  David assures the trip is completely safe.  A good friend of mine recently talked to a fellow angler who has wetted a line numerous times in the Congo and says nothing but good things even so to take his wife and children with him on vacation to this Dark Land.
Davids trips run 14 days and start in the town of Brazzaville where a rep of his company will take you to a local hotel to overnight.  The following morning you are driven 7 hrs by a company 4 x 4 to the village of Ngabe where you set up camp for the night.
The following day you motor to base camp, Mia Pili.  The next 8 days gives you ample time to catch the fish or your dreams.  Later in the trip you head back to Ngabe then Brazzaville for your flight home.  The trips are available June, July, August, and September  which are the best months to land a trophy tiger.
So if you ready for the adventure of a lifetime give David a call at +44 7973 367289 or look him up on Facebook.

Jurassic Lake Lodge; Argentina Patagonia Sept 30-Oct 5

Recently had the opportunity to fish Jurassic Lake Lodge for the 5th consecutive year.  Jurassic Lake (aka Lago Strobel) is perhaps the best rainbow trout fishery in the world.  In 1996, the original stocking of wild McLeod strain rainbows from California were introduced into the Barrancoso River and thus made way into Lago Strobel.  With a hearty strain of rainbows combined with the abundant food source of scuds and an environment of crystal clear highly oxygenated water with minimal fishing pressure and no predators has allowed these rainbows to grow to sizes unheard of.  I along with 6 friends verified that the giants do exist.  We arrived in a blizzard on Sept 30 which is a tad earlier than the normal opening season.  Taking a 5 minute walk to the river mouth found thousands of giants

entering the river to begin their spawning cycle.  I walked about 10 minutes up the river and found more rainbows than water in the river.  Later in the afternoon the group split into 3 groups and fished 3 beats.  Normally the 1st pool in the Barrancoso was the best the past few years, but this time the rainbows were not too active here most likely due to the extremely cold water.  However, the fishing was redhot at the Bay of Pigs and especially the river mouth which are again a 5 minute walk from the lodge.  This year, after a summer of practice, I switched to a fly rod and was rewarded with

hundreds of rainbows topping 15 lbs with 2 giants pushing the boga down to 21 lbs and 20.5 lbs.
  Others in the group did much better than I did slowly jigging white tube jigs.  When the wind made fly fishing impossible I switched to a 5/8 oz Moonshine bloody  glow nose and had strike after strike outside the river mouth.  For the 4.5 days of fishing I estimated the group landed over 2500 rainbows of which at least 7 topped 20 lbs with the largest reported at 22 lbs with the average rainbow topping 11 lbs.

The fishery gets better each year and the rainbows are getting larger due to an extreme growth rate.  I am heading back in April to battle even larger chrome rainbows as told by the great guides at Jurassic. Jurassic Lake Lodge sits on the Barrancoso River which is the only river on Jurassic.  The lodge consists of 10 rooms for clients consisting of private bath and walk in shower.  There is a main lodge building where meals are served and clients gather after a great day of fishing and discuss the day over drinks and are then served fantastic meals which will add to your waistline!  We drove into the lodge from Calafate in a lodge van and meet up with the lodge guides at the end of the highway for a ride in 4 x 4 trucks to the lodge and back.

The ride offers great sites. The only signs of life are ample heards of guanacos..cousin of llamas and a few rheas..cousin of an ostrich. For the remainder of the season which extends to the end of April, clients take a charter flight from Comodoro Rivadavia to the lodge runway. 

   This is a dream trip where the fishing is unbelievable.  Get in while you can!!

Alaska Peninsula- Pumice Creek Lodge September 7 to 14

For the 30th straight year, I was fortunate to fish the Alaska Peninsula for silver (coho) salmon.  Years ago, I went to Pumice Creek Lodge and fished the Cinder River for silvers and Lava Creek for arctic char.  This year I was joined by friends Cole Lundquist, Vince Ippolito, and Ross Brewer.  The Cinder River in my opinion is the best silver fishing in the world with days of over 100 cohos landed per person.  On Day 1 the Cinder again lived up to expectations as I landed 102 silvers using 7/8 oz metallic flo. red pixee spoons.  The silvers were just starting to pour into the river and have not yet stack up, but the fishing was excellent throughout the week

Pumice Creek Lodge owner, Gary LaRose and head guide Rudy McPherran always put us on the fish.  They have become great friends over the years.  This is the last season the lodge will be open for sportfishing as after 50 yrs in the guiding business, Gary has decided to take life easy.
The Cinder has totally changed it's flow since last season.  Many of the hotspots are now sandbars.  The water this season was extremely low and the weather in Alaska has been above average.  Twice during the week we fished Lava Creek for arctic char.  The first trip was average with about 65 char landed and the 2nd trip was downright poor as it seemed as the char disappeared.

We wade Lava Creek tossing small spinners on light rods which makes for a good battle.  All of the guys in the group really enjoyed themselves.  I want to reach out to Lava Creek Lodge.  The lodge is in their first season and is built on a small lagoon on the banks of the Cinder River.  It has 4 guest cabins and 1 main dining room.  One evening after fishing on the Cinder, the winds start to guest to over 60mph so we were stranded on the river.  With the windchill below freezing and the ever threat of brown bears we were fortunate that Lava Creek Lodge took us in and gave us housing and a great meal!  Thanks as it could have been a nightmare sleeping in the bushes!
Over the years I have been great friends with Gary and Rudy.  I cannot thank them enough for all the great memories I have been so blessed to receive.  Pumice Creek Lodge has set the bar too high so this will be my last trip to this Great Land.  Alaska will be sorely missed!

Fishing Alaska

As with any fishing trip, the anticipation of the adventure hits in about a month beforehand.  Reels are inspect, greased, and spooled with new line.  New lures are bought because one cannot find the hot lures from last year. Waders are checked for leaks.   The weather is constantly checked to make sure the correct clothes are brought.  Bags are packed and unpacked numerous times, then weighed to make sure they comply with airline regulations.  Soon, my 30th year to the Alaska Peninsula will come about.  The silver salmon fishing is simply amazing,  After landing over 10,000 silvers this will probably be my last trip to this great land.  Long time friend and owner of Pumice Creek Lodge, Gary LaRose, is shutting the doors to fishing.

  After being in the business for 50 years, Gary is going to start to enjoy his summers.  He will, however, remain open for spring or fall brown bear hunts.  Pumice Creek Lodge has set the bar too high as another Alaska adventure would definitely be a disappointment.
A BIG thanks to Gary and head guide Rudy for the fantastic adventures up north!  Am sure the upcoming trip will be the best ever!  See you guys soon!

Redhot Venice, LA bull redfish action August 12 to 14

Once again, I had the opportunity to fish for monster bull redfish out of Venice, LA with Capt. Keith Kennedy of Born To Fish Charters.  Capt Keith specializes in putting clients on big bulls and provides everything from housing, meals, and all tackle.  This August 12 to 14, I was joined by my brother Billy and friend Etan Zimmett who had never battled the big bulls before.  Action on day 1 was non stop with the largest redfish pushing the boga to 29 lbs.  The top lures were blabber mouth popping corks followed by plastics in black/char and white/char colorations. The weather during the stay was perfect with lots of clouds and some rain to keep us cool.  The water temps were a hot 90F degrees. The action slowed a tad on Day 2 but a few big bulls were landed by all.  During the afternoon on our last day, Capt Keith ran a long way to the Gulf of Mexico and the fishing was something I have never experienced out of Venice.  For practically 3 hrs we constantly had tripleheader after tripleheader.  I had a tremendous drag burning battle from a giant     30 lbs Jack Crevelle.  As mentioned in previous posts, Born to Fish Charters offers world class fishing for a fraction of top International destinations.  So, I highly recommend you contact Capt. Kennedy at  504-908-3108 to get in while the bull action is redhot! 

Klures Monster Poppers

Nothing in the world of fishing can top the excitement of having a monster fish come shooting up to the surface and smashing your lure.  Poppers are a great lure while topwater fishing.  Monster species such as Giant Trevally and Golden Dorado are often landed with topwater lures.  For Giant Trevally, a "popping" technique is the way to go while speed reeling is the most common technique to land giant Golden Dorado.

Kermett Adams, of www.klures.com has been experimenting with variations of monster poppers which can stand up to the lure busting strikes exhibited by these brutes.  He has varied the mouth cup design to give the "pop" fisherman want.  Kermett has built a few skipjack poppers with and without cup weights on the rear of the lure.  Without the cup weight the popper tends to zig zag a few inches below the surface on rapid retrieves.  This is perfect for fooling golden dorado. 

When the cup weight is added the lure will now stay on the surface during rapid retrieves which again will fool golden dorado.  So in a sense he has designed 2 different lures both of which are a must for the giant golden dorado of La Zona.  For Giant Trevally one likes a huge splashing type popper so either model would work fine.  Kermett can be contacted here on facebook. He can paint the lure and construct it to your design.  So before you head out for monster species such as GTs and Golden Dorado make sure you consider topwater poppers and contact Kermett Adams.

Shimano Ocea Head Dip 200F Flash Boost

Recently, Shimano has introduced its latest technology in the Ocea Head Flash Boost.  The heavy plastic stickbait is 8 inches long while weighing 135 grams without hooks which allows extra long casts..  It is available in numerous coloration while costing about $45 USD.   Yesterday, I was able to make a few practice casts with the 200F model.  It works great with a zig zag turnaround motion on slight pulls.  Once, stopped, the weight balance allows the lure to stand straight into the air thus allowing the flash panels to oscillate which hopefully will attract some top catches.  The Head Dip should be a winner for species such as Giant Trevally and will give it a try on my next adventure for these brutes!

Redhot Bull Redfish Action

Captain Keith Kennedy of Born To Fish Charters, reports redhot action for bull redfish out in the Gulf Area out of Venice, LA.  Capt. Keith said it was practically a strike per cast.  As I have written on this blog numerous times, this is perhaps the best trip for the cost worldwide!  Capt Keith takes care of everything.  The 4 night, 3 days of fishing is the most popular package among repeat clients.  Keith books fast so get in to some of the great dates he has open.  Fishing is good year round.  Keith provides all tackle, housing, and meals.  He can be reached at (504) 908-3108 or you can find him on Facebook.  Or give me a shout and I will put you in contact with Capt. Keith

Fishing Publications

As with anything in life, knowledge is the key to success!  You can learn the stock market and your on the way to financial wealth.  You can get a good college education and be on the road to retirement.  You can learn a trade which can land a great career,  In terms of fishing, the more you read and grasp the greater the odds of landing the fish of your dreams.  In past years with the push to social media, one can find someone thousands of miles away to talk about waters they dream of exploring.  Magazines, like "IN-FISHERMAN" teach you the basics to be a successful fisherman.  Years ago before the internet came around, newsletters were one of the ways to gain knowledge.  I have folders full of "The Pan Angler" newsletter which was one of the first to focus on International Fishing.  I still go back and read these often.  I have boxes upon boxes of old issues of "IN-Fisherman" and "Fishing Facts" which are still good reference guides.  Issues of the IGFA "International Angler" teaches one of conservation and is a great source for especially saltwater.  There are hundreds of great books to read.  Numerous exist teaching one to cast a spinning reel and how to cast a fly.
  I have a huge bookshelf full of great reading.  Christopher Batin's "How To Catch Alaska's Trophy Sportfish" is a must read for those dreaming of an Alaska Adventure.  Actually I read a chapter on silver salmon and immediately booked a trip on the Alaska Peninsula 30 years ago and still head there annually.  IN-FISHERMAN wrote numerous fishing strategie books on walleyes, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, crappie, pike, and others.
Larry Larsen wrote a few books on Peacock Bass before most even heard of this dynamic species.  Douglas Dann wrote "The Largest Tigerfish in the World--The Goliath which is full of huge tiger photos and I still dream of catching one before my times expires.  Tony Rizzo wrote a great guide with his "Secrets of a Muskie Guide".  There are a few great websites where you can actually ask questions.  Hall of Fame fisherman, Larry Dahlberg runs "The Hunt For Big Fish" where he promptly answers.  YouTube is full of great teaching along with videos from some of the companies mentioned above. 
So Knowledge is the Key to Success even in Fishing.  So, Educate yourself while the resources are available!

The Best of the best Braided Line

Having been blessed with the opportunity to travel the world, fishing for super strong exotic brutes, having a super strong line is a must to have a chance at landing these beasts. In my opinion, the best of the best is the Varivas Avani GT Max Power Plus and Jerry Brown Solid Core.  Varivas Avani GT Max Power Plus is my favorite.  It is extremely smooth to the feel helping out when passing through guides.  It is really thin which allows added line on your spool and is super strong.  It has great knot strength.  It is made in Japan and I buy it on ebay. 

Jerry Brown Solid Core in made in the USA.  It is Spectra that is furnished in many different diameter fibers to suit the particular application.  The smaller the fiber diameter, the stronger it is but more costly.  I recently used Jerry Brown in both Papua New Guinea and La Zona and highly recommend them.  Both lines are smooth to the feel and are not prone to wind knots.  So, I highly recommend taking a look at these lines and taking off that popular extremely stiff feeling braid many of us previously used!