PLANNING INTERNATIONAL FISHING TRIPS

Often, I am asked how do I find the best places to go for monster fish. These days with the entire world being on the web, information on places in far off lands can easily be found. It takes lots of homework which is part of the fun with these type of trips. First, you need to determine whether you are after certain species of fish or after a variety on the same trip. Next, find out as much information as possible on the fish. Lots of info can be gained by visiting the IGFA website. Here, you can find out where the records have been set and what time of the year they were landed. Next, there are lots of websites where you can ask professionals questions for free. One of the best is Larry Dahlberg's www.thehuntforbigfish.com. If per chance your after peacock bass in the Brazilian Amazon, nothing is better than to visit the forum section of www.peacockbassassociation.com. ,Here, you can registar as a guest and ask questions regarding peacock bass. Next is to make as many phone calls as possible. Ask experienced fishermen who have fished these species where/when are the best times and what are realistic opportunities. Many of these trips are costly. You might want to contact an outfitter like Steve Yatomi of www.adventuretravelalliance.com. He has visited the camps himself and can give you references to contact. Do not just go by the lodges photo album. These might be older photos caught when conditons were ideal. So, before booking you next International trip, do your homework to increase your odds of getting that fishing adventure you have been dreaming of for years!

Recovering Snagged Lures

Snagged lures can be a frustrating nightmare for International anglers fishing in remote waters where replacement lures are not available for sale. I always make sure to take along a lure recovering aid which is priceless. The best is the Asari Lure aid which is made in Australia. The recovering aid slides down your line and catches onto your lure so that you can free it. It comes with a 25mt spool of strong rope. While fishing the snag infested waters of Papua New Guinea, this device saved our group of fishermen, thousands of dollars getting our lures back from snags. Frabill also makes a great telescope retriever. This device goes out 15 feet so lures in deep water snags can be set free. I highly recommend you take a look at these products which will save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars over time!

Monster bull Louisianna Redfish

Avid angler, Bill Crain, reports fantastic fishing in Louisianna for monster bull redfish. Bill fished with Capt Keith Kennedy of Born to Fish Charters October 11 to 13. Catch rates were fantastic as Bill's party boated over 60 redfish per day and hooked many more. Many of the groups redfish were big bulls going over 30lbs. Capt, Keith Kennedy has located a "new" hotspot which is loaded with monster bull reds. Keith has been guiding anglers for years to fantastic days of battling monster redfish. Keith goes overboard by supplying everything including housing, meals, and even fishing licenses. Believe me this is a dream trip at a fraction of the International trips with comparable fishing. Keith guides anglers year round and produces monster redfish daily. To get in on this wild action give Keith a call at 504-908-3108

MALAYSIA SNAKEHEAD

Capt. Francois Helias recently led a group of anglers into the jungles of Malaysia for snakeheads. This was Francois 13th annual snakehead fishing expdition into this region. Snakeheads are extremely tough fighters and are actually a very beautiful species. Francois reports that many anglers now fly fishing for these brutes. Francois has thousands of IGFA records. He is based in Bangkok, Thailand and guides anglers to the monster fish available in his home country. Numberous opportunities exist in Thailand such as Giant Mekong Catfish, Giant Siamese Carp, Arapaima, Snakehead, and numerous others. Having been to Thailand twice I would gurantee most anglers will catch the largest fish of there lives. The country is very safe and the people are very friendly. For more information all fishing with Francois you can check out his website at www.anglingthailand.com or email him at fishasia@ksc.th.com. I will be visiting Thailand later in November, so watch for my report!

RedHot Action for Monster Golden Dorado

Reports out of Concordia, Argentina continue to be amazing! Monster golden dorado are being caught daily out of La Zona on the Uruguay River under the guidance of La Zona Lodge guides. During the months of September, October, and November, the dorado puts on a significant amount of weight do to spawning. These are the months when monsters can readily be landed. Normally the dorado will lay in the deeper holes waiting to ambush their prey. Lures such as Yo-Zuri Hydro Magnum and Rapala Mag 30 are great to hook into big dorado. La Zona Lodge reported an unusually good winter season (months of June to August). Having fished in the zone since its opening, I can attest the conversation policies are working with 100% catch and release. In my opinion, there are more 40+ dorado in the zone than in previous years. The dream dorado has jumped to over 50 pounds and probably in a few years over 60 pounds. The IGFA world record in my opinion will be shattered very soon. La Zona Lodge normally books very fast so get into while a few openings exist. Monster Golden Dorado should be on every fisherperson's dream list and La Zona is the place to fulfill your dreams. Contact Steve Yatomi at www.adventuretravelalliance.com or get in touch with me at doradokiller@hotmail.com for more info on booking a trip to La Zona for monster golden dorado!

Fall Season for deep water walleyes

During the fall season when lake turnover happens, walleye fishing can be extremely good in deep water even on smaller inland lakes. For over 20 years, I have had great success on Yellow Lake in Northwest Wisconsin trolling for walleyes in over 25ft which are the deepest sections of the lake. Small perch will head to these deep water mud flats seeking out insect growth thus attracting walleyes. In Wisconsin, each fisherperson is allowed 3 rods of which I use 2 rods on downriggers and I hold 1 rod spooled with leadcore line. For the downriggers, I set my balls down about 15ft and use small Storm hot-n-tots, jointed rapala shad raps, or other small deep water lures to tempt walleyes which are located about 3 ft off the bottom. I use a line counter reel spooled with 15lbs Trilene Big Game mono. I let out 75ft of line then attach the line to the downrigger. Walleyes are very light biters so watch for any eratic movement on the rod tip or occasionally pick up the downrigger ball to check for walleyes. For the leadcore line, I replaced the rodtip with a roller guide for better ease of letting the leadcore out. I use 18lbs leadcore which is color segmented every 10yards. I attach a 5ft 10lbs fluorocarbon leader to the leadcore using a very small barrel swivel. I attach the hot-n-tot to the fluorocarbon by use of a small Berkely cross loc snap. In 25ft of water I normally put out about 4 colors of leadcore which will place the lure slightly off the bottom. Use a stiff casting rod as the hot-n-tot will put out a vibration. Once this vibration stops you either have weeds on the lure or you are hitting bottom with too much line out. Trolling speed is the key as I try to keep the boat between 1.8 and 2.2 mph for best success. So, on your next fall fishing trip, give some deep water trolling a try and I think you might be surprised by your catch success!

MONSTER SILVER SALMON AND CHAR FROM PUMICE CREEK LODGE, ALASKA

Along with friends Cole Lundquist and Chuck Boyian, I had the opportunity to fish for silver salmon and arctic char out of Gary LaRose's Pumice Creek Lodge. Pumice Creek Lodge is located on the Alaska Peninsula about an hours flight from the town of King Salmon. Here, some of the biggest silver salmon in the world swim the various rivers on the Peninsula. Gary flys clients out daily to either the Cinder River for monster silvers or to Lava Creek for non stop action on Arctic Char. This was my 25th trip to the Alaska Peninsula and we definately got into the action. I hooked a monster silver about 34 inches on my first cast on the Cinder. Flo red or orange pixee spoons were the hot lures in gold finish. I wound up with 87 silvers and sore arms the first day!! Cole and Chuck also landed numerous trophy silvers. The scenery is breathtaking with daily sightings of brown bear, moose, and a few caribou. This is tundra territory as trees are not present. Isolation is a norm on the Peninsula as we did not see other humans during our stay, so we had the river all to ourselves. The silvers start to pour into the Cinder around the middle of August and continue to November for their spawning ritual. During spawning the silvers will change colorations and shapes with their coloration turning bright red with large teeth and a hooked jaw.

Action for silvers cotinued during the week. On Wednesday, Cole and I took a break from the silvers to fish Lava Creek for Arctic Char. Char do not die after spawning like the silvers. We walk the creek casting small spinners and practically catch char on every cast. The fishing was incredible as we both stopped counting after landing 140 char each! Char also turn colorations during their spawning. They develop reddish dots and reddish lips with the males developing hook jaws. They are absolutely one of the most beautiful fish on earth!!

We all took lots of silvers home to get smoked which are delicious!! We have already booked for next season and am already looking forward to get into the monster silvers and char of Pumice Creek Lodge. Gary has openings during the season and your always welcome to join me for fantastic fishing adventure. Contact Gary at akpen@aol.com plus check out his site at www.garylarose.com Gary also offers fantastic hunting for brown bear and moose.