The Lower River was tough for us yesterday. With a front coming in, (I know it’s still hot), full moon, and higher than expected water levels… I have no excuses. For me rule one of fishing has always been, “Go When You Can. ” A buddy texted me mid-day and asked if I wanted to…
I can’t tell you exactly what it was that I made a mold of for him, but he was pretty happy to show me his success using it. (Not Local)
Flipping Was the Ticket Yesterday. Well for me anyway. I got 7 bites on the RFLT before switching to other baits. Amazingly I didn’t get a single bite on a Club-O. I never threw the Squareback Minnow even though its done well for me lately. I did stick two bass on a shop made polyurethane…
I’ve just been busy. In addition to making molds and working on my own projects I have been helping the NAU Mini Baja SAE Team make a gear box for their race cart. All of those engineering students have finished their classes, gotten their degrees, and moved on to bigger and better things. Hopefully they…
THE RFLT SLAYED YESTERDAY AFTERNOON: https://www.cncmolds.com/webstore/soft-plastic-bait-molds/creature-baits/rflt-1-or-6-cavity
I’ve gotten really spoiled the last couple years. I got a buddy into fishing some years back. After I took him out and had a few good days he bought his own boat, and now he calls me up to go out regularly. I haven’t put The Tin Can in the water in well over…
Finally got back out on the river. We hit the water between 3:30 and 4:00 in the afternoon yesterday. It started slow, but my partner stuck a couple. He makes his own Club-Os and he started trying out a new color he made. Good looking color. I think most of his fish came on it,…
In this article from the other day “Fish Kill – Agency Claims & Push Back by Local Anglers – Martinez & Ferguson Lakes” I had some comments about angler push back and some possible censorship by AZGFD on their FishAZ page about water conditions on the lower Colorado River. This was their response Arizona Game…
In a recent post on social media AZGFD made the following public statement. Posted by: Arizona Game & Fish Department – Admin – All-star contributor Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) staff are aware of the recent reports of fish kills in Martinez and Ferguson lakes near Yuma. The department’s investigation of fish carcasses to…
I don’t really wacky rig anymore, but I see you can still catch fish that way. Had to run into town. Haven’t been fishing in weeks so I pulled one of the telescoping rods out from behind the seat and hit the canal bank for a few minutes on the way home. It’s amazing how…
Why you shouldn’t tie braided line directly to the spool Video: https://rumble.com/shorts/v777g2q?mref=1sqt4y&mc=42lue
We made it out Sunday afternoon for a couple hours. It was nothing on fire, but I had a nice one jump and throw a commercial crankbait. My partner caught 3 or 4 small ones on a couple different baits, and I finally landed our big bass of the afternoon. A solid 14 1/2 inches…
I had one spot I really wanted to fish and all day my partner kept saying we’ll fish that later. At the end of the day when I realized we were never going to fish my spot I got pissed off and put on the one bait in my bag I figured didn’t have a…
I hit a stretch of canal I don’t fish much anymore. It gets to much pressure ever since the increase in fishing activity during the COVID lockdowns. Even on a Thursday afternoon I saw several fresh, made today, sets of footprints. Every spot I stopped to fish had been fished by at least 2 or…
I got out a few days ago, and stuck a small keeper largemouth on a Club-O in the first spot. I took a while. We hit a couple other spots, and then I had the urge to hit a spot I have not fished in a couple years. It’s sees a lot of traffic and…
I have been jonesing to fish lately. I haven’t really had the time. Between business and personal my obligations are overwhelming. Yesterday with to much of the afternoon shot from other obligations to get much of anything done in the shop I headed out for the canal bank. Of course, I turned down a road…
… and that’s why I haven’t posted any fishing related material in a little while. Holidays, a bug before Christmas, lots of work to do, etc etc… Probably the biggest thing I’ve accomplished in the last few days was brute forcing some old hard as a rock dry rotted tires off the rims on my…
From: Arizona Outdoors Desert Southwest – Arizona Game & Fish Department The construction of the Fisher’s Landing boat ramp extension is finally here! 🎉 Construction is scheduled to begin on Jan. 5, 2026 and will be completed by the end of the month. Both the north and south ramps at Fisher’s Landing will be closed…
I used to take a lot of people out fishing. I don’t recall the guy’s name, but we headed up river one Wednesday afternoon for some fun fishing. I put him on a few fish including a controversial “4” pound smallie. He’s a big guy and everybody who saw the picture said it was smaller….
Made it out yesterday for a few hours before dark. Maybe 2:30 int he afternoon to about 6:00 or so. The section of river we fished isn’t one a lot of you guys fish, but this may help. At the ramp we chatted with one guy coming in. He said he had been out all…
I really should have worked, but with my truck in the shop when a buddy texted to go fishing I said, “YES!!!!!!!” He picked me up late in the afternoon and we headed out. I played with the 3 inch Club-O on the Kahle Bead Jig for a while and managed to stick one dink,…
I made this mold (not these exact ones) a long time ago, but I never really used the jigs, but I think I might have an application. Wacky rigging really light baits, low salt baits, or salt free versions. I make the mold in three sizes. 1/16oz, 1/18 oz, and 1/4 oz if I recall. …
As some of you might know I don’t take one of my boats out that often anymore. I just have to much work to do, taking care of customers, family, and yes, still my dad’s estate. Often I satisfy that itch by tossing a couple rods in the back of the truck, grabbing a tackle…
https://rumble.com/v6yjw5i-when-you-just-have-a-few-minutes-to-fish.html?mref=1sqt4y&mc=42lue When You Just Have A Few Minutes To Fish Just stopping off at a road side ditch to do a little fishing and trying to record a video with a cell phone. LOL. Using the infamous 4 inch Club-O. If you wish you had that bait buy the mold and make as many as…
After the recent storms I decided to run out to check on the buildings on some of our properties out in the east part of the county. Along the way I drove through several areas scouting for dove for the upcoming season opener. Mid day and early afternoon I saw NONE. Zero. Zip. Nada. Most…
I managed to get out a few days ago on a weekday afternoon and I missed every strike I got but one. It was on a Kicker Buzz Frog. Greg G who was gracious enough to invite me out did okay. I think he caught at least half a dozen including a couple around three…
I need to remind myself of Rule #1 from time to time. Go when you can. I’ve been busy setting up a stock prep area behind the shop to make more room for machines inside the shop, but I’ve still managed to get out twice int he last couple weeks. Hydraulic trim fell half way…
When Arizona went from a calendar license to a year period license one of the AzGFD guys complained about the lost revenue because people wouldn’t all be buying their license at the end/first of the year every year. I figured more people would buy a license if they got the same amount of use out…
I needed some fishing therapy yesterday. I also took the opportunity to try out what I was hoping might be a solution for a rough service action camera. A police body camera from Vevor with a claimed record time of about 11 hours. Unless I can get some useful feedback from Vevor it was a…
UPDATE 6/8/25: I see I do not have the little 1.5 mold currently listed on the CNC Molds N Stuff website. I’ll get that fixed soon. We hit the water around 5:30 or 6:00 and after launching The Cat in that little backwater we headed down the way a bit. Was mostly throwing Club-Os. I…
This Saturday, June 7 2025, is FREE FISHING DAY in Arizona! 😮 🐟 Just remember: while a fishing license is not needed on June 7, bag limits and other Arizona fishing regulations still apply and must be observed on Free Fishing Day. If you’ve ever been curious to try fishing, now’s a great time to…
One of my fishing buddies took me out this evening hoping for a prefrontal bite, but it was slow. The Square Back Minnow that has been producing so well for me didn’t do it tonight. I stuck all my fish on 4 inch Club-Os. No wait. I did stick one flipping an RT45. I cranked…
Recap First: Tip #0 – Don’t let other people measure you. Tip #1 – Go when you can. Bob’s Tips for Anglers #2 – Don’t Over Complicate Going Fishing This officially displaces whatever the previous tip #2 was. This has got to be more important than that. The former #2 was If Something Doesn’t Seem…
If your casting doesn’t feel right, sounds odd, or distance comes up short check your rig. I’ve quite often had a wrap where the line is around the rod behind the tip top. It really kills your casting distance. If you keep breaking off… you could have bad line, but you might not. I was…
A buddy invited me out yesterday afternoon, and we pretty much had the area to ourselves. The Square Back Minnow is still putting numbers of fish in the boat for me. My buddy caught several on Club-Os, and he fished an RFLT for a short time putting a nice one in the boat. After sunset…
Rick let me fish a Desert Bass tournament with him out of his boat one day. He had picked up a couple on dropshot I think, and he was ready to leave the area to find fresh water. I said, “Wait a minute so I can catch that seven pounder back there.” I was just…
A while back I made an attempt at a soft plastic hollow body frog. That dream is not dead, but I found the legs kicked just as well as the legs of the Curly Buzz Frog. They had an issue of tangling once in a while, but I knew the solution. The thing is I…
Some years back one of the bass federations (I don’t recall which one) had their western states regional final here on the Colorado River. It was quite the thing for several months. One fellow drove hundreds of miles for several months to come fish our pro am. Others hired airplanes to fly the river, and…
In my fishing article from April 4th 2025, THE BACK STORY (The Breaking Point), and my post, THE BREAKING POINT about bad line on April 2nd 2025, I talked about my experience breaking off multiple times. I realized I was using all “Beyond Braid 8x” on all the rods that broke off with either with…
It can be brutal fishing a big lake when the wind is blowing, or worse if it has tour and casino boats who’s captain’s think everybody else is subservient to their job. Whether you have forward facing sonar, or you just happened to find a deep point loaded with fish it can be quite the…
Hit one of my favorite backwaters yesterday with one of my fishing buddies. I caught all my fish on the Square Back Minnow. I lost three pretty quickly before I realized the drag was a little loose and preventing me from getting a good hookset. I felt a few bites later that were gone by…
For the last few years my son has joined me for a fishing outing on my birthday. That’s much better than any tie or chotchky. Even better than a premium rod & reel combo. This year he had to miss it. He’s working on his bachelor’s of engineering, working as a licensed pharmacy tech, and…
I observed a long time ago that there was a subjective significant difference in strength between ten pound monofilament filament and twelve pound monofilament. In real world applications, twelve pound seems pretty tough, and ten pound needs you to take care of it a little bit. It never occurred to me that there would be…
1. I like black snaps better than chrome snaps. I think they catch more fish. 2. Generally, no snap is better than using one except for item 3. 3. Being able to quickly change hard bait colors when bass are chasing can dramatically increase your number of catches. 4. Spinning reels twist line. Good braid…
I wanted something for hauling a canoe or sometimes a ladder that didn’t need to stay on the truck. Its “okay” for the price. I think they say it’s good for 800 lbs. I’m skeptical, but it should be okay for the canoe I plan to carry on it. In retrospect I think I would…
I’ve caught a lot of fish over the years. A 3lb smallie isn’t a record or a personal best or “special,” but I’ve blanked my last couple canal bank outings. I was beginning to think this was going to be another such trip. Then just past sunset with no direct sunlight on the water I…
Don’t freak out about a little water in the bilge. Even if you can see water flooding in and swamping is a risk don’t freak out. Check to see where its coming from. If the Nautilus is backing out of a giant gash in your hull after a deliberate ramming… ok maybe freak out a…
Years ago a friend and I had an argument about terminal knots. Palomar vs Improved Clinch. THIS IS NOT ABOUT EITHER OF THOSE KNOTS! He was adamant that the palomar knot was the best, period, end of discussion. Having started with a clinch knot and later graduating to an improved clinch knot at a very…
Yes. We understand some of you guys struggle with spinning rods, but there’s no need to feel intimidated. It’s not that hard if you just try. Even Dave can do it. Yesterday’s canal bank adventure was half serious, and I totally failed to drag a single fish out of the water, but Dave managed to…
