As an addicted angler I’m always looking for a “better mousetrap” and I tend to get high on retail therapy. That means I spend a lot on speculative acquisitions, most of which end up resigned to the dustbin of angling history. Enter the flutter spoon.

Toward the latter half of the trip I started experimenting with the SPRO Rat. The first night that I threw it I substantially outfished Hanna, who was alternating between our normal one-two punch of a Whopper Plopper and a Rio Rico – and this was despite the fact that she got first crack at every target. In fact, several times she made multiple casts down a key alley without eliciting a strike and then the first shot at the rat produced a massive explosion.

If your luggage space is limited on your next fishing trip South of the Border I suggest that you adhere closely to my past lure recommendations. However, keeping an open mind is critical because while the bass at El Salto and Picachos are typically not hyper-picky, there are times when specific options – even slight deviations – will increase your catch rate.

When it’s “on,” the topwater bite at Mexico’s Lake El Salto is just about the most fun you can have with your clothes on. No, it’s not quite as violent as Brazilian peacock bass blasting big prop baits, or South Pacific Giant Trevally plucking birds off the surface, but in terms of largemouths I’ve yet to see anything that compares. That doesn’t mean it’s always easy.

Obviously fly fishermen figured out a long time ago that various species of fish eat bugs – it’s kind of their raison d’etre – but that doesn’t mean that they have the market cornered on insect-imitating baits. Indeed, within the bass world alone there are lots of lures that would tickle an entomologist’s fancy, and they’re all castable on “normal” tackle.

I am sure Pete is going to laugh when he reads this because there was a time when I hated the Senko. I’d fish anything else – a Chatterbait, squarebill, topwater or spinnerbait – but if you suggested that I should throw a Senko I’d give you the stink eye.

Part of our collective prejudice against rods with two or more pieces no doubt stems from childhood memories of ferrules that underperformed. If you had one of those old school bargain basement combos, then at some point you likely had one come apart at an inopportune time – either while making a cast or fighting a fish.

Rods and reels certainly matter, but the most meaningful link between you and the fish of a lifetime is a thin strand of fishing line. Whether it’s mono, fluorocarbon, copolymer, braid, or a combination thereof, it’s critical that you make sure it’s perfect. That means fresh, high-quality, and the proper type and strength. While I don’t respool every combo I use every night like some pros, I prefer to change my heavily-used lines frequently, especially the non-braid varieties. That includes times when I’m on vacation.

If you’re going to the Andamans or Christmas Island or the Galapagos, there’s not a Tackle Warehouse next to your your lodging, and some outfitters require you to bring your own gear. You’ll need more than one rod, too, not just because you might be using varying techniques, but also because otherwise if you break your rod early in the trip you may be out of luck.

When picking line for Mexican bass fishing, as far as I’m concerned you should go with what you’re comfortable with, and err on the side of keeping it heavier rather than lighter. On the latter point, I don’t use anything under 17-pound test.

As I get ready to pack my clothes for my trip to El Salto, Mexico, in 10 days, 22 hours and 45 minutes (but who’s counting) I need to make sure to pack the right undergarments. You guys may not understand this, but having the wrong bra for any activity can make for an uncomfortable day.

How do you protect your most expensive rods for a trip to the lake or as you board your private jet? It’s not necessarily a rhetorical question. As more hedge-funders and other members of the international elite discover angling, they want the best of the best.

Only recently have clothing manufacturers started seriously catering to female anglers. While it seems that guys can just grab a “medium” or “large” or “3XL” and slide into them, female bodies are more complicated than that. We have totally different combinations of butts, boobs, torsos, legs and shoulders. That makes us interesting, but it also makes it hard to find universal fits.

Between the possibilities of loss and damage during travel, the rough boat rides, and the fights with brutal fish, your stuff is going to get tested, and in some cases parts will fail. It’s up to you to respond to the failures that can be remedied.

Within their US market, they only offer a limited number of travel options – specifically the Ike Signature Series Travel Casting and Spinning rods. While that selection may initially seem limited, the four-piece rods come with two different tip sections to provide two different actions. At $149.95, that’s a remarkably good deal. If you go to Abu-Garcia’s Japanese page, however, there are a wealth of multi-piece options.

So you’ve booked your trip to El Salto, Picachos or some other Mexican lake, you’ve analyzed the basic tackle you need to bring, and perhaps added a few extra things you want to try. Now you need to get it organized, so you can access what you need when you need it. Time flies. Every minute wasted is one minute that you won’t be catching your new personal best.

If you’ve been fishing for any period of time, then you probably have a favorite knot or knots for tying on your lures or for connecting two lines. At home, they probably rarely fail you, but somehow when you go away things tend to go awry. Maybe you rushed through your knot. Maybe your line was frayed from the day before. Or maybe those giant trevally and yellowfin tuna stress out a knot more than the bluegills in your local pond.

I am not a professional photographer. Still, if you saw my equipment you may think differently. To make sure that I could lug all of it all by myself, I had to find just the right bag that would hold my other carry-on items as well, including but not limited to my laptop and GoPro.

While I don’t meet many U.S. anglers who heavily rely on travel rods, there are a surprising number U.S. brands who make and sell three- and four-piece rods suitable for placing in your luggage or carrying onto an airplane.

So you’ve packed up your clothing, tackle and other essentials for the trip of a lifetime to El Salto or Picachos and you still have room in your luggage. What do you do? Certainly don’t add another shirt – Anglers Inn does your laundry every day. Instead, now it’s time to start supplementing the basic list of tackle we’ve previously provided.