On this June 2021 trip to El Salto, Anglers Inn, I am going to make it my goal to fish with all types of different swimbaits while others are cranking. I’ll be back in touch to let you know how my research turned out. Now it’s back to the garage to load a Plano tackle box with an assortment of swimbaits.

Hanna and I weren’t going to miss out on the opportunity to stock our freezer with tuna, so prior to our trip to Panama we obtained a Yeti Hopper M30 Soft Cooler. It seemed to get the best overall reviews and have the greatest versatility and functionality for our purposes. Here’s how it fared.

In order to “listen” to your guide effectively, sometimes you need to know what questions to ask. They’ll often recommend specific lures in particular colors. Having the right lure is of course key, but if you don’t put it in the right places you’re just wasting your time. That’s why before making my first cast, I always ask, “Which way?”

Just six months ago I described my quest to find the perfect women’s fishing shorts. It’s something that shouldn’t be too hard – they just need to be flattering, durable, functional. Unfortunately, it seems like an endless search.

We went to Panama hoping that we’d get into some topwater tuna and our piscatorial prayers were answered with some exceptional popping action. Even for an over-optimistic topwater junkie like me, it exceeded expectations.

Raised on a TV diet of Roland Martin hooksets, I knew that you had to try to drive steel through their brains, but apparently Hanna hadn’t watched the same shows and I wasn’t very good at explaining what to do. We both had to relearn setting the hook when we ventured to Guatemala and Panama.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about and writing about how to properly pack your rod tube to maximize the chances that your sticks will arrive at your locations unscathed. What I’ve overlooked, however, are detailed instructions on things you can do to the OUTSIDE of your tube to minimize heartache.

Not everyone who travels to Lake El Salto or Lake Picachos has been fishing their entire lifetime. I know that it can be terrifying to think that everyone else will be an expert, and they’ll laugh at your lack of skills, but these lakes are actually the perfect vacation spot for any interested angler, whether they’re a pro or have not yet caught their first bass.

Historically, each new fishing trip has an opportunity or perhaps an excuse to go a little bit crazy at Tackle Warehouse. Even when I don't need ANYTHING, there's still an opportunity to shop productively for fishing clothing and accessories.

You need to try the “mushi,” a style of artificial lure created in Japan that are designed to accurately imitate insects like beetles and dragonflies. This category of lure is extremely productive in sight fishing, on very hard days, or when there is a lot of fishing pressure.

Sometimes it’s worth it to get your butt kicked by a fellow angler if it’ll introduce you to a new lure or a new technique. That’s what I’d hoped would happen when a new club member crushed me with his favorite discontinued buzzbait. Unfortunately, it didn’t worked out the way that I’d hoped.

Wisconsin’s St. Croix Rods is one of the few American companies that has shown a long term commitment to travel series at various price points, and for a wide range of situations. My friend Jesse Simpkins at St. Croix set me up to talk to two of his engineers: Jason Brunner, Director Operations; and Gavin Falk, Engineering Supervisor.

On my 42nd birthday I caught the bass of multiple lifetimes, a legit, Boga-weighed 12-pounder. I achieved that feat at the legendary Camelot Bell, Mike Frazier’s bass fishing paradise about 80 miles south of Dallas.

After my near travel rod calamity returning home from Mexico in November, I started a semi-obsessive search for the “ultimate fishing travel bag,” one that would securely accommodate enough clothing and tackle for a week of fishing, plus a 33-inch rod tube – without being considered “oversized” by the airlines.

Have you fished with a member of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame? How about two in one week? On one of the best public trophy bass fisheries in the world? I have, and in case the memory wasn’t indelibly burned into my brain, I saved two lures from that week to remind me of just how good those two pros are.

We’ve left tackle at Anglers Inn for several years and it has consistently been safe, well-kept and available upon arrival. Here are some strategies to ensure that’ll continue to be true – and also to be certain that it’s ready to fish when we get there. With a little bit of extra planning and effort, we save myself a lot of heartache and wasted time.

There are times at Lake El Salto when the fish are so thick and so hungry on a given spot that you can take your time casting to them and you can experience success with any casting angle. It’s not always that easy. Many times you have to hunt and peck to get things done.

If Hanna and I were to go back to Japan today, I’d likely need a steamer trunk (and a bank loan) to bring home everything I’d buy, but on our last trip in 2007 I had less disposable income. Check out my oddest and most expensive purchase from that trip.

One of Lake El Salto’s best features is also often one of its most maddening: the sheer variety of ways that you can catch big bass down there. On our most recent trip, we caught fish that were ankle deep, and others that were 30 feet deep, and in every case both slow-moving and fast-moving lures came into play. For an ADD-afflicted tackle junkie like me, that presents a hellish temptation.

I love wearing leggings as often as I can. I wear them to work out, around the house, to the grocery store and even to fish. They are comfortable, they can be dressed up, and they come in a nearly infinte array of colors, shapes and designs. Worn properly, they will flatter many body styles.