WRB-2.0

Most lakes that freeze over do not support a "shad" population unless there is water warmer than 44 degrees ( springs or power generation plant) they may have herring and other silver colored baitfish. Tom

Lake Casitas, the lake I now must fish because it's a good trophy size bass lake, or was! Castias is often called the Dead Sea by SoCal bass anglers because the bass can be very difficult to catch on lures during summer days and it's closed to night fishing except for occasion night bass tournaments held from 6 PM to mid night. Casitas doesn't get any fish plants, no trout, bass or crawfish plants, what's is there is self supporting. During the summer the bite is usually a very early morning shad bite until the sun hits the water, that is about the time the lake opens!, 10 minutes followed by a long hot day maybe getting a few bites if you are lucky. Getting skunked is common, unless you resort to 6 lb FC and drop, shot finesse worms to maybe catch a few 12"-15" bass. Today in SoCal we have Quagga mussel issues that prevent moving a boat from lake to lake. 31 day quarantine period to change lakes, so we fish with different partners with boat approved for each lake, no more spontaneous boating trips, a pain in the a-- ! Tom

Skin cancer doesn't start when we are older, that damage occurred when we were younger. You younger anglers in your teens and early twenties are the most vulnerable to sunburn/ skin cancer, you can't undo the sun exposure. For us old timers or those over 40 protecting what is left of our skin slows down getting skin cancer along with annual dermatologist skin inspection and pre cancerous removal or surgery to remove cancers, the damage is already done! Go to a good dermatologist, get inspected and use the products they recommend, including SPF fishing clothing, wide brim hats and cover up skin to harmful sun exposure. Some folks are more tolerant to the sun and some of us are not, I am in the skin cancer group and go through surgery on a bi annual basis, getting stitches out in a few days it's pleasant. My friend Bill Murphy died of skin cancer from bass fishing, skin cancer is dangerous! Tom

With a T-rig worm your hook set % should be better snap setting into slight line slack before you feel any fish pressure for 2 reasons; 1 the bass doesn't feel you and 2) the snap set forces are very high driving the hook through the worm and basses mouth tissues. I am not a fan of off set EWG hooks with big worms, better off using a hook similar to Owner 5103 or Gamakatsu 484 straight shank size 5/0 skin hooked. Tom

Some braids remain round others tend to flatten and knife down between lose braid on the spool under pressured. Tatula R handles .009 diameter line without any problems. Set your drag about 3 lbs. Tom

Tungsten is a very hard metal like heat treated carbon steel and heavier than lead by volume. The big issue was the ban on lead that caused the use of alternate heavy metals for bullets and fishing weights. The lead ban was or has been defused in most states for fishing weights. Lead being a soft metal sharp edges doesn't harm fishing line, tungsten will if any sharp edge touches the line it will cut it and is a problem for sliding bullet type weights. The down side with tungsten is sharp edges and high cost. The up side is smaller size and creates louder clicks hitting rocks, slides easier on the line with nylon liner tube and less friction than lead. Brass weights have similar up side qualities except larger size than lead, lower price than tungsten and makes a good alternative for sliding bullet weights in the 3/16 to 3/8 oz sizes. Tom

You have a few choices, use standard premium mono like Big Game in 1/4# spool of 15 lb test and change it after a few outings or go to high end mono like Sunline Diefer 15 lb. Tom

Double buzz bait.

Most small are juvenile but a 1 lb bass can be a adult male, normally target small 2" crawdads, crawdads have claws for a reason. Base this statement on experience fishing with live crawdads during the 70's, caught very few bass under 3 lbs.Tom

Adult size bass are usually larger than 3 lbs, smaller size bass (LMB) are juvenile or teen age bass. Adult size bass eat crawdads, most juvenile bass don't, crawdads are nocturnal along with other terrestrial critters that bass eat. Tom

Zell Roland is the Pop-R expert without question and was first to modify them to be fished fast. Michael was the first Japanese Pop-R type lure, prior to Rico, more slender and a great lure. Don Iovino imports the Splash-It in a few sizes and is the lure of this type I use. Tom

It appears that most of these replies believe weight and fast action are the most important features of a jig/ worm rod. Weight has become a great marketing ploy, rods now have split grips, no fore grip, lightest possible reel seat and micro guides to reduce the over all rod weight for a 7' rod to something 4 oz or less. Most rods the blanks haven't changed for the past few years, just the hardware mounted on them to reduce weight. What is important for a good jig/worm rod is how well it cast, feed back from the jig or worm weight to keep you in touch with it, hook setting and controlling and landing the bass. Rod warranty, customer service to support the customers is essential for anglers who pay a premium for rods. There maybe more expensive jig/worm rod on the market then Loomis NRX series, but few. The NRX was the first production rod to change how jig/worm rod blanks are made, scrimless and how the rods bend. Traditional jig/worm rods are fast action, meaning they bend more at the upper 1/3rd or even 1/4 th of the rod blank with a few pounds of line pressure, the balance to the rod bends progressively more with added loads. Fast action rods don't cast as good as a slower action rod, the more parabolic the rod bends the better it casts. NRX jig/worm rods are more moderate in action, yet very strong upper rod strength giving the rod a stiff feel, yet cast good and have excellent feed back or sensitivity. The NRX should be your baseline standard for what a good jig/worm rod should be. Now who makes a NRX type rod at the $200 price point and provides a good warranty and customer service? Check out custom built rods like sponsor DVT and others. Tom Edited 7/8/14 Answer to the NRX ?, check out Lamiglas Infinity rods, $280*sale price. Note, a good custom rod builder (ALX) gives you 90 days free trail, very little risk.

Your bass could be in the spawning cycle, look at those areas, back of wind protected coves and deeper water next to them, both lures and presentations should work for spawn cycle bass.Tom

You will get a long list. PM and I will give you what I use. Tom

From your avatar you are a shore angler. Without a boat it's difficult to retrieve any crankbait from a snag.From shore I suggest using 30# for spinning or 40# braid for baitcasting tied directly to the lure so you can pull snagged lures free, not with your rod or reel but a piece of broom stick to wrap the line around. I use Norman crankbaits a lot, good reliable lures at a reasonable price, DD14 is a good size to start with. What rod/reel combo do you plan on using? Tom

MH 4 power worm rod, the same I use for spinnerbaits, Tatula R high speed with 14 lb Super Sniper FC. I fish 1/2.0z Chatterbaits just above emerging grass tops with a slim 4" swimbait trailer! similar to a lipless crankbait. Chatterbaits are usually a second choice lure, prefer Scroungers first. Tom

Stone's Zorro black lights are very durable units with easy to use connectors and mounts. If you plan to use 2 units, cost becomes a major factor, 2 Zorro LED units cost about the same a 1 Nucili-Eye, the Nucili-Eye is half the size and weight as the Zorro unit. Both are excellent units. Tom

Water temps in the 60's in July? Are you catching smallmouth or largemouth bass? A bluegill colored chatter bait with a bluegill colored 4" to 5" soft plastic small swimbait (Keitech minnow bluegill flash) for a trailer should be good run just above the weed tops. A 1/4 oz drop shot weight and 6" straight tail worm drop,shotted in the weed pockets should also work. Tom

Check out West Valley Bassmasters, good.club. I also suggest getting Don Iovino's book on Finesse Fishing and the Sonar Connection, good reference to SoCal bass fishing. Tom

Your tackle isn't well suited for 1/2 oz jigs and I am surprised that you haven't lost the jigs to weeds or snags.I would suggest using 30 lb braid with a 12 lb mono or FC leader about 5' long. This will improve your contact with the jig or worm. Next down size the jig to 3/8 oz, better size for your tackle. As mentioned move to different areas. Are you bank fishing? During the summer night is better than day for big bass, try fishing during low light periods. I like to fish areas with deep water, if your lake is a reservoir, try moving up to the dam area or any major main lake point. Bass tend to spit out a jig quicker than soft plastic worms, so set the hook on anything that feel different like a slight tap, lost feel of the jig or the jig feels heavier......swings are free! Good luck. Tom

When I lived on a lake fished only a few hours at a time. Living in SoCal most lakes open 1/2 hour after sunrise and close a 1/2 hour before sun set, you miss the early dawn and late dusk bite. The drive to these lakes is about 1hour, add 30 minutes to hook up and put away the boat, you have 3 hours before fishing to each outing. Fishing from open to lake closed is about 13 hours + 3 = 16 hours away from home and did that for about 100 days a year for 40 years. Today my on the lake time is about 6 hours, 9 hour day about 60 days a year. Longest time fishing on the water is 3 weeks an annual marlin/tuna trip to Mag bay Baja on a private sport fisher, fish unless traveling or sleeping 24/7, did this for about 30 years, very tiring trips. Tom

Check out Solar Bats in moss green or dark grey for general fishing use. Ask yourself how much is your eye sight worth. Just make sure the sunglasses fit properly and wear them. Tom

What rod/reel/line combo do you fish with? Tom

What rod and reel do you use? Your problem is damaged guides, you said the tip has grooves!!! Hairline cracks will fray braid and you need to check each guide with a cotton Q-tip, if the cotton snags or you see a crack/groove replace the guide. Your spinning reel bail roller could also have damage, check it! The line isn't your problem! Tom

What is best depends on you and how you fish jigs.IF you flip jigs you want a 8' heavy flipping rod, pitch jigs you want 7'6" medium heavy pitching rod, cast jigs in 3/8 to 1 oz you want a 6'10" to 7'4" heavy or 5 power jig/worm rod. How do you fish jigs? Tom