WRB-2.0

Jigs; slower moving lure that should look natural, colors depend on the forage the bass are targeting, trailers similar to the size and profile of prey, usually mimicking crawdads. Spinner, spinnerbaits? Are fast moving lures that should have brighter colors to attract bass. Contrast is important and blade color should be similar to the flash produced by the prey the bass are targeting and trailers should have colors similar to the skirt, profile the size of the prey. General rule: silver blades during bright sun, gold during lower light periods. Lots of other variables to consider depending on predominate prey types. Tom

If you really want the answer to what finesse bass fishing is read Don Iovino's book "Finesse Bass Fishing and the Sonar Connection". There is more to finesse bass fishing than light line and small lures. Precision, close attention to details, exact presentation, boat control are key elements to finesse bass fishing. Don wrote the book and is considered the father of finesse bass fishing. Don states that most anglers think finesse is sissy baits and under estimate how effective small finesse baits are in catching all sizes of bass, his PB is 18.5 lbs caught shaking a 4 1/2" worm on 8 lb Trilene XL line and won several boats and lots of tournaments and ended up in the fishing hall of fame fishing sissy baits. Tom PS, KVD with crankbaits/spinnerbaits vs Aaron with drop shot defines power vs finesse.

Mike Long has become an icon in the SoCal trophy bass cicles along with Bob Crup, both have had a lot of controversy over the years and this admission of guilt does supprise me. Long has made some money using his reputation as a trophy bass angler with seminars, signature tackle, etc. Too bad if he gave into the pressure of fame by cheating, at the end of the day truth prevails. Tom PS, John Kerr was Mike Long's long time fishing partner, you wonder what else will climb out of the closet.

The split shot rig has been around forever, Dick Trask brought it to tournament bass fishing. Dick used small Flutter Craft* 5" curl tail worms with light wire worm hooks. Today I fish this rig modified using the mojo Jo style slip sinker with a glass bead as a stopper; the slip shot rig. 4" to 6" straight or curl tail Roboworms or Iovino worms are my main choice with reapers as the second choice. Tom * PM for a source for Flutter Craft worms.

FishChaser you didn't say what type of line you are using and trying to pick out a backlash with. Braid is very difficult to work with, mono and FC easy to cut out. The trick shown in the video is well known and works good. My suggestion is don't pull the backlash out, just apply thumb pressure to the spool and wind all the line back on the reel, then slowly pull the line back off the spool (line going in the water if possible) until you get pass the problem area. Learning to cast a bait caster takes practice and I wouldn't try this with braid. Here is another trick; pull off 50 yards of line (braid or mono/FC) tape over the remaining spooled line with plumbers Teflon tape 1 to 2 wraps, then wind the 50 yards of line back on the reel while applying light to the line between your index finger and thumb tip. No more severe backlashes. Good luck. Tom

You can always cut shorter. Tom

I usually add the disclaimer regarding spawning bass, they are not eating, they nest guarding and totally different scenario. One of the things about fishing gin clear water lakes is you can observe bass and watch them in their natural habitats. You see bass suspended with various baitfish milling around them without any fear or alarm, the bass have no interest at the moment. When you run a lure in front of them, they usually ignore it or may swim away, no interest. Hook a live bait, drop it on their nose, no interest. The bass is inactive. Come back an hour later, the baitfish are gone, the bass is moving around or looking alert and instantly responds to the same lure it ignored an hour earlier. That is the difference between active and inactive bass. What turns on a bass to feed or become active is unknown to me, I do know you can't provoke them into striking when they inactive and spent a lot of years trying. The territorial theory may be true sometimes, those times are rare. When a big bass is active smaller fish get the message or don't survive very long and that is the key to catching them. Fish long enough and you will catch bass with prey sticking out of it's throat, when they feed they feed, when they don't they don't. More bass look at your lure than you know, they don't disappear out of the lake, just have zero interest at that moment. Tom

Bass anglers like to think there bass are tough fish, like junk yard dogs. Bass are tough compared to trout for example that are fine scaled fish subject to stress easily. Bass are fragile compared to catfish or carp, those fish are junk yard dogs and can take a beating and keep ticking. The bigger a bass is the older it is and with age comes weakness to the adverse stress of being caught. Very difficult to keep big bass alive in a livewell for hours and it takes time for recovery, some don't survive.the odds go way up when a bass is released immediately. Tom

Rods breaking at the top 3"-5" is usually from rod storage/transportation problems. Swinging bass into your boat is simply unacceptable on several levels. Keep the bass in the water, use a knotless net and teach your son how to handle bass properly, it will help the bass and save your tackle. Now that I have lectured you, it's possible your rods had flaws and would break regardless how you used the rods and that is why buying products with a good warranty and customer service is important. Did the rods get replaced on warranty? If not why not! I recommend ALX rods, good quality, customer service and warranty for state of the rod, check them out. Tom

Compared to today's state of the art light reels and rods the combo is considered heavy. However the reel is a knock off of the iconic Shimano Calcutta, so don't pooh pooh the fact it's round and weighs nearly 10 ounces. You will need to learn how to cast a baitcasting reel so take some time and look at this sites threads and video's for suggestions how to cast a baitcasting reel. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, everyone wishes their wives were as caring about your fishing, she deserves a big thank you! Tom

Bass are active looking for prey about 10-20% of the time every 24 hour period, depending on water temperature and prey availability. Feeding cycles varies and average about every 4 years, again depending on need to eat. Bass are individuals and will group together to take advantage of some prey types like schooled bait fish. Big misconception is the belief you can force feed any bass the lure of your choice. If the bass is inactive, it will not strike your lure or eat prey, if the same bass is active and looking for prey it may strike your lure. It's all about timing. Tom

Hard chrome plating is old technology dating back to '30's and obsoleted by metal oxides and ceramics about 30 years ago do to EPA regulations. Being a plating process the durability is only as good as the processing. Why do you want chrome guides today? Tom

Need make, model numbers to determine what you have??

Assuming you know how to locate bass during every seasonal period and you are fishing where the bass are located ( big assumption) which is more important the lure or the technique? When I find bass, this can take a lot of time, I am not thinking about a specific lure or presentation until several factors are determined first. 1. Are the bass active. 2. How deep are they and where are they positioned relative to the structure or cover. 3. What seasonal period are the bass in, water temperature, weather, wind, etc. Putting this together lures are selected that I have had a high percentage of success with under the prevailing circumstances. Lure selection first, how to present this lure is second to determine if the bass will strike and what it takes to trigger strikes by trail and error. Selecting a lure that can be effectively fished in cover or deep structure should be your decision after you have located the bass and that isn't a given! The one thing that experience teaches you is there are a lot if ways to catch bass any given day. Somedays you figure a few out, somedays other anglers do better, no panacea, no magic lure or technique just a lot of fishing. Tom

Correction, The dot was on her gill cover. Tom

The reality is you could backlash that cast with shaky head and worm in the right location, be picking out the backlash and have a bass eat the worm. Was it technique, presentation or the right location....location! Caught lots of bass making bad cast where I didn't intend the lure to go and several picking out backlashes, simply by being in the right place at the right time.You can have perfect technique and catch nothing if the bass are not there to react to your lure or technique. Rarely doesn't a technique out fish a lure the bass are responding to. Tom

After 2 weeks the majority of the bass may have moved and located in their summer seasonal routines. Lots of young of the year baitfish, crawdads and terrestrial critters to feed on. You can check the per spawn locations for bass, they don't hang around very long. Good luck. Tom

No problem with any size walleye, 4-7 lb eyes just need to be controlled and the 2 power NRX is closer to most 3 power rods, you will be OK, fantastic outfit! Tom

The problem with catching big female bass during the spawn is a high percentage are the anglers personal best catch and get over handled or taken home. When female bass spawn it is stressful and a few don't survive as a result, without being caught. Add the stress of being caught, put into a livewell, weighed, photographed etc and a stressed bass to start with, the odds increase they may die. These bass don't always roll over and die instantly, they swim around like a zombie and starve unable or no desire to chase or catch food. If we use Dottie as a catch and release example, she was a star. Dottie was always caught off a bed, never documented being caught any other time of the year. Dixon lake is small, the weigh station minutes away from where Dottie was caught so she didn't stay in a livewell more than a few minutes and was handled by expert trophy bass anglers and biologists, ideal conditions few other giant bass had. Tom

To replace rod grips/handles the rod should be striped back to the blank unless you are only replaces everything behind the reel seat. Removing the original materials, cleaning off all the adhesives, sanding the rod blank, then glueing cork rings onto the clean blank is only part of the job. To sand the cork rings into the shape you want requires a rod making tool to turn the rod and the guides become a problem unless they are also removed. In essence you are rebuilding the rod. There are kits available to do this and instructional videos. Tom

All minnows school tightly together so they look like something bigger to predators. What you are looking at could be several different species, whatever they are they are the same species. Young of the year carp, bass, crappie, bluegill, chub or shiner minnows or they could be shad spawning if the pond has a shad population. Tom

Size 1 weedless wacky hook from Owner or Gamakatsu works good. The hook can be in the center for drop shot, however about 1/3 rd back for no weight 1/4 back for nail nose weight. Experiment until you find what works for you, your line type and size can affect how fast the Senko swims to the bottom. Tom

Are the blanks bent or the guides on crooked? Call TW. Tom

The all American tournaments in '67, '68 and '69 had a 15 bass limit and the bass were eaten after the tournament during a fish fry dinner. The extra bass were given to local church's for charity. I had a Coleman cooler "livewell" with home made aeration back in the late 60's and my first "bass boat" was Astroglass with a front built in livewell in ' 71. I believe the late '60's Skeeter, MonArk or Kenzie made a bass boat with livewell built in, not sure? Tom

Sevenstrand and Monel wire line are common for wire lining lake trout. Tom