WRB-2.0

BPS Tourney TS, 6'6" to 7' med-fast should match you reel. Tom

Check site sponsor Ron at Valley Sports before buying anywhere else. Tom

My 1st bass lure was a #3 Hawaiian Wiggler back in '53, learn how to cast a baitcasting reel using this spoon. There some good surface-subsurface weedless spoons besides the Johnson Silver Minnow; Persuader Bass spoons and the redfish Red Ripper spoon are 2 that I use in the spring through summer periods. Structure spoons are good whenever bass are feeding on shad, flutter spoons when the shad or baitfish are larger size. Weedless spoons are fished like weedless frogs, over the top of mates and let them swim in open water pockets or along weed lines. Tom

+1 the type R is the only model available with high speed 8:1 ratio, if that is a factor.Tom

Since 2006 when I got my first good sonar/GPS unit with marker icons and learn how to use it for marking "buoys". I only keep 1 physical buoy on the deck for emergency use. It's easy to know where you are at on the water using the GPS markers zoomed in on 1 foot Navonics maps and I am used to looking at the map/sonar to keep oriented. Don't need to worry about anchor lines or picking up buoys and can return to the exact same spot weeks later without metering around to find the spots. Never thought the virtual buoys could replace the physical buoys, they have except when I catch a fish on a spot not marked and don't have time to mark the spot, then I kick or toss the emergency buoy over the side until I can set up the virtual marker. Tom

Senko's; 4" use 1/0 weedless wacky hook, 5"& 6" 2/0 weedless wacky hook. Owner or Gamakatsu. Rarely T-rig a Senko, prefer wacky with or without nail nose weights.6" finesse worms use 1/0 or 2/0 straight Owner 5100 or Gamakasu #49412 7" worms, 3/0 round bend wide gap Owner 5103 or Gamakatsu 484 8" to 9" worms, 4/0. " 10 to 12" worms, 5/0 " Tom Not a fan of EWG off set hooks.

It's very difficult to flip when level with the water, underhand swing cast dropping a lure onto a close target like a pendulum isn't a flip cast, whatever.Braid tends to loosen deep within the spooled line,mono and FC is usually more near the surface of the spool or not as deep because it's heavier line in weight. Next time you blow up a reel (deep backlash) don't start pulling it out, just put your thumb on the spool and reel the line back on. After the line is back on, then slowly pull out the line with your thumb on the spool and the under laying loops come out easily. Good luck. Tom

Reaction gets misused, it means to some bass anglers that bass strike a faster moving lure, they strike all lures fast or slow moving. Per spawn bass tend to be a little deeper as they transition from deeper winter water, they are looking for high protein prey to fatten up on. Crawdads and larger baitfish offer high protein meals. Tom

Most of Michigan's lakes are natural and the largemouth relate to weed-grass lines, outside edges during pre spawn and inside edges during the spawn. You can cover a lot of water with a a trap as Catt suggest, good choice along the weed-grass breaks. Small swimbait like a 4" Trash Fish or the Havoc knock off on 1/4 oz plain ball head jig and jig & craw. I would fish any points that are near bays or coves and any rocky or wood areas with spawning areas near by. Tom

Couple questions; what rod/ reel are you using? And what makes you think a bass intentionally bit your line? Tom

There isn't a panacea line. Fishing from shore you will not be flipping or pitching often, mostly casting somewhere between 30' to 90'. Braid does back lash far worse than either mono or FC line, use a line conditioner regardless of what line you choose. Braid is the lightest weight line and the reason it floats, mono is second in weight and FC the heaviest per diameter. Some anglers like braid as a backup because it saves a little spool weight. If you choose braid with a leader on your baitcaster use at least 40 lb, 50 would be better due to the line diameter will cast better. Leader should be close to the diameter of the braid. My preference for all around use would be premium mono like Sunline Shooter Defier 15 lb. Tom

It amazes me when bass anglers believe the fish see no better then they do. Bass live and thrive by finding prey that are trying to hide from them, at night! The bass knows the instant your lures hits the waters surface that something is there and if they are active feeding will check it out. The lateral line sense of feeling water movement is their long distance early warning system, eye sight is next and bass have highly developed sight for seeing underwater. The basses sense of hearing, taste and small are secondary, but they uses them in combination with all the senses. Color preferences change, sometimes hourly or seasonally and for that reason soft plastics are made in unlimited colors and combinations. Color is a trail and error choice and will chance over time. Give your try, you can always insert a rattle if that give you more confidence. Never completely lose touch with your lure, maintain contact do you know when the bass has your lure in it's mouth. Tom

Smallmouth or Largemouth bass? Smallies spawn about 4 degrees coder water than LMB and in different locations. Tom

NC state record LMB is 15 lbs 14 oz, so a DD bass is possible for you fishing NC. Every bowling alley has the potential to roll a perfect game of 300, skill combined with luck! Not every lake has DD living in them, so regardless of your skill or luck catching bass that are not there is impossible. To catch big bass you must fish where they live and fish where they are located in that lake. A blind squirrel can find an acorn, odds are better if the squirrel looks under a oak tree. Spend some time to locate the oak tree and use acorns to achieve your goal. My 1st DD bass was 11 lbs from lake Havasu when I was 12, 2nd was 12 lbs 3 oz from a quarry pond at age 14, 3 rd was 10 lbs 1 oz from lake Sherwood, all these were NLMB before FLMB were introduced in CA. Logged my 100 th DD bass in 1971. Raised my personal bar to 15 lbs and have over 20 giants since then with 5 over 17 lbs. Tom

Switch rods and reels to see if there is any difference. Tom

Do yourself a favor and send the reel to DVT for cleaning and tuning. You know how to adjust reels as proven by the other reels performance. Tom

I am in the adjust your drag camp about 1/3 rd the line strength for mono or FC. If you buy quality reels with excellent drags why button it down? Trust your drags bass are not that strong, all you need to do if a big bass is in heavy cover or trying to tree you, turn it by using added pressure on the spool with your thumb. A lot of anglers lose that bass of a lifetime at the boat because of tightened down drags. You can break a X heavy bass rod with 8 lbs of drag. Try lifting a full 1 gallon jug of water if you don't believe that. 2 quarts or 1/2 gallon of water is 4 lbs and that is about max for me with bass. Tom

What I call a slip shot rig some now call a finesse C-rig works very good in the depth you fishing. 1/8 oz mojo weight, 7 or 8 mm glass bead pegged with rubber Peg-It anywhere between 14" to 24" with light wire hook size 1/0 like Owner 5133 down shot hook*, weedless rigged floating worm Roboworm 4" or 6" on 6 to 8 lb mono or FC line. You can substitute the Carlona Keeper for pegging, use the glass bead as it adds clicks during the retrieve. Tom *this hook is perfect for this rig, very sharp, strong and light weight.

How do you store your lures and what type of lures are you asking about? Terminal tackle like hooks I keep in the small bags or boxes they come in and store them in 1 gallon or quart size freezer type zip lock bags. Storing hooks in Plano type boxes is convenient, the problem is getting them all wet during use in the rain. Hard lures like crankbaits and hard jerk baits, get stored in the Plano type boxes in individual compartments and get put away dry. If they get wet from rain, I dry them after fishing. Spinnerbaits go into hanging type spinnerbait storage boxes, keeps the shirts in good condition. Jigs get stored in Plano type boxes like crankbaits, excepts 3 or 4 in one compartment by color and size. Hudd swimbaits go into custom hanging storage boxes, about 12in each box. Hard swimbaits go into plastic meat storage boxes with a plastic grid that prevents moisture touching the swimmers laying flat. Soft plastic worm, creatures go into Plano type worm boxes and a worm organizer hanger system that clips the bags for the larger worms to keep them straight. I check each hook before tying any lure on and touch up points as needed or replace a treble hook as needed. Occasionally clean hard baits in warm with and baking soda solution. Wash my hair jigs in warm water and Joy liquids soap and blow dry. Replace any jig skirts if the materials are damaged and touch up jig heads with paint as needed. Maintenance is a constant program and easier if you stay on top of it. Never put anything away wet. I use lure wraps during the time on the water to help prevent sharp hooks nicking my line, it's the little things add up. Tom

A few questions. Do you plan on buying new rod to cast the heavier model swimbait? Most worthwhile hard swimmers weigh over 1 1/2oz to 5 oz, heavy lures that need special tackle. Do you know if the ponds you fish have a population of big bass? I assume from your site name you are in NC and the area does produce some big bass. If your goal is to catch more bass swimbaits may not be the right lure for you. Select a swimbait that closely represents the prey the big bass in your ponds target. Bluegill and baby bass are everywhere. Tom

The action has nothing to do with the rods power, it's simply a rating to indicate how the rod bends; extra fast meaning the upper 1/4 of the rod bends first. Your rod could be a 2 power or medium light and good for drop shot, poor for standard weight jigs used for bass fishing. If the rod is a 4 power or medium heavy, then the extra fast should have good hook setting when using jigs between 3/8 to 3/4 oz.. Extra fast is a little more difficult to cast than the fast action. Tom

Both Gamakatsu and Owner have excellent weedless wacky hooks. Jackall makes a excellent weedless wacky tungsten jig, pricy! Tom

For price it's hard to beat VMC treble hooks, they are standard for several makes. Most crank baits come with either size 2 or size 4 trebles, size 2 for the larger cranks and size 4 for the smaller. Up sizing the front hook from size 2 to size 1 is OK, the rear hook I stay with the size that the lure came with. A single hook tends to act like a rudder and can ruin the action. When you replace the treble make sure that hooks hang correctly; 2 kook points running up against the lure body and 1 hook point face directly down. Tom

When you feel any indication the bass has you soft plastic set the hook instantly if not sooner! Only 2 things can happen if you hesitate; 1, the bass spits out your lure, 2 the bass swallows your lure, both are bad. The exceptions are smallmouth and spotted striking soft plastics that resemble crawdads with claws, both these bass like to bite the claws to remove them before engulfing the bug. A largemouth simply engulf everything and kill it by crushing it in the back of their mouth. Missed strikes are common with underwater soft plastics and jigs due to not detecting the strike. It's been my experience that a top pro bass angler detects about 50% of the strikes and rarely misses getting hooks sets. The top pro is batting about 500, excellent average. The good weekend or club angler is batting around 300, good average. The average recreational bass angler doesn't detect 75% of the strikes and hooks about 50% of the strikes detected for a 125 average. Before you jump off the couch and start yelling at me that You are a better bass angler than 125 batting average, try buying into this and improve your strike detection techniques to improve your numbers for bass caught using underwater soft plastics and jigs. If you believe you can catch as many bass as a top pro or top club angler using soft plastics and don't believe the pro can out fish you 5 to 1, then disregard improving strike detection. Tom

Learning to interpret what a strike looks and feels like with a variety of soft plastic presentations takes time because each technique is different. Drop shot using a spinning outfit on light line is very different than using a bait caster with a sliding bullet sinker T-rig. The weight is blow the worm on a drop shot, it's difficult to run the line over your finger tip with a spinning reel, so with the drop shot/spinning reel your rod becomes very important because the bass feels the line tension before you can react to the change, a softer rod tip helps and becomes a strike indicator. With a bait casting reel you can easily run the line under your thumb and over the finger index finger tip, both very sensitive to slight line pressure changes. You can feel the line slap when working a drop shot for example, if the line slaps or tightens slightly into slack line when you are not working the rod tip you just had a strike. Don't wait seconds to set the hook, bass don't have hands. The T-rig on a spinning outfit is a similar problem to drop shot rig, difficult to feel the line, some folks can use their index finger effectively, I can't. The T-rig requires a firmer rod tip to get hook sets than drop shot and I prefer a baitcasting outfit for that reason, plus feeling the line is easy. I mention fishing at night to quickly learn how to detect strikes by feel, try it. Tom