WRB-2.0

Don't want to get into a ticking contest about marker buoys vs GPS sonar way point icons, both work. I used buoys for decades and still get 1 handy, just don't use it often anymore since I have upped my skill level using GPS markers and my sonar. Watch the Elites fish off shore on big bodies of water like Erie, no buoys! Takes time to learn boat control in the wind and if a buoy helps you to keep on a small isolated spot, use them! The biggest bass in deep structured lakes rarely move up into shallow shoreline water outside of the spawn and even then don't stay very long before moving back out into deeper water where they prefer to be. Anglers are always amazed how many big bass they see during the spawn and never see or catch them the rest of the year. These big girls didn't go hide in the mud, they move off shore where there is sanctuary and abundant prey. At night some big bass move up near shore to feed, not necessarily shallow and one reason night can be great bass fishing. Another misconception is all off shore water is deep, there are underwater structures that are not deep and tall trees in deeper water that the tops are not deep that hold big populations of bass that shore pounders never catch. Tom

14 lbs 8 oz LMB back in '54, start trolling those A-rigs and set both!Tom

Someone who fishes Hodges regularly can help you better. Hodges is excellent when near full pool, it's drawn down about 40' now. This means no shore cover except where aquatic grass is able to grow and that is where the baitfish like Threadfin shad hide early morning, then move out into deep water during day time. The water at Hodges tends to be off color green,about 3to 5 ft visibility. Small shad size top water lures like Splash-It in shad colors can be good early morning. Split shot, drop shot and finesse mojo rigs on 6 lb spinning tackle using 5" or 6" Roboworms in shad colors like a Bait Ball or purple MMIII, Owner size 1 or 1/0 #5133 should work during the day near points or around grass areas. Same lures and presentations should work in any SoCal lake. Good luck. Tom

I agree and disagree with Raul on this topic. What bass think a fast moving crankbait represents as prey know one knows for sure. What we know is come color combinations work better than others at different lakes. Knowing what prey is in the lake can be very important. Threadfin shad for example are pelagic baitfish and spawn when the water is about 70 degrees, about 2 to 3 weeks after bass spawn. When shad spawn they are in and around brush or wood and that is good to know. Otherwise shad are phytoplankton eaters and move out away from shore as the sun and wind moves the plankton into deeper water, the bass follow and that is good to know. Perch, bluegill,crappie, most minnows are dermasil fish that stay close to shore and cover and that is good to know cause the type of baitfish can determine where the bass are located. Most Georgia lakes have shad or herring and a variety of sunfish, bluegill and crappie. Most Florida lakes have golden shiners, a wide variety of minnows and sunfish, bluegill etc. Check with your local DNR, they will tell you what fish inhabited a specific lake. Tom

What rod, reel and line are you using; make and model numbers help.Spinning reels do not backlash, the spool doesn't revolve , it's fixed and doesn't spin unless the drag is slipping. The bail on a spinning reel is what "spins" or wraps the line around the spool. Two things cause the line to loop and twist. When you make a cast the line falls off the spool in coils, the lute weight pulls the line through the rod guides straightening the coils as they pass through the rod guides, this is why the first guide is larger diameter ring then the tip guide. If the line is loose between the first guide and reel when the bail closes it may trap a coil causing a loop on the spool. To prevent this keep the line tight when closing the bail, some anglers do this by hand. Line twist is the second cause of spinning reel line problems. Because the spool doesn't turn the line gets a twist with every revolution of the bail wrapping on the line, If the lure end of the line can't untwist. The type of line adds to this problem; high memory or stiff line like some monofilament retains twist, softer low memory line reduces the twisting; braid doesn't have any memory and softer mono like Trilene XL (extra limp) help to reduce line twist memory. Line conditioners also help to reduce the twist, but can't eliminate it. When you catch a bass and reel against the drag, that also adds to line twist. Tom

Oh my!!! Where to start!!! Bass rods; Length is measured from but to tip, overall length, 6' to 7' being common lengths. Power is rated by lifting a dead weight in pounds before the rod is full bent: 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are common. Medium light = 2, medium = 3, medium heavy = 4, heavy= 5 X heavy = 6. No actual standard, these are averages. Action: determines how the rod bends from tip to reel seat: parabolic bends evenly from tip to seat, moderate bends mostly from tip to second guide from the reels seat or 1/2 the rod length, fast bends mostly the upper 1/3 rd of the rod, x fast bends mostly the 1/4 th of the upper rod length. All around bass rod is considered 3 power or medium heavy, fast action, 6'6". Tom

30 anglers in a 100 yard bank maybe an exaggeration! 10 anglers would be standing 30' apart. Why fish such crowded conditions? Go home and return when everyone else is gone. Tom

KVD line conditioner is formulated for fluorocarbon fishing line and is applied several hours before fishing. TangleFree line conditioner was formulated for monofilament line and works good for both FC and mono. Tangle Free can be applied while you are fishing as often as needed and prefer it over KVD. Stay away from Real Magic, it will gum up your reel lubricants. Tom

With a spinning reel your casting motion and mechanics is totally different from a bait casting reel. Spinning rod/reel the motion is quick snap cast motion, all in the wrist. Baitcasting the motion involves arm, wrist and hand motion similar to throwing a overhand bass ball pitch. You make a figure 8 pattern parallel with the water with the thumb holding the spool pointed upright, the beginning of the spool release point is nearly 12 o'clock and fully released with very light thumb pad contact above the spool at 11 o'clock. The exact rod position depends on your best feel. I prefer the rod to be about a 45 degree angle between a direct overhead and side arm casting motion, it's what works for me. As you practice and get the motion down, you can loosen up on the spool tension to increase casting distance. You stop the reel spool with your thumb just before the lure lands to control the splash down and distance accurately. If you snap the rod forward too fast without the rod loading up on the back motion,you will have trouble, slow down. Tom

You can't catch big bass if they aren't in the lake you fish. I take from your name you are from Missouri, what lakes do you plan to fish swimbaits at? The name swimbait has been hijacked to mean different things from 3" boot tail swimmers to 14" hard jointed swimbaits. You need special tackle for swimbaits that weigh over 2 oz., are you planning to purchase the needed rod and reel? Catching big bass consistently requires that you have some knowledge about where these big bass are located seasonally, what type of big baitfish they are feeding on or if they are feeding on larger baitfish that a swimbait represents.there is more to swimbaits then chucking, winding and hoping to get strikes. To answer your question, yes swimbaits catch big bass, not a number lures. Tom

All trophy bass lakes go through boom & bust cycles and It's naive to assume disclosing the lake a record size bass came out of will severely impact the fishery. Few bass anglers have the skill to catch record bass, the thinking everyone fishing the lake will harm it isn't a fact as long as the local wardens prevent netting, electro shocking or any other illegal activity. Keeping a record size bass alive and healthy during the certification process takes pre planning. Authenticating a record bass requires examination of the fish to determine the species and there isn't any added weight inside the bass. You need to know phone numbers and locations to arrange examination and certification. If you self certify with a certified scale and photos, most states will not authenticate the catch without examining the bass. Bob Crupi's 22.10 FLMB is a good example, CA state record is Mike Arugio's 21.75 lbs FLMB. Be prepared to put the old bass on ice and get your catch authenticated, you owe it to yourself and the bass. Tom

Pre spawn bass are out of sight, if you seeing big bass up in shallow water cruising the bed zone they are transitioning to the spawn. Pre spawn bass are catchable and stage outside the spawning area, not inside, because these big girls are uncomfortable in shallow water with anglers looking at them. The urge to spawn finally overcomes their fear or instinct and they move up and select bed sites to lay eggs in, they move back out into a safe zone. The big female may make more than 1 egg laying shortie, moving back and forth. When she is finished she move back out near the initial staging area and recuperates for several days before moving into her summer period area and behavior pattern. Not all the bass are on the same time schedule and a few waves of both pre spawn and spawner's doing their thing at different lake locations, so opportunities to locate and catch active feeders are available. Fish for bass you can't see is the key to success during pre spawn. Tom

The jig you included isn't a grub jig because there isn't a collar of lead with a spike or spring to hold a grub or plastic worm. What you have is a steelhead jig. You could use the type of jig to wacky rig plastic worms, by hooking the worm in the center of the worm sideways. The round head shape is good for rocky bottoms and most shaky heads use a similar shape with a flattened nose so the head stands upright. The shaky head uses a barb or spring on the jig head to hold the plastic worm by the nose end, the jig hook through the worm body. The football head also works good in rocky areas. A plain football head jig with a double tail grub like Yamamoto Hula grub is a good combination to learn to jig fish with. Tom

Sight fishing is better with the sun overhead and live bait in or near a bed is going to get a big basses attention. Big bass feed when the opportunity gives them an advantage and when they are active, if both of those situations occur between 10A to 2P then that's is a good time to fish. Caught lots of DD bass on swimbaits, big plastic worms and jigs throughout the mid day period, if the boat traffic is very low on week days. During the late 60's to mid 70's caught lots of DD bass on live bait; crawdads, water dogs, fly lined big night crawlers and live shad throughout the day, didn't see any advantage mid day unless targeting bed fish. I stopped fishing live bait because I prefered to use artificial lures. If you believe the 10A to 2P theory that's when you should fish, get on the lake at 9:30A, go home at 2:30P! Tom

Pickerel are in the Pike family and use their teeth to bite baitfish, use a baitfish imitating lure like a chrome spoon or white/chartreuse spinner bait. The crawdad imitator can be fished T-rig, C-rig or on a jig and best for bass.

Jigs are my favorite lure to use and usually will one rigged along with a worm rod. Depending on the seasonal period, weather conditions and what I see while launching the boat and metering around looking bait and bass before I make any lure selection to start with. Tom

There isn't a one size or color that works for all lakes. Tom

Pre spawn bass tend to target the highest protein prey available to fatten up for the spawn; crawdads, pelagic baitfish if available. Pelagic fish are herring, shad, trout, whitefish etc. Spawn, bass are not eating. Post spawn, slower moving prey that become easy meals, crawdads, shad, crappie and bluegill. Terrestrial critters like young birds, ducklings, mice, rats, lizards, salamanders, frogs etc. Summer, young of the year small fish of all types including small bass, crawdads, frogs, shad and terrestrial critters. Fall, baitfish migrations like shad and young crappie, bluegill, green sunfish and crawdads. Prey types are dependent on where you are located. Tom

I am the anomaly and caught my 5 biggest bass before 9:30A. The reason is in the video, low light mask imperfections using artificial lures, all my giant bass over 17 lbs are jig & pig fish. Not only was the time before 9:30A, the weather was light rain or heavy cloud cover that reduced the light further. I believe the reason is these big bass were feeding on nocturnal crawdads very early in the dawn period and a jig represented the crawdads these big girls were looking for. Doug Hannon was a smart and observant angler, his logic was based on the knowledge gained by research and on the water experiences. I generally agree and using life like lures, swimbaits and A-rigs for example bright high sun with light breeze or wind is ideal to catch big bass. 9A to 5P during day light savings time is the time period with the best sun light on clear bright days. I catch a lot of bass during that time period, not jig fish. Low light and night are better for the nocturnal feeding bass targeting crawdads, frogs, mice and rats. That's how I see it. Tom

Do you have a 12 volt circuit breaker for each battery? Check the trolling motor at the on-off switch, new motor a wire could have fallen off. 12v batteries fully charged are about 13v, your batteries are OK. Amp hour rating means the number of amps drawn per hour. Look at your trolling motor amp draw at various speeds, divide the amp draw into 50% amp hours and that is about the number you can expect to operate effectively. The trolling motor shouldn't stop, it should run slower before stopping. Tom

You got the skunk off your back. Nice offer from Slade House, hope you both get together and will look for the red tracker. Don't give up on the finesse C-rig at Casitas. The bass are on a shad bite for the next few weeks, reaction lures work during low light, the soft plastics during the day. Tom

Braid can be difficult to learn to cast with. Suggest that you tie the line to something and walk 50 paces, then tape one wrap of plumbers Teflon tape one the spooled line on the reel, then wind the line back onto the reel. The tape will prevent a major backlash. Your reel may need to be cleaned and serviced by a professional technician like site sponsor DVT to perform properly. The adjustments are easier with a good functioning reel. Tom

Eagle Claw, Mustad or a knock off from China. Tom

Details; what brand and type of mono and what knot do you use??If you are fishing in and around structure that damages your line, then cut off the damaged line and retie. Tom

Both belong in the the archives of legacy lures. Tom