WRB-2.0

Just a footnote on California FLMB. Lake Hodges in San Diego produced a ceritfied 20.4 lb LMB, there are NO trout in Hodges only bluegill, crappie, threadfin shad, crawdads and channel catfish. Ideal environment, long growing seasons, no commercial fishing, lower fishing pressure; Hodges is only open 3 days a week like the other SD area lakes. If CA produces a new world record bass the lake may be San Vincente, it's been closed several years due to the dam being raised 117' higher creating a new bigger lake. San V has produced several 18-19 lb bass in the past. Tom

The Goerge Perry world record LMB was established over 20 years after it was caught. The bass was reported to be caught July 1932, the IGFA formed in 1953. there isn't any hard evidence what the size was. Perry filled out a Field & Stream application for the magazines big bass contest that was an annual event, sent a picture that has never been found. Magazine fishing contest offered lures as a prize and during the Great Depression a free lure was sought after. George Perry never self promoted this catch, in fact he avoided interviews. There is so much that doesn't add up with the Perry bass, however we accept it, based on Perry's word. The Kurita bass is without doubt the world record bass. If you go down the road that transplanted bass are not real basss, then the Perry falls into this category, no native pure FLMB north of Ocala. Tom

Bleak, interesting bait fish, look a lot like our Hitch in clear lake California. 68 Huddleston swimbait in Hitch color would be ideal, hard to find anywhere. Basstrix 6" paddle tail hollow body Fat Minnow in shad would also be a good choice, if the Pike don't tear them up. A Lake Fork Tackle 5" flutter spoon would also work. Work the Bleak schools like we do shad schools. I would still check out Don's book, good information. When you have suspended baitfish like Bleak in deep water, the bass more than likely will ambush them when they approach structure so the can trap the baitfish. Swimbaits worked up and over points is a good presentation. All the soft plastics should work and jerk baits could be affective. Good luck. Tom

You are describing a typical SoCal highland water storage reservoir. What type of shad do have across the pond, Threadfin? What other type of small fish do the bass have for prey? I would get a copy of Don Iovino's book (TW) Finesse Bass Fishing and the Sonar Connection. Don is called the Father of finesse fishing and this was developed presentations for fishing deep clear rocky structure lake. Go to presentations are drop shot, split shot and slip shot (sliding Mojo weight) shaky heads or doddling, nail weight worms. Dart heads, structure spoons. If you prefer more of a power technique casting a spider jig works well (Yamamoto Hula skirt in football jig). Deep diving crankbaits in shad colors. Night fishing? The Texas rigged worm and jigs n craw. Points are always a good structure to determine at what depth the bass are feeding at, depth is important. Tom

As long as your hook setting technique works for it's good. This thread asked for help and answers were given. Bo's video points out a couple of important things, how he manages the line to detect strikes; line over the finger tip and under the thumb. Bo's slack line whip set is similar to a snap set and works good when the jig isn't too far away, within 60' or so. The reel and sweep set works for me when the jig cast over 60', it's a instant judgement that you develop with time. With jigs snoozers lose, react instantly. It's always better to make shorter cast under 60' if possible, better lure control and easier hooks sets. Sometimes you need to make longer cast to reach bass in clear water without spooking them or fish in low light or night when these bass are less wary. Tom

Have ever seen a LMB with a forked tail? You can't identify these fish by looking at their backs, they could be snook for example. FLMB did not exist in Mexico back in the early 70's. the bass lake in those days was Gerrero and 12 lb LMB were as big as they got back then, even in gill nets. Tom

I was fortunate to be raised on a multiple specie lake and can't remember not fishing. I do remember who took me to one side and taught me how to bass fish, Red and Boots. Red was the manager of the boat landing my older brother worked at and he was one of the top bass anglers on the lake. Reds completetion was Boots and both men taught me different lure techniques when was about 10 to 11 years old. Red taught me how to cast a baitcaster using a #3 Hawiian Wiggler and retrieve this weedless heavy spoon across weed beds into open water pockets. Boots was a top water plug man using Creek Chub Injured Miinow. Red showed me how to tie the Indian knot back in '53, today's Palomar knot. Boots tied the fisherman clinch knot, both men used Dacron braid, no leader. Both men knew how to read water and weed beds and showed me where to find creek channels boarded by weed breaks to catch the bigger bass. The lessons learned 60 years ago has served me well and I will be forever greatful to these men who helped a curious kid to bass fish. Tom

What anyone believe the fish are fresh water LMB. Tom

mram10us,, Don't bite the hand that feeds you! What takes me a paragraph to say Catt gets the point across is a short sentence, very skilled angler and teacher. A lot of members read these threads and stay in the background. By answering your specific question often helps others who use what applies to them and leave what doesn't. Good luck with your fishing. Tom

Welcome to the site, I see you are a young teen. I would suggest 10 lb green Nanofil with 10 lb FC leader joined with the Uni-Uni knot. Make the leader long enough so the knot sets between the reel and first big rod guide. Some line makers offer FC leader spools like Trilene 100% FC. Good luck and let us know how your fishing going. Tom

With underwater lures that are out of sight strike detection is the most difficult factor to master. The most diffult lure to determine a strike with is a jig followed by T-rigged worm then your C-rig. We have a long thread on jig fishing where this topic is discussed. The reason a jig is difficult to determine a strike is the LMB engulf it in a blink of the eye and kill the crtiter by crunching it between the base of the tongue and rough of the mouth and can reject just as fast. The first tap maybe the jig going in, the second is the jig going out and you need to set the before the second tap. The bigger the bass is the harder it may be to detect a strike. When bass are hot and active feeding strike detection is fairly easy because they are aggressively and moving. Texas rigged worms with a sliding weight the worm/ creature feels alive to the bass and they often hold it in the mouth longer, sometimes swallowing it if they don't feel the weight or line tension. You feel a tap and have a little more time to get a hook set. You can often lower the rod tip, reel in some slack line and hook set into slack line. Carolina rig the worm/creature is weightless to the bass, they often don't feel weight until they move off after eating the soft plastic. Bass swallowing C-rigged worms is common, hook setting is easier because you have more time, but too much time is a problem with gut hooking. The bottom line is you rarely can't hook set too fast with LMB. You will develope your strike detection and improve timing with practice. Learn to look at your soft plastics for teeth marks, sand paper texture, to determine if what you thought was a strike was a strike. We all miss strikes. Tom

PM your email address and I will send a photo. Tom

Take off of the old twin spin jig that I have made and fished for decades. The arm attached to the head may cause a problem with skirts, otherwise twin spins can be deadly. Tom

You can find Bo's jigs on TW under Don Iovino if you want living rubber and Owner hook. *** has become popular out west in the delta area. Tom

How about helping the OP in determining when the hook is in the basses closed mouth, strike detection goes a long way to improving technique. If you can't detect the strike it doesn't matter what tackle you have or what technique you use or what excuse you use.Tom

Roger, simply offering a method for anglers to determine what they caught without a DNA kit. Lateral Scales are fairly easy to count and the only method I know of that anglers can use to determine if a big bass is a FLMB or NLMB. Outside of Florida anglers consider all bass from Florida are FLMB, including integrades like F1. If say that pure FLMB are from Ocala (central Florida) and south is technically correct, I agree and read a few studies. DNA study would be the sceinentific solution to determine a pure FLMB and agree with also. The other method would be size, 17 lbs+, it's a FLMB or FLMB intergrade. The CA LMB record was 14 lbs 7 oz, before the introduction of FLMB, same lakes , same forage base. Without FLMB there would never be a 20+ lb LMB anywhere, thank you Florida! Cuba is south of Ocala. Tom

The longer your rod when casting the less accurate your cast will be. 8' heavy bass heavy rod is for flipping, few angler flip today, they pitch. You use your rod and reel when pitching at close range targets inside 30', 7'6" makes a good pitching rod. Casting and retrieving a (football) jig is a lot like fishing a Texas rigged worm or creature, you don't need a long rod to do this. What you need is a rod that is comfortable for you to cast accurately the distance you plan to fish and to get a good hook set, then control the bass near the boat. 6'6" to 7' jig/worm rods are ideal for this presentation. Tom

All bass anglers have fish stories of the big one getting away, I am no different.I have lost 2 bass that were 20 + lbs, the 1st at Lower Otay, I didn't see that bass. The bass ran under a anchored boat and around the anchor rope. Ron Huggit was fishing crawdads from his boat and tried to net this bass before it broke off. I was about 50' away in my boat and could only watch. According to Ron the bass was over 30" long and the biggest bass had seen. Lost another giant bass at Castaic the year before I caught the 19.3. I got a good look at this bass and it looked well over 20 lbs and 30" long. I was fishing from the back of a friends boat, my friend was so excited he forgot to keep the boat under control with the trolling motor and we drifted over a rocky point, the fish made a hard run across the point and broke off, so close and the memory never fades. You can't make mistakes and land these bass. Tom

Northern Largemouth Bass; lateral line scale count is 59-68, 15-16 scales below the lateral line. Florida Largemouth Bass; lateral lne scales count is 69-72, 17-18 scales below the lateral line. The scale count is your only visual method to identify the 2 different LMB strains. NLMB native range was the Ohio and Mississippi River drainage. FLMB native range was Florida. No bass are native west of the Rocky Mountains. Tom PS, lateral scales hole a nerve hole in each scale, 69+ = FLMB.

It's a myth that CA bass are hand feed any trout. Orval Ball, the man who introduced FLMB into San Diego city lakes goal was to improve the catch rate of adult size bass. The catch rate goal failed, FLMB proved to be harder to catch then northern LMB introduced 50 years earlier. The San Diego city lakes like Otay the water is too warm to plant trout, only San Vincente had trout plants in the winter months. Miramar wasn't planned to have FLMB and was a trout lake and benefited. at Dixon lake, unknown anglers transplanted bass. Lakes Casitas, Castaic and Isabella requested FLMB transplants in the early 70's to create trophy bass lakes and it worked. Both Casitas and Castaic get trout plants 3 months during the winter, it's not a year around program and no hatchery trout have been planted for over 6 years now in SoCal. The bass catch the planted on their own. Northern CA started to plant F1, FLMB in the early 80's with mixed results. No FLMB have been planted in CA since the early 80's. Pure FLMB may not exist in CA today as they have integrated with the NLMB populations. Bass are planted one time into CA lakes, after the initial plant they are on there own to reproduce. On a final note; the NLMB didn't feed on the trout plants, different genes. The FLMB are wired to feed on golden shiners and the trout filled that niche. Tom

Copolymer line is a blend of 2 polymers, usually 2 Nylons, 1 with UV protection and 1 with higher abrasion resistance. Nearly every line manufacturer offers copolymer line. Hybrid is co-extruded line, a Nylon inner core with FC outer jacket. Yo-Zuri was first to offer a hybrid and several others followed. Tom

Rolo, the Zimmerlee bass, according to knowledgeable witnesses, was floating on the surface and Dave Zimmerlee rented a boat and retrieved it claiming to catch it using a kids Zebco combo rod/reel. Miramar was the site where the first transplants were held in rearing ponds before moving the adults size bass to Upper Otay lake, then they were distributed into public San Diego city lakes like Lower Otay, San Vincente, Hodges, El Capitan, Sutherland, etc. Miramar dam was completed and the ponds flooding releasing the remaining transplants into Miramar lake. The Casitas and Castaic FLMB came from the Upper Otay stock. The CA official LMB record is 21 lbs 15 oz from lake Castaic, Mike Arujo, the documented record is 22.10 lbs. also from Castaic, Bob Crupi. Dottie ranks 3 rd @ 21 lbs 13 oz, Dickerson and never documented or officially weight when cuaght the final time, the anglers claimed she weighed 25.1 lbs on their scale before being released. The Florida record back in '86 when I did some research for a article was 20 lbs 2 oz from lake Tarpon, not familiar with Eloise but will take your word on that. I also agree with Catt when he states a lot of giant bass ended up as meals and several never get reported. Having spent the past 50 years chasing the WR bass, I hope someone somewhere catches a new record. CA is in a 10 year drought with a few years to go before things change. Low lake levels make for poor spawn survival and prey sources for young bass. Planted trout stopped in SoCal about 6 years ago. The bottom line is poor conditions for giant bass populations in CA, this is the reason why I am not optimistic that a 20+ LMB is in our near future. Tom

All FC fishing line is a single filament or monofilament. We think of monofilament line being the original Nylon polymer. The big difference between Nylon and fluorocarbon is hygroscopicity, the ability to absorb water. Both the polymers are elastic and stretch, FC has higher tensile properties and stretches less under equal applied force. Nylon absorbs water improving it's elasticity, strength and tensile properties, FC doesn't. If you stretch FC beyond it's yield strength it stays elongated or stretched length, reducing the cross section diameter and permanently reducing it's strength. Without lubrication FC overheats when high friction is applied during clinching knots tight, deforming or flattening the line. FC is expensive and difficult line to tie and maintain...however is has less line drag coeffient in water, sinks instead of floats and lower refraction of light, giving FC an advantage for underwater lure presentations verses nylon monofilament lines. You must keep FC lubricated when knot tying to prevent overheating. You must change damaged line to prevent line failure. Tom

Your goal when setting the hook is applying enough force to drive the hook point through the basses mouth. The further your lure/hook is away from the boat more force is required to over come line drag in the water, bend of the rod and line stretch. You can't move enough line to apply force to the hook using the rod, until the line is tight or all the slack is taken up first...if you have more than 50' of line in the water at an angle away from you. The technique I have used successfully for over 40 years with all types of rods and line is the reel and sweep set. When you detect a strike; point the rod tip at the fish, reel all the slack line as fast as possible until it's tight and keep reeling while you sweep the rod back firmly. The reel drag needs to be set properly or you may break your line due to the forces applied to the hook. With jigs try to keep the rod tip down while you retrieve and apply action to the jig as you have little time to get a hook set, speed is important. With a T-rig you have a little more time if the weight is rigged sliding. With a C-rig there is a lot of slack line between the weight and the hook, you don't feel most strikes until the bass moves enough line for you to detect a strike, speed isn't as important, taking up all the slack line is the priority before rod sweeping while continuing to reel. How you prefer to rod sweep is your choice. I prefer sweeping the rod to one side with a body twist while keeping the rod handle tucked under my elbow to apply more leverage. This technique works with all rod lengths and most lure presentations, except vertical hook sets. Good luck. Tom

The Texas state record is 18.12 lbs caught Jan 1992 from Lake Fork. Texas has an excellent bass management program and bass fishing state wide. Lake Fork hold the majority of giant bass caught in Texas, 8 of the top 10. This thread is focused on 24 lb LMB, that bar is set higher than may be possible, 20 lber's are extremely rare bass. Tom