WRB-2.0

You pay a lot of money for light weight spools and put heavy backing on it. The heavier the spool the harder it is to start spinning and it has more inertia so it slows down slower= backlash. Bass are not strong high speed fish that can run more than 100 yards. No need for more than 100 yards of line on any bass reel, unless you are trolling with a lot of line out. few anglers can cast further than 50 yards, the balance of the line is there for retrying. Most bass anglers pull off 75 to 80 yards of line, tie on fresh and respool, leaving the old backing on the reel. This works good because the old backing is compressed tight and acts like a solid arbor. The fact it adds weight is unknown to most anglers. Tom

The first thing to do is put a trailer on the spinnerbait to give the bass something to strike besides the blades. The blades attract bass the trailer attracts strikes. We call whiz jigs Mattie's; swim jig with a blade added for a trailer, works good! Another option is use a underspin like a Sworming Hornet that has a blade on the underside or a Little Geogre style tailspinner. Lots of options with blade types; take off the trailing willow blade and replace with a Indiana blade for example. Tom

Trolling was as common as casting for bass before Ray Scott outlawed it for his tournaments. Not catching bass is boring. I grew bass fishing using both casting, trolling and live bait because catching fish was the goal. There is skill envolved in all presentation techniques, location is still the key to success. Tom

The heavier the C-rig weight the easier it is to get the weight snagged. You will have better results casting and retrieving, then strolling or dragging the rig along with a trolling motor. When you cast, you can count down the weight fall rate by first casting into a known depth. The reason is bass are very particular at what depth they prefer to feed in, so it's always better to catch bass than to drag around a heavy weight. A 1/2 oz egg sinker or bullet weight on 10 to12 lb main line is a good start for depths to 15 to 20 feet. You should be able to make 25 yard/ 75 foot casts with ease. Make a cast, retrieve, then move forward 25 yards and repeat. As you can see, a simple depth finder keeps you at the depth you need to fish without guessing. Not to discourage you, but the right depth is the depth the baitfish and bass are using, not all depths in deeper water. Without GPS it's easy to get disoriented when away from the bank, so you may also want to buy 2 marker buoys. Take a Sharpie pen and mark the cord in 5 foot increments; ie: 1 mark at 5', 2 marks at 10' etc. when you hook a bass, drop the marker over to mark the spot, then check the depth. Leave the marker floating while you cast around the area, the bouy will keep you from roaming too far away. Then there is the thermocline, deep water summer bass fishing it is important not to fish too deep or below the thermocline. You need a decent sonar unit to meter thermoclines. You may also want to invest in a anchor and 50' of anchor rope, handy in the wind to stay on the outside structure. Good luck. Tom

Smaller diameter line has less open spaces between each layer of line, therefore weighs more for a given spool diameter increase in size. 30 lb mono makes good backing, just tape over the filler core to prevent smaller diameter sliding between the larger diameter filler. The tape also prevents the filler from loosening during the cast. You should also put a layer of electrical tape on the spool before spooling on backing, the tape helps the filler from spinning, acts like a friction clutch. Tom

For most salt water fishing a larger diameter spool is an advantage for smoother drag when fast fish are taking line, more line capacity and higher line retrieval rate per reel handle revolution. The 4000 would be a good choice if the fish you target are over 5 lbs and fast strong swimmers, like redfish. Tom

2 factors to consider; weight and roundness of the filler. Nylon (monofilament) has a specific gravity of 1.15, Kelar 1.47, Nylon is lighter for equal amount line. However cork is a fraction of the weight @ .15, therefor a cork arbor that is concentric and round is your best choice. Now all we need is a reel mfr to offer split cork arbors like in they did in past. Tom

A simple depth finder shows how deep the water is under the transducer and helps you more than we can explain in a few words. Every man made lake has a dam and that is the deepest water area. Reservoirs are made by building a dam across a stream, creek or river. To get a general idea of what the lake bottom looks like, look at the surrounding terrain. Points are usually ridges leading down into deeper water with a revine at the bottom of the point ridge. Bass love points and the points are easy to find at the start of bays, coves, creek arms that lead back from the main lake body of water. Start fishing points. Next are islands. Islands are what is often referred to as humps, except an island is above water a hump below the surface. Islands you can see, humps you need a map and depth finder. Tom

Everything sounds OK with the exception of the hook style, not a fan of off set worm hooks for T-rigs. How does the worm come back after missing a bass; bunched up on the hook bend? The easiest way to resolve the hook problem is to skin hook the worm and shorten how far the hook point is inserted into the worm nose. The hook point is inserted into thecworm nose only to the barb depth, then rotate the point out. Instead of inserting the hook back through the center of the worm body, insert through the side. To cover the hook point with plastic, pinch the worm body and cover the exposed hook point with the skin of the plastic; ie "skin hooked". This will give you more hook bite into the basses mouth. With a T-rigged small finesse worm you may need to snap set the hook; when you detect a strike, drop the rod tip down to create some slack line, then snap set by snapping the rod back quickly. Your spinning reel drag should be set at 2 1/2 to 3 lbs for 8 to 10 lb line. You may have better hook setting % with an Owner #5100 size 1/0 or equal straight shank worm hook. Tom

So you want robe a jig fisherman. Why not a bass fisherman, catching bass on jigs isn't a right of passage! If your small natural lake isn't suited for traditional jigs;.ie weed gaurd brush jigs with shirts, why force feed the bass something they don't want to eat? There is jig water and water not suited for jigs, your lake may fall into the later category. Small natural lake located in the northern Canadian Shield may not be the best choice during the summer period or late summer to fall period. 1. down size the jig to a 3/16 oz Owner sled head. Add Yamamoto 4" double " tail Hula grub, color # 222. Rig this like a T-rig worm. Tom pas; paint the heds black with Testors black enamel and fish these until the lake freezes over and you will be a jig fisherman.

What hook are you using, exact size and number, and what soft plastic. Tom

Go online a search "worm bedding", you need to be careful so you don't kill your nightcrawlers f

Take the bait casting rod back and exchange for spinning rod. Tom

Contact Rich Tauber; richtauber-fishing.com Rich keeps in touch with Mead bass fishing. We have the U.S. Open on Mead 9-11 September 2013, so potential guides maybe pre fishing now. Tom

The 1 thing about weather is it will change and nothing we can do about it! Volcanic eruptions affect short term weather patterns by altering the ocean currents from changes in cloud cover. When the hype was about global warming, the past 15 years the northern hemisphere cooled and the south polar region cooled, northern polar region warmed.. Now it's called global climate change, I can agree to that, it's been doing it for my entire life time. All the bass know is water temps and day-night cycles; it's fall when the critters they eat start to vacate the aquatic growth as the core water column starts to cool into the 60's. Tom

Think bigger; 100 gallon RubberMaid stock tank!

Take a look at Blackwater Solaroam Bass-Hi Class Toray FC line. Low memory, very strong about $13 per 85 yards. The 5 lb is 0.0077D , 6 lb 0.0086D. Compare line by diameter not advertised lb test. Tom

You may need to increase the budget if possible or go on line EBay etc to find something. BPS and Cableas offer some combos with Shimano Sedona FD reels that would work for entry level bass fishing @$100 and last you a few years. Tom

What type of water do you plan to fish; lakes or rivers? Bass, like trout come in several species and the tackle should be selected accordingly. Light tackle for general bass fishing with spinning rod/reel is known as medium moderate to fast action, 6'6" to 7' using 6# to 8# monofilament line. The lures for spinning tackle usually are between 1/8 to 3/8 oz. lures, like flies should also selected for the type of water and bass you plan to catch. Basic bass species are; largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. Tom

You weld 2 of the 7" together also. Tom

Hula grub!

Oxymoron: cheap FC line.

If you ever wanted to know the difference between a bank angler and a structure angler; this thread should clearly demonstrate it. Frogs and pads May work for a very short time period; 1st & last hour or so of day light. Where are you going to fish between 8AM to 6 PM when the adult size bass have vacated the hot water cover during mid summer? Hint, 12' to 25' depending on the thermocline depth. Tom

Twenty years ago we had several local tackle shops supporting bass anglers with state of the tackle. Today the local bass shops are gone with the exception of a few general tackle shops catering to both salt and fresh water fishing. Mom & Pop can't compete for your $$ with mail order. If you want to touch and feel a Loomis NRX rod for example, the local small tackle shop can't afford to keep several models on hand, they may have a few, most don't. We have knowone but ourselves to blame. Tom

I would launch my boat and look for bait fish, thermocline and decide what depth to fish first. Looking at the map briefly, the points where the 25' line ends on the south shore looks good to, I survey the points moving west. The dam area and around on the north shore. By now I would know where to start. Tom