WRB-2.0

They work when C-rigged or T-rig or as a jig trailer on a plain jig head. Tom

Actually lakes with pelagic baitfish like shad are very different prey source for bass during the night as the shad hide deep in cover when it's dark. Night is a when crawdads and other nocturnal critters are out and about. Tom

You can't use a rod over 8' when tourneyment bass fishing, no length limit for relational fishing use. The original flipping rods were 14' long! Tom

There are 2 popular nail weights available, the expensive tungsten R2Sea 3/32 oz and the less expensive and some what larger Lunker City lead nail weight. The system also may include the worm saddle harness. All these item are available from TW. The rig is very simple; cut 1/4" off the worms nose to create a flat spot. Install the worm saddle harness about 1 1/2" above the worm nose. Insert the 3/32 oz nail weight flush with the worm nose flat spot. Use an Owner or Gamakatsu wacky weedless size 1/0 hooks and wacky hook about 1 1/2" above rhe worm nose or use the saddle. This rig is best used on 8 to 10lb FC line with either spinning or bait casting. Drop shot rods work very well. Cast, let sink while line wactching for strikes like a Senko. When the worm hits bottom it will stand up and you just make little shaky hops along the bottom. Very effective rig for all sizes of bass, water depths to 25'. Tom

Crankbaits are very effective from 2 hours before sunset and until about 1 hour of darkness. The crankbait bite tends to pick up again about 2 hours after total darkness. Traditional thinking is use black or very dark colors like black/red combinations. But.....if the water has good depth of light during the daytime (6'+) then all colors can be effective including all white. I learned this by putting my shad colored deep diving crank baits in the boat for a night tournament instead of the dark colors and managed to win this event with a 34 lb limit, all on wooden ghost/white Poe 300. My favorite deep crankbaits at night are the Norman DD14 and DD22 in black/red craw. Look for rocky areas with clay banks where crawdads tend to come out at night. Good luck. Tom

In the 70's several worm colors were on the market called color plus, meaning they changed colors in the water. Light brown that looked purple, light motor oil (green-amber) looked green-chartreuse, dark motor oil (darker green-amber) looked green-red. Regardless of color changes to the human eye, bass see color differently and one more reason to experiment until tr bass decide it's something that want to eat. Tom

I have been posting for about 2 years that the nail weighted worms are winning tournaments out west and had no replies about this rig. Howard Hugh's won the Clear lake a Open June 10-12 with a 3 day total weight of 69.79 lbs using Berkely's Havoc Bottom Hopper worm nail weighed. Tom

The first priority is getting bite, then getting the bass in the boat. If you can get bite with 20-25 FC, then it's a lot easier to put them in the boat.Fishing deep clear water structured lakes during the day time it often takes lighter line to get bite. It's also easier to feel what the jig is doing in deep water with lighter line and if the cover is light with little for the bass to wrap a line around, then the lighter line works very well. Heavy cover requires heavier line to get bass out and into the boat. Tom

Evaluate the line by the diameter. With the exception of Sunline, all the brands listed use larger diameters than the rated pound test. For example your Suffix line rated 12 lb test equals Sunline Shooter 14 lb test, same diameter. This means you are already using 14 lb test labeled 12 lb test. There isn't any reason to go up in line strength unless you are breaking off fish or too many jigs. Unless your are fishing heavy cover. To prevent bass from breaking off adjust your drag properly and to prevent snagging don't let the jig settle down into the rocks. I used 10 to 12 lb Sunline Shooter and now have changed over to Blackwater Solaroam Bas Hi-Class and fish rocky structure most of the time. Tom PS; you need to mail order Blackwater line.

My advice is simple, the bumps are strikes you have missed! Unlike a T-rigged worm, bass will not strike and hold onto a jig very often. Go to a lighter weight jig; 1/4 to 3/8 oz and slow down your retrieve. The next time something doesn't feel right, a little heavy or light or tic, crank you reel handle fast and set the hook. Bass don't have hands and jigs have a lead head molded onto the hook, not a natural feeling creature to the bass, when they engulf the jig.....set the hook as soon as possible. Tom

They started out as Michaels, an improved version of the Zel Roland Pop-R. Don Iovino offered the Splash-It long before Yellow Magic knocked off the design.It's all about about price, instead of a $12.00 lure you buy the $4.00 Chinese knock and then complain that the original went out of business, Tom PS, RI not R2sea is correct, getting old! If you get the impression I am against Chinese counterfeit products, you are correct'

That is like telling a fly fisherman to,use a meal worm.Tom

Keep in mind the surface water may be 80+ degrees, the water a little deep is more than likely in the 70's.It's a myth that pork is better in cold water....it's better year around for large adult size bass. A few things to know about a good pork rind jig trailer: 1. It should be soft, not stiff. 2. It should float, not sink. 3. It should be kept wet all the time so does not dry out. 4. Use basic colors; black, brown or purple. 5. Use basic shapes; frog in 2 1/2" to 3". How to use a pork jig trailer: 1. Nose hook about 1/8-1/4" back from the front end, it maybe pre cut. 2. Put a 1/2-3/4" piece of plastic worm on the jig hook, before putting on the pork trailer, this prevents the pork from fowling the hook point. 3. Do not cover a pork trailer with commercial attractants. Use pure anise oil by adding a few drops in the pork ring jar. 4. Get a pig blanket or use a old clean wash cloth to keep the pork trailer wet when not using fishing with it. Keep the the pork trailer wet so it doesn't dry out. 5. The soft natural swimming motion of a pork trailer is suttle unlike most frantic movements of plastic trailers and this appears to be too slow for warmer water bass.....it's not! When you cast the jig like a Texas rigged plastic worm....slow down, take a deep breath and let the jig swim down ad hit bottom. A good soft high flotation pork trailer will do all the work for you....like a Senko! Retrieve the jig like a T-rigged worm with shorter hops and longer pauses. Strikes are very hard to detect, the bass simply engulfs the jig, so set the hook if something doesn't feel normal. Good luck. Tom

Consider the brush piles as isolated cover that may attract bass if there is baitfish or crawdads using the brush to live in. The reason the crappie are attracted to the brush pile applies to the bass with the added smaller size 1/4 lber crappie being bait fish for the bass. The key to finding good isolated cover is where it's located. Most of this type of cover being added by dock owners to catch crappie at night will have a flood light that indicates the brush pile is more than likely productive and worth fishing. If the brush pile is located out of the way in unproductive flat shallow area, it may be worth fishing during the spawn. If the brush pile has deeper water access, then I would consider that a good location. You can fish isolated brush with several lures and presentations, from crankbaits to jigs or any bottom bumping lures that works through the cover without snagging. Matt lures crappie swimbait could be very good during summer with young of the year crappie being targeted by bass for example. Tom PS; a simple rubber band weed guard works good for Matt lures swimmers. Use a small denture rubber band, run the line through the band, tie on the swimmer, put one of the band below the hook eye and stretch it and place the other end under the hook barb. Another option is a hitchhiker spring with a 2" piece of finesse worm to cover the hook point and clip on the hook eye.

Go to the WD-40 web site and read their list of true and false statements about the water displacement solvent; the answer is false. Anglers also use WD-40 for a reel cleaner and lubricant and it's not a lubricant, it's a solvent and will help protect the metal surface from corrosion. Tom

You get what you pay for; cheap knock off with BPS and cheaper knock off with anything made in China, which is a lot products today. The original lure your are looking for isn't a Heddon Spook, it's a Vixen by R2Sea, the knock off on the Vixen is by PayCheck lures. An excellent lure of this type is available from Owner lures called a Zip n Ziggy, only available in 3 1/2" model. Tom

White perch? Do you mean white crappie?Tom

People wonder why it is difficult to be a pro bass angler, this thread is a micro look at what the tournament angler faces all the time. You pre fish and locate a good area that is holding quality bass that can easily win the contest on the week days. No shore anglers, no other boaters to content with, only bass. The starting gun goes off, you run to your number 1 spot only to find bank anglers with smoking camp fires and local boaters camped out there! This is all part of bass fishing, making the adjustments to catch those green bass to earn a pay check. My biggest bone to pick isn't with the weekenders or the bank people, I should be smart enough to stay ahead the game. What really tics me off is the local "guides" live baiting my hard earned spot on the second day of a multi day event. How the top ranked anglers put up with that BS is beyond me and my hat is off to them! I do not fish tournaments anymore and like to relax and fish during the week days under ideal conditions...life is too short to argue with unsportsmanlike like behavior. Tom

The jig head look similar and be different regarding shape, hook eye place that affects balance. Over the counter jig mold like Do-It for example, may be designed for different size or wire diameter hook, although in this example the hook maybe the same. Weedless jigs may also use different weed gards or fiber strands, color and length that can also affect the jig performance. Buy some jigs and compare. Lure crafting requires you to supply the labor and may not factor your time in to cost, because it's a hobbie. Your time making and testing the jig is fun time, the professionals time is money. I have been making my own jig molds and jigs for decades because I want a design that is unique and performs better than any jig I can purchase. If someone makes a jig that works better for a specific presentation, then I purchase it. Tom

You may want to address your open letter as good sportsmanship and bad sportsmanship. Public waterways are open to everyone who has a fishing license to fish. The fishing license isn't a license to disregard someone's space without asking permission to share it. Good sportsmanship is respecting others, if another angler is fishing where you want to fish and they are there before you arrive, ask to share the spot. Bad sportsmanship is moving in on the angler that is already there and without asking. The boater can easily see you are there and vice versa. Casting a heavy weight at another angler could escalate into a fight or worse, not good sportsmanship by either angler. Happy 4 th of July, enjoy the fire works! Tom

The best way to determine what ALX is about is to go to the web site and look at the rod construction features. Call Alex and discuss what you are looking for.ALX uses Hydra scrimless rod blanks that are rated in 1/2 power increments with various tapers. I wanted a rod blank that was light weight and equal Loomis NRX series, with the short fore grip and Alex made the rods shipped them for a 30 day trail, life time warranty, money back garrantee, can't beat that!The rods were better than expected and the reason I have mentioned them. Tom

I am an old timer and once had the nick name "purple worm". They could have said purple jig and that would have also fit me OK! PVJ purple vynl jig was my go to color. Today over 40 years later I like purple in my worms and jigs as high light or accent color. Oxblood red flake with purple vein, cinnamon with purple flakes, dark watermelon green with purple and red flakes, dark purple with neon blue vein, smokes with purple vein and black, silver, gold flakes. Have you ever looked at a live night crawler or threadfin shad; purple highlites! My go to jig color is anytime anywhere; combination of. Black/purple/brown skirt that dated back to the early 70's. several hundred DD bass can't be wrong! Tom

I wrote a In-Fisherman article back in 1986 and included the Matty jig, a swim jig with #2 Colorade blade on a swivel as a jig trailer! Tom

The summer period. Bass are scattered during the summer period and tend to migrate or travel horizontally within the water column, instead of vertically or up and down. So how can be bass be both shallow and deep at the same time? Bass have air bladders that allow them to suspend at a comfortable depth that provides sanctuary with food nearby. If the upper lake layer of water is in the 80's, the water is uncomfortable because of low dissolved oxygen levels, the bass will move deeper to be comfortable. However if the food source is up in the 80+ degree water the bass will move to those areas to feed. LMB can move up and down within the water column within 25' without stress. During day light hours the shallow weed beds produce DO through photothensis; green aquatic weed produce oxygen during the day time. The weed beds also provide shade, water temps are too high for the bass to stay a long time. Active feeding bass are a lot easier to catch them the suspended resting or inactive bass. Where all this gets confusing is lake types. Deep man made water storage or power generation lakes tend to have pelagic shad as a food source. Shad move out into deeper water away from shore during the day time and into cover at night. Bass tend to follow the food source out in deeper water, if pelagic bait fish are available. So the answer is lake classifications; highland, hill land, flat land and canyon reservoirs with shad populations can have out in deep water, not deep in the water column and bass feeding on shad during the day time. Low land and natural lakes without a pelagic bait fish food source, the bass tend to feed near shore in shallower water. Bass are more active during low light time periods when most of the food source is shallow"; the bottom line; summer period, fish at night or low light hours and be versatile. Tom .

I would contact Alex at ALX custom rods and ask about my 6'10" 4 power jig/worm rod. It's is equal (IMO) to Loomis NRX series 4 power rods at 1/2 the price, lifetime warranty. Tom