WRB-2.0

Largemouth bass come in 2 species; northern strain and Florida strain. The northern strain was introduced west of the Mississippi River in the late 1800's, followed by smallmouth bass and Kentucky (northern) spotted bass. Largemouth were planted in lakes, smallmouth and spots in rivers, similar to there native areas and thrived. Anglers introduced the different bass into rivers and lakes or by natural migration in some areas. To survive the different bass had to adjust to new environments. For example Threadfin shad were introduced in the west about 1950 in the Colorado river drainage; lakes Mead, Mojave and Havasu. The bass populations exploded in numbers and size with the new pelagic baitfish. The bass learned to move away from shoreline cover and feed on shad in mid lake areas over very deep water. So much for the theory that bass need structure to navigate, these bass could be found miles off shore in water over 300' deep! The largemouth bass adjusted to their new environment. 1959 Florida strain largemouth bass were introduced out west in San Diego CA. FLMB had to make adjustments to the new environment; little to no weed beds or shallow water zones. The lakes are deep structure lakes with little cover and steep rocky banks, very different than any water found in the natural range. FLMB are genetically wired to seek larger prey fish, the shad didn't fill that niche when these larger adults wanted larger prey, so they targeted rainbow trout, also pelagic fish that live off shore. The NLMB didn't target trout, they preferred the smaller size shad that they are genetically wired to target. 1970 Alabama spotted bass arrive to SoCal and planted into lake Perris, following the success of the FlMB program to provide larger bass for the general public. Without LMB to compete with the Alabama spots grow to record size in record time, the program is a success and the Alabama (southern) spotted bass spread state wide, like the FLMB population. My point....bass are different genetically and can adapt extremely well to their ecosystem, but still retain there basic behavior traits. Fish that move around and swim against current are stronger pound for pound then fish that live in areas where they don't need to have good muscle tone. Smallmouth and spotted bass are stronger than largemouth bass pound for pound. The health and physical condition determine the fighting power. Tom

The original Reaper looks more like a straight ribbon tail worm. The Reaper from the west coast was introduced by Western Plastics, a hand poured 3" grub that has a 2 1/2" long flat tail about a 1/2" wide tapering to 3/8" with a round end. The name Reaper was trade marked and all the hand pour makers had to change the name; sweepers etc. the reaper craze topped out around the late 90's. However... They are still being used and come in 3", 4", 5" and 6" cow tongues. Roboworm, Iovino Products, Western Plastics, Uptom's Customs and a few others. Smoke with a variety of colored flakes and blood lines are still very effective in the smaller sizes and darker colors in the larger sizes. All the finesse light line presentations with light wire hooks are popular for the smaller sizes and traditional worm rigs for the larger sizes. Tom

Smallmouth and spotted are river bass that have adapted to lakes and impoundments. Largemouth are lake bass that have adapted to rivers and impoundments. Impoundments being man made reservoirs and lakes. Current isn't important to largemouth bass genetically, they have learned current can bring them food, even slight current. Current is essential to smallmouth and spotted bass and they have learned when in lakes to roam to search for prey that they genetically expect current to bring to them. In a river the LMB seeks slack water areas with little to no current. In an impoundment SMB and Spots seek current areas, even slight current created by wind waves across points and up welling over structures. Bass are bass but the different species behave differently because they are genetically wired differently. Tom

AZ only allows 2 lures with hooks, unsure the number of teasers allowed? Teasers should be smalle; shorter and skiiny then the hooked lures and the hooked lures should be trailing. Roosevelt has thread fin shad, maybe add purple or blue back swimmers next time, Also try following up with a single swimbait or spinnerbait. Tom

Part of the reason is there are at least a dozen different types of popular jig head designs available for a wide variety of applications. When you think of a "jig" what type of jig are you referring to;Traditional jig & pig; jig with a weed gaurd to fish heavy cover or some other type? Tom

Have you ever handled 6 lb super braid that is the diameter of 2 lb FC or mono? If bass looked that closely to your lure, they would never strike it. I personally do not fish with braid, unless in heavy cover applications. 65 lb braid like a rope compared to 6 lb braid, it's so small in diameter that you have a hard time seeing it to tie a knot.I tested 10 lb Daiwa Samuri braid on a drop shot rig without a leader of FC line and with a 6 lb leader fishing deep clear structure lakes and couldn't determine any difference in catch per hour rates on highly pressured bass. 10 lb braid is twice the diameter of 6 lb and 10 lb is difficult to handle on the water to rig and tie knots. The purpose of testing 10 lb super braid without a leader was due to knot failure issues joining FC leaders to the main line braid. I just went back to 6 lb FC main line and eliminated the extra knots and braid handling issue, not because it didn't work. It's always easier to catch active bass then inactive bass, it's also a misconception that an angler can tease a bass into becoming active when it is not. Bass are individual fish and on their own time table, so if you cover enough water long enough the odds of finding active bass are good, but it's more likely you pass up more catchable bass that are active in another location. That is bass fishing, different strokes for different folks! Tom

Owner makes a good off the shelf Jig Rig, and they have vdeio on their site with how to use it. Tom

Worms; Standard size worms, 6" to 16", Texas rigged: Owner 5100 & 5103 and Gamakatsu 011 & 484. Finesse slip shoot, split shot and drop shot; Owner 5133, mosquito and Gamakatsu 504 & wide gap weedless finesse hooks. Creatures; Owner 5191 and Daiichi D46 I don't like off set wide gap hooks for worms and only use that style hook when needed of thick bodied creatures, creatures with worm style body I use worm hooks listed. Sizes depends on the soft plastic diameter, line size and type of cover or structure and the type of rigging. Tom

To be honest I haven't purchased a knew crankbait for a long time. The last crank bait was a smaller size MegaBass a friend gave me. My go to crank baits are Bomber 7A's custom painted in ghost shad and baby bass for numbers of bass. I use original wooden Poe's 300 series custom painted in ghost shad and brown crawdad pattern. Norman DD 14 and DD22 custom painted black with red crawdad pattern and threadfin shad colors. Don't use a lot of different crankbaits, but use the ones that work for me. I will buy about 6 each of the same exact crankbait, fish them to determine which lure catches bass, sell the ones that don't and then have the ones that work custom painted and change the hooks. Crankbaits are not created equal, each lure runs differently; don't waste your time with good looking lures that don't catch bass. Tom

Water temperature getting colder than 45 degrees or a sudden water temperature change of more than 10 degrees. Old age also kills them off, but not in mass numbers. Tom

So you are not really talking about hooks, but lures with hooks, both single and treble types.The big problem with exposed lure hangers without covers is the lures find a way to hook you and that can end your day. If you don't have storage compartments with lure hangers built in the covers, then lure sponge lined lure wallets with Velcro will keep the lures from getting tangles and allow them to dry before putting them away at the end of the day. I use a small plastic pale in a storage compartment with slots cut around the lip to hang my large crank baits and swimbait on to let them dry and to reuse them during the outing. Anything I take off the rod goes into a covered locker so it will not blow out of the baot when running at speed The fly fisherman wallet wool is artifical and doesn't have any loops to snag the hooks. Lure wallets ot blankets are available for nearly every size lure. Worm hooks I keep in a Plano type box, in the original bags and put a bag in my pocket to retire a new hook on, along with a few worm weights. Good luck. Tom

The Flick Shaky jig is a ball head without a skirt collar and the worm is a special design with curved flat ends. There are 2 lengths and the shorter 4.75" seems to work best on this rig. Your line isn't an issue, bass are rarely line shy, but it bothers anglers to use braid tied directly to lures; you are probably using 6 lb braid with 2 lb mono diameter? Are you catching any bass with other lures in the areas you are fishing? Do you meter fish near the bottom or suspended? There isn't a specific depth bass prefer year around, there are specific depths seasonally, daily and hourly. Depth is one factor that is misunderstood by most bass anglers and extremely important with finesse presentations. When bass are less active the lure needs to be presented very close to the bass! Tom

My question is why would you want to do this? Years ago I made a lure hanger/ organizer on the inside of the gunnel on my aluminum boat for hanging crank and spinnerbaits that I used often. Today with a bass boat that has storage compartments with a wide variety of tackle organizers it easy keep everything out of the weather. Fly fisherman use a wool like material to hold their flies in a folding wallet type organizer, maybe some fastened a similar organizer to the boat gunnel? Tom

Bass are bass or are they LMB, SM or Spotted bass? There are 4 more less common bass, plus the differences between Flodia strain and Northern strain LMB and Alabama and Kentucty strain spotted bass. Lakes are also different; natural and man made impoundments. Man made impoundment are also very different depending on geography of the location and purpose of the dam; water storage, flood control, power generation. Reservoirs types; Canyon, Highland, Lowland, Flatland and Hill land. When you combine all those factors there is a big difference between lakes and rivers. Current is a big factor, type of bass is very important, depth and water fluctuation affects types of cover, prey and water temperature, type of lakes is very important, the differences between natural and man made affects where the bass of various type tend to locate and what type of prey source the bass prefer. In a nut shell, that is the basic differences. Tom

Most Clear Lake Hitch swimbaits have translucent light smoke amber backs with neon blue-charteuse blood line and translucent smoke belly with amber fins, 5" to 8" long. The color should work in a lot northern regions. Tom

The GLX is very similar to the NRX about 1/2 heavier and $50 less. The NRX are lighter rod weight, but stronger blank. The new GLX isn't selling well out west, most anglers opt for the NRX BCR 854 JWR, either rod is state of the art. Tom

My advice is a lighter weight.1/4 to 3/8 oz jig if casting from shore or a dock and use a soft plastic trailer about 3" to 4" long. Fan cast the entire area and take your time. Tom

Why do you say too short? I understand the strength issue somewhat but withourt a brand name it's hard to evaluate.The casting distance issue has more to do with your casting technique, reel, line and rod combined. For example I fish with custome 6' 10" rods, for me casting jigs, longer rods are an issue with my boats deck space. I use 7'10" swimbait and crankbait rods. Casting a jig over 40 yards is rarely needed, although on occasion I will cast 50 yards with ease using my jig rods. Most rods increase length from the reel seat backwards, not forewrd between the reel seat and rod tip. Longer rod handles are needed for heavier lures like big swimbaits and large crankbait to leverage the cast more effectively. You can 't rod set a jig that is further away from the boat than 30 yards because very low power is transferred to the jig due to line drag, rod bending, slack in the line to bow. You can reel set very effectively at long distance; crank the line tight, then sweep the rod back firmly and keep reeling. Tom

Large lakes over 10,000 acres bed fishing has minimal impact to the overall adult size bass population. Smaller lakes under 3,000 acres bed fishing can be catastrophic to the large female bass population and minimal impact on the general bass population. Trophy size bass are always targeted and suffer the most harm from being over harvested by bed fishing. Tom

Since bass can't read and can only know what the water temperature is, they go into pre spawn when the water at the depth they are in is about 55 degrees, then move up to start to spawn about 62 degrees....everywhere.

Region 2 = LMB 10 lbs or 24", SMB = 5 lbs or 20" Region 3 = LMB 6.5 lbs or 22", SMB = 5 lbs or 20" * California LMB 10 lbs or 24" Region 4 = LMB 6.5 lbs or 22", SMB = 5.5 lbs or 21" Region 5 = LMB 6.5 lbs or 22", SMB = 5.5 lbs or 21" Region 2 is southeast and Midwest including Texas, Oklahoma & Kansas Region 3 is western states including the northwestern states Region 4 is Cananda Region 5 is Great Lakes For more details go to the Infisherman site, I don't have a link that can be posted. Infisherman is a multi specie awards program. Tom

Look up Andy "Cooch" Cuccia and set up a guide trip on the Delta. Cooch is a wonderful person and great guide who knows how to fish the Delta and area lakes. This will be more than worth the effort. Welcome to CA. Tom

Bass in cold water will not chase down prey very often. The reason is they are cold blooded and do not need much food to survive. This means slooooow down every aspect of your jig presentations. I don't use a heavier jig in water unless it's windy or deeper than 25'; 3/8 to 1/2 oz is heavy enough. Big isn't better when bass are cold. Again the bass don't need to eat big prey. More compact jigs with shorter size trailers are a good choice. Nothing works better then a hair jig with a pork trailer in water below 50 degrees. Tom

Same silly thinking that red hooks are invisible to bass when bass see colors better then we do! Tom

In-Fisherman established regional trophy bass sizes for LMB and SMB for their Master Angler awards program that is a good bench mark; region 1 was LMB = 6.5 lbs or 22", SMB = 5 lbs or 20". Tom PS, region 1 is northeastern states and northern midwest states.