WRB-2.0

If you are storing them, take the reels off. I lay my rods flat in the boat rod locker with expando rod jackets on each rod to protect the guides. If the rods have reels on them, lay them flat with a bath towel between each combo in layers. Keeps the rods and reels out of harms way. I never keep a rod rigged over night; cut the lures/hooks off and restring and rig before fishing. Tom

Happy New Year Catt! Good to see you are above the grass.Tom

Give Gary Dobyn's a call, he supports youth bass fishing and you will not be disappointed. Tom

Didn't see your question until now. I am a trophy bass fisherman, meaning targeting big bass verses school size bass most of my time on the water. Since the lakes I fish are high pressures small lakes, the big bass are conditioned to avoiding boats and metering a big active bass is rare. My goal is to determine the depth the majority of the bass are holding in and knowing if there is a thermocline depth so I will not be fishing too deep or below the bass. Ounce I know the life zone depth, then I go to known big bass areas and fish without metering the area so I don't spook any potential active bass. I always meter the area as I leave or move to another area to determine if bait and bass are there. If I have no idea where the bass are located, then surveying helps to find bait and bass before I start fishing and return to those areas that had bait or bass later in the day. If I am targeting school bass on bait, I fish those when I meter them, because school bass feeding on bait are on the move and may not be there when I return. Big bass tend to hold in an area longer than school size bass. Hope that helps and answers your question. Tom

If anyone is considering Loomis rods act now, they about to have a 20% price increase! Tom

What skirt materials are you planning to use, silicone or living rubber? My suggestion is trap some crawdads where you fish and study the colors while they are alive in a glass jar with water. Colors can be regionally or lake to lake. If everyone is fishing a black and blue jig, then any bass caught. Will be on black and blue jigs! That doesn't mean black and blue is the most effective color, the bas reacted to the only color jig presented to them. The vast majority of crawdads are basically brown with red/green highlights, depending on where they located, you can't go wrong with those colors to start with. Black is a high contrast color, so black with blue/green/purple is also good where bluegill and crappie are forage prey for bass. You can really get carried away easily making up jig skirts, so be warned! Tom

The Zip N Ziggy is one of the best dog walking top water lures made. It has a sliding weight that helps to cast this lure in the wind. The Pims minnows are good trout lures and bass if the bas are on small bait. Tom

The threadfin out west school up all the time, even when hiding in cover like under a dock. Water depth makes no difference to threadfin in deep structured lakes, we often meter large schools in 150-300' of open water with bass feeding on them. It's better to find shad schools approaching underwater structure that abruptly changes depth like humps or major main lake points. The structure pushes up the shad school and bass trap them between the surface and structure element. This is the ideal condition, but you can catch open water bass feeding on shad. Best lures for this type of fishing are structure or flutter spoons and tail or under spins. Soft plastics can also work and crankbaits work, so there are several choices. Sonars with way points ot way point icons are more convenient then a physical buoy, both work. Remember that I am Oldschool or WRB on this site! Tom

Good screen shot. Looking at the arches; notice they are not symmetrical banana shapes, they have fat starts with thin tails, this tells you the target is near the outside edge of the sonar signal to the side of the thicker end. Arches located in the center of the sonar cone. are symetrical shaped. When you meter marks like the ones near the structure...fish there! It's really hard to fish suspended marks without tossing out a bouy marker, so get yourself at least 2 markers.Tom

Dobyn's 764CB RM is the crank bait rod I use for all types of crank baits. Tom

In today's world of sonar/GPS that also side and down scan HD the answers get more complex, the basic are still similar. The first thing everyone who uses sonar units to bass fish should understand how their unit returns signals that are displayed on the unit screen, otherwise your unit is nothing more than a depth finder. If you are only interested in the water depth below the transducer, then use your unit as a depth finder. There are very good tutorials available that detail how to use your sonar/GPS units, Bruce "Doc" Sampson has good tutorials for example. Don Iovino's book is good, both are available from TW etc. I fish deep structured lakes that have threadfin shad populations, silversides, crappie, trout that are pelagic baitfish and easy to meter on sonar. Baitfish that are dermasil or live near shore cover are harder to meter on down looking or scanning sonar units, due to the cover and shallower water. I use sonar every time I launch my boat and meter or survey the marina area. Martina's are good places to learn the depth of the life zone because most have a population of bass and baitfish. The first thing I look for is the presence of a thermocline, a major factor most of the year where I fish. The next thing that I try to locate is baitfish or bass, sometimes you can see them visually under docks or swimming nearby. Shad for example hide near shore cover until the sun floats phytoplankton the shad feed on. If you can't meter any baitfish, they must be somewhere else, deeper or shallower than where you are using your sonar, like hiding in cover. When I know the depth of thermocline, baitfish are located, then I can determine where to fish and what type of lures should work best, takes a lot of guess work out of my time on the water. Bass located close to cover or structure elements are usually more active then bass suspended in the water column. Bass feeding on baitfish are active regardless where they are located. Active bass are what you are looking for, they are catchable bass. If you meter active fish feeding on baitfish, stop and try to catch them. Tom

Fishing forums allow both the novice and accomplished anglers to post their opinions and share their thoughts, it's a mix of ideas and experiences, credentials are not a requirement. Tom

You are the only person who can make that decision. Go to a local tackle shop that carries those rods and put a reel like the one you plan to use on the rod, with line and a casting weight, then try casting. The right rod for you should be a easy choice after touching and feeling it. The other decision point is warranty , customer service and cost of replacement. Good luck. Tom

The best measurement of strike detection is to fish with a partner who is good at detecting strikes, if you are both catching some of the biggest bass in the lake, then you are detecting jig strikes often. Jigs are big bass lures, catching them is a good barometer of your jig skills. There isn't a rod or line on the market that is more sensitive than your finger or thumb tips; feel your line and watch the line for movement, this is your best strike indicators. Don't you ever question how bass were caught 30 years ago! How could we catch bass back then? We used the most sensitive rods, line and sharpest hooks of the era. The answer; we used our eyes and finger tips, just like we do today. This months Bassmaster magazine, Jan 2013, has a photo of Andy "Cooch" Cuccia with his 14.4 bass caught on a Wadda jig. Cooch is a good jig angler and guides on the California delta. I mention this to point out fishing with an expert jig angler will reduce your learning time on the water. Tom

If you are primarily using this rod for spinning baits, ultra light weight and sensitivity may be over kill, you can use a general use medium/hvy or 3 power 6'6" to 7' casting rod and this gives you a lot of options. Spinning baits are a lot like casting a crankbait, you do a lot casting and retrieving, so balance is very important. What reel and line do you plan using? Tom

The ALX Zolo-B series is $180, very similar to S Croix Extreme rods.ALX custom series are the top of his line and approx $260 including shipping. The past 35 years I have been using both Lamiglas and Loomis jig rods. Gary Loomis is no longer with the company, Shimano owns Loomis and Lamiglas dropped their top quality bass rods. I liked the NRX series, however prefer a 6'10", with a small 2" fore grip in 3, 4 and 5 power rods, not available from Loomis or Lamiglas today. Dobyn's doesn't make the light weight ultra sensitive blanks like the NRX, ALX does. I refuse to buy rods made off shore. Check ALX out or don't, makes no difference to me, just sharing information. Tom

Hydra NG blanks are compatible to NRX, I have fished with both. The big difference is a custom rod with a comparable blank for a lot less $$, ,give Alex a call!Tom

ALX Zolo-B series falls in that price range. ALXis a small custom rod maker that is offering a line of off the shelf rods, American made, lifetime warranty, top quality components , check them out. Alex made a set of jig rods for me that are equal to Loomis NRX for less than 1/2 the price. Dobyn's rods would be my second choice today, Gary uses some of the same components as Alex, however his rods are made off shore. Gary supports bass fishing and has great customer service. Tom

Think of a swim jig as a spinnerbait without the wire and blades. The swim jig should have a head design nearly the same shape as the spinnerbait with the hook eye at the nose of the jig. Swim jigs replicate baitfish so colors should be similar to what colors the baitfish have. You can "swim" any jig by retrieving it faster through the water column. The problem with some jigs is the hook style and head shape can collect weeds easily, a swim jig should go through weeds without collecting them around the line tie; the head is usually bullet shaped and designed not to roll when retrieved faster. If you only have 1color to use for a dedicated swim jig white/chartreuse would be a good choice. However if you plan swim a jig during the cold water period along the bottom, then a black jig would be a good choice, colors are seasonal. If you retrieve a swim jig along the bottom, avoid stopping the jig so it lays on the bottom; it may snag easier then other jig designs because the jig may roll flat and not stand up. You cast out and count down about 1second per foot on average, then retrieve the jig using your reel with a uneven retrieve. Tom

Arkie jig Aspirin head Ball head Brush or alien Banana Dart head Fish head Football Grass Horse head Nu jig Rocker head Scrounger Slider Sled head Spider Standup Snootie or poison head Shaky head Swim Tube Viper head There are more, these are the 22 of the most common, each has a specific use. When you think of jig & pig or flipping/pitching jig it is usually the Arkie style head. If you have a question regarding a specific jig head and how to fish it, just ask and will try to give a detailed answer. Tom

By the time you read this it should 2013 a new year to learn this new lake. Winter bass fishing is about locating baitfish and presenting lures to the vertically; drop shot finesse worms, structure spoons are good for this type of fishing. Another option is fishing jigs along breaks, any deep standing timber or working long tapering points down into deep water. It's time to do more fishing with your sonar than your lures. Take some and survey the areas you plan to fish with your sonar unit and fish areas that have some signs of baitfish or bass. Blindly working a bank in hopes to find a bass is a very % method. Good luck and Have a happy New Year catching bass. Tom

I wrote a post that is pinned on horizontal jigs and can send you copy of a jig article written for In-Fisherman magazine, PM your email.You are a worm fisherman, jig bites sometimes feel exactly like a worm bite, a tick. The difference is you have very little time to react the majority of the time. If you feel anything usual set the hook, swings are free! Tom

The reasons a flipping/pitching jig is a poor choice to cast and retrieve like a Texas rigged worm are; 1. The hook point is too close tp the jig head, prevents hooks sets when the jig is more than 20' out away from the boat or angler. 2. The stiff weed guard prevents the hook from staying upright when the bass bites down on the jig, the jig rolls over sideways. 3. The Bitzey jig doesn't stand up the hook when you retrieve along the bottom. 4. The jig hook should be as a sharp as possible, inexpensive hooks require constant resharpening. Price can be a factor and is why I suggested the GY football jigs; 5 for $4.50 and GY hula grubs 10 for $4. The GY jig and hula skirt will increase your jig fishing success verses the Bitsey jig. There is a old saying "you can lead a horse to water, but can't make it drink". Tom

My suggestion for beginner jig anglers that have Texas rigged worm fishing experience and tackle is to learn to fish a casting jig, not a flipping or pitching jig. The strike King jig you purchased is a poor choice for a casting jig do to it's compact size and stiff weed guard design. You could use a shaky head jig and worm combination, very similar to wht you are use to fishing. If you don't believe a shaky head jig is jig fishing, then use a spider jig; GY makes an excellent 4" & 5" twin tail hula grub that has a spider skirt. GY also has a good football jig with a wire weed guard that uses either Owner or Gamakatsu hooks designed for use with the spider hula grub. This is a good entry level jig that appeals to numbers of bass. You cast and retrieve a spider jig similar to a T- rigged worm and your standard med/ hyv fast action bait casting tackle works for 3/8 to 1/2 pz jigs. There are at least 2 jig sponsors on the site that have good traditional jigs, if that is your choice. Tom

Why do you think your 50 acre lake receives high bass fishing pressure? Too small for bass clubs to hold tournaments, how many skilled bass anglers fish this small lake on a daily basis? If this lake has a good population of adult size bass, the only time they would visit shallow shoreline water is at night, low light periods, during the spawn and occasional feeding periods on young of the year fish. What type of bait fish does your small lake have for the bass to feed on? Knowing what prey is available and what prey the bass prefer during each seasonal period will help you to determine what lures may be most effective. Location is everything in bass fishing, you can't catch them if they are not located where you are fishing. Your problem isn't finding the right lure, it's finding the bass. Do you have a sonar unit on your John boat or a trolling motor? Tom