WRB-2.0

Look at a bass it has big eyes, then look at a catfish; small eyes and barbels to detect scent. Bass use their lateral line sense of water movement vibrations and eyes to determine what is nearby. Bass also have a sense of hearing and smell to detect odors and vibrations at very close range. Bass use all their senses to survive. If a soft plastic has an attractant molded in, adding a different odor can send mixed message to a bass and set off alarms. Thinking adding an attractant to cover your human scent more than likely doesn't work, the bass can detect both and a human odor may not be a negative unless you have something on your fingers that is a negative odor. Salt is a positive and Senko type soft plastics have heavy loads of salt. Berkley was and is a pioneer with attractants and their Power baits changed bass and trout fishing. Today there are a lot of bass attractants on the market. My preference are the Gel types and avoid aerosol spray types. Tom

I fish clear water with threadfin shad populations similar Bull Shoals and rarely fish the colors everyone has suggested. Shad colors, night crawler colors and high visibility colors; Roboworms 4 1/2" and 6" straight tails Prizim shad, oxblood light red flake, MMII and people's worm. These worms work everywhere that has clear water! Tom

The obvious when fishing current, river, power generation riverine lake or tidal current is to remember bass face into the current and like to use current breaks to bring prey to them. So making shorter accurate casts up current and guiding the jig down current keeping just enough controlled slack to feel the jig and to keep from snagging, requires a higher rod tip presentation. If you are used fishing current, fishing a jig should be easy to adapt to. Good luck! Tom

The right 1/2" vertical edge of your some screen is a real time flasher, it' not the circular shape you were used to looking at! Tom

I see that Nortstar is a forum sponsor and took a few minutes to look at their jigs. Basically 3 styles; swim jig, football and brush head flipping jig, using Owner hooks. Good quality components and they look well made. Back to your question about weight: you need enough weight to over come the line drag in the current and not more! The heavier the jig weight the faster it will fall to the bottom and into snags. It's been my experience to use a round head when jig fishing in in rivers with current. I don't believe the jig you have is a round head, more than likely a football head, which should work OK as long s you don't let it settle down into the rocks on slack line. With a 3/8 oz football head your line size and type is also important. The line needs to be strong enough to pop the jig loose from snags, yet not so heavy it creates too much drag. So what line type and size are you planning to use? Tom

Eagle makes accessories like a transducer mounting kit for about $15. Your unit I'd good for what you need, however you must want to use it. All I have heard so far from you is negative replies regarding your sonar unit. There is an old saying; you can lead a horse to water, but can't make it drink. It's true bass can be caught without electronics and as a few have noted Buck Perry didn't have electronics, but I can garrantee if was fishing today he would. Most of your questions regarding using a sonar unit have been asked by other anglers new to using sonar, you are not alone. My recommendation was to educate yourself and you should do that. Try the sonar forums, buy the book suggested, check out Bruce Sampson's video's, lots of resources available. You could post a map of your lake and get several inputs where to catch bass, that would narrow down your choices where to look and where not. At the end of the day, it's up to you. Tom

Thank you Jeff. I rarely share photos of my hair jigs, hope you enjoy them. The top photos are a comparison between full and tight tied jigs. I added my "weed guard" for reference. Please note my jigs are not for sale, just wanted to share them with you. Tom

I realize this suggestion is another expense but well worth it; get a copy of Don Iovino's Finesse Fishing and the Sonar connection. Don is a hall of fame pro bass angler and a expert with sonar. This book covers everything you need to know about basic sonar. Think of the sonar signal as a narrow beam flash light, or as Don puts it your showers head, the signal is about 1" in daimeter at the transducer and is cone shaped getting larger the deeper the signal travels. Your unit the cone area is about 1/3rd in diameter as the depth your are reading; 15' deep the area is about 5 feet in diameter directly below the transducer. If your sonar is set to show fish icons, turn those off, the icons can be anything within the cone return area. Your primary goal is to read the bottom depth, learning to interpret sonar signals takes a lot of practice. Keep in mind what you see on the sonar screen is history of what the transducer has already passed over, the screen displays what is behind you, unless you are stopped still in the water or going very slow. You adjust the sonar power by increasing the gain, like turning up the volume on your radio. Too much power and the screen get cluttered with static, so turn up the gain so you see a few background dots, you don't want the power so low that the screen is white, then the transducer wil not pick up the bottom accurately or any suspended fish. Get the book and start practicing with your unit. Good luck! Tom

The question should be why would anyone with a boat today bass fishing without knowing how deep the water is under their boat. You don't Need state of the art sonar to determine what depth the water is and if baitfish or other suspended fish are under your boat. For less than $100 you can know exactly where to fish on any lake. You already know how to read a topo map and can look at the terrain surrounding the lake and determine the approximate bottom contour, Now you need to be able to confirm where you are at on the water by knowing how deep the water is and what type of bottom structure is under you. With that information you can apply your bass behavior knowledge and start catching bass. Do you have a trolling motor to position your boat and stay near the structure or cover you want to fish? Without a sonar unit and a trolling motor you are in for a lot of trail and error bass fishing. Your options are trolling different lures at various depths and anchoring on spots that may have bass within casting distance and fishing blind with a hope and a prayer.....both work at times. I am old enough to have bass fished before sonar or electric trolling motors. I was also one of the first to buy both in the early 60's. I would rather do without my Outboard engine than be without a simple sonar unti and a trolling motor! Tom

Any knot is only as good as the knot tiers skill. Like everything else with fishing it takes practice to consistantly tie good knots under fishing conditions. I also agree that FC line is very difficult to consistantly tie a good knot with. So may factors to consider here is just 1; the size of the hook, clip wire, split ring, spinnerbait wire, lure eye, etc verses the diameter of the FC line has a major factor on knot strength. The smaller the FC diameter is verses the wire size being tied onto creates a condition where the knot slips under pressure. The ratio is about 3X wire size vs line diameter; .015D line or larger works OK with wire D of .045 for example, where .010D line starts to have slipping issue with .045D wire. The Palomar up grade for FC line is the double Palomar; 2 wrap over hand knot on the loop, instead of the standard single wrap over hand on the loop. One of the strongest knots that ever tested was the original braid knot; a double line clinxh knot where you double the line like starting a Palomar knot, make the 5 twist like the clinch knot, put the double line loop through the gap next to the hook and pull the loop tight, then pull the tag end tight. This knot is messy, big and has 3 ends to clip off and works great on braid or FC line. As I noted in the beginning of the thread why so many knots? By the time we are through there should be at least a dozen different knots that are used for FC, which proves the point that FC line can be a *****. Tom

1. Yes, usually a pork trailer. 2, 4 , and 7 See the Horizontal jigging post. 4. All buck tail hair, usually 3 colors mixed. 3. I fish hair jigs year around. 6. 1/2' oz, custom stand up style. Hair jigs are not popular today with LMB anglers. Most hair jigs are custom made usually by the anglers who use them. For LMB a hair jig should be tied full bodied, meaning the hair should flair out away from the jig, not tight against the jig. The hair should not be trimmed after tying, the tapered hair ends provide a lot of movement. I add a 3/4" piece of worm body onto the hook shank to help flare out the hair.and keep the pork trailer in the hook bend. Tom

You should first divide the country into regions simialr to the In-Fishermans awards program. Then you need to separate bass into different categories; northern LMB, Florida strain LMB, smallmouth bass and spotted bass. LMB above the Mason-Dixon line: 8 lbs. LMB below the Mason-Dixon line 10 lbs. (PB = 12.2 lbs) FLMB in every state where they are established: 12 lbs. (PB = 19.3 lbs) Smallmouth and spotted bass: 6 lbs. ( PB = 6 lb smallie) No reason to kill a bass for a mount, replica mounts are available; good photo, length and girth measurements. Tom PS; just realized you ask a general question regarding trophy fish.....the a lot bigger can of worms then just bass!

There are groups of environmentalist that believe their perception of the environment is how everything should be. The clock should be rolled back to to a particular period that suits their beliefs. That somehow during our brief time on earth, there environment groups can make a change that will save the environment for a better future. Armed with this naive thinking they manage to find supporters who fund them and impose their thinking on people who are less organized. There isn't any science to support these groups because it isn't a fact based issue, it's polical. The use of non native species is a classic maneuver to revert the ecosystem back to a point in time where the environmentalist believes to be ideal, over looking everything else about the environment the was present during that time period. If these groups truly want to remove non native species, they should remove themselves and all the other people that have populated the environment. You can't just change one element of the environment without impacting everything else. Tom

I known we have a lot of night fishing threads and have discussed various lighting systems for night fishing. The question is why are black lights so popular? And what type of black lights are good; fluorescent or LED? I have used and still use different types of lights depending on the presentation I am fishing. Where I fish we have very few biting bugs to deal with, a few mosquito's, so a white can be used. My problem at night is poor night vision and very slow recovery form sudden bright light in darkness. Everyone has an issue with depth perception at night when your eye pupil is dilated full open to take in more light when it 's dark, your focal length is shortened. So if I am cranking a shoreline bank where accuracy is essential a flood light works good and I can see like it 's day time. A flood draws in the maximum amount of bugs and wouldn't be a good choice if bugs are a problem. I also like to use a high intensity underwater light used to float squide in salt water. This is a weighted light I place in the back of the boat under the OB prop and it lights up the water all around the boat like it was in a swimming pool at night. I use this light when fishing deeper water on outside structure. The underwater light draws in baitfish and I can see good to land bass. The black lights I use are Zorro, the older fluorescent tube type. I use black light when fishing shoreline cover with soft plastics and jigs, when I don't need good depth perception for accurate casts. Black lights let you see the line better than any other light, very important with Senkos, worms and jigs, when fishing around cover, but doesn't help you see the cover better. Cap lights with LED's are handy for tying knots and finding stuff, a small flash light also works well. So what type of lights do you prefer? Tom

Started a new thread for FC line under Rods, reels, line and knots forum. Tom

That is the same as the San Diego Jam knot with a different name. Tom

The fall turnover is always a tough 2 week period before everything settles down. You can usually smell a turnover, a mild ssulpher smell due to the decaying bottom debris floating to the surface. Wind usually helps to remix the water. LMB don't slow down a lot until the water column is below 50 degrees and the active verses inactive periods are about the same. Shoreline bass are there to feed on dermasil prey and palegic bait fish that may hide in shoreline cover, like shad. I prefer the early afternoon time period for fall jig fishing, you usually have the water to yourself and can pick and choose where you want to fish. Tom

This is my first post in this forum and I am sure there are several threads on FC line and knots. FC being fluorocarbon filament line as opposed to monofilament line, including copolymers and hybrids. No other line in the history of bass fishing has had a greater impact on knot development. With mono most bass anglers had good knot tying success with simple knots like a clinch knot or a Palomar knot. When these same angler switch to FC line they experienced knot failures, starting the knot wars. My experience with FC line dates back to the early 90's. Aaron Martens was a local tournament angler back then and he introduced me and others to Sunline Shooter FC line and suggested the San Deigo jam knot. Both the FC line and SDJ knot worked good, however, like everyone else, I started to break off lures and bass occasionally. I have a habit of retting about ounce an hour or whenever I detect a line flaw because of the lighter test line we use in our clear water lakes. I resolved most of my FC line failures by going up in line diameter that equaled the mono lime I was familiar with using; Sunline Shooter 14 lb test was equal to 12 lb P-line CXX for example. This helped but didn't resolve the occasional line failure. So I started to experiment with a lot of different knots and line mfr 's. What I learned; FC line cold flows more than Nylon and takes a permanent set after cold flowing. What this means is knots that cushion the main line where it exits the hook eye perform better than knots that deform the main line at the hook eye. However time under stress that cold flows the line where it exits the hook eye reduces the line strength more with FC line than mono line. When you test the knot strength within a few minutes of tying the knot it is stronger than testing it an hour later. Measuring the FC line within a few inches of the knot reveals the line is smaller in diameter than it was before tying the knot and testing the knot strength. A good FC knot should cushion the main line, should not deform the line and remain tight without slipping and should always be wet when tied. Most knot failures are not knot failures, the failure is at the line where the line exits the hook eye due to line stretch at that union. With most FC line today, the manufacturer has learned to up size the line diameter for pound test rating. I believe this is misleading, however there isn't an industry standard for line diameter verses pound test rating. The bottom line; if you found a knot that works and a FC line mfr you are happy with, go fishing and retire often. Tom

Location, location, location. You can't carch bass if they are not there. We could debate how many different seasonal periods; winter, pre spawn, spawn, post spawn, summer and fall. Autumn would be the fall seasonal period. Water temperatures are dropping into the 60's, the aquatic vegetation is dying back and the prey the bass feed on that live in the shallow vegetation must relocate, depending how cold the water gets during winter. If you live far enough north where the trees turn autumn colors, the prey and bass go deeper. If the lakes you fish have threadfin shad, then the bass tend follow the shad schools. If your jigs are crawdad imitators, the crawdads also move into deeper water where they can dig into clay banks or hide in rocky crevices or wood like trees and brush. Look for any green weeds near deeper water breaks, same with clay banks near rocky areas, ant brush or tress in deeper water. Jig colors are a trail and error until you find what the bass in your area prefer. Tom PS; if haven't already read the horizontal jigging post, take a look, casting jigs during the fall is very effective.

With black light I can watch my jig sale into trees and I will know where it is! I still have poor depth perception at night. This could be another good topic; black lights. We could start a FC knot thread, that has been done a few times. There is a reson so many FC knots are on the Internet! Nice bass Bo, they both look like 8 to 8 1/2 lbs, very big NLMB! Tom PS; I use Zorro black lights.

To get a hung jig out of rocks, it usually takes moving the bait to get a different angle and I do that most of the time. Lightly shaking the jig loose is the best option. If I have caught a big bass already, moving the boat nearer to the bass is rarely a good idea when fishing rocky structure with little or no cover, unless the bass are in water over 20 deep. I would rather break off the jig, then get on top of the bass. I don't use a lure retriever for jigs in rocks, maybe if trying to knock it off a tree branch, but rare where I fish. Another factor is releasing big bass during a bite, that can also shut down a bite. I use a "stay alive" 10' weighted stringer clip the bass onto, hate to put big bass in a livewell. When the bite shuts off and I am ready to leave the area, then I release the bass. I release small bass instantly and usually leave the area if small bass are active. Big bass and small bass rarely mix, unless they are feeding on shad or spawning. Remember I am fishing 14 lb or less FC line that breaks fairly easy and doesn't disturb the structure, you can pull out a water logged piece of wood or piece of junk on occasion and that isn't good. With braid or 20 lb FC it takes a lot pressure to break off and I fish the heavier line at night, because I don't like to re tie at night and tend to fish more shoreline cover areas. At night it's sometimes hard to judge distance and I have missed the shoreline and cast 10' up into a tree, you don't always make accurate casts. Tom

The Spot Remover Pro model jig has a Mustad Ultra point hook, good for price. This is a stand up head and you should be using a high flotation 6" straight tail worm to start with. The worm nose is screwed onto the jig spring, the hook goes through the worm body, the worm should be as straight as possible, the hook point and barb lays exposed or skin hooked. If you don't know if the worm floats or not, fill a bucket with water and test the worm, it should float on top. Clear pit lakes you could use spinning tackle with 6 to 8 lb premium mono or casting with 10 lb, if finesse fishing and depending on the jig weight. You cast this jig, let it sink to the bottom and let it rest for a few seconds. Take up the slack line, lift the rod tip to about 2 o'clock position, let the line go slack again while always watching for line movement of feeling e tick that indicated you had a strike; if you feel or see the line move, set the hook. If you don't feel anything you shake the rod tip A few inches about a dozen time quickly then stop and pause before hoping the jig about a foot and repeat the shaking. The strike often feel like light pressure or the line just moves, don't expect a hard thump strike, it happens, but very often. Tom PS; you can also wacky rig the worm, looks odd but sometimes works very well.

When I lose a jig it's usually not from hanging it in rocks or wood during a retrieve, it's from line abrasion that has gone undetected between casts. I check the line often, but not every cast, because when I am fishing it's usually for several hours each trip making about 20 to 25 cast per hour or about 150 cast each outing. If I catch 5 bass a trip on jigs it's a good day, that is averaging a bass about every 30 casts, the average size bass nearly 6 lbs. I catch about the same number of bass under 3 lbs as I do over 10 lbs; about 10 a year on jigs. Everyone has good days and bad days where you catch a lot of bass or get blanked, when jig fishing. I am usually fishing with 14 lb FC line, it's the heavest I can get away with during the day and still get bit. The problem with FC line is poor knot strength and abrasion resistance compared to premium mono. The advantage is less drag in the water and it sinks, reducing slack line. Where mono and braid tends to float and stays off structure elements, FC line tends to drag across the same elements and both weak knots and abraided line results in lost jigs. I feel the line near the jig, up about 18" and check the hook point with my thumb nail if I think line or jig needs it or after each bass I catch. As far as skirt damage, I fish hair jigs most of the time and hair is very durable, but also takes a beating, I lose jigs them faster then wearing them out. I don't have any one lure that has caught more than 100 bass, other then a few hard baits like crankbaits and surface lures and those have had the hooks replaced a few times, can't replace a jig hook! It's OK to lose jigs occasionally, you can turn off a good jig bite trying to recover a snagged jig, a good jig design shouldn't get snagged often in the first place. The best design jigs can find it's way into a sharp rocky crevice where you can't work it free. Tom

Fishing from a boat in deep rocky structure lakes I feel good if a jig last 2 or 3 trips or occasionally a week. Sometimes I will lose 2 or 3 jigs a day depending on the type of rocky structure I am fishing, especially at night. Some big bass will freight train you and drag the line across the rocks, cutting the line or into a tree and you can't always worked them back out. To me if you are not losing a few jigs, you are not fishing the right type structure or cover or the bass are young adult size bass. Big bass over 6 lbs are very strong fish and will get you into trouble occasionally and win the battle. Sometimes the line get nicked by a sharp rock and you lose the jig. The only reason a jig needs a painted head or powder coated head is to sell it, don't worry about chipped heads, worry about dull hooks. Tom PS ; I use Monel buss wire to tie living rubber skirts, doesn't rust in salt water.

The original 12" Mann's Jelly worms were called "stingrays" and had an oversize tail compared to the standard 7 1/2" Jelly worms and as mentioned were available with fire tails; hot pink or chartreuse. I may still have some Streinbridge "Flip Tails", 8" worms. We would buy 100 qty bags back in those days for trips to lake Guerrero Mexico and go though more than 100 everyday. Talk about bloody fingers, those Mexican bass had sharp teeth inside the lower lip and averaged back in the 70's about 6 lbs width occasion 9 to 10lb bass. That was before FLMB were stocked in Mexican lakes. We didn't fish giant worms in Mexico because you didn't need to and they were expensive $.97 cents per 3 bag, Fliptials were $3 for a 100 and packaged with glycerin and ansise oil ready to fish. The big straight tail worms have a slight wiggle like a Senko and should fished slowly, that is why a lighter weight is better than a heavier sinker, slower fall and you must slow down to keep the weight near or on the bottom. The slowest retreive used back in the old days was stitching, moving the worm slowly with your fingers an inch at a time....talk about slooooow! It's nearly impossible to stitch a worm unless you know the bass are there. Tom