WRB-2.0

Fish at night with your standard tackle or lures or low light periods. Learn to finesse fish with smaller natural looking translucent soft plastics like Robo Worms, small poppers like a Splash-It or small jerk baits like Pointers 78 in gost colors, during the day light periods. Stay off the fish and make longer casts. Good luck. Tom

The first fish scale I had was a Langley De-Liar pocket size spring scale with a tape measure. Loved that name "De-Liar"! Guessing the size of fish (bass) is a big part of fishing; that was at least a 5 lber! when a bass misses the lure! Bill Dance must have the biggest hands in TV fishing, they dwarf the bass he holds. It takes time to accurately weigh fish and the extra time out of water isn't good for them. Catching big bass for the TV host or magizine photo is a common practice, they all do it. Tom

Not a fan of swimbaits made from salt water tough "soft" plastics like Storms wide swimbaits. You need to go up in line strength to 17 lb Big Game and bend the hook gap open using needle nose pliers about 1/8th " outward. Sharpen the hook so the point scratches your finger nail. Go to a med/hvy 7' rod rated for 20 lb line and 3/4 to 1 1/2 oz lures. Reel set by cranking fast and sweeping the rod back hard. Keep the bass under control, rod loaded up and no slack line. Tom

You can search the site for topics related to deep structure fishing. The basics; 1. Don't fish below the thermocline. 2. When you launch your boat meter the marina area to determine where the thermocline is or at what depth the fish in the marina are suspended at. Rarely this early in the summer period are LMB going to be deeper than 35', more than likely around the 10-25' depth zone. 3. Vertical presentations with soft plastics worms; drop shot, shaky head jig, and finesse doddling. You can also cast and retrieve a C-rig, split or slip shot rig. 4. Major points that drop into the creek channel, under water islands/humps near the creek/river channel are two good places to start. The doddle rig is similar to a T-rig; add an 8mm glass bead between the weight and hook. You simply bounce the weight so the glass bead clicks; small 2"-4" hops for several seconds, let rest and repeat. Drop shot is very similar; hook about 8 to 12" above the weight and shake the worm while keeping the weight on or near the bottom Good luck. Tom

Your time on the water is far more valuable than a few $$ for a gel scent. Don't mix brands of scent together. You can use unscented "Vasoline" with your scent. Smelly Jelly, Hot Sauce are also excellent gel scents. Tom

As mentioned change the hooks and use split rings on any older lure design with the screw eyes or hangers. I would also try Owners feathered size 2 treble on the rear hook. The bass will tend to target the feathered end of the lure and you will have a higher strike to hook up ratio. Don't react to the strike by trying to instantly hook set with the rod, reel set by cranking the line tight and sweeping the rod back. Premium sharp hooks will set themselves. Good luck. Tom

Don't you wonder a little how bass feed in the dark, with little or no light? We don't know how bass see, lots of theories, little facts. We do know bass use all their senses to located prey and their eyes are important based on where they are located and the size. As far as color is concerned it's trail and error until you find a color or color combination the bass prefer where you fish. We all have our favorites, doesn't mean that is the best color under the prevailing conditions. Try to locate some active bass and try different colors when they are active, might surprise yourself. Use lures the bass can find easily, that displace water, give off vibrations and scent. A steady slower retrieve may be an advantage in dark water; gives the bass a chance to locate the lure. Tom PS; a live night crawler or crawdad blends into the off color water perfectly, we can't see it....the bass can in total darkness! Let the bass decide what color they like.

12 lb Big Game mono, buy it in 1/4 spools, reel spool every other trip and re-tie often. Excellent casting line, good knot strength and abrasion resistance. I crank with DD22's and Poe's 300 series with no issues in deep rocky structured lakes. Tom

If had to choose 1 lure at night it would be a big plastic worm Texas rigged with a rattle weight, second would be jig & pig. Colors black/blue neon. Keep it simple at night! Tom

The Senko isn't your best choice for the drop shot rig...too much plastic. If you want to drop shot a Senko try using an 0-ring and wacky rig it by hooking the the 0-ring. To set hook simply lift hard and reel...do not do a hard hook set, you will rip the mouth tissue. A smaller diameter finesse worm nose hooked is a better choice with the drop shot rig. Tom 5" to 6" Senko use a 2-012 size 0-ring.

It's all about location, can't catch them if they are not there feeding. LMB have 6 basic annual location cycles; winter, pre spawn, spawn, post spawn, summer and fall. The only time bass are not located near food is during the spawn. To locate bass, locate the prey they are targeting. On deep structured man made lakes the prey is bait fish and crawdads plus whatever else is available. During the summer period bass have a lot of choices; young of the year bass, pan fish, carp, catfish plus minnows, shad, crawdads, frogs, worms and insects. However shad tend to be the primary bait fish in deep structured lakes, in lakes that have a shad population. Find the prey, the bass will be close by. Tom

You are getting 60% or 6 out of 10 bass in the boat, so you are doing a lot of things right. Try using a jig without a weed guard and up size the premium hook at least 1 size; 2/0 to 3/0 for example. Replace the weed guard with a hitchhiker type spring and 1 1/2" piece of finesse worm the same color as the worm or creature you are now using. Split the worm peice so the hook point enters the split to cover the hook point. If you are using a shaky head jig; use the type with a spring worm holder. Important: reel set; keep the rod tip down, crank quickly until the rod starts to load up, then sweep the rod back to set the hook. Tom

Blade Runner tackle hollow body bait inserts work great. Tom

Split shot rig and nose hook with a size 1 finnesse style drop shot hook. Use a size 4 round split shot (without the ears). 6 to 8Lb mono or FC line works good. Simply slowly drag the rig along the bottom and stop every 2 feet for a few seconds. This works with reapers (leaches) and 5" curl tail finesse worms. Good luck. Tom PS; crimp the split shot on the line, pull the line through the shot to make a small groove, cut off the damaged line and tie on the hook using Palomar or improved clinch knot. Slide the shot up the line about 14" to 18" above the hook and lightly crimp to hold in place.

Welcome to bass fishing. To be successful with the plastic worm you need a few basic items; a rod that has enough power to set the hook, line that has enough strength to set the hook and a hook that is sharp and large enough to penetrate the worm and the basses mouth. 1. medium to medium heavy fast action rod, 6' to 7' long. spinning rod/reel combo, 6 to 10 lb premium mono or FC line. casting rod/reel combo, 8 to 15 lb premium mono or FC line. 2. hooks; depends on how you rig and how big in diameter the worm is. Texas rig; sliding bullet sinker and straight shank worm hook with barbs on the shank. The Texas rig used with a casting rod/reel combo and 12 to 15 lb line with 3/0 to 4/0 worm hook when using 6" to 10" worms. Spinning rod/reel combo you can down size to 8 to 10 lb line, 1/0 to 2/0 hooks and 5" to 6" Texas rigged worms. Sinker weight depends on the worm size, line size and water depth or cover type. General weight sizes are; 1/8. 3/16, 1/4 and 3/8 oz. 3/16 oz is a good starting weight the Texas rig. If you have a spinning out fit a finesse Carolina rig (slip shot); Texas rig with a weight stopper to keep the weight about 12" to 24" above the worm, is a good rig to use. Another option is the drop shot rig using a spinning outfit. The hook is very important; buy premium sharp worm hooks and take your time to learn how to rig the worm properly. There are many ways to fish the plastic worm; the proper technique is the one that works for you. Good luck. Tom PS; a hour on the water with a good worm fisherman will save you a lot of time and effort.

Control Company makes an inexpensive water proof thermometer w/probe #4339 that is compact and easy to use; ph # 281/482.1714 www.control3.com Tom

I try to be on the water the 5 days during the full moon cycle; 2 before and 2 after, during the month before spawning starts. The reason is simple; caught over 90% of my giant bass during those days and seasonal period. My biggest bass where caught on raining and low light days. Tom

The homing instinct some animals have, including bass, can't be related to memory. Bass return to same areas during the same seasonal periods year around. We don't have a clue* how birds, fish, insects and other animals travel great distances to return to the exact spot they were born. This is a basic survial of the species instinct. Some bass never strike an artical lure, some strike the same several times. Is the shy more aware bass that doesn't get caught smarter then the aggressive bass that does? If this is true then bass would be getting dummer every generation, based on survival rates. Learning from positive or negative experiences differs with individuals; some learn lifes lessons and some don't. This isn't analytical problem solving, it's called survival. Tom * hundreds of book on this topic.

Solar and Lunar positions affect water and the creatures living in and around it. Lunar gravitation affects can be predicted in advance, lumination, sun or moon light, is variable due to the weather. Bass being sight feeders tend to be active when their prey is active. Be aware of the environment around you and lunar affects are one of the factors to consider. The most important factor is; go fishing, it's very difficult to catch fish if you are not. There isn't any scientific proof that bass are any more or less active during any moon phase; bass can't read or write. Tom

It's hard to consider a high land classification lake with 55,000 acres as being high pressured by bass anglers. If you have 100 boat turnaments every day, 365 days a year, there will be areas the bass never see a lure. The areas that are local fishing holes, those bass get pressured and see the same lures and get conditioned to avoid those. Consider lake Castiac located near Los Angeles; 2,230 surface acres, the banks are steep, the lake is deep and shoreline has very little cover. Castiac has weekly bass tournaments year around and night tournaments during the summer months, plus out of state and recreational bass anglers are fishing every day of the year...that is a high pressured lake. I suggest that you Google Western Bass magazine, it's free on line and read some of the outstanding articals. I also recommend reading Don Iovino's book Finesse Bass Fishing and the Sonar connection. Most of all, get out on the water and go bass fishing, learning to fish is a life long lesson. Good luck. Tom PS; this site has a ton of good info on structure fishing and finesse fishing, both are important to catching bass other anglers have pressured.

Storing fish for mounting; keep it wet, wrap it in a wet terry cloth towel and freeze it. If you are only keeping it fresh, then pack the wet fish in crushed ice and wrap with freezer paper. You can protect the fins with wax paper before wrapping the wet fish a towel or paper. Tom

Less pressured bass are easier to catch where ever they are located. Looking at your address; Lake of the Ozarks is a large power generation highland reservior. You may be located in the upper end or upper third where the river enters. Bass that live near shore located in obvious good looking areas tend to draw a lot of fishing pressure. During the spring most bass move toward protected coves to spawn, the larger adult size bass then leave high pressured areas or get caught. Bass are not necessarly smart, they become conditioned to lures, if they don't learn they don't survive. The points are the first spots and last spot the bass visit entering and leaving the cove. Points are good areas to fish, but everyone knows that. The river channel under water where the points intersect are better spots. Under water islands called humps near the river channel a also good spots. The areas away from the shore line have less fishing pressure because they are out of sight and most bass fisherman over look anything they can't see. Search around this site and read articles about structure fishing, the term generally used for the underwater locations. Good luck. Tom

Baja on the fly with Gary Graham to Magdalena bay in November is a trip of a life time. Inside the bay are mangroves with world class snook, outside wide open dorado, both are great jumpers on a fly rod. Stripe, blue and black marlin, tuna and wahoo are hot in November. This isn't too far from Texas and no bugs to get shots for. Tom PS; mag bay in Nov should be on your bucket list.

About 20 yards means you don't know exactly where it is and that will make it difficult to retrieve, depending on the bottom make up and depth. If the bottom is clean of weeds or brush, dragging a weighted treble hook, old fish stringer with open clips or whatever in hopes to snag the line or rod guides works. Keep a marker buoy handy and toss it out quickly to mark the overboard rod. It's a lot easier to find when you know where it is. Tom

When fun fishing I have never understood the rivalry between anglers fishing out of the same boat, unless a bet was on the line. Take a kid fishing; they want to use what you use or that bright colored lure and you want them to use something that has a high percentage of catch rate. They try what you gave them and get bored, the thing you you hear is "daddy I got one", you look around and a big bass is reeled up to the rod tip caught on one of your pet lures! Share your productive lures with your fishing partners, young or old. Tom