WRB-2.0

Look at the Shimano Stradic Specifications published by Shimano for everything from I P T, gear ratio’s, weight , line capacity etc. Tom

You all never heard of a compass! Without a point of reference you are blind in fog without a compass, that is what GPS is! Tom

The difference between the Stradic FL and HG is gear ratio 5.1:1 vs 6.0:1 HG being faster. The size 1000 may be a good choice for your ML rods, the FL is about IPT 25” and HG IPT about 30”. Tom

100 years ago no tournaments and closed fishing seasons. Wooden row boat with maybe a 5 hp Evinrude engine. Fast forward to 1960’s or 50 years ago when tournament bass was borne, a few boats had electric bow mounted trolling motors, 65 hp outboard engines and Lowrance flasher fish fingers. The evolution of sonar units has been fast tracked ever since. Taking away advances in technology does even the field. Tom

Finesse jigs tied like the photo are called Lions Mane, gives the lighter weight jigs a different falling motion then the traditional longer double skirt. Tom

Oxidation or corrosion? Could be several things if the fasteners are not 316 SST. Dissimilar metals create electrical current creating oxidation before serious corrosion occurs. Aluminum is dissimilar to Stainless steel it needs to be sealed using a sealant like 3M 5200. Your TM motor has a zinc anode to be sacrificial protecting the less noble metals like aluminum, check the zinc anode. WD-40 was developed for this issue, clean the oxides off use it. Tom

With Live Scope or similar ffs units and a sonar/gps unit I would prefer 2 ea 12” units mounted stacked. The top unit is closer to you and easier to see and adjust or tinker with. Tom

State of the art is EverGreen Giant Dire Wolf 6’11” 1/2-8 oz lure. Look for JDM prices.... Tom

Hard to beat Armilo Nylon 11# mono. Tom

I don’t think using braid with a 110 jerk bait is a good idea. AJay uses these often and would be a good resource. Merry Christmas, Tom

3/16 oz Flashy Swimmer with 3.8 Keitech Fat In Shad color. Tom

If the braid digs down into itself it’s too loose on the spool and dry. The level wind worm gear on the reel may not be fast enough the overlay small diameter braid. Tom

We tend to tell everyone that jigs replicate crawdads or baitfish but in all my Years jig fishing never witnessed a crawdad or baitfish hit the surface hard and fall fast straight down to the bottom. Yet this how we cast and present a jig, hit the surface and let fall to the bottom. Try sometime casting on to the shore and dragging the jig into the water like a real crawdad enters the water. Tom

You are basically describing the Slip Shot rig using free rig sinker. Your soft plastic needs to float the hook it’s rigged with or the plastic will stay on the bottom. Can’t see any advantage over the cylinder weight used for the Slip Slip rig. Will the line have less drag going through the free rig weight, maybe depending on the weight. Tom

When fishing live bait like anchovies for Albacore tuna scales left to dry in anything are a pain to clean off. The key is spray the rod with WD-40 and wipe down before and after fishing, scales come right easily. The handles Mr Clean Magic pads work good after the handle is dry. Tom

Bass don’t live very long if they are aggressive striking a variety of different lures. It’s like low hanging fruit gets picked 1st. The concept that bass learn to avoid specific lures imo is beyond their capability, they do learn to stay out of harms way. Very active feeding bass are the easiest to catch, inactive bass are extremely difficult to catch, look for active bass. The lures you choose is always a crap shoot or educated guess take your pick. I like to use lures that look like something the bass are feeding on and can be presented effectively where those bass are located. Been catching bass on hair jigs with pork trailers about 50 years, same jig and colors. Same with soft plastic worms but a wider variety of sizes and colors, bass can’t resist plastic worms and jigs. I have very few hard lures anymore, sold them a few years back. The hard lures I kept are 2 Bomber 7A’s custom painted in ghost, 1 bluegill color Zoner Hunter, 3 LC 98 Pointers 2 Ghost Shad and 1 clown, 1 Wooden Shad Sammy, 1 Micheal baby bass popper, 1 Smithwick Buck ‘n Brawl, Shad, 3 Laser minnow structure spoons Shad color, 1/2 dozen home made tail spins, 1 buzz bait, 2 Nichols spinnerbaits Shad color, All but the Zoner are at least 20 years old. The reason I kept those lures is they all catch bass. The balance of my lures are bottom contact jigs and worms that catch bass year around. Not using lures everyone else is because I have confidence is what is tied on to catch bass, always have marched to my own drummer. Tom

The Ned craw you posted above

Does the Rage craw float? Work on size 1/0 hook? Tom

Who offers a good Free Rig weights with swivel at a reasonable price? Tom

Merry Christmas and Happy News Years to all BR members and a special thank you to Glenn for keeping this site ongoing and a family. Tom

The past 2 years finding ethanol free gasoline in California is very difficult. Chevron offered 93 octane that’s as E-Free no longer. Aviation gas at a few smaller airports that sell to the public is E-Free. 76 stations offer 101 unleaded octane racing gasoline @$10 gallon. Tom

1/8 jig hook size is #1? This limits most craw/creatures trailers. Take a look at Double Z T-rig floating worm. Cut the worm 3 1/2” long and split the tail 2” using a safety razor. Tom

Good catch, floor models gets lots of abuse as stolen parts. Hope you enjoy your new sonar. Tom

Currently on clearance sale now! Tom

Cold water seems logical but we catch red lipped LMB in 50 degree water, not many but a few. Bass eat crawdads year around so that can’t be contributing. Hormonal is the trigger imo. Tom