WRB-2.0

Neither have I because never tied it on the water and never will. The old and never discussed Blood Knot is the same size and strength and easy to tie. Tom

I fish (back seat these days) out of bass boats with both and prefer the Ghost when operating both units. The Ghost is a brushless TM, lighter weight with smaller underwater power head making it very easy the maneuver the unit. I am not a fan of the Ultrex foot peddle, too big. The real negative for me is the recover weight difficult to left compared to the Ghost. Love both units spot lock feature and give the Ghost the advantage quietly holding on spot lock. It comes down to your preferences. Tom

Couldn’t get the video to load on my old iPad but good idea of what the topic is about, will try later. First to fish your strengths you need to develop them from fishing several different lures and presentations. I can’t tell you how many times when a bass angler wants to tournament the advice is Fish your strengths! I am sure Larry Nixon explains that statement, not sure I can. Over 65 years of bass fishing I have tried everything from soup to nuts developing bass fishing skills and presentations that work under the circumstances what ever they may be. Because of a wide skill base my tackle grew over the decades to include a rod and reel for nearly every presentation and situation that presented itself at the time. What I use when the cards are down limited to what I believe are my best choices under the circumstances or fishing my skills I pick a hand full of ole faithfuls. I love to fish hair jigs with pork trailers so that is always a choice. What soft plastics to choose isn’s as easy because my confidence in several presentations dependent on structure cover and depth, so a choice between slip shot, drop shot finesse and Brass ‘n Glass T-rig worm. Top water my go to is a wooden Sammy for larger bait and a Splash-It for smaller size bait. Weed mats frog or weedless spoon. mid column a deep diving crank bait or swimbait. The choices get narrowed down fast with time on that particular water. Once I decide what the deal is it’s hard for me to put it down. Tom

All good advice ^^^… Just add check your trailer tires! over 10 years replace them. You will Fish about 15 hours to 1 hour on the trolling motor in lieu of the OB so check your batteries, on board charger and plan on your 1st upgrade being the trolling motor. Congratulations! Tom

My suggestion is use what’s has worked for you, 12# FC. I used 10# and 12# mono to catch nearly all my giant bass on jigs. I prefer 12# FC Tatsu or Shooter because it’s smaller dia line with less coefficient of drag going thru the water and less belly in slack line. Bass are not line shy fish so the refraction of FC is not a factor. The issue with FC is knot strength equal diameter mono or copolymer line. I you want better feedback what the jig is doing feel the line, don’t rely on the rod. The only braid used for jigs was 60# Fins for heavy vegetation cover at Clear lake and the Delta, not need for our local lakes. Tom

PM sent with photos Tom

Both lakes Casitas and Castiac were producing big Northern strain LMB prior to stocking FLMB in the early 70’s. My PB NLMB was caught at Casitas 12 1/4 lbs and was 28” long. Hat hart raised Rainbow trout were being planted before the FLMB were introduced. Basically the NLMB had the same prey available as the FLMB; trout,bluegill, Red ear sunfish, crappie, Threadfin shad, young of the year carp and catfish. Castiac also had fresh water sculpin. When compare* my 18 lb 11oz FLMB vs the 12 lb 4 oz NLMB the difference is obvious....body mass and girth! FLMB eating the same prey grow heavier, not longer. I never noticed NLMB chasing and eating planted Rainbow trout during decades of bass fishing and working as a teen ager at a boat landing where trout were planted. Florida LMB are genetically wired to eat Golden Shiners that have similar body shape to rainbow trout and that maybe the factor why NLMB didn’t prefer trout as prey and FLMB definitely did. Tom * photo published in Lunker Lore, Josh Alwine.

It’s not length of the swimbait it’s weight. 3-6 oz. IROD Gen 3 IRG794SB, 7’9” $150 Tom

Bottom line is a single is an advantage to reduce snagging weeds, sharp treble hooks ate an advantage hook to strike ratio. Tom

If possible look for garaged boats and single owner with engine under 300 run hours. Stay away boat in salt water

In the 1/4oz-3/8oz plus trailers is my bait casting wheel house so no help with spinning outs. I do use spinning for 1/8 oz jigs and use St Croix Victory MXF rods with Shimano Vanford 2500 reels. The XF tip is a little light for jig hook set imo, MHF would be better for the jigs you are using. Braid line? Tom

Contact the retailer and request Black Friday discount, never know without asking. Tom

The bottom line there isn’t‘ enough stretch to prevent knot failure with FC on a cross their eyes style hook set with FC, mono or copoly lines! the Hook set technique being used is exceeding the line impact strength. Try using the reel and firm rod sweep technique, work great with all lures and presentation where you cast lure over 30’. From years of, experience using FC no brand offers 100% knot strength, you want stronger knot strength use a size larger line diameter. Imo Seaguar Tatsu and Sunline Shooter are the top brands and types available. A test that hangs weight over a hour(s) time period isn’t a test of stretch it’s a test of yield over time and all plastic stretch time with force. The test for stretch is yield with pulling force over less then a minute, impact strength is force applied within a second. Tom

Wire weed guards on the Punisher style head work good just don’t set the into a branch, east or jiggle it out. Your guides the jig into the branch crouch, if pull hard the hook point can stick the wood, easy it out and no issues with any weed guard. Tom

The original FLMB were planted in San Diego city Lakec Upper Otay 1959 , started planting those FLMB in several city and county lake a few year later. That initial FLMB topped out In 1973 with Zimmerle’s 21.3 lb giant. The DGG then started planting lakes by request from the Upper Otay population to lakes Castiac, Casitas, Isabella in 1973. Not sure when NorCal lakes and the Delta received their initial planting. The secondary planting lake had Northern strain LMB so F1’s would the 1st generation from spawn for both FLMB and NLMB intergrades. Pure FLMB appear to out weigh F1’s continues to lose vigor with each older generation . Figure max weight age 10-12years, max life spawn around 15 years. Tom

We were using trigger stick design rods 6’10” to 7’ with full cork handle w/ short fore grip. I used Lamiglas custom rods and both Crupi and Kadoda had a deal with Loomis. We all were using premium mono or copoly Trilene and maxina 10 or 12# line. In the 90’s we used Loomis 8’ swimbait rods and Shimano Calcutta 250 reel with 20# mono. Tom

The clam shell protects the fragile soft plastic tails on the shelf. Probably a good idea to store them in original package and take out what you need to use in lieu of opening all the packages at once. You are careful when initially putting the baits into a bag but the don’t stay that well organized in a bag. Tom

My advice for a new to bass fishing anglers is Keep It Simple! You only maybe 2 to 3 combos. You have a good bait casting combo for lures between 1/4oz to 3/4 oz. I would use 12#-15# Big Game mono on this combo. With Black Friday sales on going I suggest buying a Dobyns FR702S spinning rod and use your Shimano reel as a combo. Line 8# Sunline Super Natural mono. This will work for all the finesse presentations, no need for braid. Look into the drop shot presentation on this sites video’s and search for the Slip Shot presentation. For finesse these 2 will get you the most bass per man hour fished. Bait casting the sliding weight 3/16oz bullet and 3/0 worm hook with 6” to 7 1/2” worm plus several creature soft plastics and a chatter bait will catch bass for you. Good Fishing, Tom PS, set aside your other rods and reels for a few years.

We all have this desire and the thought process is same for all of us, what should I use and where should I start? It doesn’t matter how long we have been fishing the decision remains and the answers are always the same, we try to answer it as we decide what to use and where. I actually love the challenge of second guessing what bass want tomorrow morning. Selecting my rod and reel combo, checking the line, sorting out lures a the while pondering I am guessing right? The fact I have been bass fishing over 70 years and only had 2 lures and 1 rod reel combo in the beginning the question hasn’t changed but success hangs on the answer. Tom

17’+/- 5’😎

It’s cost effective to offer packaged deals, assemble and ship to dozens of dealers across the country. Not a fan of BPS! Happy Thanksgiving.... Tom

VMC # 8570 size 8 Tom

The tongue in cheek statement is closer to the truth than it appears. To quote a knowledgeable source “every time we think we have these green fish figured out they prove to us we don’t” Bill Murphy. Tom

In lieu of a Bitzy Bug the Dale Hallow Punisher 3/16 oz brown- orange hair jig with Berkeley Maxscent Lil Trooper 2 1/2 craw in watermelon/copper-red flake Orange belly works for Smallmouth . The DH Punisher uses a Gamakatsu hook, $2.70 hard to find a better jig near this price point. Tom

The 4 stroke 50hp Merc is a good engine no reason to up grade it. The 45 lb thrust 12v TM isn’t worth keeping, upgrade that to a 24v spot lock TM with Lithium 24v battery or 2 ea 12v. You will also need a 12v house lithium battery. Smaller Battery size and lighter weight are premiums with a 16’ Bass boat. If you have the space a 175 pro would a lot better choice for NorCal lakes and the Delta. Tom