WRB-2.0

Yes! The bass I got a clear look at was bigger then any bass I caught. I fishing at lake Castaic at trout point with a friend back-seating. This point has very deep water around with a saddle in the middle area where I hooked the bass. Should have been easy to move the boat out into deeper water but my friend who was running the front of the boat decided to leave the TM watching me fight the bass. The big bass was about 5’ from the boat when I could see the side of the point coming up, we were drifting into shallower water. The big bass turn and that is when I could see the massive girth and ran over the saddle ridge instantly breaking my line...gone! I believe strike detection is the difference between catching big bass and not. Big bass have massive size mouth that engulf a lure without the angler knowing it and reject it in a heart beat. You must be totally focused on what the lure is doing and make intuitive hook sets because something doesn’t feel normal. I developed the reel and rod sweep hook set that moves more line faster then a rod lone can do. Tom

Gold blades and copper flake worked wherever I fish with tonic tea color water. Yamamoto #330 for soft plastics was good for example. Tom

3% over the counter hydrogen peroxide removes blood from clothing. Soak the blood stains then wash. Tom

The 2 rod companies with good warranty and customer service are Dobyns and St Croix. Dobyns Sierra SA693SF is 6’9” MF lure rating 3/16-5/8 oz. SC Victory VTS68MXF is 6’8” MXF same lure rating. What reel and line do you use? Tom PS, ALF offers 10% discount.

^^^^this^^^^ You are not competing with your guide he is being paid to put you on fish and help you. When using other folks tackle check the reel setting by releasing the spool with the lure and let it free fall. Falls too fast adjust the tension knob until it falls with a little resistance. Make a few short practice cast to get the line wet before fishing. Tom

Fishing from a boat you are Mobil to fish anywhere safely. Fishing from the bank you are extremely limited where you can fish and tackle to use plus caution where you are walking. With that in mind take 1 outfit and be prepared to snag and lose lures. Taking 2 combos means you need to set down the other to fish makes more restricted where you fish. You catch bass from shore easier then from a couch. Tom

TThe point to the left where Catt is fishing is a classic spot. The cove is also full of flooded timber and both the small points that extend into the center of the cover look interesting. How low is the water? The road bed and yellow structure? Could come into play during winter. Overall it all looks good....from a boat! Tom

Up date the drags to Smooth drags. Tom

Josh Uptons worms available at Hog Farmer. Josh has a full line of soft plastics available direct from Uptons Customs, he isn’t easy to contact at times. Tom

^^^^this^^^^^ Tom

All you need the rod combo that is catching bass. When I fished from shore 1 casting outfit for Texas rig soft plastics. If it is a finesse bite 1 spinning outfit for Slip Shot rig worms. Boat, back seating I currently have 5; MH+ custom jig & worm rod with 12# FC line. MF MJ Splash-It rod for general use, top water, medium crank baits, spoons, lighter weight jigs & worms, 11# Mono. MF spinning combo w/10# braid to leader for Senko’s MXF spinning combo w/5# copoly for finesse worms drop and slip shot. 5th combo is a back up spinning MF or 7’5” frog or swimbaits. Back seating I usually take the 1st 4 combos has been all thats needed. Tom

Uptons Customs* 9” & 13” Straight tail in Aaron’s Tragic; green w/red flake back, blue neon vain, dark brown belly, contrasting colors. Floating worm that stands off the bottom and hand poured soft. * available from Hog Framer. Texas rigged with sliding 3/8 oz painted bullet weight and 8mm green hologram glass faceted bead. Tom

St Croix Victory VTS 71MF, is a good benchmark to look at. Tom

How true! Congratulations on 58 years?

The August night ABA tournament at lake Casitas the once world class bass fishery weighed no bass for a total of 0 lbs. The Record should stand until another 0 occurs? Tom

Yakima SkyBox Carrier should solve the problem. Tom

We will have dinner at our favorite sea side restaurant and toast each other???. Our families are all gone and decided to celebrate together. Tom

Tomorrow 11 August is our 50th, 18,262 days of marriage..my wife deserves a award! It’s isn’t easy being married to a bass addict. Tom

Double Z #47 Chobee Cocker combination looks fantastic? Tom

smooth drags, a few $$ along with their lub. Tom

Nice try I sold my boat 3 years ago? Tom

The most important component in a spinning reel is the drag, it must operate flawlessly. Weight, bail roller and then drive train. Good choices are available near the $100 price point. How the reel balances on your rod is important and weigh can affect balance. Tom

So many factors must come together to catch the top 1% of bass in any ecosystem. Don’t over look luck like the blind squirrel finding the acorn, It helps astronomically if the squirrel is under an oak tree! My very 1st big bass was 7 lbs and named it Mosses. First found this big bass next to a neighbors dock, I was 9 years. It took me 2 years to catch Mosses and unknown hours trying. This bass changed my life for a few reasons. I took the bass home and my grandmother made me clean it for dinner. It was like eating a good friend and change me to be catch and release decades before it was acceptable. Mosses also taught me to study bass in their habituate and continued to do that most of my life. I was curious about bass behavior and tried to learn everything about behavior I could. So you can say my passion to focus on big bass was a lifetime experience. Tom

The above will work no doubt. The problem is where you fish is a shallow bog lake that we westerners never encounter. Swimmers look and act like a bait fish and the comes from underneath to strike it and returns instantly. A Weedless surface spoon the bass strikes and jumps to get rid of it. This. Gives you a chance to fight the bass before it dives. Tom

Any wooden top water walking bait is silent, no rattles. A few plastic walking baits like Cultiva Zip n Ziggy had 1 weight no rattles: 3”+ excellent lure. Tom