WRB-2.0

Where is salt water coming into play? Brackish delta fresh water isn’t the same as bass fishing. Yes, if you are targeting Redfish then that a different issue. Tom

Spook type walking lures have a downward line tie for a reason, using a clip or snap negates the spitting action. I tie direct using the San Diego Jam knot, ideal for this category lure and poppers. If you want more side to side movement use lures with hook eye hanger rotated perpendicular in lieu of inline with the lure belly. Clips like Owner light weight Hyper Weld good for diving lures. Tom

Not really, it comes down to wire diameter and shank length. The basic shape comes from the short shank Sealy octopus hook made in England a century ago. Wacky and nose hooked soft plastic use the shorter shank light wire strong hooks. Weedless (Texas) rigging a soft plastic the longer shank or more traditional bass worm hooks are preferred. Where the differ is in the hook bend designs. O’Shaughnessey bend is stronger the a round bend for example, however the round bend accommodated more soft plastic of equal hook size. The factor for lighter weight hooks is strength and generally a forged (slightly flattened bend) strengthens the wire and heat treatment of high strength steel make a big difference. I use 3 different hooks for Drop Shot, Slip Shot and Wacky rigs. Neko is a Wacky rig with a nail weight. 1. Drop Shot nose hooked, Gamakatsu or Owner mosquito hook. 2. Weedless (Texas) hooked #5133 Owner Down Shot hook. 3. Weedless Wacky hooked #4107 Owner Jungle Wacky Hook. Tom

The Pitzen knot is similar to the San Deigo Jam knot except you don’t put the tag end through the loop at the hook or lure eye and through the upper loop. To tightened the San Diego Jam knot you pull the tag end snug to form a barrel, then pull the main line to slide the knot down to “Jam” clinch the knot tight. The double SD Jam knot is a double line SD Jam knot, use fewer wraps no more then 5, put the double loop tag end through the lower loop and up through the upper loop pull the loop tag end snug, the main line to slide the barrel down to Jam the knot tight. I only use the double SD Jam knot on heavy wire hooks with smaller diameter line salt water fishing. Tom

Wear a PFD and us caution whenever anchoring a small 2 man boat in current or boat wakes. Tom

I would also consider SLX MGL series casting reel and American LF offers 10% discount to new buyers. Line: stay under .010 diameter for spinning and somewhere between .012 to .015 diameter mono or copoly line on the bait casting. Tom

Been fishing a very long time since the the 50’s over 65 years. Fishing rods have evolved continuously over the decades. The goal of balancing light weight well balanced and reliable rod blanks with high quality workmanship offering good customer service and warranty separates the good from the bad and ugly. Fuji reel handles and guides was a game changer followed by reliable graphite rod blanks thanks to Gary Loomis another game changer. Before Gary’s graphite blanks tubular glass was the go to rod blank material for decades. I have broken 3 rods in my lifetime of fishing. The 1st was a Truline 30-60 line class glass rod on a big tune, the exploded between the handle and 1st guide. Just bottomed out and failed. The 2nd was a signature Ray Scott Boron bass rod that shattered on a decent size bass. The material was too brittle. The 3rd was a Fenwick early HMG graphite rod before Gary Loomis figured out how to make reliable graphite blanks. I changed to Lamiglas custom rods during Gary’s tenure for about 35 years without any issues until they stopped offering custom builds. Caught hundreds of big bass using Lamiglas rods, light weight, perfectly balanced for me and great customer service. ALX made the last custom bass rods using Lamiglas blanks in 2012, MHF & MH+F that weigh 3.8 oz with a short fore grip to my specs. ALX now offers OTC rods and has excellent workmanship and customer service. A local rod builder not mentioned is IROD, Matt’s Rods and customer is are very good at a affordable price range. ALX, IROD and Lamiglas are not mentioned in this thread.... Tom

Heat stroke is a higher % then a bass strike?. I would suggest night fishing however it doesn’t cool down at night in Phoenix metro area. Yes you have miles and miles of irrigation canals and dozens of public ponds to fish all to yourself in the oppressive summer heat. My suggestion is explore the Mogollon rim lakes. Tom

Awsome bass Katie?keep on rising the bar! Tom

Shad color day light, black after dark. Tom

Beau-fort scale = wind speed. Tom

1st and foremost I am against braid to leader, 1 knot is 100% stronger the 2 knots. If you can go all braid or all mono, Copoly, FC that is my 1st choice. Braid to leader is a choice for spinning reels to reduce line twist. When I had my own boat it was easy to manage line twist using spinning tackle. Now as a backseater I find myself using braid to leader with finesse spinning because I can no longer untwist my line easily and don’t like it but it does solve asking to run my line behind the boat to untwist line. Spinning rod guides and reels handle leader 2 knots knot easily. Still 2 knots can fail 2X as often then1 regardless of the knots used. Tom

Casting reels spool adjustment knob simply adds or subtracts pressure in the spool end shaft. When there is clearance zero pressure is applied. You don’t need to add more clearance! Paper is about .004 clearance = zero spool shaft force.....no need to add ant more! Tom

To disconnect 2 batteries to test them without removing the battery you need a Perco battery switch. The old school method that still works is a battery hydrometer to test each battery wet cell to determine the charge level or a poor / dead cell. You want a hydrometer with a rubber tube tip to get into some hard to reach cell. Tom

Put them in Flea Market! Tom

All our local bass lakes are man made reservoirs with dams at the mouth of canyons. The prevailing winds are down canyon northeast towards the dam. Occasionally we get off shore winds from the ocean or westerly. Winds create current and wave erosion mud lines that position the bass into the current. So anything but prevailing winds changes bass location and where you fish. Tom

The best way to reduce the numbers is fish them, if they don’t catch it goes on sale, keep only the ones that work. This technique allows you to keep buying to satisfy your love affair plus maintain the number to lures you know work. Tom

It takes a lifetime to learn the Delta. Jigs are a good lure of choice because the Delta is a crawdad fishery. FYI craws are barn red color... Welcome aboard. Tom

Fall for Musky in Canada with the cooler weather and colorful trees. Never caught any giant bass in the fall in SoCal, it’s mostly Shad feeding school bass and few decent jig fish. As noted earlier Pre Spawn the weather is unpredictable and the lake lice don’t like rainy weather...I do! Tom

Jan to March Pre Spawn and Summer nights. Tom

The SLX 70 MGL can easily cast 1/8 + hook + soft plastic. Not Familiar with SLX XT. Tom

A friend of mine fishes lake Wolford in San Diego county from shore and only uses fly line Canadian* night crawlers with a size 1 drop shot circle hook. He lost count of the DD bass caught over the years. Tom * the big crawlers are either raised by the angler of purchased and must be kept cool.

If you have funds and space to store both your aluminum and kayak keep your boat and buy a kayak. Tom

Spinning tackle is your friend for whatever Finesse Fishing you chose to do. 1.Slip Shot rig; 1/8-3/16 oz cylinder weight, 8mm glass bead pegged with rubber peg-it (easy to adjust length) #5133 Owner Down Shot hook size 1/0 or 2/0 depending on soft plastic. 5# Maxima Ultra Green copoly line. 2. Weightless 5” Senko, wacky hooked using size 1 #4107 Jungle Wacky hook, 15 lb Fins Spin5 braid, 7 lb Sniper FC leader. Soft plastics; Roboworms MM111, 6” (2/0 hook). Oxblood 5” curl tail (1/0 hook). Fishlab Natural Nymph 3 1/2”, Green pumpkin chartreuse (2/0 hook) Yamamoto Senko 5” #301. Tom

I feel good about getting the last bass of the day....and it wasn’t the 1st. Tom