WRB-2.0

Will email a copy. Tom

Today I am home instead of fishing, no boat!? It’s March pre spawn, it’s light drizzle, light wind and 2 days before full moon ideal conditions. Looking over my original Cosmic Clock I can’t think of too many things to change. 1. Moon phases like today are still a big factor during the spawn cycle. I have learned the full and new moon phase is better when the moon is over head at night! During mid day moon it can be a negative factor the balance to the year. 2. Water temps are still a major factor but need to clarify at the depth the bass are acclimated in, or more specific the basses body temperature. 3. Activity levels needs some adjusting to 3 phases in lieu of 5. The very active transitioning to neutral and Inactive. Still believe inactive bass are nearly in a sleep transition. 4. LMB behavior is more individual in lieu of group activity the majority of the time, unless a group can take advantage of feeding on bait fish. Smallmouth and Spotted bass however are more group activity oriented. Thats about it, enjoy your fishing time...it’s limited? Tom

Last weeks tournament at the Delta only 3 teams weigh bass the rest blanked! Oriville tournament is going good 30 lb for 2 days topped by wit a 12# LMB....amazing for that lake!

Jackall created the Flick Shake jig using their Flick Shake worm, still a excellent choice. The nail weight now Neko weight is a good technique to add 1/16, 3/32, 1/8 oz weight to a wacky rigged soft plastic or use a drop shot rig. Owners Weedless Wacky Jungle Hook is ideal for both wacky nail weights (Mustad Tungsten) or drop shot rigs. Tom

Snell knots work good on turned up eye hooks designed for Snelling. The standard flat eye hook can cut mono, FC, copoly line at the sharp wire end of the hook eye. Welded eye flipping hooks designed to reduced line cutting work better then standard eye hooks. Everyone shows the photo of the hook point at the angle they assume is inside the bass mouth, how does that happen? it could 180 degrees and outside the bass mouth or anywhere in between! when a bass crunches down to kill the critter it struck the hook gets flatten sideways. I also tie the SD Jam knot at times and clip a cloths pin onto the hook for added weight to help tie the knot. Tom

What rod do you plan on using and lures?? You can learn to cast using nearly any bait casting reel by simply adjusting the spool tension so it will not over run / backlash. The high price point reels are designed to cast lighter lures longer distances. The rod has more to do with lure weight and casting casting distance then higher priced reel. There are excellent $150 price range bait casting reels to learn to cast with. Shimano SLX 70 MGL for example. Tom

Launch on the upwind side of the lake so the bigger waves are hitting the opposite side of the lake. This way you can recover your boat without surfing it back onto the trailer. Tom

Lake Eufaula AL has change a lot the past 10 years with Hydrilla growth. Back in the 1969 I fished Eufaula and was loaded with aggressive 5 lb to 7 lb Northern strain LMB located off shore long points ends by the dam. That area still has a good population of big bass but the hydrilla growth killed the deep crank bait bite. Early 70’s Florida strain LMB were introduced in several Alabama larger reservoirs including Eufaula setting the lake record 10 years later. I don’t believe Eufaula continued stocking FLMB and Alabama focused on Gunthersville. I wouldn’t expect LMB over 10 lbs to hit the scales in Eufaula tournament, 8 lbs yes. If I was fishing this event my focus would be on early pre spawn staging areas,not off shore deep structure. Tom

12” Sluggo is 3 oz, 9” is 1.4 oz fished both on custom 1 1/2 oz Scrounger jig. Tom

How much of a discount are getting? This is a high end price spinning rod $450+! 6’10” MXF and 7’ MHF stand out, lots of great rods in that price point. Tom

Can’t turn down that offer? Tom

Fished with O’Shaughnessy worm and jig hooks for decades because they were stronger at the hook bend until the Japanese extremely sharp strong forged ( flatten at the bend) round bend hooks came out early 90’s. Only use off set hooks for limited soft plastics like larger creature baits with 4/0 and finesse worm using Owner #5133 down shot hook. No issue rigging straight shank worm hooks skin hooked. Tom

For decades used 12# Big Game Mono, now use 11 lb / .011D Armilo, 25 KVD/.016D for lures over 2 oz like swimbaits. Tom

You need a receptacle to plug into. Yes you can charge 2 each 12V deep cycle batteries using the TM bow receptacle. Get the same plug the TM power cord has. The issue is both batteries must be exactly in the same condition, size and amp hour. Charging 2 batteries in parallel with 1 charger results in only charging the stronger battery the 2nd battery remains undercharged. 10 amp charger you should 6 to 8 gage wire to prevent over heating and blowing fuses or circuit breakers. You can also get a Perco Marine battery switch and charge each battery separately. Tom

Bassin mag & BBWC went bankrupt. Tom

Bassin magazine sponsored the Million Dollar reward for a new World Record Largemouth Bass starting in Dec 1989. You had to enter the contest, join the BBWC and receive a measuring tape and instructions annually. Our local lakes Castaic and Casitas were the top 2 lakes as top Potential lakes. The circus started and motor homes , trailers, boats from nearly every state showed in the local camp grounds between 199O to 1995 or until the program went bankrupt. It was a horrible time with onlookers using 200 power spotting scopes and cameras recording everyone fishing from vantage points. My bass boat lived in my garage and used my 14’ tin boat to keep under the radar. The last thing you wanted to do is register a giant bass and get noticed, unless it was The Bass. The Hayes Record Smallmouth caught in 1955 on a trolled white Bomber was removed in 1995 by the IGFA and reinstated in 2006 over a controversy weight was added. Records get a lot of controversy. Tom

Any LMB over 8 lbs feels the same after setting the hook if it doesn’t jump right away and you see it. Nearly all bass are close to being weightless in the water because of their swimbaddler allows neutral buoyancy. It’s all about pulling power, stamina, speed, turning power, head shakes and they can jump a bodyblength out of the water. The reason a lot of big bass manage to break lines is their wide body and bigger tail, they turn on a dime and try to run away when they see a boat. It’s the hard head shake and 1st freight train run that separate a giant size bass for other big bass. The tackle also makes a big difference. 8’ Swimbait rod with 25# line and big swimbait In the basses throat/mouth slows them down faster the using 6’10” jig & worm rod with 12# line and a smaller jig stuck in their mouth, they fight harder and longer on lighter tackle. Giant bass may look fat or bulge but the live on fast swimming prey fish like trout and easily chase them down, faster then they look. Tom

Be careful with Acetone it’s Keystone base and can dissolve some plastics. If Bulldog1935 uses mineral spirits take his advice? Tom

The world of bass lures is ever changing with new products introduced annually, so many lures so little time! My standby lure is a 1970’s jig I designed for my own use, usually a hair jig w/ pork trailer, over 50’s now. Today I finally got out of the house to visit a local tackle shop, it’s been over a year. There is always new stuff to check out and was looking for Iovino Reapers since Don isn’t making soft plastics anymore. Found a few bags of Reapers and talking to clerk whom I known forever I asked “what’s new”? He shows me Fishlab Flutter Nymph* 3 1/2” & 4 1/2” is working good on Chatter baits. I remember reading somewhere that Bill Seimantel is developing lures for Fishlab. The Flutter nymph looks like a dragon fly Darner nymph and I thinking it will be a good Ned jig trailer or slip shot rigged and bought a few bags. Keep in mind I don’t very often fish anymore, sold my boat and I’am still by bass tackle I don’t need! Tom * you Smallmouth anglers need to use this!

Lab quality spring scale are only accurate within +/- once’s, 25lb Chatillon has 2 oz increments, +/- 1 oz, plus your parallax (angle of view) innaccuracy. Used this scale for 45 years, still have stored away somewhere. 60 lb Luggage scales are accurate within 1% of the digital scale displayed. Inexpensive and accurate if you change the coin lithium battery annually. Advantages is you can zero the scale when adding a fish hold clamp to weigh your catch and the scale has a memory feature to save all the weights during your outing. Tom

Recreational bass anglers tend to mimic what they see on video, fishing forums or read in magazines. Bass are Bass but behave differently for each of the 4 primary species Northern LMB, Florida LMB, Smallmouth and Spotted bass. Florida being the most selective feeders I have encounter over 60 years trying to figure what these bass are willing to strike. Soft plastics appeal bass that are active to neutral mood and the largest population most of the time you are on the water, a high percentage lures that covers the water column. The Lowly Worm is by far the most productive over the past 60 years in a variety of shapes and sizes. Jigs are more difficult to use and detect strike but also very effective lure. Soft frogs and toads are very effective depending on the bass location. Faster moving hard baits from diving crank baits, spinnerbaits, surface buzz baits, walking surface lures, opting surface lures, Minnow shaped slender lures including jerk baits all catch bass if you use them. If restrict your lure selection to only soft plastics you will miss out on the excitement of top water strikes, the skills needed to catch bass on every type of lure. A bag full of soft plastics, hooks and weights will catch bass of all types a high % of the time. If catching bass is your only goal a carton full of Canadian night crawlers gets it done better then soft plastics. Tom

Retractable ratchet style transom tie downs hold down snug not tight under tension unless you manually ratchet them down tighter. Tie downs prevent the boat from sliding or bouncing on the trailer bunks. The key is snugging the bow tight to the roller before hooking up the tie downs. You can always go to the buckle double hook style tie downs. Tom

FLMB 25 lbs because I have been chasing it most of my life! Tom

Not everyone is a discount coupon buyer toward future buying. True cost is what you actually pay for the item delivered to your door. Not all models of a specific item are available at the time of a discounted purchase. I know the item I want now and don’t want to wait for back orders on sale items. Rods are so personal items and need to be touched and felt before buying. The only way to touch and feel is to go to a brick and mortar store or be able to exchange the rod without additional cost or shipping costs that wipe out any savings. If I go to a local store that has the item I buy it to support that store. Time is a factor and stock is often limited on newly introduced items. Always determine when the sale item will arrive at your door. Tom

Several adjustable rudders available on the market under $30. Tom