WRB-2.0

I have lived through every sonar advance since the they were introduced for public use in the 60’s. The reaction to every advancement has been universally negative. It’s hard to imagine Minnesota banning flashers today but they did! When I transported my Lowrance paper graph to Canada I hid in a tackle front drawer box! My in-laws thought it was cheating in the 70’s! Get over your bias technology never stops! Tom

Sounds like BMW vs Audi vs Mercedes Benz! Tom

Kate, sent you a photo of a older fat girl. Tom

It’s confusing because no standard exist to define the action terminology. A fishing is is straight before a force is applied to the tip. The force applied has nothing to do with the power when bending the tip section only. Power is the force required to fully bend the rod. You have the reel mounted and the line through all the guides. With the rod help upwards about 45 degrees slowly pull the line down until the tip section bends, the middle and butt section are still straight. Extra Fast action the tip end of the bends in the upper 1/8 of the rod length, Fast the 1/4 tip bends, Moderate the 1/2 bends, Parabolic the entire rod bends. Power is the force to bend into the lower section of the rod. Light = 1 pound bend the rod fully. Medium Light = 2 ponds Medium = 3 pounds Medium Heavy= 4 pounds Heavy = 5 pounds. Since no standard exist the values vary between manufactures, use as a ball park.

Not a bladed jig fan but…..Berkley Slooberknocker looks like a good design to get through weeds with less hardware to snag the grass. Anglers use lipless crank baits with treble hook and rip them through weeds! Tom

Bass like those shown by Team9nine ^^^^with bodies out growing heads ie “footballs” could be a result of reduced growing seasons or lakes that freeze over. When the bass get a chance to feed in warmer water they gorge themselves and grow fast for several months then slow down during the cold water period. Big Bear lake where grew up in SoCal freezes over a few months and the LMB look like footballs when the get over 3 lbs. Just a thought! Tom

Now I am a backseater and don’t fish often so my casting skills are not accurate at 1st. My advice avoid casting to a target that you can snag the lure easily. If you snag the bottom tell your boater to give a chance to jiggle the lure free or change the angle to free it. If the lure doesn’t come free easily break it off. Don’t try to cast lures you are unfamiliar with while backseating in a tournament. Use lure you have skill using and can cast accurately. Stay within you skill level. Practice, practice casting and netting bass. Nothing chases more resentment then knocking off a bass with the net! Tom

Lamiglas X-11 series is available in casting and spinning, lengths to 11’6”, lure weight 1/8 to 5/8 oz, $147. Tom

Lew’s offers good crank bait rods at reasonable prices. Match the rod with the reel size. 300 size reels can handle deep divers or square bills, let lure weight be your guide. Tom

Put a fork into this 10 year thread about trespassing. Tom

My last outing was focused on using my new BSF combo on a top water bite. BSF rods are designed for light weight lures and wonderful to use these very light weight rods- reels- line with the exception of learning how to get high % hook sets. My 1st 5 strikes all jumped off! The strike I was successful with was a Stripe Bass that crushed the lure and they don’t jump just run like a jet propelled Smallmouth and don’t gine up fighting. Fun fish but not a LMB. Finally learned to do a firmer hook set that loads up the BSF rod keeping the bass hooked. For me BSF means I can put away my spinning combos, soon to be in Flea Market forum. As a back setter BSF solves line twist associated with spinning presentations and fighting average size bass is fun again. Tom

Moderate.

I always used my “bass” rod for spinnerbaits. The only lure specific rod I owned was my Crankbait rod made from a salt water popping rod back in the early 70’s. Today a “bass” rod is defined as MHF, general use rod for bass lures. See no reason for application specific rod for standard size 3/8-1/2 oz spinnerbaits or Chatter/bladed baits. If you can effectively cast a spinnerbait or bladed jig it’s good, you need tip vibration to detect strikes like you do with a crankbait. Tom

Welcome to BR and suggest posting your question in the rods, reels, etc forum to get the reply you are looking for. Don’t have experience with the rods in question and without presentation technique very difficult to answer. Tom

It’s been awhile since getting to fish the Cara BSF 7’2” rod and it’s perfect for my fishing using casting in lieu of finesse spinning combo’s. The 1st bass I caught was a striper feeding with largemouth using Karashi twitch bait. 5 lb Ultra Green on Ark limited Ed BSF reel. The striper was a handful and good fight the rod handle it well. Casting 1/8-3/16 oz lures was easy with this rod with the light tip action. My only complaint is the open hook holder location on top of the blank tends to snag the line retrieve do to the way I hold the rod and run the between my fingers. The CARA BSF rod tip is light and requires a firmer hook set then I was use to for top water feeding LMB. The striper crushed the Karashi no issue with a hook set, the rear treble is another issue! Definitely rate this excellent for myBSF bass fishing. Tom

Adjust to seasonal period and use the lures/ presentations the bass want. Tom

If you didn’t have a lot of rain water runoff then it must be an algae bloom or the lake has turned over. Turn over brings bottom debris to the surface and smells like cabbage. The only thing you can do is wait a few weeks until the ecosystem settles down. Algae bloom is OK as long as the baitfish are OK. Some algae’s are toxic be careful. Tom

What I do to test mono line is wrap few winds around each hand about a foot apart then pull the hands apart. If the breaks easy it’s trash. If the line doesn’t break easily then try snapping the hands apart to test impact strength. 12 lb test line takes 12 lbs force to break, more pressure then you think! Tom

I always have my jig rig rod ready and use it just to satisfy me and keep the big girls honest. Where I fish during the day the bird is going to some type of finesse baits. So I now using BSF to keep me busy catching bass in lieu finesse spinning tackle. Tom

It’s not the line! You may have a cracked guide. Check with cotton Q-tip. Your lures treble hooks may be nicking the line when stored on the rod. Tom

Fall transition with the water temps dropping into the 60’s. The top water bite may change if the baitfish are moving deeper. Tom

Cuda makes a 5 1/2” mini snip for braid. Tom

1/2 hr before you eat works better. Good luck with the procedure results. Tom

7 lbs 16 oz = 8 lbs. Prilosec is your friend.

If you are buying a bass boat the dealer preps it, it should come wired for electronics and TM plus needed fuse panel, switch’s, breakers etc, live well pumps from the factory and included in the boat price, nor an add on. The Electonics, sonar unit units and TM are options. Tom