WRB-2.0

You are not fishing in 32 degrees unless it’s through the ice😎. My advice is get a good (Eddie Bauer) warm down vest! Keeping your core warm is essential, arms and legs are secondary. A light wind breaking water proof jacket with fairly tight fitting wrist adjustment. SPF long sleeve fishing shirt, plus undershirt if needed. Inflatable type 3 life vest (Mustang) if needed. I wear jeans when fishing and comfortable walking shoes plus SunDays Afternoon hat to shade my face year around. Avoid bulky clothing! Tom

10’ water clarity is about average for SoCal lakes and the reason “finesse” bass fishing is popular. Low light conditions and night solves bass lure shyness. Tom

Nice👍 6 lb mono maybe an issue getting between the spool and reel frame. The older vintage reels were designed to use Dacron braid about .015 diameter. Tom

What is the most abundant prey source easily available for bass to feed on? This is the question I try to figure out because each lake is different, Preferred prey changes seasonally but there are always some prey type the bass in your lake targeting. Knowing what prey helps to focus on locations, depths, colors and lure sizes to start with. Observation is your best tool, looking the water and listen for fish activity. After catching a bass smell it’s open mouth and look down the throat for clues, also gently squeeze the stomach for hard lumps indication crawfish or soft content first bait fish. Back in the day when we ate bass regularly it was easy to open the up the gut and see what the contents were.

Welcome back👍 I thought of rejoining BR after purchasing a new iPad and couldn’t log on as a member until Glenn helped me and now can join in as a member using my iPhone. Tom

Only you can determine which rod, reel, line combo feels right. It’s a touch feel decision. Overall weight, balance, action to power ( how the rod load up to cast the lures you use) all comes into play Tom

I prefer understated rod and reel in mate grey/ black low light reflexion. Boring👨‍🦳

Factory settings for sonar units are good for entry level use to get familiar with the units. To take full advantage custom tuning for your specific conditions on the water is essential IMO. Tom

Neko is a new name for nail weight rig used for slower head down fall rate using soft plastic worms of various sizes. Shaky is a jig worm presentation. Wacky is hook placement used for Neko and Senko’s (Stick baits) Ned if another jig worm rig using mushroom head jig with short 3” to 4” cut down Stick bait worm. Free Rig is another style of Texas rig worm using sliding cylinder weight in lieu of sliding bullet weight. Neko and Ned are primarily finesse spinning rigs. Shaky and Free rig can be fished on baiting reels or spinning depending on the weight used; 3/16 oz and up baitcasting, 1/8 oz or less spinning. Tom PS, Glenn has videos for each presentation.

Nail weight rig (3/32 oz) with 3/0 off set worm hook works good. Retrieve using slower jerk jerk pause retrieve. Tom

ALX custom rods and St Croix over the counter rods. Tom

You ran the line behind the boat and reeled back on resolved any spooling issue Tom

Round bend excels in hook penetration because it doesn’t flex at the bend during setting the hook. Tom

EWG and Round bend jig hooks. EWG Extra Wide Gap accommodates larger diameter soft plastic trailers, round bend is stronger, both appear to be forged wire bend hooks of equal wire diameter. Not a fan of EWG hooks. Tom

I am in the Old Farts Rule Club😎 Tom

Agree it’s hard to evaluate without touch and feel as we all have a different preferences. Dobyns uses Lamiglas power ratings where 4 = heavy but generally MH+ compared to other companies rods. Action differs with “suggested” lures and weights. Totally subjective and doesn’t when trying to compare new to Okuma X. Dobyns sacrificed weight for balance point at the reel seat. Tom

Boat ramps are usually easy compared to home driveways into the garage! Tom PS, take off your hat so you see the mirrors.

Since Gary sold his rod business I haven’t been recommending Dobyns. Suggest checking out the new Okuma X series on your price range, state of the art rod blank and used top of the line guide train and reel seat. Tom

Spot Lock TM is the 1st item needed. FFS imo is the last component a weekend bass angler needs. So let’s talk budget because that drives sonar choices. If you choose MinnKota TM then Hummin Bird sonar is compatible. Traditional 2D down scan gives you depth, structure, cover, fish and the ability to use GPS maps/boat location. Adding side scan is helpful for shore or shallower use. Next consideration is batteries. Tom

Thank you for sharing the UV chart👍 Tom

It took a generation for finesse to work its way north but today it’s about 50/50 finesse vs power fishing because it works! Tom

Unthinkable…..catching bass using finesse presentations isn’t unthinkable it’s fun😀 Tom

Your pressure is coming from within, not others. If you can find a friend to share your boat who knows how to bass fish. A partner you learn from each other and it helps to stay focused plus enjoy the days on the water. Smallmouth fisheries are very from LMB, different locations and presentations that requires down sizing or finesse lures. Good fishing, Tom

My experiences with FC line is well documented in this site, it’s a love hate relationship. I have come to realize my experience differs from most bass anglers because I tend to use smaller diameter/lb test the everyone else. Smaller diameter FC casts better and has good lure feed back, over .012D memory increases to the point it’s a negative. Tom

3’ to 4’ white caps with 30-35 mph wind in main lake areas, not good! If you are out of the wind you are not in the wind. Tom