WRB-2.0

As noted keep the cast low to the water and cut down the distance you are trying to achieve. The more aerodynamic the lure (less wind resistance ) the easier it is to cast into the wind. Add a little spool tension helps but your thumb is your friend and smaller diameter line helps. Tom

3/16 & 1/4 oz weight light wind 3’ to 25’. Tom

The 1st flipping jig was Arkie design still a good choice. Next is what hook you use and short shank wide gap the mold a is made for. Suggest buying a few different types to determine what you like then choose a mold and hook. Siebert Outdoors has every jig design needed, Tom PS, Barlows has everything needed to make jigs including molds.

ReelX oil for spool bearings. Hot Sauce gear grease. Break Free CLP for level wind worm gear. Tom PS, Carbontex drag disk Cals grease works a long time for bass reels.

1) not all anglers catching bass release them. 2) ocean anglers out number bass anglers and eat what the catch. 3) trout anglers out number bass anglers. 4) walleye anglers are not C& R 5) catfish angler are not C& R Bass anglers that practice C & R are a small group compared to all fisherman, somewhere around 20% bass anglers vs 80% everything else. Tom

When I started bass fishing in the mid 50’s we used straight Dacron braid tied onto lures and caught lots of bass. In the 60’s mono line came out along with free spool spool Ambassador reels, all we used was mono line for 30 years. FC and super braids came out in the 90’s, now we had 3 line choices continued to this day. What it comes down to is personal preference that you have confidence using, the bass don’t seem to care! Tom

Use the reel and firm rod sweep hook set in lieu of the rod only set….moves 3X more line to load up the faster hook set adding power. FC would improve lure contact and strike detection with less bow in the line. Tom

Have you looked at Okuma X series casting rods? Tom

You assume “sport fisherman “ don’t eat what they catch, not true only applies to a small group angers. Tom

WD-40 Water Displacrment was created for this purpose. Air your friend controlling corrosion. Tom

Swimbaits weighing 8 oz should use a swimbait rod rated 3-10 oz or XH. You don’t palm swimbait reels and the rod should have a foregrip. Irod IRG 795 SB is light weight Gen3 @$149. Tom

Welcome Caleb to BR. Glides are not the popular lure outside of California. As you already know most larger size swimbaits/Glides/wakes started in California migrating east across the country, lots of competition today. It comes down to what baitfish makes the majority of LMB prey regionally and offer glides to replicate those fish. Size and weight depends on the bait fish the glide is replicating; bluegill, Crappie, Perch and Shad 5” to 5 1/2” 1 1/2” oz. Herring, Bass and trout 6 1/2 to 7” 2 oz. This helps to use std H mod fast rods or Medium swimbait rods. Good luck👍 Tom

Rust does stain adjacent lures. Rust is iron oxides corrosion product. No iron metal content no rust. Hooks are the greatest potential to have iron content and most hooks today are nickel plated to prevent corrosion. Sharpening hooks removes the protective coating. If you see rusted hooks replace them or clean and dry them after removing the rust and re sharpening. To remove rust stains from lures remove the hooks and soak the lure in warm water with baking soda scrub with old tooth brush rinse and dry. Spray the reshaped hook with WD-40 and let dry before installing. Tom

Fishery management goals a sustainable harvest for the public use. Fish are there for the public to catch and eat not for specific groups to catch & release. Few exceptions are the Texas Share A Lunker program to raise trophy size bass for the public to catch. California considers Black Bass species a self sustainable fish that doesn’t require a restocking program or management beyond a 5 fish limit over 12” long. A few California lakes have occasional slot limits to harvest a specific year class and/or protect a year class from over harvest. Outside of initial Black Bass* introduction/stocked it’s rare addition bass are stocked by the DFW. Tom * Black Bass includes 5 species in California; Northern and Florida Largemouth, Smallmouth, Northern and Southern Spotted bass, depending on the lake.

Corner of the mouth usually indicates the bass had the jig and turned to swim away before you detected the initial strike. Tom

Great catch but didn’t raise the bar. Who neals ‘n reels today? Giudo bug lost the mist ! Tom

Has anyone heard from Kent? Tom

Do you cast ice fishing…..stiff line isn’t and issue for ice fisherman out on the elements, the cold is! Tom

Mono & FC both cold flow under time under pressure of the knot. Reel oil is very low viscosity the cold doesn’t affect that much but grease makes the gears little harder. Some line conditioners* can contaminate the lubricants gumming the gears. Tenson? Tom * Reel Magic

I use St Croix Victory spinning rods with Shimano Vanford reels. Reason good customer service and warranty plus the combo’s balance well and like the handle design. Tom

It takes time to warm up or cool down grease it’s not thermally conductive. Can’t imagine using all 20 combo’s in one day. I keep out the 6 or so that I’ll use and load those on top when booking up the trailer. Tom PS, I use lighter line then most bass anglers so knot strength is critical and the reason to re tie often, knots over 12 hours weaken mono and FC.

Gary Yamamoto for his Senko Steve Parks for his “Rage Tail” Modern day lure designs that change bass fishing for decades. Tom

The gear grease can gets stiff and mono line takes a permanent set in tight coils below freezing temps. If you service the reels and change line should be OK. Why not remove the reels and put them in controlled temp environment? Tom

It isn’t safe to leave lures tied on over night let alone getting the reels cold. Tom

Consider where you fish and storage plus engine HP. I would avoid any bass boat used in salt water. Tom