WRB-2.0

Pre Spawn bass are hunting high protein prey at the depth the primary prey is located. Larger bait fish and crawdads. Mid water column and bottom where crawdads live. Spawn staging bass near spawning areas and bed fish on the bottom. Bluegill Crappie and egg eaters near it on the bottom. Post Spawn same as staging bass with slower moving prey suspended. Summer bass target prey of convenance and scattered top to bottom. Fall bass are on the move hunting bait fish schools mid water column. Winter bass slow down and feed less on prey of opportunity in deeper water. FFS look for bass where they should be seasonally and use lures that bass are feeding and…reflect sonar signals. Kietch type 3.8, 4.8 on Fat on Flashy Swimmer. 4” pintail minnow on Hoover jig Basstrix Live minnow on Live Trix jig Drop shot Slip shot jigs bottom digging crank baits and square bills Tom

About 1 1/2 miles long at full pool. So the lake is down about 5’, the new shore line would be the 5’ elevation line. If the wind blowing north to south, fish the lower 1/2 with bottom contact lures like jigs or C-rings. Tom

Lake approx size? Tom

Money must come from somewhere. TV , advertisement and sponsor revenue like other pro sports. Tom

For me structure spoons targeting bass around Shad schools big channel cats strike the spoons. I did snag a big 40 lb class channel cat under the pectoral fin with jig in deep water, thought was the bass, very disappointing when I finally boated the brute. Tom

Maps are usually displayed top being north so assume the dam is at the south end? Also don’t know the surface acres or length? Where is the launch ramp located? What are the small sharp main lake points ending in 5’ of water on the west side a few on the east side? I consider this Seasonal period the transition Cold Water / Winter period water temps about 50-55 degrees in your region. I would focus the 15’ breakline and any structure elements between 10’ to 20’ to start with. The only cove on the west shore has points and a interesting jog in the 20’ breakline to check out. Near the dam there appears to be a spillway outlet on the east side check that area out. Tom

Foo troll aid….do I need to say more😎

Back before we had “Navonics” 1’ elevation digital lake maps we relied on topographic terrain maps available from government sites. These topo maps were map prior to reservoir or man made impoundment were constructed. Most topo maps are 5’ elevation increments a few were 2’ elevation. What was important these topo maps included roads, bridges, rivers, streams, creeks, groves of trees, farms, fences, buildings everything within the map boundary. Topo maps had enough detail to form a picture in your mind what the terrain looks like. Digital lake maps show what the terrain underwater looks liked like, plus satellite overhead gives you a photo of what the surface water and terrain looks like, very helpful. Glenn did a good job of explaining how to read digital lake maps. IMO you need to look around at the local terrain and local trees, soil etc to get the full picture. You also should have a good idea about bass behavior and what is available for prey the bass feed on. Ask yourself where would a predator like bass be located based on underwater terrain and prey location seasonally. Factor in weather and wind direction that changes the prey location. I look for compression zones at the depth the bass are located to help eliminate water by reading the lake map. Tom

I was skeptical there was a Senko bite going on in my local lake until giving it try. The key was finding a color they wanted and fishing the 5” Senko weightless wacky rigged. The only 2 colors the bass would eat were #301& 330 but on different days. Tom

Gamakatsu 296415 Tom

The soft plastic worm catches more bass then all other lures combined and continues to do this for decades. There is a wide variety of soft plastic worms that also continues to grow year after year. If you bass fish the “worm” should be your 1st choice. 2nd choices that catch bass everywhere year after year is the jig that combines a soft plastic trailer and a spinner bait that combines a soft plastic trailer. Hard lures like top water, sub surface jerk baits and diving lures come and go year to year popular today and forgotten tomorrow. Tom

If you have a IROD contact owner Matt Neuman he will send you a replacement guide that fits your rod. Tom

Replace the top glide Tom

Differently fix the guide

Put the reel on anther rod. Tom

What type of jig head and weight? Hollow body paddle tails are light weight and I prefer the internal weight Basstrix had in 3/16 oz and used my MHF Jig & worm rod w/12# FC. Tom

Bass are not line shy fish. Line diameter can negatively affect lure action. Suggest going .011/.012 diameter mono ie; Big Game 10# or 14# Sunline Super Natural for your all around use. Tom

It’s not the line it’s rod guides fraying the line Tom

Avoid opening this thread. Tom

SK Menace twin Tail grub pearl white weightless 3/0 hook makes a good Shad imitator retrieved this fast on or just above weed when bass are targeting Shad. Tom

Back in the day before the internet all we had was sporting magazines and TV fishing programs. Both were promoting products for ads to tell sell. In-Fisherman was a 1st by promote fishing knowledge primarily with products second to support revenue. Unbiased knowledge is hard to come by especially today. I want you to know knowledge shared that is mine on this forum or magazines article is unbiased from my experience. Today everyone is in a hurry and fishing experienced can’t rushed but it can be shared. Tom

It’s a ping rate chart speed, the factory setting should be the default. Tom

I would re cement the TD to remove any doubt. Next check your chart settings back to original. Tom

Learn to roll cast. Tom

The question is how many of those jerk baits did they have to get to 1 each that caught bass? It’s my experience with jerk baits or diving lures in general it takes several to find the one that catches bass consistently. If you have 10 confidence lures you may have tried 50 to 60 before getting to that special lure. Add different colors and you can see why weekend bass anglers settle on maybe 3 in lieu of 10. Tom