Water temps at the depth the bass are located. Not surface temps or air temps. Above 75 degrees the swarm of blurgills and carp can overwhelm the nest eating eggs and fry so survival rates drop significantly.
Tom
Get the 5” wide/3” middle 3 piece roller. Helps loading in the wind with the outside wider roller ears. Color, they come in several take your choice. My last trailer had the roller for 15 years when I sold it and it was in good condition.
Tom
T-H Marine Super Roller.
SC Victory VTS73MXF, 3/16-1/2 oz lures.
Softer tip is preferred for finesse drop shot or slip shot rigs and accurate casting weightless wacky rigged Senko's or Neko/nail weight etc.
This rod loads up quickly for solid hook sets.
Tom
All “mono” lines are Nylon or blends of Nylon and polyester or polyurethane called copolymer mono line.
The highest end small diameter line is made by Sunline called Shooter Diefer Armilo Nylon Mono line.
Co-extruded line like Yo-Zuri Hybrid is often called Copolymer line incorrectly...it’s hybrid because it’s mono line co- extruded with Fluorocarbon jacket.
Fluorocarbon is a monofilament (single filament) line but marketed as Fluorocarbon line to separate it from Nylon.
Tom
ps, 1/16 poly tubing at a aquarium fish store.
Take a hook with you to size it properly.
A front is a change is the barometer pressure, lower pressure allows clouds to fill in the void, cold front is the front of higher pressure pushing out the low pressure and clouds creating windy clear skies.
Bass feel pressure change with their air bladder and simply move up or down in the water depth to compensate. Water temperature and light changes impact their activity level more then slight pressure changes. Storms often have cold rain fall that lower the water temps directly impacting bass activity if they are shallow enough for the surface water to affect them.
Tom
Without a boat the O’Neill Forebay would be a better choice.
Watch for birds feeding on bait that the stripers are working on. Big area so take along a pair of binoculars.
It can get windy there!
Tom
Not familiar with aluminum Ranger to help much.
1. Check the console fuse terminal block for spare circuits.
2. The running light bow wire can be pulled with a 12 gage wire with the 16 gage wire.
The fuse may need to be increase from 3 to 5 amps?
Use the original wire to pull in the new wire. Leave the stern light wire alone.
3. Now you have a wire to carry the lighting current and original running lights, plus it’s switched.
Do have single or dual console boat? Single should have longer rod locker with the bow end open to pull in wires for that compartment, no drill need.
Tackle storage locker mat also be open ended or a wood bulk head?
4. If you have a 12V DC accessory receptacle on the console to plug in spot light etc, use that to power clamp black light etc.
The LED deck lighting may need a professional to install cleanly.
Tom
The reason I ask was working uphill from shore limits choices, boat doesn’t.
My experience with Spots is they prefer cinnamon Browns and watermelon color soft plastics with chartreuse or orange tipped tails.
1/8 oz Drop Shot, size 1 mosquito hook, Jackall Flick Shake 4.8 worm watermelon candy with chartreuse tipped ends and camouflage with orange tipped ends, wacky rigged.
Siebert 3/16oz or 1/4 oz finesse jig in similar colors and high lites with Iovino 2” craw in honeycomb.
Tom
Hopkins Shorty chrome 3/4 oz and add Owner split rings on both ends and Owner Feathered treble hook size #2.
P-line Laser spoon 3/4 oz in Blue chrome same mods as the Hopkins.
Don’t over fish spoons in cold water. Cast out 30’ let pendulum down until it stops then lift the rod tip and lower back down keeping in touch with weight. Let let fall on controlled slack. Strikes usually happen on the fall when the line just stops moving.
Lift the rod to hook set and keep the rod loading by reeling.
Tom
The Daredevil IMP 2/5 oz chrome spoon w/ 3” white pork rind bass strip was a go to lure for Jason Lucas. Jay being my pen pal mentor I had to try out his suggested lures. The IMP spoon became my 1st structure spoon before I knew what a structure spoon was! Yes the hooks were not good in today’s standards but we sharpened all our hooks back in the day.
Thank you sharing the history👍
Tom
Chasing ghosts trying to catch big bass that don’t exist where fish is futile imo.
If Your lake is producing the size bass you are after then it’s being at the right location at the right time using the right lure for the conditions.
Big mistake is trying to force feed big bass lures they simply avoid where you fish.
Don’t give up, if the bass is there you will find a way to catch her.
Tom
Common fish bass eat regularly.
Young of the year Carp, Catfish, Bass and Suckers.
Green Sunfish and Crappie are preferred over spiny Bluegill.
Crayfish/crawdads, frogs, pollywogs, large insect larve,mice, salamanders, leeches, worms.
Minnows like creek hubs, shiners are generally silver belly with darker green backs.
Young of the year Carp are golden amber color.
Suckers are generally white belly darker gray or brown backs.
Young catfish (mad cats) vary by species basically tan belly with darker backs.
Sunfish and pumpkin seeds olive green w/ blue high lites.
Crappie, Silver w/ green specs, darker green backs.
Insect larve are generally olive green and brown.
Shad color lures are very similar to lots of young of the year prey fish bass feed on for over 6 months.
Who knows what bass see when looking at lures other then it’s moving and must be food.
Tom
Rods cast lures not reels.
Triumph MF has a lower modulus, less stiff, blank that is loading properly with your casting motion. Bottom line it’s easier to cast slower action rods.
Slow down your casting motion and use heavier lures using the MHF rods and practice until your release point becomes a natural motion. Distance improves with practice.
Tom
PS, are right or left eye dominate?
Mepps Comet Mino (with the soft plastic minnow) can be good for bass. Inline spinners can and do twist line, one reason bass anglers avoid them. Good lure that catch nearly everything that swims.
Tom
Welcome to BR.
Siebert Outdoors, site sponsor, makes up custom jigs using Owner 5304XX , not sure his molds accommodate 5317 XXX hooks. 5/0 or 6/0 hooks with .062 forged wire are as strong as fresh water jig hook are made. Mustad 34185 jig hooks are black nickel salt water hook.
Tom
Largemouth Bass engulf their prey whole. Smallmouth bass also swallow their prey whole but tend to bite and declaw crawdads before killing and swallowing it.
When you feel a slight tick or weight change using soft plastics drop the rod tip to add a little controlled slack before hook setting. The problem is timing as bass don’t bite soft plastic worm in half, you are pulling the plastic and breaking it without hooking the bass. The tell tale indication is the worm pulled down the hook into a ball at the hook bend.
Tom
What big walking baits? Weight?
15 lb Big Game is .015 dia Mono, spool the reel with that.
Sunline Defier Armillo is small diameter smooth casting mono, 15 lb is .012 D, 17 lb is .013D.
14 lb mono .015D, typo not .025.
Sunline Defier Armillo 25# is .016D and 300 size reels hold 165 yd filler spool. Trans is a rock solid reel ideally suited for heavy lures like Swimbaits.If you like braid to leader That solves your line capacity issue.
Tom
It’s a NorCal lake and at max pool level, few California lake are full of water the past few years.
SoCal your best bet for 4 lb+ smallness is lake Arrowhead in San Bernardino mountains. Private lake so try to make friends with a resident.
Tom
