Ktho

For roboworms or really any straight tail worm 5" or more I'd use an EWG or the Roboworm rebarb hook to get the desired result, they don't have to look perfectly horizontal in the water to be effective.

I have one DD to my name here in California

I wouldn't mess with it, I'd sell it to me haha. They're meant to bump bottom in deeper water, I wouldn't mess with the internals especially since there's not really replacing anything you do.

1. missile d bomb 2. Reins bubbling shaker 3. Megabass Giant Dog X 4. 6" straight tail roboworm 5. Coolbaits underspin/keitech fat swing impact

The only advice I can really offer is the advice I've been giving myself, it's been working lately for me so it could be worth a shot for you. The winters here are pretty mild but fish still move into winter mode. When it's winter and I'm shore fishing I target the deepest and steepest water closest to shore that I can. Deep is important to fish the fish, they like to move more vertically than horizontally when they're feeling lazy. Close to shore is really important cause it does me no good if they're coming up onto a hump out in the middle where I can't cast. I do the best personally on Hudd 68s and Finesse Jigs, both just slowly creeping along the bottom. The Hudd I constantly reel at a creep, the jig I'll wait often 5, 10, 15 seconds between actions, I aim for 100% bottom contact the entire time. My former boss Dave Myers told me fish still move shallow in the winter but instead of twice a day like they often do other times of the year it's only once a day in the winter. Timing can be really important from shore and I've seen it. Sometimes it's later in the day 3pm to after dark and other times they're up bright and early but figuring out when fish are in the zone you're able to target helped me catch more fish and fish efficiently. Whenever I thought might be their time I'd make some casts, feel it out and if it's no good I'd go check out places I didn't think are good based on conditions. Sometimes you surprise yourself and other times you confirm what you're already thinking.

Here in Socal there's mainly clear water lakes. Some of the clear lakes are in that 20-30' clarity and others are more 8-12' but it varies, even the clearest lakes can have algae blooms or mud from rains which happened this year to make visibility minimal. A couple lakes are clear if there is 2 or 3' vis. I may be wrong but from my experience the less clear the water the more fish will be shallow and the more they seek being tight to cover. In the clearer water they tend to be deeper and don't necessarily get right in the cover, they'll just associate to it and structure is a big deal. As for ideal? I like whatever the normal conditions are for the lake personally. If it's a clear lake with a green tint then thats what I want, I don't like it as much if vis is way down or if it goes crystal and same for the dirty lakes and crystal lakes. Fish don't always love change and I find it to be more predictable when the water is the average state. I personally really like the dirty lakes here. Most people shy away from it because it's a little abnormal and clear water is more comfortable for them but I find myself right at home in whatever water condition. They also tend to be way less crowded which is my favorite condition.

This is a pretty big one. From shore your positioning is really limited, you don't get half the options you get on a boat. No matter what you do you're pretty much always fishing uphill. Due to that I'm downsizing pretty much any bottom contact bait. 3/8 is incredibly heavy from shore for me 5/16, 3/16 and 1/8 are the standard sizes I'm using. Deep diving stuff also just doesn't get used, it ends up just dredging the bottom and there's a really tiny window where it's doing what it should. Anything that dives below 3-5ft just gets left at home.

I'll pretty much always use 3/8 and only go to 1/2 when it gets really really windy. I'm most commonly fish them dragging bottom in 25-40ft.

The S-waver is probably more applicable in more situations. It's a shad, trout, baby bass, etc. it's a more versatile baitfish imo and if you fish a variety of lakes with typical forage species it's the better option imo. If you fish a lot of smaller ponds/lakes that lack normal forage species and mostly just have panfish then the Ganterel Jr. would be the better option although even still the S-Waver would be right there. Bluegill baits for me get used around bedding season a lot and into early summer and year round in the lakes with mainly bluegill/sunfish and no shad, silversides, shiners etc. S-waver is a year round swimbait and that profile is a way more common profile than a gill shape.

Got a solid topwater fish and found some fish staging ready for the fall bite.

I have and have used the Columbia onmi freeze tech stuff and you read right. It cools with evaporation. You need to be sweating or get it wet for it to work and it does work but it's gotta have enough moisture to be able to evaporate. The one I got has some extra ventilated material along the arms and sides, I like that better than the evaporation tech part of it.

The recent wild west bass trail tournament at mead was won largely on the back of a buzz bait. Prop baits of different kinds are money in the heat and when there is a little wind chop going on the lake. It might just be me but they seem to have some good drawing power too, getting bass to commit from far away. One of my favorite topwater lures just because of how effective and simple they can be to use.

I love Columbia

I mean ElDo might be tough but it has absolute monsters in it and is a solid bass lake, same with Mile Square. North Orange County spots like Ralph B clark, Laguna lake, Craig and Tri City are good too and not too far apart from each other. It's not easy fishing, there isn't easy fishing around that area or really anywhere here unless you hit golf courses or other little ponds that you aren't supposed to hit, you have to put in your time and you'll get what you put in.

While I'm fishing I really don't like being bothered, I'm kinda in the zone. That and it's usually not reciprocated. Today a guy cruises by and asks how I'm doing etc. and I tell him I'm doing alright etc. and then he's just like cool and moves on without sharing anything. That kinda irks me. I probably should just stay quiet or curt while on the water. Once I'm off the water I have no problems sharing and talking about where/how I'm catching fish. Most of the bites around here change pretty quickly and I fish a handful of different lakes so if the person is following the bite instead of leading it it's really no skin off my back.

The pitch bite in the reeds is still going on at one of the lakes, had fun getting back on em. Big fish went just under 4 1/2lb.

From the article "Most of the time when fishing Senkos weightless, I am using the 9-series (five-inch) Senko, and I prefer to use the 63-Series size 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG with an offset shank" I use a 3/0 Gama EWG with the 5" senko and it's awesome. For the thin and pro senko a 3/0 straight shank worm hook is my go to.

I'd go minimum 40lb braid, it's about the diameter of 10lb and the smallest diameter I like for most baitcasting reels. 50lb, 65lb and even 80lb work nicely as well. The strength comes in handy but I also just like the little bigger diameter line, I feel like it casts better, and lays better on the reel.

I mean blind is bad but when isn't blind pretty bad, it's a staple rig for deep structure. If you're on a deep hump or point the drop shot is like insane insanely good and casting it out and working it back is one of my go-to methods. I rarely vertical fish it unless it's really deep like ~50ft in winter and/or keeping it extremely still is key. For OP, drop shot like lots of other stuff isn't going to be good if the boater is moving along at a good clip, slow is pretty important for a classic drop shot. Using a long drop with a heavy weight and a curl tail or swimbait and slowly reeling it in maintaining bottom contact with the sinker is becoming more popular but is still kinda niche.

Got invited to fish at a private lake and the fish made the long drive worth it

A 68 isn't really a particularly big bait imo, pretty small fish will be able to eat it no problem, ofc big fish will eat it as well. Even a 8" hudd 2-3lbers will readily attack. They might not realize how big it is, it could be a territorial strike, could be a lot of things that I'll never know but what I do know is bass have big eyes and big mouths and it's really difficult to use a bait that's too big for them to eat. Forage species is overstated as well imo unless they're actively pushing bait schools, then having something that matches can be real important but even then not always. That 68 trout pattern could be a trout, a shad, a bluegill, a small bass, or just their next meal. I really don't think they stop to think about it and even know themselves.

Doesn't really matter that much to me. The channel can be nice just as a reference point for lining it up but I'll skin hook it no matter what.

Nice job man! Casting light lures with larger surface area is probably the toughest stuff to cast with baitcasters. With some practice you'll have your accuracy and be slaying it in no time.

weird, I have that color and got it from TW but they aren't on there anymore. Maybe the guy is getting out of the business.

I didn't. I don't typically weigh fish so didn't have a scale with me. It was a solid one for sure, probably up there somewhere good. It looked and felt bigger than an 8 I weighed a while back.