Todd Kline

Learn from Todd Kline

• Learn from Todd Kline Fishing

  On pressured West Coast lakes, bass often suspend on outside humps, points, and target bait schools. An underspin with a small swimbait trailer covers that water efficiently: the blade flashes at slow speeds, and the bait stays in the strike zone on a steady retrieve. This is a great way to show them something other than the minnow that so many anglers are throwing now. In deeper summer and winter water, let the bait reach bottom, then slow-roll it. Barely turn the handle. When you feel a light tick, speed up, the fish usually already has it. In clear water, a 10-pound braid mainline with a 5-pound fluorocarbon leader gets more bites. When bait moves shallow and fish are aggressive, burn the same bait and step up to a 12-pound leader.

• Recommended Bass Setup

  For everyday tournament and guide work, a versatile baitcast and spinning mix is the foundation. The Okuma Tournament Concept Series “B” rods and X-Series casting rods give the sensitivity and backbone needed for detecting the bite and laying the wood. Pair them with an Okuma X-Series or Helios-family baitcast reel that sits comfortably in the palm, has a handle you can grab immediately on the bite, and a smooth drag that keeps the fish pinned. For drop-shot, slim Senko, and light-line finesse work in clear reservoirs, a Helios SX spinning reel on a medium-light to medium Tournament Concept spinning rod keeps contact with the bait without overpowering 5- to 8-pound leaders.