Ep. 124: Gary Reyes & Mike Stembridge on Calico Bass — Weedless Swimbaits, Moon & Tungsten

Guests: Gary Reyes (Reyes Swimbaits) & Mike Stembridge (Pearl Swimbaits) Hosts: Daniel Dahlin ([FISH]rx), El Charly, Luke Dean (Bait Slingers / Artemis Charters)

Episode 124, recorded live on April 7, 2026, is the show’s first two-guest episode — Gary Reyes of Reyes Swimbaits and Mike Stembridge of Pearl Swimbaits together for a full calico bass breakdown. With Daniel, Charly and Luke hosting, the conversation went deep on weedless swimbait selection, bladed jig trailer science, full moon fishing windows, and the tungsten vs. lead difference that changed how Gary fishes the wall.

In This Episode

• First two-guest episode — Gary Reyes and Mike Stembridge both on at the same time.
• Bladed jig trailer selection — neither Gary nor Mike throws a paddle tail on a bladed jig. Gary’s preference: a knife tail or fluke-style trailer (Strike King Kevin VanDam fluke, Deek’s jig trailers). A paddle tail creates restriction on the back end and acts as an anchor, killing the action. Mike runs the Zaco and Spunk Shad. The trailer needs to be free-flowing so the blade can work from the moment it hits the water — zero-to-kick is the standard. Five to six inches is the Goldilocks size for trailers on the Deek’s head
• Bladed jig skirt — neither Gary nor Mike trims the skirt on Deek’s jigs. Let it hang loose to the hook. Daniel trims his half-ounce version slightly to expose the bait when running a shorter trailer — felt right, got bit
• Seven-inch weedless as Gary’s universal calico bait — seven-inch weedless swimbait with a 8/0 hook, fished on medium-heavy rods. Gary doesn’t downsize even when small bait is everywhere. He’d rather catch three big ones than 20 small ones. Mike’s range is five to seven inch (his five is basically six). The Diki Abyss 90 and DD100 are always getting bit regardless of conditions
• Leader setup for calico — Gary: 3 to 3.5 ft, Bob Sands knot variation (10 up, 8 down), caught a 200 lb fish on it. Key rule: don’t cast your knot. Mike: uni-to-uni for bass, Mark’s knot (Master Sensei knot) for tuna. Gary moved from 30 lb leader to 60 lb after losing a 10-pounder at the Channel Islands. On the wall, 40 lb is about the maximum — heavier and you risk anchoring to the rocks on a break-off
• Full moon and calico — Gary: full moon = fish feed all night. When the sun comes up, the bite is over because the fish are full. Luke’s framework: fish feed hard at night on full moon, which means early morning is slow because they’re tummyed up. Best move is to fish the evening into night leading up to and after full moon rather than chasing daytime bites. Full moon works for tuna because tuna never get full — bass do
• Tungsten vs. lead at the wall — Mike introduced Gary to tungsten jig heads for the wall. Tungsten gets to the bottom faster and stays there in current, keeping the bait in the strike zone. When Gary switched from lead to tungsten mid-session, his catch rate went from 1:4 to 4:1 on the same presentation. Luke’s rule: if you think you’re fishing slow enough, slow down more
• Reading conditions at the islands — Gary and Mike’s nine-pound calico story from Clem: Mike spotted birds and bait conditions from distance mid-cruise. Gary turned the boat. They pulled up to kelp lying parallel to the island with bait running and current ripping. Smallest fish was six pounds. Had the whole bag before sunup. Two other guides called in. Gary on seven-inch weedless wheels, Mike on Tatty 45
• PBs across the group — Gary: nine pounds at Clementine. Mike: nine at Catalina, nine at Clementine, eight from the beach. Luke: nine pounds local. Daniel: just under five (framed as five). Charly: working on it
• Upcoming — Gary leaves for a five-day Tony Reyes mothership trip to Cababria on Sunday. Taking seven-inch weedless baits, irons, rip baits. Five rods total. Day at the Docks event in two weeks — Bait Slingers, iRods, [FISH]rx, Sudden Impact at the booth

Beyond the Rod & Reel on Calico Bass

The paddle-tail-on-bladed-jig conversation is one of the more technically specific things the show has produced. Gary’s explanation: a paddle tail acts as an anchor on the back end of the bladed jig, dampening the blade action and slowing zero-to-kick. The bladed jig is already doing a tight wobble — you want a trailer that flows with that motion, not one that counteracts it. When Gary pauses, he wants the tail to flutter freely. A paddle tail holds the pause. Mike’s framing was equally clean: the way the head on a bladed jig works is the same motion a swimbait tail produces. Stacking a paddle tail on top of that creates an anchor. Both converged on knife-style or fluke-style trailers: less mass, more freedom, stays in the action window.

The tungsten switch is a principle worth generalizing. Gary knew how to fish the jig at the wall before Mike introduced him to tungsten. The technique was correct; the hardware was limiting him. The lead head drifted before it got to the structure. The tungsten head sank faster, got there quicker, and stayed in contact longer. When Gary had the right tool, his catch rate went from 1:4 to 4:1 on the same presentation — same water, same structure, same retrieve. The bait change did nothing. The head change changed everything.

Gary’s move to 60 lb leader after the Channel Islands incident is worth noting for anyone fishing big weedless baits around structure. He lost the fish on 30 lb because the calico chewed through it in one bite. The fish couldn’t feel the line weight difference — it was a reaction bite on a fast-burned weedless swimbait. Going heavier didn’t change the bite rate. It changed whether the fish landed. At the wall specifically, 40 lb is the practical ceiling — 60 lb risks anchoring to the rocks on a break-off.

Watch the full episode on the Time On The Water YouTube channel. New episodes every Tuesday at 6 PM.