Micro

I don't fish in Va Beach. But I'm sure someone on these forums does.

The lake level is extremely high right now. It's been spilling over the dam for some time now. It actually pretty easy to get back into the coves off the creeks. Fishing is fantastic right now. If you can get there soon, before it starts really weeding up, you'll have a great time.

I'm not buying what that website says, either. Anyone that calls a venomous snake "poisonous" can't be trusted to tell a snake from a shoe lace. I do agree that's not Louisiana. Whatever the size of the snake, there aren't any snakes native to Louisiana that are colored that way. That doesn't rule out a non-native species. That's not any kind of boa or python. Not with a head that round and large compared to its body. And certainly not the way its carrying it. That may be Australia. If it's an Australian snake, and real, my guess its a released Inland Taipan. http://ipakway.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/inland-taipan-430.jpg?w=300 I don't think its a Brown Snake. Wrong color. I also don't think that snake approaches 20 feet. Frankly, I think it's fake. Either that, it's dead, mounted, and posed.

Abu Garcia, Pflueger, Wright & McGill, Penn low profiles, Lews, many BPS and Johnny Morris models, are all manufactured by the same company.

I have several Curado 200E7s. They are perfectly adequate for bass fishing. They have graphite side plates, but this isn't any problem. The drag is entirely sufficient. They cast supremely well. And they are comfortable to palm and the handles are the most comfortable on the market, IMO. I have a Calcutta 200GTB. This is a reel built to last a lifetime. It is all metal. No graphite in this reel. It's heavy. But you pay the price in weight, since it's very heavy. But with the shallow ported spoool, it will cast baits as well as the Curado. I have no problems throwing 1/4oz baits, and would not hesitate to throw bigger hard swimbaits with it.

That's a highly unusual way for a python/boa/ananconda to be carrying its head. They usuauly crawl with their heads down. And with big snakes, heads usually look small compared to the body. That head looks like a Callaway Big Bertha golf club head. I'm calling BS on this one.

I like to wear them on a chain around my neck. Chicks digg 'em.

As it has been for the last couple of years: a Strike King Rage Tail Space Monkey in green pumpkin, on a 4/0 Owner Twist Lock Hook with 1/8oz weight.

Get yourself a plastic colander and wash them in warm water. Dry them, and spray them with Pledge furniture polish, then wipe off. It will give them a nice luster. Don't worry about the lemon smell, it only lasts a bit. Pledge furniture polish is good for rods, eyes, grips, and wiping down reels. It also makes line slick and, IMO, outperforms specialty line sprays by a large margin. Pledge also neutralizes salt.

Because green pumpkin and chartreuse with black flakes is super cool.

I don't fish Lee Hall Res (aka Newport News Res) too much. But I drive past if most days. The weeds are starting to touch the surface. Since Lee Hall gets its water from the Chickahominy, what happens on the Chick occurs on Lee Hall. It's going to get very, very weedy shortly.

Ed Allens

Get out there soon. It's already starting to weed up. I've been fishing it all spring and the weeds are noticably thicker in just the last week. Pretty soon the coves will be all but impenetrable. Right now, the lake is at its prime.

I had the week off and hit Chick Lake Wednesday, Thursday and today. I got 3 bass and 3 pickerel on Wednesday (only boated 2 of each, the others fell off at the boat) in 8 hours. They had sure lockjaw with all the rain/sun/thunderstorms that rolled through. On wednesday I got 32 bass, one bowfin (not boated) that was easily over 10 lbs, and several pickerel. Spent 9 hours on the lake. I got 17 today, including one 6-7 lb'er. Also got a fietsy green sunfish on a space monkey. Spent 8 hours on the water.

This isn't noteworthy because of the "monster" bass I caught. But rather what I recorded it on. I commandeered my son's Tony Hawk Helmet Cam. He got it for Christmas two years ago and never even opened it. Now he wants it back and I may not give it to him. I wore it on a head band. It has a red laser aiming device. Not a bad tool for a $50 toy.

I though this was pretty cool. Ponies standing on the bridge at the back of Lacey Creek.

Red, I fish the Space Monkey rigged on an Owner 4/0 twist lock hook with 1/8 oz weight. This rig has produced more fish for me in the last few years than any other bait I've used. It's my absolute go-to bait and I always have at least one rigged, usually two, rigged in my boat at any given time. The bait will flip and pitch very well. The weight hook makes the bait sink horizontal to the bottom which I like very much. The 1/8 makes it sink fairly slowly, but the arms and legs flap nonetheless. You can usually work the weight up and down the hook shaft to make it sink at some desired angle.

Apparently, it was Navy Seal Team 6, from right here in southeast Virginia, the sent Bin Laden home to be judged. God bless 'em. I've met some of these guys and I will say they are some of the most unassuming gentlemen you will ever meet. Their quiet, reserved nature is almost disconcerting. Some of America's most treasured warriors. And we'll never know the names of those warriors that did the job for us. But we love every one of them.

I can't quite figure it out, either. But I did recognize blasphemy when I saw it... "I don't like the Space Monkeys."

This seems to be a well regarded rod... All Star Team All Star Crankin' Casting Rod http://www.***.com/All_Star_Team_All_Star_Crankin_Casting_Rods/descpage-ASTCKR.html

Can you even catch gizzard shad? I don't think I've ever hooked one. I know in some years during the run I've seen them piled ankle deep on top of Walkers Dam. I've seen them by the hundreds on the Chick River during a die off. The eagles and ospreys go crazy. I know everything eats them. But for a food fish, I heard they rank just below mud in taste.

Ruger has announced its new 1911. Not a big surprise since they have been supplying castings to Caspian, a big custom shop, for some time now. But now Ruger will have its name on a USA-made gun. $799 MSRP. Nice looking piece, too... http://www.ruger.com/products/sr1911/models.html

Bombers are bread-and-butter crankbaits. They are cheap and they work. Great brand of crankbait. Bomber Balsa Model Bs are good balsa baits. Mine catch a lot of fish. They are a high-value bait since they fill your livewell and don't cost a whole lot.

Or it could be that you have oil on the brake drum. Or it could be that you don't have the spool tension knob set like you have in the past. Or you could be out of practice. Maybe a combination of any of the three potential problems - four if you count baluga's.

How often are you supposed to check the electrolyte level in your batteries? Just in the last year I've gotten an on board charger and have left them hooked up 24/7 to keep them charged. I left them on in the dead of winter for nearly 2 months without checking them and when I did they were pretty low (tops of plates exposed). Now I'm paranoid and checking them every few days. And if I leave my maintanence-free starting battery (a dual-purpose type) hooked up, will it loose water, too? There's no way to check that battery. So should that one be charged until full then disconnected?