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I was just casting out to the center of the lake. I caught him on one of my Brass Pro Shop Shad Rat-L-Traps (black & silver).

I only stayed a couple of hours but did not catch anything. I went to Mercer for a couple of hours after that and caught two 1 lb LMBs. It was nice to meet you to Paul.

Rob, I'm there, I plan on being there around 7:00 to 7:15 in the morning. Looking for a trophy LMB. BIG BAIT BIG FISH!!! I will see you in the morning. Where are you going to start your day off? Ron

I went to Lake Mercer today and had another good day of fishing. I caught 3 LMBs, 2 were approximately 1lb and then a hog that was 5.25lbs. Did I tell you I love this lake? This is my most productive location this year.

Good job fishing this year, you got some hogs. What lake or river did the 7lb 2oz LMB come out of?

Nice fish. I have caught fish all over that lake most of them 2lb or more, my best is 5.5lb. I have had my best luck in the last couple of weeks. I fish from a a lot of different spots on the lake and primarily throw crankbaits (Rapala & Rat-L-Traps). I also cover the entire lake when I am there, I do not limit myself to just a couple of locations, I go searching for the hogs. I can tell you that you really need to work the areas hard to get the fish to bite. The fish are holding in the deep water and you need to go after them deep. I also vary my retreival, some times slow, some times fast. I am going back there again in the morning (bright & early) in seach of my trophy LMB, I know he is in there and I plan on catching him one day.

My boat is winterized and covered as well, I feel your pain. The good thing is the shore fishing has been good the last few weeks (caught a 5.5lb LMB) and I can use the exercise. I walk on average of about 10 miles a weekend fishing from the shore this time of year.

This is what the VDGIF Trophy Fish Certificates look like.

I printed the form, filled it out and had my son sign the witness section certifying the length of the fish and then mailed the form along with $4 to cover the cost of the certificate. I also sent them a picture of the fish. If you certify by weight you have to bring it to a weigh station, that means killing the fish. I chose not to go that route. Here is the link to VDGIF: http://www.dgif.state.va.us Here is the link to the Trophy Fish Size Chart: http://www.dgif.state.va.us/fishing/trophy/sizechart.asp

I can make it to Lake Royal so long as it is not raining. I do not want to be out in the rain with temps in the low 40s.

Sean and Allen, Thanks for the invite for the boat trip on Black Hill Lake, I will definitely take you up on that offer. The same holds true down here, if either of you want to try fishing down here (Northern, VA in the spring just let me know. We can take my boat out to a number of different places. Ron

Yes it is near Culpeper. My buddy own the pod and it also holds some trophy LMBs. I am hoping to go back during spawning season and catch one. The pond is about 4 feet low right now so he wants to wait until spring before I fish it again. I caught a nice LMB there that same day, almost three pounds.

Rob, Where are you going to fish? I am going fishing Saturday some where, I originally tried to see if any one was interested in a trip to Black Hill State Park but I have no takers. So I may end up back at Mercer again Saturday early morning. If it is not raining Sunday I would be up for hooking up. Let me know where you are going. Ron

Thanks Dan, I caught it in a private pond in Remmington, VA.

Nice Catch

I just received my first Trophy Certificate from the State of Virginia. However it was for a Channel Catfish, not an LMB, I am still working on that one. The certificates are nice and it showed up within a couple of weeks of applying for it. It also will be posted online after the end of the year. I think it is really cool that the State of Virginia does this for us.

Any MD folks interested in fishing this lake on Saturday? If so I will drive up from Woodbridge, VA.

Brett is 0-8 in the Dallas Cowboys stadium but I hope he can get the monkey off his back and beat those Cowboys. Pay per view football is already here, it's called the NFL Sunday Ticket, I have been a subscriber for 9 years now, every year they raise the price on it to. The NFL is getting extremely greedy in these moves, DirecTV paid the NFL $12,000,000,000 for the exclusive rights for the NFL Sunday Ticket. No wonder they can keep this up with the kind money they are making.

Nice catch Basser

The last few years I have been buying Victoria Secret clothes and perfumes, the wife always loves the gifts I buy from them.

Great job on getting the funds for CAST. I am hoping to be able to help out with the Washington DC event, I signed up online a couple of months agao but I have not received a response back yet. I think this group does a great job from every thing I have read about them. Once again congratulations, great work.

I would think that you could launch out of Sturgeon Creek, that is real close to the power/nuke plant. I would expect the water to be warm around that part of the lake.

Are there a lot of good access points casting from the shore? I figure that the bass will be hitting crankbaits as I am having great success using them in Virginia. What are the Tiger Muskie hitting? I would not mind catching one since I have never caught a tiger muskie before.

I don't think much of the Gulp products, they only seem to catch catfish around here (Northern VA). Senkos are the way to go if you want to catch bass. I have extremely good luck using the swim senkos.

Nice fish