Hung up Paul

I just got back from Lake Royal. I caught this guy about 5 casts in... I looked for something different in my tackle box and decided to try an orange and silver Little Cleo spoon. It paid off quickly, but I lost the lure to the bottom after 2 more casts. After losing 3 more lures I decided to call it a day. Tough day on my tackle box, but catching a fish made it all worth it.

I'll be there by myself. I got the day off from work so I'll be hitting at least that spot. I might be buying a jon boat on Monday too.

Wish I could have joined you guys. I'll be there on Monday. Paul

Thanks for the advice guys. $100 is about as high as I'm willing to spend right now. I figure a $100 rig should get me by for a couple years or more. I'll look in to that other suggested combo. About the craigslist reel though... what is the problem with it?

How about some explanation there Burley? LOL... Thanks to the rest of you. I'm going to try and take a look at it. Paul

I've always fished with spinning reels since childhood. I'm looking to purchase my first baitcasting reel. I really don't know much about them but was wondering if this was a good deal... http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/spo/473783356.html

It's near Guinea Road and Zion Drive... I'll try to be there at around 8am. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1T4GGLD_en___US228&q=lake+royal+va+map&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl Paul

Nice! What was the water temp?

ado124: It looks like Jason has to work that day after all. I'm still going to try and check it out though.

Looks like you guys are in for a good time. Have fun! I have another question relating to the size of lakes and the cold. I would think the smaller lakes would cool down faster and become dead a lot faster than some of the bigger lakes. No steam coming off little lake Barton this morning, so I'm thinking that's a bad sign for holding active fish. Would I be better off heading out to a larger lake?

See you on Monday at Lake Royal. I'm going to hit Lake Barton at daybreak on Sat. Paul

BTW... how long does "this time of year" last? Is fishing decent up until or beyond Thanksgiving around here?

I was jigging the bottom but could only get the few casts in because I was walking around the lake with the wife and kids. No patience there. lol... Man, I'll need to try it again this weekend. Thanks for the info!

Cool thanks flippin. I just put an inflatable fishing raft on my amazon.com wish list. Sounds perfect for that lake... and for lake Barton.

Hey, I just realized that Monday is a holiday, so I don't have work. Also the wife is taking the kids to the mountains for the day. That means I can fish!

Holy crap dude, those fish are huge! I think I need you guys to school me on some fishing. LOL. Just curious, but do you guys ever eat any of the fish you catch? Seeing that most of these NOVA lakes are basically filled with storm sewer runoff would make me nervous.

I walked around Lake Barton on Sat. I through a few casts from several locations with no action. Water seemed pretty cold. You think it's too late in the season?

Here's another lake I've been wondering about. It's just a couple miles away from me. Are boats allowed?

There are several townhouse communities around. I would suggest exploring for a good place to park. Just search for "lake barton va" at http://maps.google.com and try some of those roads. I would try Cove Landing or Water's edge first. I might try to get out there this weekend.

Lake Barton is primarily a scenic backdrop for a few townhouse communities. There is a jogging trail all the way around and is wooded on the south end. The north end is a dam. I recently started walking to the train station for my morning commute and was wondering how the fishing is. I don't see many people fishing there at all. I think I saw one guy in the Summer but that's it. I bet it's stocked pretty good. Your best bet for parking would be a visitor spot at one of the townhouse communities. I'm not sure if there is any other type of public lot. The access road from Burke centre pkwy is blocked, except to pedestrians and cyclists. Let me know if/when you decide to check it out. I'm only a 10 minute walk away and am curious about it myself. How late in the season do you catch bass from the shore? I've never fished in the fall.