J Francho

Burke Citations list: http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/varp/citations.asp?waterbody=burke+lake&year=2009 Fred Citations: http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/varp/citations.asp?waterbody=lake+frederick&year=2009 So, which are yours?

Its chromatic abberation. You can look it up....happens when subject is brightly back lit. Small compact digicams have inferior glass, and this crops up frequently. And oh, nice work Roger.

Very nice fish, and nice work from the kayak! Look into one of these: http://www.ram-mount.com/EmptyPages/DIGITALCAMERA/tabid/1542/Default.aspx

Any hook with a bent eye, I snell. Otherwise, a Palomar or Uni knot has worked well. Been also testing out the Eugene knot. Alaskan steelheaders use it, so it must be pretty strong.

Quantum Iron IR3 from 1990s. $40, still lives.

Awesome fish! The Mets hat, not so much, LOL. Seriously, that fish is a beaut. Imagine she was scratching 8 prespawn.

6# Silverthread AN40.

Very, very nicely captured. Tough shooting conditions too.

Everytime i see another angler at B-Ponds, or NPP, they tell me about the ten pounders that have come out of there. :

That fish is a tank, nice work!

Most ridiculous claims I've seen in a long time. Your 4-14 compared with my 4-3: For reference....these are what a 6+ LMB looks like: You could actually be dealing with a "bad scale," but I find posts like this disgraceful, and a real insult to guys out there actually catching trophy bass. The 4-14 claim above is nearly inexcusable, and totally unrealistic. I don't generally get into these weight posts, but this one takes the cake.

I like Outkast RT jigs for penetrating think cover. For more sparse grass, their Pro Staff jig works well. I generally go with blue/black, but on some waters, bluegill or pumpkinseed patterns are better.

Not likely, it is Bass Resource, not Dolphin Resource. : @Ichigo, something in a medium power, extra fast, 6-6 to 6-9 would suit you well for spinnerbaits. I personally use a St. Croix Avid. Any spinning rod that is light, balanced, 6-6 to 7' long, fast action would work well. I like a bit heavier power here, and go with MH.

Just do a search for Paul Robert's posts, and you can learn quite a bit about bass fishing. Another well done trip and report!

Glad you liked the post. We used to have to wait until the 3rd Saturday in June. Man, that sucked. We are now allowed catch and release with artificials in the off season. You know I hate BS when it comes to weights of fish, but I do like to make the fish look big and beautiful in the pictures.

Thanks guys. Paul, about half the fish had ruby red teeth. No rhyme or reason to it depth wise, though I suspect some recently came in from deep.

Very nice!

Denial is a river.

If that's the case, then you scored the deal of the decade...seriously. On a related note, did Daiwa ever make a mirror image left-handed TD-X? I've always wanted this reel, as everyone loves theirs, and I think they are one of the coolest looking reels ever. I would LOVE to have a mirror image lefty. The lefty is below, front row, right: You can find these used and new for a song. Great reels.

It sure is a good fish, more memorable since it wrapped up on a zebe encrusted metal dock pylon. I have give credit to the 10# Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon....not my favorite line so far, but it held up well, considering it was mangled. Good fish, but just a start. I have 7s and 8s in my sights.

Thanks Kent. LMAO, yes.

Thanks guys. I don't post a ton of reports, but I like it to be a story. Being a photog, the pictures, well they just happen. Glad you appreciate them. Maine-Man, that bay gives up a sixer or two every year. I grew up there, and love that place. Its a great, relatively unpressured water, with awesome proximity to the "big lake."

CASTMASTER and I had been talking up a spring trip out his way. We decided an afternoon in kayaks on some small water he and his dad fish from shore could be interesting, and then follow it up the next morning with a trip to one of my waters. Kept getting delayed at the start, seemed like I was never going to get out the door, and our afternoon start ended up being an early evening jaunt. No matter, there were fish. Jim Jr. and I fished from kayaks, while Jim's dad (CATS1939) fished the shoreline. This being Jim Jr.'s first time fishing in a kayak, I was interested to see what he thought. Turns out he liked, though he felt a little stiff after four hours, but in truth, I feel sore after that long as well. We started off with the first bite being a pickerel, and shortly after, I missed a good fish in some wood. That pattern would be a theme. All in all, I think we boated six fish or so, nothing huge. Lots baits in the trees, snagged in underwater debris, and general mayhem on the water. Gotta love spring. Tons of fun fishing water that was a solid ten degrees warmer than anything I've been fishing. I believe Jim Jr. has some pics of me with some green trout. On our way back is when it really got fun. I needed some nice pictures of the boat Jim was using, and the light was just right, So I told him to mug for a nice shot. He says, "What would make this perfect is to hookup right now." As he says these words, his rod loads up.....I'll let pictures tell the rest of the story: At this point were goth laughing our ***** off at how PERFECT the moment was. The "pick for a pic" is what I'll call the series, LOL. Fun and games aside, it was getting late, and we had an early start the next day.... The next morning was not without issue...I somehow lost my keys, which turned up on the guest bed I slept in. Oh well, it was really nippy this morning, and the late start wouldn't hurt us. We made good tie, and got to my water, and noted that the lake was completely flat, so instead of fishing the bay, we ventured out into the massive blue water. Despite being nice and calm, and having lots of company, the fish were nowhere to be found. Lots of stories were told by Sr., which makes slow fishing more enjoyable. So, we went back in the bay to catch some green fish, and caught them we did. I'd say we boated 25 fish total. All of caught fish, and I lost many fish. We played some teamwork, with each of catching right after miss. Good practice for the team events later when the tournament season starts. Jim Jr. let two Big steelhead go by the boat, one putting on an aerial display before shaking loose. I was very surprised to see them in such dingy, shallow water, but its that time of year where anything goes. Water temps in the bay were 52 to 55, and we mostly found fish in relatively shallow water, often near or on cover, wood or otherwise. Fish came on cranks, spinnerbaits, and vibration baits. Strikes were mere taps. Some of the highlights: Sr. with a little guy caught using the "hybrid bait" - Jr.'s color on my type of bait. After dropping three crankbait fish in a row, I finally get one over the side, LOL. Jim Jr. and I had a long conversation the night before about how to keep a poorly hooked crankbait fish buttoned. I then proceed to drop three in a row, while telling Jim each time, "Watch what I'm doing here.....crap, its gone!" A lot of fun was had at my expense, LOL. Little did I know they had filled out an application to the bucket brigade. Good thing, because we found our dinner: Cormorants and Mute Swans were stealing this food right out of our mouths! Jim Jr. went on a tear with his crankbait. One of the better fish of the day. Artistic shot of Jim Sr. I love spinnerbaiting near wood! Finally......with all the big bass reported, I get one. OK, maybe not that big.... 4-3, if I recall correctly. Nice, fat fish, though. Thanks go out to the OE Boyz, their significant others, Nova, and the fish of Central NY.

Spool was over filled.

Tricky since you say restock..... I'll let this one go, but I would like pictures so everyone can see Nothing much to see...about two dozen lipless baits, mostly Am. Shad. Not worth dragging them and the camera gear out. Pike, zebes, and laydowns take their tolls.