cjbs2003

I agree, even catch and release fishing kills about 5-10 of the fish caught ones you never thought would die. Especially when caught with a multiple treble hook lure. Depending on the fish species and time of year it can be even higher. If you don't want to kill fish, don't go fishing... You can take precautions and practice proper catch and release fish handling methods, but some fish are gonna die. Enjoy the protein, its good for you!

The water temp was actually down to 44 degrees? Or was it 54? If the water was even as cold as 54 you can kiss good bye the spawning success of our smallies this year. That cold high water will have killed all the fry and eggs. Hopefully not all the bass have spawned and once the water gets back to normal in a week or so they can get to business making some baby bass...

When it is muddy I like black, I was tossing a weightless rigged 4" curly tail worm and 3" tube. Just worked them real slow around lily pads and grass edges watching the line for movement then setting the hook. Having no weight means you can really slow it down which if you don't have a lot of noise or vibration to your bait means the bass can find it easier in muddy water. I like using super line, it is so sensitive compared to mono and the hook set it great. I really like Power Pro. It is round and keeps it shape. Casts great even out of a spinning rod which I typically use when going weightless, really the only way to go. If I would have kept the top 5 bass I'd have had a 14 lb 2 oz stringer. Not bad from a small pond!

Well, with the incredible rains we got here in northern VA and how disgusting the rivers and most lakes looked around here. I decided to try out an old pond I knew. It is only 3 acres but I knew it had some bass in it. In 4 hours of fishing I caught 14 bass from dink to 4 lbs 4 oz. Not bad for 4 hours... That water had already started clearing up in it and was much clearer than my normal fishing holes. I was surprised to still find several bass on their beds. Maybe an option when the water gets high and muddy... Hit up your smaller ponds as they may be more fishable?

My head is spinning with all the far ranging replies! First off, thanks for such a response! She will go fishing and enjoys it a little, but I am a fanatic and she doesn't understand that... She doesn't want to go fishing all the time. I work weird hours so I am not home as much as the average person to begin with. So the free days I do have I guess are all that much more important to her and me. The thing that set her off was when I left for PA last week for a 5 day trip to fish and turkey hunt. She just couldn't handle it, even though she knew I had this trip planned for at least 2 months. I mean I was planning on getting up early(3 am) to get on the road and beat traffic, and she starts into me and I am just trying to get some sleep. So for the next hour and half we argued over me supposedly fishing too much. Seriously, when I look at my fishing journal, I don't even fish two times a week! I definitely agree with the need to get the honey do lists out of the way first. Plus we are getting a dog so I hope the dog will keep her occupied instead of being ticked that I am gone. Perhaps I need to sit down more and talk it over more with her. But in the end say, I love you to death, but I fish and hunt and plan on continuing to fish and hunt... It's what I love and it makes me happy. But, if you can't handle that, pack up and move out! It aint easy to break up with a girl you love and have dated for 3 years and are thinking about marrying. At the same time, it aint easy thinking that my future consists of a wife who ******* and moans every time I fish and tried to make me feel guilty for it. Anymore advise??? God knows I need it right now! HAHA

OK guys... I am in need of some advice here. I have been dating the same girl for almost 3 years now. I love her to death, but she feels me going fishing 2 times a week is too much. It seems as though the longer we date, the more and more demanding she gets. I honestly don't think fishing 2 times a week is too much to ask! Any of you have experience in how you can get out fishing without ticking the wife/girlfriend off???

I was out on Raystown this weekend... Didn't catch beans for bass, but did catch a few decent lake trout. One thing about Raystown, you never know what you are gonna catch! It is a tough lake to fish in my opinion, but when you hit it right, it rewards you well!

Lake Anna has a lot of "night" tournies if you are looking for more of an evening fishing time...

Its all about the tides on that part of the Potomac. The grass beds are thicker than normal this time of year. Where the grass is not quite to the surface run spinnerbaits and mann's minus 1's over top it. On dropping tides work the edge of the grass beds with carolina rigs. If the water stays clear, you can pick at the holes in the grass with jigs and pig combos in black and blue. Sight fishing for spawning bass can be very productive. Smoke colored tubes seem to do the trick. Tease the bass with it long enough and they will eventually hit. A good website to try is potomac bass com one word... Look for the articles section. They break down each area of the lower Potomac into easy to read sections. Oh yeah, keep your eye for a snakehead... They are in there and they are getting big! The VDGIF electroshocked a 14 pounder the other day! Good luck!

Hmmm... You're telling me no one else took advantage of the cicada hatch in 04? Don't know what you are missing out on!

Yeah, I think Rebel does make some Cicada imitations also. I am sure anything that looks like a Cicada would work... Probably even a popper, but I like to try to match the hatch as best as I can.

I caught many on the Arbogast Cicada. I bought a few from Cabela's. I suspect local shops may have some as they are not that rare. Hula poppers seemed to work well also...

Diawa makes some great imitations of cicadas and so does Arbogast. I have used both and cleaned up the last hatch we had. Caught many nice largemouths but it was the smallies that I really hammered.

eBay has some great hard to find cicada imitating lures... I caught some huge smallies in '04 when they were gorging on the cicadas. Top water fun!

eBay has some great hard to find cicada imitating lures... I caught some huge smallies in '04 when they were gorging on the cicadas. Top water fun!