cjbs2003

Are you catching those trout in NOVA or somewhere else? I see there are a couple of brook trout mixed into your pic along with the rainbows... I was up in PA this past weekend for their opening day of trout season. Caught over 50 trout this past weekend up there. Lots of FUN!

Being a Fairfax County Police Officer, about a year ago the VDGIF asked if we would help in enforcing the parking and trespass rules at the park. I write the heck out of people for parking illegally. The parking lot that is designated for just anglers is the southern entrance that is very obscure and is on the cove down near the dam. I usually work the midnight shift so I end up dealing more with people in the park at night doing things other than fishing, usually drinking and smoking up, which ends up leading to them going to jail or getting a summons. Burke Lake is a great lake to fish at night though. If you bank fish there at night, use the lot designated just for fishing and you may just get to meet me! I check fishing licenses too... HAHA Hey, $18.50 for 365 days of fishing is a dam good deal if you ask me! And write to support the effort, if not it won't be long and you won't have a place to park to fish, especially on weekends!

If it stays cool the hickories should be around at least until the first if not second week of May. The American Shad could be around well into June and if we are lucky even early July! But not every river has American Shad, only the Potomac and James have decent numbers, the Rapp and Occoquan have recovering populations that are VERY low... Good Luck!

Boat size predicates whether you need flares as well as the number and type of PFD's you need. I am not aware of any law that says you need a first aide kit with you... The VA Game Wardens are a bunch of nice guys compared to the ones in PA. The PA Fish Wardens at least the 4 different ones I have met were all A holes! So, how did Burke Lake treat you???

Sounds good, let me know how you do... I am hoping to fish it a day or two in early May around the spawn.

I had the whole FOGGY river to myself! The shad were 15", 16.5" and 18.5"... All full of eggs! Some big hickory shad...

Another...

Went to the foot bridge on the Occoquan this morning after work. I landed 3 and lost one hickory shad in an hour of fishing. Two were on a small gold spoon below a yellow and red shad dart and one hit the dart. Here are a couple pics...

I am trying to find a ramp that the public can use, either by fee or for free that is farther up river than either Gravelly Point or the Columbia Island Marina. I am not even sure one exists, but it is a long ride from Gravelly Point to some of my favorite holes in the Fletcher's Cove area, with the no wake rules... Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks...

Let me know how you do... The MDNR web site says they regularly electroshock 10 lb bass out of there. So there are some hogs eating all the stocked trout in there. I bet a big trout imitating swim bait would be great this time of year. I hear there are some hold over trout in the lake as well. Gonna try to catch a few this summer with the downriggers...

d**n is a cuss word, DAM is a pile of dirt or concrete used to block body of flowing water to create a reservoir... Just FYI

So, again just let everything go and then there is no problem...

As far as alewife and bluebacks go... I just cast net and dip net for them to use as catfish bait and striper bait in the Potomac. I take at best 50 during the hole season so I don't think I am hurting their populations. I only fish for them in one small feeder stream off the Potomac. Been doing it for years and they come back every year in the same numbers. But again, request a code book or look at this web site for more info... http://www.dgif.state.va.us/fishing/regulations/new.asp Or if you are still unsure, call your local game warden or VMRC police officer for more info. When I have called they have always been more than willing to answer my questions and were very nice.

I have a super easy solution... DON'T KEEP HICKORY OR AMERICAN SHAD! Problem solved... They are still recovering, give them a few more years and then maybe think about keeping them. There are plenty of other fish that are not recovering and in fine shape to keep. Write the VMRC or the VDGIF and ask for a Code Book. They are more than happy to mail you one. You cannot rely just on the internet to find laws it says that right on their web sites.

I keep all the gizzard shad I snag for catfish bait, no better bait out there. Less cast netting I have to do! Seem to snag a lot of gizzard shad this time of year... I think they swim slower because of the cold water and can't get out of the way of the lure fast enough.

As I understand it, above the fall line the VDGIF regulates the American and hickory shad, below the fall the the VMRC regulates them. From looking at the web sites and speaking with wildlife conservation officers, American shad are strictly catch and release in all tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay regardless of whether they are caught above or below the fall line. Hickory shad are catch and release below the fall line in all Chesapeake Bay tributaries below the fall line. Above the fall line, which legally is usually a major bridge, ie I-95 bridge, Rt 1 bridge or the 14 St bridge, depending on the river... Hickory shad are usually still catch and release. However, I spoke to WCO Grauer a couple years ago at the Occoquan foot bridge and although he said the law should protect the hickory shad in the Occoquan if they are caught above the I-95 bridge they are fair for the taking with no limit. Be cautioned though, if you plan to use them for bait and get caught with them somewhere else, you'll still be in a lot of trouble so if you keep them take them home to eat not for bait. Better yet, just let them go! As far as alewife and blueback herring go, the limit is 50 combined but the VDGIF and VMRC is recommending you not keep any as they are becoming more and more rare and they are looking into closing the fishery on them as well. Of course landlocked alewife or blueback herring caught from say Lake Anna or the Occoquan Reservoir are not becoming rare, are not covered by those rules and are GREAT for bait! Good luck!

Anyone fish Lake Habeeb outside of Cumberland, MD? It is very near my family's hunting cabin and I would like to try some fishing there this year... I hear there are some hawg bass in there and they stock it with trout? Info on any fishing in there would be greatly appreciated!

Did the shad hit the crank bait or did the shad not move out of the way fast enough and get a treble stuck in his side? HAHA

Welcome to the forum okrod. The fishing has been tough the last couple weeks with all this colder than average crap. A couple days of 70 degree sun and we'll be fishing bedding bass! Keep at it, you can learn a lot on here...

The Hickory Shad have arrived in the Occoquan River. They are not thick but I caught a few, the pic is the first of hopefully many to come this spring! Caught it on a tandem rig, red and white shad dart above a gold spoon. Water was a little stained and moving real good, great conditions, just need the weather to warm up and the run should really pick up... GOOD LUCK!

I have an annual pass at Hope Springs, $200 but with as much as I fish and launch out of there it more than pays for itself, even if it is highway robbery. The water on Friday was 52 degrees up in the creek and 48 out on the main river at the mouth of Aquia. I caught three bass in 5 hours Friday fishing a hair jig with a small plastic trailer real slow around stumps and structure up creek. Biggest was 18.5" and 3 lbs 2 oz. Other two were both a hair over a foot. Hope that helps out a bit, this cold rainy weather is killing the fishing. The bass are sluggish, but seemed to come shallow towards evening to warm up in the warmer shallower water.

I used to fish there with my grandfather when I was a kid and then in college when I went to Penn State. The lake gets hammered pressure wise. They stock the heck out of it with trout through the fall, winter and spring. I rarely caught bass over the legal limit of 15". I did catch a 22.5" bass on a hair jig. But that was a rarity. There are some decent walleye and some rare but monster sized musky in there... So many other great places to fish in central PA, Canoe Lake is not high on my list...

I fished Burke Lake Wednesday and actually saw white caps on the lake! Took both my trolling motors to move at a SLOW 1.5 mph into the wind! The worst I have ever seen the lake! The water in the coves was around 48-49 degrees with a few warm spots mid lake at 51. With the cold front moving through the night before the fishing was dead. Hope you have better luck! It is supposed to rain like crazy Saturday into Saturday night and Sunday morning so you maybe fishing in the rain and one MUDDY Burke Lake. Hopefully the rain will be a warm one and energize the bass a little...

A hickory or American shad the same size as a smallie or largemouth is no comparison! They pull harder than a largemouth and jump higher and more often than a smallie. But if I spent my life in an ocean full of big hungry mouths I'd be fast and strong too!

Welcome to the area, which is chock full of black bass fishing opportunities... But the Potomac and Chesapeake are not that far from Sterling so if you still want to pursue Stripers or as we call them around here, Rockfish... They are here for the taking.