NOVA Angler

I was in the stands until the last delay started. It was a strange day. Obviously not the way NASCAR wanted it to end but I guess it's good to see new faces in victory lane. Besides, anyone is better than Kyle Bush.

In my last tournament, I had a treble hook cut one of my better fish's gills. The fish was bleeding pretty good from the cut before I could get her in the livewell. Needless to say, a half hour later the fish was belly up and eventually dead. When I was fishing another tournament earlier this year, my partner gill hooked a good fish and the same thing happened. It was bleeding and when we checked the livewell 5-10 minutes later it was belly up but not dead. He pulled out a packet of some livewell additive and threw it in there. 10 minutes later the fish is as good as new. No problems for the next 3 hours of fishing. Has anyone ever had a similar experience and do you recommend a livewell additive in particular for gill hooked fish? How much success do you have saving gill hooked fish this way?

Well you must have bought them all because I had a message on the answering machine yesterday afternoon that said they were all out. Wanna sell me 5 or so? I ordered 4/0 and 5/0. What size did you order?

Anyone know where I can order these? I've tried Brannan's and Barlow's and they are both out of stock. I haven't been able to find them anywhere else. Are they having problems similar to the RI BMF hook?

So a couple weeks ago I placed an online order with a fairly well know tackle shop (BBS). The purpose of the order was to get some of the Denny Brauer Flipping Hooks for sale on their website. I decided to order a couple lures in addition to the hooks since it didn't affect the shipping cost that much. When the package came, I was very disappointed to see that there were no hooks. They only charged me for the lures and shipping but I'm still annoyed that they did not contact me to let me know that the hooks were out of stock. Nothing on their website indicated that they are out of stock and it still doesn't appear to indicate that. I'm not sure why I'm posting this other than to rant. Anyone ever have a similar experience?

Not much love for the Mann's Baby -1. By far my most productive shallow crank. Any of the firetiger colors are my favorite.

Fished a team tournament this weekend with my buddy and we had our limit in the first ten minutes on an Xcalibur XR50 Chrome Blue/Orange. They tore it up. We caught 20+ keepers in the first hour.

I have a 7'11" Shimano Crucial I like a lot. I think I payed around $160.

The only ones I've had problems with paint chipping are the red hook Baby -1. Don't confuse this with the elites that have red hooks, they are fine. Just the plain old red hook Baby -1. This one in particular (attached)...

Nice boat man! If you're interested in joining a club that fishes competitively, I highly recommend New Horizon Bass Anglers. It's a good sized club that isn't overly competitive and we place a strong emphasis on sharing information to make everyone better. Some people see it as a beginners club, but there are many experienced and profficient anglers in the club. Check us out at.... http://www.nhbayouthfoundation.org/ Membership fees and tournament fees are very low so it won't brake the bank. It's more about learning and having fun in this club. Many people move on to fish more competitive clubs or circuits, but it's a great place to start. I'll be sure to hollar at you if I see you on the water some time. I'm also 6'4" so I'm hard to miss as well.

Thanks guys and thanks for the link JVM. I made it out Friday and started off at the mouth of Chickamuxen. Caught a 5.1 on a Baby -1 Minus on the 3rd cast. Caught another that went about 3lbs and a bunch of dinks. We even caught a few on topwater. Fished some wood in Quantico but not much doing there. Went up to Marshall Hall and caught a bunch of dinks and a couple keepers. My buddy broke off a pig. I understand that Aquia has been awesome this year. Friday probably wouldn't have been too bad but I'm not sure how much I would enjoy it on a weekend. I guess since the fish have moved further back in the creek it may have spread things out a bit.

Next time you get back seated, walk up to the front of the boat and start casting with him. That's what I do.

I'm not sure. I think it varies depending on the county's court costs. He did says since we were cooperative, if my buddy bought a license and came to court he would recommend dropping the ticket. He would still be stuck with court costs though. He lives and hour and a half away so I think he's just going to pay it. Once I find out, I'll reply to this thread and let you know.

Just curious if anyone has been out lately and if the fish have all moved into the creeks? I'm going out one day during the week and was hoping to get a couple tips. I haven't been out since April 11th so I'm sure everythings changed since then. Let me know...Thanks!

I fished it with a buddy the first weekend in April. We did okay but not great. I caught 4 with the largest going about 3lbs. My buddy doesn't fish much so he took a chance and didn't buy a fishing license. Of course a couple game wardens stop us that day and give him a ticket. They were really cool guys though. Otherwise we had a good time and I'm sure since it has warmed up, the fishing is probably better.

I grew up in Chesapeake, VA and mostly fished neighborhood retention ponds and golf course ponds. The best pond I've ever fished was on a golf course in Chesapeake. It's called Seven Springs and it's located in the Las Gaviotas neighborhood. They don't exactly welcome fisherman but I would ocassionally sneak out there. I'm not familiar with the larger bodies of water in the area, but make sure you check out the local neighborhood ponds. There are a ton in that area.

I've heard others complain about the durability of the paint on the older Strike King Red Eye Shads, but I haven't heard much said about the Xcalibur lipless baits. I bought three (2-XR50 and 1-XRK75) from TW before a tournament a couple weeks ago, and two of them had significant paint chipped off the nose of the bait on the first day of use. I was fishing grass so I don't think it was from rocks. The two that had the most significant paint loss were both Rayburn Red. The chrome/blue back/orange belly had a little bit of chipped paint, but not like the others. Has anyone else experienced anything like this with these baits? I really like these baits and I caught A LOT of fish on them so it didn't seem to affect that (even after paint chipped). I guess I just expected better from what I consider a premium bait.

Done...

I use 4/0 and 5/0 EWG Gamakatsu Superline hooks for most of my flipping. No issues with hookups.

Nutter butters and Vitamin Water...sometimes a turkey and lettuce pita.

I use 1/4 oz original model. I throw it on a 7' ML with 20lb braid and 12lb. flouro leader. I really like the Berkley Shakey Power Worms in green pumpkin.

XR50, XRK75 and Red Eye Shad

2 ott or 4 ott (rhymes with Scott) Sort of like a .30-06 rifle (or Thirty ott six)

Another pic....

Not yet! 8 lb. Snakehead caught last year on a 5 inch Senko on the Potomac River. Fought harder than any bass I've ever caught.