Paul Naj

Started out this morning with a little less confidence than last week because of the cold front and rain last night. I decided to launch at Bull Run because it would offer me more protection from the forecasted winds and I could get on the water a little earlier. As I feared, the water was chocolate milk. I tried some obvious structure but moved quickly trying to find a little cleaner water. I threw everything from frog, soft jerkbait, spinnerbait, poppers etc and only managed 2 fish between 1 and 2 # in the first few hours. One was on a frog and one on the soft jerkbait. I kept heading south and the water cleaned up a bit but I still wasn't getting bites. I then came to an area where the shad were very thick and being pushed into tight pods. The bass were feeding on them pretty regularly and were blowing up in the schools. Since there was little else working for me I spent a bunch of time throwing a variety of baits at them without a hit. As I was sitting there not getting hits and daydreaming of better days, I was thinking of my buddies in New Jersey who are currently having one of the best years ever for LARGE striped bass over 30# by snagging mossbunker and dropping them below the school to the bass feeding below. The shad schools I was watching looked like a mini pod of bunker. So the light bulb went off and I dug through the tackle bag and took out the largest treble hook I had, weighted it with some split shot and tried to snag a shad. It certainly wasn't as easy as snagging a bunker but I finally got one, took off the split shot and pitched it near a tight school. Within a minute I got a runoff but missed the fish. At this point it was time to go home but I couldn't resist trying again. It took even longer this time to snag a bait and the first two schools I fished it by didn't appear to have bass following them. One final pitch and I got another runoff and landed a nice 3.5# fish. Desperate times call for desperate measures and it felt good to take something from a completely different fishery and make it work. Two final highlights of the day; the first was the 5 or 6 pound catfish that whacked a brush hog and got foul hooked. That sucker sure did pull some drag. The second was a beaver that was living in the back of a cove tail slapping to warn me off of his turf. He smacked the water a bunch of times and it was like a 2X4 smacked down flat on the water. Very cool. Paul

Jason, As I said to you the other day, you keep going in the direction you're going and it will happen soon. There's some great advice in this thread. Absorb what you can and apply it to your spots. When you're done fishing for the weekend, report back here what you did. Honestly, I'm not concerned if you break 4 pounds this weekend, or 2 pounds for that matter, I'd like to hear what you did differently to get you to your goal. Did you try something new and then switch right back to a comfort bait or did you stick with it? Did you lose focus because you were out of your comfort zone? I ask this because when I first started fishing soft jerkbaits, I felt like i was totally out of my element. I just couldn't match the numbers my brother was putting up and it was frustrating but I stuck with it. Obviously they are not as foreign to me today and I've caught a lot of fish on them and some big ones too. It took a while to get to my level of confidence in that bait. I'll be back out Monday or Tuesday and my personal goal is to set aside an hour or two to start fishing some deeper offshore structure. I really stink at that and simply want to get better at it. Without a depth map I have no clue where I'll start so I'll go back to the basics I learned over the years and maybe the depth finder will give up a clue or two. I don't expect to become good at it by the end of Tuesday, or June or this summer for that matter. I do expect to learn from every cast to the deeper stuff and lock it in upstairs when I start to figure it out. P

Onthereel, I've had feast or famine fishing in the shad schools. Historically I've had much better fishing at night when the shad are being pushed. I've caught them on topwater with zara spooks, jitterbugs, spittin image, wooden swimming plugs etc. I've also gotten fish on black spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits fished slowly below the school. During the day crankbaits and lipless crankbaits have occasionally worked for me. I especially like the lipless crankbaitsbaits because of the shad profile. I haven't tried them yet but I'll bet a swimbait below the school would be money as well. Paul

Good info guys. I think we have indeed transitioned into a summer pattern. I got 3 this morning on a scum frog but was unable to get any other topwater hits. I also only had one or two rises to the soft jerkbait which had been consistent up until this week. One of the things we didn't discuss in this thread was the different effects of the seasonal change has on ponds / mid sized lakes and reservoirs, large lakes and rivers. While there are similarities I think size of lake, water depth, clarity etc. also play a role in the pattern as well. Most of my fishing the past month or so has been on the same body of water and I've been able to change my approach and remain productive through the pre-spawn, spawn and post spawn. My past two trips have been tough. I'm definitely going to fish deeper my next time out. I'm just perplexed that I haven't been able to get a topwater bite going. In my old haunts in NY and NJ I could always raise a few fish on poppers, wooden swimmers, buzzbaits, spooks, spittin image etc and had some days that were amazing on virtually any topwater bait. The frogs today were the result of your suggestions. They were never a big part of my arsenal up north but I'm a believer here already. I seriously need to work on my deep game and I'm going to stay focused on it next week. Thanks for the feedback.

NOVA guys, I'd like to hear your opinion on the effects of the hot weather to our fishery. I know that in the past two weeks or so we were already entering into a transition from spawn to post spawn. Most of the fish I was catching before that in the coves were now gone. In the past two weeks I've been finding fish on primary points and banks adjacent to these points. The deeper the water nearby, the better. This past Thursday was virtually the same. The weed lines along the bank were holding fish and I was able to get them to attack a soft plastic jerkbait. The rest of the hits I had were in 8 to 10 feet of water on Senkos. I haven't been able to find a decent top water bite in the past two weeks. I did manage to get some fish but nothing over 3 pounds I did find a nice smallmouth sitting on a rock pile. So what will the heat do? Will it force them into a summer pattern? What type of structure will you target in the next few weeks? What's the goto lure? Thanks.

Trev, we need to get one of those pics with the guy fishing with the spinning reel upside down. It's an instant classic in the making.

Wait 'till I get some pics the next time we're out fishing. That's a photoshop picture just waiting to happen. ;D

I propose a collection for a new wardrobe for flippin4it. Some LL Bean shirts and shorts and a nice pair of Sperry topsiders should do the trick! ;D I was out on the reservoir on Thursday. On my 4th or 5th cast I got a nice 3 pounder on a buzzbait and that was the last topwater bite I got. Being as stubborn as I am it took me an hour or so to be convinced of that. Ended up with 5 fish between 1.5 and that 3 pounder and a few other hits mostly on soft jerkbaits. I finally found a pattern late in the morning that included shoreline near small clumps of weeds and shade.

Guys, How long are you planning to be out? While I won't be home in time to fish I may be back early enough to swing by as you're coming off the water.

Guys, I'm going to be up in NJ with my family this weekend and may not get back until Monday night. If I don't show have a great time and catch 'em up. I was out there yesterday morning for a few hours and it was tough. I only got two fish between 1.5 and 2 #. The pattern I've had dialed in there for a few weeks was non-existent yesterday.

Rob, Dan, Andrew, Simon, great to meet you guys. I was lucky to put together a patern early. It dried up quickly once the wind started blowing even in the back of a protected cove. I ended up with 6 fish total, 4 of which were keepers, 1 borderline and 1 dink. 4 of the fish took the buzzbait and 2 on a fluke. 1st fish- 3lb 2 oz Largest- Gotta love the buzzbait! 8-)

Dan, I live right in the area and plan on fishing up that way in the next few weeks. I found a spot to put the kayak in on Goose Creek and do a float down river to Algonkian Regional. I love smallies and I hope I can figure them out in this stretch. From what I can see there are very few rocky areas in this stretch but last fall I saw some awesome weedlines that go out about 30 to 50 yards offshore. I'm sure the edges will hold fish as well as some of the deeper shorelines. From what I've been told you can put together a nice day of small to medium sized smallmouths in that area. Paul

Oh no, duck for cover. ;D 8-)

This is a tough one Ron. Although I have no problem sharing my catches and locations with the board, I completely understand those that want to keep it quiet. For me the majority of the fishing I do is on weekdays due to a flexible schedule and I'm not as affected by crowds as those that can only fish on the weekend. In my short time here I can see that the NOVA lakes already get a lot of pressure and I think some guys feel that any additional pressure due to people chasing a report would make it even worse. I spent a lot of time in the past on a striped bass board when I was living in NJ. In fact, a friend of mine runs the site. He had a strict policy that no specific spots were discussed on the public board. It was ok for people to PM specific information if they wanted. It took the pressure away from those guys that didn't want to share and put everyone on a level playing field. As far as becoming a better bass fisherman, I'm not convinced that daily reports of specific lakes are the way to become better. I certainly think that discussing a variety of lakes is helpful in learning new areas to fish but nothing replaces putting time in on a lake and learning each specific lake's landscape. That, together with a thorough understanding of pattern fishing will make people better fishermen. Understanding seasonal effects such as water temperature, pre-spawn, spawn, post-spawn, summer etc. tend to be very similar in lakes of common size and depth in a given area. I know that you know this Ron, but I put it up here because that may not be as obvious to some of the guys new to bass fishing. So the point here is that some guys will continue to post specific bodies of water and some guys won't. Hopefully they post enough detail about their experience so that we can apply their details to wherever we fish. On that note, buzzbaits in the backs of the coves thrown tight to rocks has been very good to me on Beaverdam Creek Reservoir. Paul

Hit the Res again this morning for a few hours. Nothing big but ended up with 6 fish, lost a few and had a couple other hits. Got them on the shadee shad, buzzbait and senko. This was the average size fish. This one hit a buzzbait. I had one bigger one on a senko but didn't get a pic because it was bleeding so I got it right back in.

Hi Knownfactor, I saw those guys. They put in just after me and as I was exploring the cove they went north and I ended up going south. Here's my rig, give a wave if you see me out there. I may try and get out tomorrow. It depends on how long my conference call with Australia goes tonight.

I have a Native Watercraft Ultimate 12. I did the shoot through hull mount on the transducer as well. I ordered the mounting kit from kayakfishingstuff and did a temporary mount to see how the transducer worked before committing to a permanent location. After just one day in 70 degree weather the vaseline became a mess. If you plan to carry the yak on a side mount roof rack or hull up, I would consider using clear silicone instead. I did my final install that way and it works great. The Ram mounts are good as are the Scotty ones and they make a post specifically for the Humminbird Pirahna that I use so I bought that one. Good luck with the new yak.

pkschul, Awesome! What a great pic.

Hi Ron, sorry no pics. You park on Mt Hope Rd or Reservoir Rd in Ashburn. They are on opposite sides of the reservoir. No ramps here, carry and drop only.

Fished Beaverdam Creek Reservoir today. What a surprise seeing the water level at almost full. It had to have risen 3 or 4 feet in the past 9 days with the pumping and the rain. The floating dock was actually floating for the first time this year. I'm sure the dramatic rise in water has messed up the fish getting ready to bed but I still did manage to catch 4 nice bucks. I also had a hawg toss the hook on me. The only fish I found early in the morning were off of an old road bed and ate a rattle trap in 7 or 8 feet of water. I landed one and had a few other hits. As the sun got a little higher I found some fish deeper in the coves. I was throwing a soft jerkbait and landed it near a lone rock sitting by some reeds. After a single twitch the white bait just disappeared from site. I set the hook and my rod doubled over the fish started heading out of the cove and was towing my kayak with her. I saw the fish and it was easily in the 5 pound class. It went deep again for a few seconds and then the line started coming up quickly like it was going to jump so I lowered the rod to the left and the fish quickly turned and the hook came out. After a quick mental checklist of what I could have done better and taking a minute to appreciate a shot at a good one, I repositioned the yak and threw back at the same rock and immediately hooked and landed one about a pound and a half or two. The juices were flowing and I managed a couple more on the shadee shad. I discovered some new turf on the reservoir and had a great morning on the water. I was starting to get down on Beaverdam Creek because of the low water and catching nothing but dinks. I now have confidence that once the water levels off, the weeds start growing and we transition into the post spawn, there will be plenty there to keep me happy. If the water cleans up a bit more I'm sure some site fishing will be in order in the back of the coves. I also found a few deep water humps that will definitely be explored again in the summer.

Nice job Slomoe.

I have no travel scheduled yet for next Tuesday. I'm a maybe for the morning.

J: I'll be back from travel this week by Wednesday afternoon and have a relatively light schedule on Thursday. If that doesn't change I'll PM you on Wednesday afternoon and we'll hook up. Paul

Vekol, It can be a frustrating time of the year. Some fish are just starting to spawn in NOVA but the majority are still in the pre-spawn transition which can change by the day. I fished Beaverdam Creek Res on Thursday and fully expected to find fish in the shallows of the coves since the water temp is right for them to be there and several reports prior in the week validated that thought. I spend the first hour or so trying to find them shallow and never had a hit and never saw a bass cruising. At one point I was crossing the lake and saw a bunch of bait and fish under them on the fishfinder in 15 to 20 feet of water on the edge of a hump. I tried crankbaits and lipless crankbaits and couldn't buy a hit and the wind was blowing me off of position quickly. I tried a bunch more coves, points and the rock wall on the north end by the dam. I still couldn't find fish. I went back to the deep since there was a break in the wind and those fish were gone. Figuring that they finally transitioned to the shallows I spent a couple more hours deep in the coves with no success. I finally took a few small fish off of primary points on Rat-L traps and soft jerkbaits. 70+ degree day, sun warming the water, fish in the shallows just days before and by 1:00 PM they still hadn't moved up. Go figure.

Ron, way to go!