MrWrinkle

I meant the body of the fish was deep -- not the water. But it was actually caught in relatively deep water (about 9ft). Yes, you'll struggle to find much more than 11ft there and as you say, it's in a ~50yd area. Will add pics in a minute... I'm getting server errors...

Overslept (I hate it when I put the alarm on pm instead of am...) but managed to get on the water by 6:30am. Picked up some shallow bass early on with the buzzbait before the sun got to work on the water. Then they went deep and it got a little harder. Regardless, in one 15-minute period, I got a 3lbs 14oz LMB on jig (which was my venue best for all of those 15mins...), and then a 5lbs 4oz beauty just a little way around the corner! Very deep fish and an empty stomach. This was probably a 6lb+ fish a few weeks back. So they were my two biggest and I had several more up to 2lbs 14oz. Haven't DL'd pics from the camera yet, hope to tomorrow, and will post when I do so. Haven't been out so much so far this year but in the past three outings I've had two different 21lb carp (intentionally caught -- they're fun!) and this 5lb bass, so at least I'm getting the quality if not the quantity! [June 17: Edited to add pics]

I actually don't have an issue naming Beaverdam, and have done so before. But I've also received messages from people in the past asking me not to use names of places that are considered "hidden gems" by some. So I was being obtuse more for the fun of it than anything. NoVA only has a couple of reservoirs and it doesn't take a Google genius to figure out which one I'm talking about... Anyway, nice fish! Are you sure those pics are all from this year though? I though that little wooden ramp disappeared a couple of years ago? Yep, it's a very tough place at times, especially with the wind which just always seems to be howling down it.

Yes, that was it. OK, that explains the number of boats on the water... I thought it seemed significantly busier than usual! So what is "KBF"?

First time out on the pontoon this year on my favorite NoVA reservoir... Struggled a bit in the wind but managed to pick up three fairly decent LMB (biggest 3lbs 1oz), a nice smallie (3lbs 7oz -- my PB!!), and a rather ambitious bluegill. Lost a good fish early on, too. The fish really did not seem well-concentrated in any particular area -- I'm guessing they're spreading out a bit, looking for their favorite nesting area -- but shallower was definitely better. Lots of kayaks out on the water. That place gets busier every year, which I guess is no surprise with all the new housing that keeps appearing every month. Thankfully, most of them don't yet seem to know the secrets to that place! The smallie is here: ...and the biggest LMB here:

Yes, but only for public outreach for a science project I run. It's a good way of reaching out to a broader audience. For my own personal needs I just find there's too much "noise" on there. Plus I spend too long online as it is, and my own life is far too dull to impose my daily ritual on the world by tweeting it!

Don't wait!! Buy as soon as you know the flights you want. It used to be that last minute was the best because flights always had spare seats and they'd virtually give them away. But that has all changed now. There are less flights, and it's rare to find a flight that's not almost completely full, with many being over-booked. So the airlines really jack up the prices when there are only a few seats left, under the assumption that if you're desperate enough to fly then you'll pay the price. It's obnoxious, but it's working for them. One other piece of advice -- it's nearly always cheaper now to book directly with the airline. They don't normally charge a booking fee, but places like expedia, etc, now often do. My 2c...

Absolutely. I find that fly fishing gives me more options because in many places, these streams are only a few feet wide and average maybe 10" deep. So the ability to have a relatively "light" bait work its way down between rocks can be an advantage for sure. But an U-L setup w/ very small lures would certainly work, and there are plenty of longer/deeper pools that would allow you that opportunity.

Yep, flies for me. Everything else feels like cheating! The one in the pic was on a white streamer, IIRC. Trout in the little mountain streams are not usually picky about what they'll eat. The difficult part is sneaking up so they don't detect you.

Yes! I love catching wild brookies in Shenandoah! There are so many fantastic small streams out there. The fish aren't big, but the scenery is amazing, and the pressure on them is very light if you're willing to hike uphill a couple of miles before you begin to fish. I just bought myself a 6ft 2wt combo specifically for Shenandoah, and hope to test it out within the next couple of weeks.

Steve, I have a FishCat 9 pontoon and absolutely love it! There are pros and cons but for me the overwhelming advantage is the ability to move silently along (via paddling with fins) while fishing. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but it means I can cover water at whatever pace I want, and stop and turn the boat on a dime if I need/want to and re-fish an area. You just don't have that flexibility in a Kayak (unless you get one of the mirage paddle systems, but even then it still does not offer the maneuverability of pontoon+fins). Admittedly, the pontoon is susceptible to wind, but you just turn your back to it and kick against it. I can comfortably hold position in a sustained 10-15mph. More than that needs an anchor. (They are also incredibly stable in side-on choppy water -- it's actually kinda fun!) But you can also use the wind to your advantage, allowing it to drift you while you make minor adjustments with the fins to maintain distance from the shore, etc -- all while still fishing. Again, you just don't have that flexibility with a kayak where you have to put the rod down and pick up the paddle to make adjustments. When it comes to rowing long distances, the pontoon moves fast. For me, a mile-or-so is not a big deal, and I can comfortably do a lot more. (I don't know how the two-man pontoons handle, so I can't comment on those.) Mine has lots of storage, and I can easily carry several bait containers, a big bag of supplies, life jacket, net, electronics and four rods (though I could probably make that 5 or 6 if I wanted). There are certainly cons though. The setup time is about 20-mins for me, as opposed to just dropping a kayak in the water and heading out. So obviously you'd double that if you had two. Also, you can't really carry them once they're assembled. If the ground is soft (i.e. grass) you can drag them quite easily, but otherwise you need to carry the individual components to the water and then assemble. So despite those last two shortcomings, I'd certainly take one over a kayak for many applications. I'm sure there are some waters where a kayak is better, but for where I go, the pontoon is the best choice by far. But for two people -- I'm not sure. A pair of kayaks (or a two-man kayak) might actually be your best bet. You're fairly local to me, so I can show you my setup and let you test drive some time early next year if you want. Just drop me a PM.

Mine are the 'Brine' model and I really like them. Unfortunately I managed to drive over them last week (oops...) so I'm down to my backup $15 pair until I get them repaired. (Sadly the Costa lifetime warranty doesn't cover stupidity)

My Costa's have raised lettering ("Costa Del Mar") on the inside of the arms but it probably differs from model to model. I got them at BPS. That seller looks legit to me, but it's not that much of a discount, so I'd lean towards paying a few bucks extra and getting them at a reputable store.

I have it. Here's my take on it: Pros: - seems accurate 99% of the time - the culling system works well - good price - easy to use Cons: - really slow to boot up and zero - 1% of the time will give a weight that's off by ~1-3lbs. The latter doesn't bother me too much. I can usually tell to within 0.5lbs how much a fish weighs, so if the scale says something dumb I reboot it and try again. Always works the 2nd time.

Just finished a Stone Russian Imperial Stout (and still feeling the effects! ) That's a tough beer to beat...

What operating system do you use? Microsoft have a very simple image resizer (google: 'windows image resizer') that allows you to right-click on any picture you have and resize it to be "small", "medium" or "large". It's not sophisticated by any means, but is a really quick and easy way to resize photos for uploading. Similar tools exist for Mac and Linux, if you use either of those.

What operating system do you use? Microsoft have a very simple image resizer (google: 'windows image resizer') that allows you to right-click on any picture you have and resize it to be "small", "medium" or "large". It's not sophisticated by any means, but is a really quick and easy way to resize photos for uploading. Similar tools exist for Mac and Linux, if you use either of those.

What operating system do you use? Microsoft have a very simple image resizer (google: 'windows image resizer') that allows you to right-click on any picture you have and resize it to be "small", "medium" or "large". It's not sophisticated by any means, but is a really quick and easy way to resize photos for uploading. Similar tools exist for Mac and Linux, if you use either of those.

Nice -- thanks very much! RE the wife problem... my wife once randomly got a free one-year subscription to Time, or Newsweek, or something like that, without actually signing up for anything. We have no idea where the subscription came from, but it disappeared after a year. So there's my excuse: "Honestly, honey, I don't know why they keep sending them! It's just like that one time..."

Mid-to-late summer 2010 i bought myself a couple of new combos and started dedicating more time to baits (e.g. jigs) and locations (e.g. deep water) that used to completely fail me. I started catching a LOT of fish. So now I am looking forward to a full year -- including some cold weather fishing -- using all the lessons I've learned this year. I'd also like to start getting fish on senkos, which are my only remaining "popular" bait that still fails me...

Mid-to-late summer 2010 i bought myself a couple of new combos and started dedicating more time to baits (e.g. jigs) and locations (e.g. deep water) that used to completely fail me. I started catching a LOT of fish. So now I am looking forward to a full year -- including some cold weather fishing -- using all the lessons I've learned this year. I'd also like to start getting fish on senkos, which are my only remaining "popular" bait that still fails me...

Mid-to-late summer 2010 i bought myself a couple of new combos and started dedicating more time to baits (e.g. jigs) and locations (e.g. deep water) that used to completely fail me. I started catching a LOT of fish. So now I am looking forward to a full year -- including some cold weather fishing -- using all the lessons I've learned this year. I'd also like to start getting fish on senkos, which are my only remaining "popular" bait that still fails me...

5 hr energy is the only one I've found that does anything for me. It's also really low on sugar/calories, which is a big bonus. I have one when I am particularly drowsy, or I want to go for a run but don't have the energy. So only maybe 3 or 4 per month. Otherwise I stick to coffee. The only downside to 5hr energy -- it makes me have to pee a lot! In the summer, I have to drink extra water to make up for it. It also sometimes makes me a tad jittery too, though that doesn't bother me enormously.

I was out on Saturday in NoVa (Huntsman, in Springfield). Caught 7 lmb (biggest 3lbs 2oz), and not one of them was in water deeper than 2.5ft. I tried both deep and shallow, but they were all really shallow. Most were on a jig worked fairly slow, but I had a couple on Rapala Flat Rap. So I suspect that maybe you were thinking the fish had gone deep when they actually were still shallow. I don't know Lake Abel though, so that's just conjecture on my part...

How common is it that you have to do this? I've never had a bass that had trouble swimming off, but I very rarely catch them deeper than 10-15ft due to the relatively shallow waters I fish.