MrWrinkle

Don't park in the side streets in front of the townhouses -- that's private. But parking on Golden Ball Tavern is fine (as long as you don't block a hydrant or something!). There are two "gates" in front of paths to the lake -- one near the Huntsman intersection, the other at the dam. Park near either of those to get to the water.

If you're willing to get water-side at first light (and I really do mean first light...), Huntsman is usually good for a few fish among the rocks in the dam and then down under the trees on the "left" bank (the 'left' as you face the lake, standing on the dam). In my experience on Huntsman at this time of year, by 7:30am they'll be going deep and will get very hard to find/catch from the bank. Keep mobile and try and cover as much water as you can as early in the day as you can so you can pick off the 'easy' ones that are sitting shallow. Cranks are good, and you might still pick up one or two on buzzbait in low light. Shady spots might hold fish for a little longer. I haven't fished Mercer as much so can't help you out too much there. Have always failed miserably from the bank at Burke. I've had a lot of luck recently fishing Bull Run. Got this smallie just last week. It was one of four (though one was tiny...), plus several dozen bluegill/sunfish.

I go running along the path next to this creek a lot. It's mostly very shallow with a few slightly deeper holes. It is a very "urban" creek... also known as Acco-stink. I've never seen a fish bigger than about 4" in there but I haven't actually fished it. I think most of the stocked trout have either been caught or have died by now... they don't last very long at all in that water. Personally, I doubt I'd ever fish there but if you do decide to, I'd recommend parking at the lake dam and walking downstream half a mile or more where it gets a lot less foot traffic. If any trout have survived, that's where they'll be. Let us know if you go!

Got back from a conference in Colorado a week ago. Managed to sneak off for a day fly fishing and got 5 nice ones. Here's a couple of pics. The latter is (or so I'm told...) a cutbow -- rainbow/cutthroat hybrid. A first for me! All the fish were caught on #22 midge, 4wt line and 6x (~3lb) tippet.

I like bigyfly (www.bigyflyco.com) for flies. Cheap, very high quality, and fast shipping.

First fishing outing of the year -- decided to take the fly rod to Bull Run for a few hours. Ended up with almost 40 fish: 1 smallie, the rest bluegill and crappie (had never caught crappie in there before, but got a load of them today... good ones too!). Small nymphs and streamers did the trick. No giant fish and certainly no records broken, but great fun after a long, cold winter.

[Disclaimer: I work in this field of research] Actually, the current solar minimum is dragging on a bit longer than expected so the next solar maximum is more likely to be 2013 or so. However, the most powerful solar storms do not necessarily occur at absolute solar maximum. For example, the biggest storms we saw in the last cycle were late October 2003, but the solar max was ~2001/2002. And that's part of the problem -- these storm are unpredictable. A truly extraordinary event -- the sort alluded to in that (highly inflammatory...) article will probably only happen a couple of times a century. The risk is that we have never had one that size happen in a "wireless" age like we live in now. The 2003 storms caused serious problems (major GPS and other navigation outages, for example), but a once-in-100-years event will probably do much worse. To those of us in this research area, that New Scientist article was very thinly disguised propaganda. It was a pretty cheap shot and factually wrong in some places (not with regards to solar storms and their consequences, but with regards to science missions), but a clever move nonetheless. My 2c. Now back to thoughts of spring bass....

Another NoVA guy here. Usually stick around Springfield (Mercer, Huntsman, etc) but hit Beaverdam a few times a year too

When you're in a boat, consider that up to 90% of the casts you make are probably going to shore -- it's the feature that most people catch most fish from. So when you're fishing from shore, you need to keep that in mind. That means that the fish you're after are either right infront of you or off to one side, parallel to the shore. So first, wear dark/drab clothes (no bright white tees!), and move stealthily. 8-) Try and keep your silhouette off the skyline by keeping trees/brush behind you. Make your first few throws short, delicate, and in your immediate area. Then gradually pitch your bait further down the shore to your left and right (as cover permits). This stuff sounds obvious but I see so many people go thundering up to the water's edge, wearing bright clothes, moving around far too much, yelling to each other, etc -- that's not good and it does scare fish away. I have -- on several occasions -- literally crawled on my hands and knees to the shore and seen (and caught) some very big fish that were oblivious to me. I have also crept to the shore, seen big fish, accidentally cracked a dead tree branch, and watched the fish head for the horizon! I like to have at least two rods with me -- one with a finesse/weightless worm for sight fishing at my feet, and then another with whatever I'd use if I was in a boat. Hope this helps, and good luck!

I agree with all the above. They key is the resistance the fish feels when it takes the bait -- the less the better. Those huge round bobbers offer far too much resistance when pulled down and you'll miss fish because of it. The small round ones are an improvement but not by much. The pencil ones are definitely the way to go.

If you want to catch them, and they'll only feed on pellets, give 'em pellets! If the pellets are large enough (1/2-inch or more), try gluing one to the back of a small (#6. #8 or #10) hook. (Use a fly-rod if you have one -- you won't regret the fight you get!) Alternatively, put a handful of pellets into a glass dish, pour on a little boiling water, let them soak for a few mins and then mush them into a paste. You'll need to experiment with the quantity of water to get the paste consistency right. Just try and keep your bait size close to that of the pellets, and keep your hook size appropriate also. Have fun, and good luck -- with the right gear you'll have a blast!

I agree with all the above regarding small jigs (1/16 - 1/32oz). Obviously worms will catch anything too. For bluegill I find hook and line size is far more important than the specific bait. Use a very thin line (I prefer 15lb power pro braid because then you can straighten your hook out of snags and just bend it back into shape) and a small hook -- no bigger than #4 but preferable #8 or #10. The fly rod is my favorite way to catch them and I get most success using very small poppers over shallow water and/or tight up against weeds/brush/rocks/etc. Poppers like these (http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_97604_175002003_175000000_175002000_175-2-3) are perfect. Get both sizes (4 and 10) because sometimes they're looking for bigger foods. Also the bigger bugs make a louder noise upon landing -- some days that's what they want. You can also try bead heads (e.g. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_10201408_175002003_175000000_175002000_175-2-3) but most wet flies will work. The important thing is to use a wet fly that reaches/works the correct depth --e.g. a heavy bead is little good in very shallow water and vice-versa. Hope this helps. PM me if you need more info.

yeah, just for the sake of keeping warm you should wear waders. I personally go with lightweight breathables plus sweatpants if it's cold.

Yeah, you sit very high up off the water so they're fantastic for crossing very shallow bays or even dense grass beds. Here's my setup (the "fishcat 9 deluxe")

Or you need to catch some healthier carp...

haha -- yeah, no kidding! I hit that place one day when the fish were going nuts and I wanted to stay there for a week! Problem is, you can go back 2 days later and there's not a fish in sight...

I often use one when fishing for channel cats as long as the water is shallow enough. Doesn't have to be live bait (I catch 95% of my catfish on spam!)

I have a "FishCat 9" and absolutely love it! Bought it from some online company in Colorado for about $500. I see one place online has a blue one at $479 (theflyhatch.com) I prefer the green that I have though. (I'd post a pic but I haven't been a member on the forum long enough!) Shop around for good deals. The great thing about these boats is their stability and ease of movement. When you reach the your fishing spot you can just kick your fins and move real slow and stop/start as and when you want. You have more control than with a trolling motor and a lot more stealth. I catch a lot of fish under the rod tip. They also move really fast when you're rowing. The only downsides are that they're kinda heavy, they take about 25mins to get set up and the wind will really blow you about on the lake if you don't have an anchor. (The FC9 comes with an anchor mount).

Totally agree. I love catching bass, etc, but pound for pound, carp are one of the best fighters out there. I've never understood why they get the reputation they do. I've never caught one on a fly rod before though -- I bet that's a blast!

I feel your pain! I had one treble in a lively pike and the other in my hand. Really not nice at all at the time but I guess I look back at it and laugh now... (kinda...)

Wow -- nice fish! Congrats! I recognize the location and I've always struggled there in the deep water. What depths were you catching at?

1-inch cubes of spam lightly dusted the previous night in garlic powder. Leave 'em in a ziplock overnight. Can be tough to keep on the hook -- you need to pass the hook right thru then turn it 180-degrees. Fantastic bait though. The only down-side is you might attract a lot of turtles, too, if you have them in your local water.

There's a few in Occoquan. I had a small one drop off a couple of years back. Pike prefer colder climates though, so they won't establish much of a population around here.