Kayakist

I was on the South Fork of the Shenandoah near Front Royal last Saturday. 3-4" curl tail grubs, white or chartreuse, are cocaine to smallies. Chartreuse was the better last week. Spinnerbaits in same colors are also good. Caught 20 with three in the 16" range. Enjoy.

I've fished Lake Brittle below Gainesville on Rt 29 but with very little luck, it is very pressured. With the Potomac and its tributaries close by you have better chances of catching fish in those waters.

My favorite popper story: My friend was new to fishing, he put on a popper and was just doing a straight out and back retrieve. I stopped and showed him how to work a popper, on my second pop a bluegill took the bait. He then cast out and immediately caught a nice smallmouth. We both had smiles from ear to ear.

Is that banjo music I hear in the background? Just kidding... If I weren't out of town this weekend I'd take you up on it.

With a drill and some mounting hardware you can attach anything to your yak. As you can see from the picture my crate is behind me where I store anchor, net, water etc. I attach the crate using bungees secured to pad eyes you can screw into your yak. http://www.surftosummit.com/kayak-accessories-kayak-hardware-c-199_255.html The rod holders in front of me are from Scotty http://www.paddling.net/guidelines/showArticle.html?158 I keep my tackle in a tackle bag. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_10200096____SearchResults So, you have numerous possibilities. Once you get past the initial fear of drilling a hole in your yak it is great customizing your ride.

Great, appears Dawsons doesn't open until 0900 but that will work. Thanks fellas.

I'm going to start fishing out of the Occoquan Regional Park area. Can anyone point out a local place nearby to get live minnows? Want to maximize my chances of catching fish. Thanks.

In my opinion best map for the buck is GMCO. Link attached. Shows all ramps and gives good fishing location tips. http://shop.gmcomaps.com/product.sc?productId=31&categoryId=-1 River is still too fast. I expect to get out in April.

I yak the upper Potomac quite often. It is at flood stage right now with all the snow melt and rain. I expect to get out mid-April. I'll let you know so you can join if interested.

A little over 4 lbs from my yak.

I've never fished Harpers Ferry but do yak from Brunswick to Pt of Rocks quite often. Good fishery, you won't be disappointed.

Has anyone floated (canoe/kayak) between Algonkian and River Bend parks on the Potomac? River map shows Dam 2 and Class II rapids between the Parks. So, is it doable/recommended? Looking for deeper water since the Upper Potomac is very shallow right now.

I've also found that switching to braided line has increased my topwater hookup rate. The stretch of mono was working against me.

I fish off the bank at dusk with jitterbugs. Was missing many hook ups until I switched to braided line. Non-stretch properties of braid over mono made all the difference for me.

I use them for catfishing. Very sharp and strong.

Wow, congratulations. I've fished Burke a few times over the years and never had much success. Good to see there actually are decent fish in there.

As mentioned above, black jointed jitterbug at night rules! I fish from an elevated bank and found that using this lure with braid increased my hookup ratio as opposed to the line stretch encountered with mono. Never leave home without my jitterbug!

Interesting. I thought the bass I caught yesterday was looking at me funny. Considering the cold temperature I guess it was because my lips were blue.

I've thought about this possibility as well. If anyone wants to do it and wants company let me know.

Good point Hung Up Paul. Live bait makes sense. Does anyone know where you can get minnows and other live bait in Fairfax county?

Hi all. Is Burke Lake really that productive? I've fished it a handful of times and only caught a few dinks. Now I'm really a novice so it could be my technique but I'm beginning to wonder if it's also fishing pressure and folks keeping what they catch that may also be an issue. So, do y'all have much luck at Burke?

I have personally seen the destruction over the last five years and am deeply saddened by it. The fish left now are so fewer in numbers and smaller. I also find it hard to believe that after all this time the cause has not been identified. I now fish the Potomac but really miss the beauty of the Shenandoah.

What type of retrieve do you use on a Silver Buddy? Assume you let it sink toward bottom and then either jig it up and down or slow retrieve back? I have one but never caught anything on it.