basser89

That looks great! Its given me a few ideas for my boat too!

I use 4" tubes all but exclusively and fish them t-rigged 99% of the time. The tubes I use are BPS Magnum Flippin tubes, Mizmo Big Boy tubes and Venom 4" tubes. I use a 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG and have no problems getting a good hookset on them. I did have the same problem a couple years back with 3/0 Gammies. I don't think you get enough bite with a 3/0 hook on a 4" tube. The majority of the time I'm throwing tubes, I'm also using a flippin stick (7'6" HF) but I have thrown them on a 7' MHF and a 6'6" MHF rod as well. When you set the hook, make sure you're reeling down without putting any slack in the line and get a good snap hookset. Hope this helps!

Here's what I use. http://www.***.com/descpageACCBERKLEY-BPLSS.html Works great and I can do it all by myslef.

Toads have produced for me before but yesterday I finally got on the board with the 10" Anaconda! Wasn't a monster but it helped me build a little confindence in the bait! I'll be throwing it more!

My biggest so far this year, 6lbs 9oz

The one fountain (furthest from the spillway) is relatively shallow, if I had to guess I'd say around 3'. The other one has a little more depth to it. I can tell you there are some above average bass in there! My top producing baits at Middletown are spinnerbaits (DUH! ;D ), weightless t-rigged senko style baits, lipless cranks, jitterbugs and walk the dog style baits. My biggest bass out of middletown came on a t-rigged Brush Hog. I'll leave the colors up to you. Hope this helps! Hey, if you happen to see me there, stop and say hey!

I've fished the C&O canal at Dickerson for a handful of years now but never gave it any real serious consideration until this year. The best I've managed out of the canal has been a 4 pounder as well but I have seen a couple that would have gone in the 5-6 pound range. Thanks for the heads up on what they're hitting! Boett, Since you live in Frederick, have you tried the pond in Middletown at the park? There's some good ones in there too! Just a heads up on Middletown, before all the rain lately, I was seeing a good amount of bass on the beds there. If the rain didn't cool the pond down too much, we could be looking at a post spawn pattern there. I actually like it when the Potomac is very high! Won't take the boat out but I have a couple of spots I'll hit from shore. The high fast water puts the smallies in some really predictable places. Tubes and senko style baits tear them up then! ;D

Brian, That would have burned me up too! I think I would have had to report them. There's no need for that! Unbelieveable!

So I decide to head over to the lake at lunchtime today. Overcast, with a pretty heavy wind blowing, so I started out with a Super Spot to see if any thing is active. I get a short follow close to the bank from a little dink but he turned when he saw me. Next thing I know, PLOP! There goes the phone, in the water. Needless to say I'm NOT a happy camper at this point! I power it down and do my best to blow as much of the water out that I can. I figured I wouldn't let it bother me so I keep fishing. I switch up to a Rattlehead spinnerbait and as my luck has gone recently, I hook into a decent fish. I get her next to the shore and see she's a little above average from what I could tell. Reach down and stick my thumb in her mouth and lift her out! I take a quick measurement and she's an inch shy of a citation. The markings on the bass looked pretty cool so I figured I'd chance it and see if the phone would power up. No luck. > Bummed, I put the 20", 4lb 12oz largemouth back in the water and watch her swim away! She gave me a great little fight and I have her pic in my head now but I just wish I'd have a pic to share with Y'all as well!

Here you go: http://www.stcroixrods.com/rods/default2.asp?rodname=83 I'd recommend the Energy PT rods. I two 2 and I'm looking to add a few more!

Star Trek: "Oooooo! An asteroid field! Let's go quarter impulse power!" Star Wars: "Floor it!" ;D Stupid firewall, have to check the YouTube out this evening.

I'll just stick with Blueberry! Y'all can have the rest of them!

Maryland has a citation program based on length. http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/recreational/tournament/mdsportfish.html I participate in the Catch and Release portion of the program. The citations they send out for the C&R look better than the ones they use for the bass checked in to the different check stations around the state.

Here's the info for MD (resident) Non-tidal $20.50 Trout stamp $5.00 Tidal $15.00 Boat registration is $20 for 2 yrs (with an outboard bigger than 7.5HP) Trailer $21 for 2 year (I believe) Most places I fish, there's no boat ramp fee. Some of the parks that I go have a fee there. There's only 2 places I fish that have a ramp fee and they're $3 & $5 (at least as of last year).

I love my Quantum reels! But I HATE Hot Sauce!!!!! Junk, IMO. Ardent Reel Butter and grease work better for me!

I also like the Strike King Midnight Special but I'll throw another one out there for you to consider too. It's the Rattlehead spinnerbait with a single colorado blade!

Snook, We're the same way with the store bought ones, although the Berkley Steel-On have been the most reliable that I have used on the store bought side. I can't remember for sure, but one of the materials (I "think" it was a braid) we used would not take a crimp to save its life. My buddy even contacted one of the companies and asked them. He ended up tying them on (with a Jansik Special Knot, I believe) and it worked great that way.

I haven't attempted to make any personally, but my fishing partner does. We'll split the cost of the materials and he ties them up for us. I have yet to have a leader that he has tied fail on me!

Yeah, same here! There's another small lake west of me (Big Pool) that I will be hitting that week too. I'm hoping for the best there on water temps but that lake typically has a stained tint to it so I'll just have to play it by ear. If the conditions are right on that lake, I'll be taking the musky rod with me! Not for musky but for throwing some of my big swimbaits! I've hooked some really nice bass in there too and want to give them a BIG meal now! ;D

Yes, that would lengthen the profile of the bait. I have tried it before but with very limited success, but that's just me. I can see that it could be beneficial if the bass are keying in on larger/longer baitfish. Hopefully Wayne can add his insight!

Well depending on the truck, still acting wierd on me once in a while, we could possibly use my boat. Mine is a little bigger than yours (1648 jonboat). That would save you a little in gas money towing it all the way up there. Either way is good with me, but we can work out those details when it gets closer. I haven't been there yet this year but with Cunningham usually running cooler than most lakes around here, there's a chance we could possibly get a decent prespawn bite yet!

Hey Brian, We have a mandatory shutdown at work here from the 18th through the 22nd. I'm planning on fishing a good bit then! Cunningham isn't that far from me, depending on what you have planned, if you want a partner, let me know! Not sure yet but I might hit Black Hills some time that week too, but that's still up in the air.

Welcome to THE boards Kenny83! I've only had the chance to fish both places one time each, but I liked Piney Run a little better (although my experience at Liberty was very short and during the big drought about 4-5 years ago). One nice thing about Piney Run is you don't need the special permit for a boat that you need if you're fishing Liberty. With the permit, you're limited to only being able to put you boat on the Baltimore county lakes (due to the zebra muscles). I have a 16' jon boat so my preference would lean me that way. I got around rather well at Piney Run with my 43# thrust trolling motor. The electric outboard would probably be better suited if you choose to go with Liberty (since its considerably larger)! If you hadn't noticed, there's a Maryland Who's Who thread in this section too. Pop in on there and you may be able to find some anglers close to you!

I rarely use a trailer on a spinnerbait (all but always use a trailer hook). About the only time I do is in muddy water when I want to add a little more bulk to the bait, it's usually a big grub when I do. I'll put the grub on first (tail pointed down) and then the trailer hook, followed by the keeper. The trailer will hang up on the trailer hook on occassion for me but the majority of the time, everything works fine. Hope this helps!

You could stink with the Quantum theme and pair that Accurist up with a Quantum Energy PT rod! I'm using a 7 footer and really like it! In the 6'6" length, I'd go with the QEC666F.