egolfer

When I spent a lot of time fishing lakes, I relied heavily on my fish finder to locate structure, drop-offs, bait, and schools of fish. Also, one that measure temperature is plus, it helps you determine what the fish might be doing at that time. Now that I fish mostly rivers, I really only use it for depth, finding grass, and temperature. Most of the areas I fish are less then 5' deep, so as long as I can get there with out wacking my boat on anything, I am happy. As for the fishing, every bait has a time and place when it will work. Like Nitrofreak said, slow down. Learn to work smaller and really figure out what is going on in an area. This should help you hone in on any fish in that area. Also, when you do catch one, stop and think about what you were doing at the time, what the fish was doing, and where that fish was. Then duplicate that across the water body and you should do ok. Lastly, the colors you mention are standard colors, you shouldnt have a problem with them. But you might want to try some more natural colors too like greenpumpkins, watermelons, blacks, and browns. These days, the fish everywhere are very pressured and see a lot of baits all the time. I think the natural colors add a bit of finesse to fishing.

I've run a 70 Edge for the past 3 years with a couple minor issues, one of which was due to operator error. I run it pretty hard in some thick grass and I ended up melting the brushes in the lower unit. The other issue was when it would only run on two speeds. I believe some circuit board went bad. It was replaced and ran fine. Other then that, it has run great since the day it was installed. I have owned a few Minn Kotas over the years and they do their quirks. I have control switch and button go on the pedal, but both were easy to fix myself.

If you replace it with the same brand, you should not have to drill any new holes. You might want to get new bolts, nuts, and lock washers and perhaps a new plug if needed. Otherwise, it should be pretty easy. And if you do change brands, you will just need to drill some new holes, fill the old ones with silicon or something, just mount and go.

The fairfield area has been pretty flooded, don't be surprised if the "lake" you're fishing is just a flooded parking lot lol So I should plan on sight fishing 3-eyed fish holding on parking stops and lamp poles. Got it.

Hey Jersey, I will be heading to Fairfield in about 2 weeks. Are their any lakes/ponds that are good for some evening shore fishing?

The River sure is on fire right now. We had over 30 fish on Friday including a 7lber sitting in about 1.5' of water. Saturday was not different, just no giants.

I have heard of some good fish coming from Needwood, but the angler I know is usually in a boat. I never hear anything good about Frank. However, depending on where you live in the County, you can venture east and fish Tridelphia and Rocky Gorge Reservoirs. Those places have some big fish and the shore access is pretty good at both places. Now, if you live on the west side of the County, I would suggest hitting the Potomac. There are plenty of areas, mostly old Locks, where you can access the River. There is also Little Seneca Lake in Germantown and Clopper Lake in Gaithersburg, both good from the bank in the spring, but once the grass fills in, it makes them a little harder to fish. Lastly, there are tons of little ponds all over the place that have bass in them. Mostly in residential neighborhoods, but if you search on Google Earth, you should be able to find some.

I order some of these a few weeks ago. I ordered Wednesday morning and they were at my house by Thursday afternoon. Great service and quality.

Check out this site http://www.hanktimmermann.com/. You will see a link for 'Spreadsheet.' This link will download a spreadsheet that pretty much covers all the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast States' tournament schedules. I believe the tabs are organized by body of water. For example, Potomac River has a huge list. It is a pretty good resource.

I throw the SD on a 7' MH with 50-65lb braid or 20lb flouro. I rig it on a 4/0 or 5/0, 1/8oz, nose weighted toad hook with the a nose screw. Then, I add a stinger, treble hook under the belly and stick one of the points into the belly and leave two of them exposed. I have caught plenty of fish on the stinger hook so it defiantly helps. It's pretty weedless for the most part.

Even if the grass is not on the surface yet, you can get the fish to come up and eat a frog or toad. Keep your eyes open for fish feeding on the surface, this is the sign that you can catch something on top.

I throw the Robo worms a lot. I prefer the Body Shad and FX Sculpin.

Yup!

I used this place last year. Did a great job on my Curados. His prices are inline with pretty much every other place, so if you can save on shipping, it would be the way to.

To fish the tidal Potomac, you will need a Maryland Freshwater license AND a Maryland Bay Sport license. The Bay Sport is required because the river is tidal south of D.C. I am not sure the out-of-state costs, but you can find them on the Maryland DNR website. The license is reciprocal with Virginia too. To fish D.C. you will need license too which runs about 13.50 for out-of-state.

Those work great on chatterbaits and scroungers.

What are those baits on the right? Top water? Jerk Baits?

I have a pair of socks made by Fox River. They are made for skiing but they keep me warm no matter how cold it is out.

Have thrown both the silly rabbit and silly bunny with good success. Except for the eyes falling out, they are pretty versitile and last for a few fish. I like to throw them with a nose-screw, belly-weighted hook. Maybe a stinger treble if they are short-striking.

Usually 5/0 BMF for punching. 4-5/0 EWG when fishing wood and structure.

Warbirds actually lowered their entry from 200$ to 100$ per team. This should bring the participation way up from last year. There is a team trail out of Pohick called the 'Arnolds Trail.' I do not think there is any website out there for it, but I have fished them and they are pretty good. Usually around 20 boats. Check out also Championship Teams who fish Anna, Potomac, Kerr, Chick and a new Anglers Choice. There is a new Anglers Choice for this year called the Basseast Trail. Then of course you have the BFLs and Bass Weekend Series trails.

Had a good day yesterday junk fishing around DC. Decided to give the sewage plant a break since it was so nice out yesterday. All the fish came on jigs. I threw a crank and a spinner bait a bunch but nothing. But I can complain, nothing like laying back into some jig fish.

At first I though this sounded like a 'pick-up' tournament. But, the after reading through the post, I can't seem to figure it out what the plan is. Anyways, I am down to participate on the Potomac. I have a boat and mostly likely a co-angler. Hammer out some details and hopefully I can show up. I plan on fishing both Saturday and Sunday this week.

I fish out of a 16.5 G3 with a 40hp. It runs 30mph which I find too slow. I spend most of my time on the lower Potomac which can get very rough in the wind and with boat traffic. However, for what it is I love it. It has the most storage space out all other aluminums in it's size range. The rod locker can hold up to 12 rods including 7' rods. I am not sure if a tracker can hold a 6"6' rod. I park it in a garage so I need to be able to push the trailer around a little too. That said, if I could afford a fiberglass and have some where to put I would go that route. More space, speed, and doesn't get bullied by the wind.

Hey 420, I'm pretty sure that was you yesterday in the blue stratos sitting in blue plains throwing a senko around noon? I was in the aluminum G3 that rolled in right after you. Glad you found some fish. The bite there was slow for about an hour. I had to make some adjustments but I found the fish chasing bait in about 20'. Seems like you fish a lot. We might have get out sometime since I end up rolling solo a lot.