Purpleworm82

Nice job fellas.

Sorry dude, but I have to disagree. My buddy and I have fished tournaments at much larger bodies of water like Anna and Buggs. We are not a couple of casual worm and bobber fisherman in a jonboat rental. We were fishing out of a 17 ft tracker that has a deck lined with g.loomis and a drybox crammed with thousands of dollars in tackle. We take fishing every bit as seriously as you do. I understand your difficulties in dealing with weekend guys, especially when you've got a park that rents boats right in the middle of it. However, someone who runs straight up in front of you within casting distance is just a jerk. It was obvious we knew what we were doing and we were moving quickly down the bank. They could have easily waited five minutes for us to leave. There is no doubt that my friend's jig landed right on their deck. He told them very clearly exactly how he felt about the situation. If it didn't come up at the weigh-in, they were either too embarassed to bring it up or perhaps not even part of the tournament at all. If the latter is the case, then I apologize for making that assumption. The point of the matter however remains the same. Participating in a club tourney does not give you the right to cut someone off that close. These guys were literally 50 feet away from us when they put their trolling motor down. Occoquan Reservoir is over 2,000 acres and there are bass everywhere. You guys are not pros fishing to pay your morgage. You are amateur anglers just like we are that happen to enjoy competing. It all boils down to a matter of respect-you either have it or you don't.

Launched out of Fountainhead at noon yesterday and fished uplake from the park past Ryan's dam to the first bend. Nice overcast day with a bit of rain, but not too wet. Caught 10 bass in 6 hours, the biggest about 2.5 lbs. Spinnerbaits, flukes and topwaters worked well. Most fish came off the sides of points or grass edges near submerged wood. Caught a couple weird looking fish, looked like a combination between a perch and a crappie, maybe a Roanoake bass? Another tournament yesterday, apparently they have them there every other weekend. Most of those guys are really nice, a couple of them were really rude though. We got cut off pretty bad a couple of times. One guy came flying out of nowhere pushing a big wake and drops his trolling motor 50 ft in front of us on a point we had spent 10 minutes working up to. Then he runs his trolling motor right over where the fish are(where we were casting), makes 4 casts and then takes off, leaving us like a bobbing cork in the wake. My buddy had a few choice words for them, and after casting his jig on the deck of their boat a couple of times they got the idea. I expect this out the Potomac, but not at Occoquan. Its one thing to get cut off in Mattawoman by a pro fishing a Stren tourney-I understand that it's their job and they're trying to pay bills. But a couple dudes in a 10hp jonboat fishing a weekend club tourney? Cmon now, paying a $50 buy-in does not give anyone the right to ruin other people's fishing experiences. Hope these guys learn to respect their fellow anglers...

A lipless crankbait is always a good choice

Nice fish! Burke Lake can be tough, good to see the big ones are in there...well done.

Me and my brother took the old man out to the res on Sunday for a nice half day of fishing. Lots of folks out there and a tournament as well, but we got there early and managed to find a decent jonboat to rent. Beat the banks around the park til lunchtime and managed about 7-8 keepers, biggest close to 3. Lost a really nice 4+ lb fish on my 3rd cast right by the ramp, didn't get her in for a pic but she jumped a couple of times and gave us a nice show. The rest came in bunches, mostly toward the backs of smaller cuts around shallow wood. Tried deeper bluff points and shallow grass and caught a few shorties, but the better fish liked the isolated wood. Brush hogs and Bandit 300's, couple on the worm too. My dad and bro don't fish much, so there was alot of retying and pulling baits out of trees. Still it was a pleasure to get out there and hang with em on a nice summer morning. Topped the day off with some steak n taters on the grill and we ended up with a happy dad on father's day. Hope all you dads out there had a good one too.

First time poster here out of Falls Church, NOVA represent! I mostly fish for bass and striper with artificials, but occasionally I'll get down to VA Beach or NC for a deep-sea adventure. I fish the Potomac, Shenandoah, Beaverdam and Occoquan Reservoirs, Anna, Buggs, SML and a bunch of small lakes and creeks around Ashburn and Burke.