Bigs

Where was your table? I was able to hand pick 7 spinnerbaits for $5. Knew exactly what I was getting. $5-6 baits for $.71 each, brand new. All together, I bought $73 worth of baits for $25. If this weekend is better, I'm in trouble. I was in the far corner next to the rest rooms, 2 tables down from the Warbirds table and right next to the greygoatlures * table. I sold alot of plastics, swimbaits , and stuff like that. Sold only one rod and reel all day. I did see alot of good deals but none of it was stuff I wanted/needed. I got to talk to Lenny for a while and he's full of potomac knowledge. Very humble which is refeshing. That guy is the frog king imo.

Lake Anna again for me. Gonna have a go with these flick shakes.

Hillendale was pretty decent, it was my first time there and there were alot of folks gettin deals. I talked to a guy who usually has a table at all the flea markets and he said the one coming up is gonna be real good cuz it draws alot of the central va hardcore bass anglers. Everyone at the hillendale was lookin for doo doo rods n reels. I saw alot of folks walkin around with 20 dollar rods they bought. I couldnt give away the rods I was tryin to sell, not alot of ppl wanted to spend more then 50 bux. I think there will be more high end buyers and sellers at the stafford/fred show just based on what I was told by a few ppl.

Lenny Baird is such a great guy and angler I almost wanna get a table just to support him. I only sold 100 bux worth of stuff last week at hillendale so I dont know if its worth my time. I have heard however that its a totally different group of ppl that show up so Im still considering it. There was several 30-50 dollar curados and chronarchs last week and new glx rods for 200 bux, zillion rods for 80 bux. Lots of deals to be had. Im willing to bet there is gonna be some sick deals next week. I might just go to shop instead.

I used to do it with my 16 foot flat bottom all the time with no problems ever. Just look at the water when u get down to the ramp area. As long as it isnt too nasty out there then you should be ok. Theres alot of guys who fish tourneys out there with 10hp jon boats. I have seen some days out there it was dangerous but those are the days you dont take a jon boat out there .

I'm not takin my stratos, my gf has a 14 foot jon boat which Im gettin ready to put a 9.9 on. Just wondering cuz I really dont wanna have to put any good electronics on it if I can avoid it. Hence the question bout the electronics. I think it would be a waste of time to troll around all day on a 840 acre lake. For those of you non boaters out there who dont know, the trolling motor can wear your back and legs out real fast esp in the wind. Much better to be able to move around at 20mph then 5mph :-?

almost 6pm and no update

I'll be heading down there too but not for maybe another 3-4 weeks or so. I thought maybe by mid march they would be in pre spawn or will that still be too early. I need to find someone to come out on my boat with me that knows that body of water so I dont waste my time. How much will I need to rely on electronics out there ?

This thread is two years old, too funny I took about ten years off from fishing and started back up last spring. Im way more serious now then I ever was before. I fished since I was a little kid but it was always for catfish, panfish, trout and every once in a while I would get lucky and catch a bass. Altho it is an expensive hobby at times, it takes away 90 percent of my stress when Im out on my boat catchin fish.

wow a frog fish in february, must be nice. Got me day dreamin up here in cold virginia :-? I actually like the action on the stanley ribbits better but what do I know, I have yet to even land a fish on a frog, lots of blow ups but still no fish brought to the boat. Whats the deal with those hooks ? Do they keep the toad from goin belly up ?

I live in VA but have yet to go and fish SML. I have heard its clear water tho and beautiful. Wouldnt be a bad idea to stop in northern va and fish the potomac for a day also. You can launch out of leesylvania state park and goin 30mph you will get to mattawoman creek within 5-10 minutes, no need to go anywhere else really. Mattawoman will be loaded with action during may. Some of the best bass fishing you will experience on the east coast.

Have you noticed how much smaller the rod selection is now at GM? The F'burg one- if thats the one you went to. I also passed right by them, I'm going to be buying some rods here pretty soon, and looked at these. I dont know much about gear, but they just didnt feel right. Ya that store is garbage imo. They dont sell any really good rods. Lots of 100-150 dollar rods but nothing like a cumara, loomis, etc.. What a shame. They also have no japanese tackle at all. They did have revo stx's for 129 bux tho on sale. For 150 bux I would consider something proven instead of these x factor rods.

This year Im gonna focus on c-riggin and I appreciate the info posted in this thread. I have also had problems casting long leaders. I have one of the loomis glx c-rig rods, it's 7'3 which should be perfect yet my casts are not nearly far enough. Lobbing it out may be the ticket for me. I have tried to load the rod and snap it out there and it didnt work at all for me. Also what weights do you use for different applications. Do the weight and leader length have any relation ? Thanks for ther tips guys. Btw has anyone used the rage tail anaconda worms on a c-rig ? I just got 2 packs yesterday at gander mountain and was plannin on using them over the summer.

OK... You may need to slow down there Evel... And those who buy Oakleys aren't? :-? Last year was my first year with a bassboat and I can say I did get a lil too ambitious sometimes. I managed to get airborne for a few seconds at one point when I hit a 5 foot swell from a massive yacht on the potomac, an experience I dont wanna go thru again I'm learning the finer points of boating but youre right, I'm gonna be very cautious out there this year. I agree ppl buy oakley for the name alot but then again oakley has been around for decades , they are tried and true. Not sayin the costas arent, just sayin alot of anglers buy the costas just for the name. When I first bought oakleys back in the early 90's, it was a name brand I was buying into but they turned out to be great and I have worn them ever since with no regrets. Oakley should be paying me for this :

I havent fished with them, only tried some pairs on. I didnt really like the style too much compared to oakleys . And for how well the oakleys perform I dont see the need to fix what isnt broke. I would love to fish with someone who has them so we could swap glasses for a half hour or so. But what it all comes down to is I trust oakleys optics, I know they are not gonna trash my vision in the long run. I have owned maybe half a dozen different kinds of polarized glasses and none could do what the oakley shallow blue does imo. One thing I have noticed when I wear fashion shades or any kinda cheap glasses is that I cant see as well with them on. Things are so much more crisp with the oakleys. My best friend has been an oakley vendor for about 10 years or so, he's the one who told me about the test the coast guard did. This was maybe 3-4 years ago. I need to ask him what brands were tested and how they tested them. If you notice tho, most serious athletes wear oakleys and for good reason too.

would love to see the new loomis frog rods go on sale but I know it wont happen. Wishful thinkin. I wish they would just do something crazy like 25 percent off of everything, now Im really dreaming.

I own a pair of polarized Monster Dogs and a pair of the Tropic Star Costas. I wont wear my Oakleys if I am sight fishing or flyfishing. They just dont have the edge that my Costas do. Well my vision is flawless, I have always been able to see alot better then most ppl I know and I can see everything with my oakleys. I have no problem seeing right down into the water as far as I need to in order to sight fish. I dont see how they could be improved whatsoever. What lenses do you have on your monster dogs ? What I love is they stay on your head so perfect and never get jarred loose even when hitting 4 foot chop at 60mph. They are also very comfy to wear. For what I paid for them on ebay , $130 shipped, they cant be beat. I think they retail for around 180 or so. Costa is alot more expensive and their optics are not any better not to mention the style of them is just so so. Ppl who buy the costa del mar imo are really buying into a brand name. You go ahead and wear those for the next 20 years and I will wear my oakleys, I been wearing oakley's for about 18 years now and like I said, my eyes are perfect. Their optics can be trusted in terms of how they impact your vision from long term use.

I was at gander mountain today and saw these rods also. They looked corny so I passed right by them. I did handle a few vendettas tho for my first time and they were actually pretty nice for the price.

Insurance is very cheap. For example , my policy was 300 bux for the year. I have 5 grand in tackle insurance with that too should my rods n reels get stolen. Im also covered if I get in an accident when the boat is in tow. Plus I have disabled boater coverage so I can get towed up to 75 nautical miles if I break down and insurance will cover up to $1000 towards whatever made me break down with no deductible. So it actually works like a warranty as well. Even with an old boat that is only worth 3 thousand bux it is still worth having. You could get a real nice basic policy for around $200

I bought 3 boats last year, 2 aluminum and one 20 foot glass and all 3 were found on craigslist. I also got all 3 for dirt cheap. I would troll craigslist for a deal every day. When I bought my 2005 16 foot tracker I paid 4900 bux!! I ended up selling it for 5500 maybe 4 months later when I got bored with it. So you can def get something in the 3 grand range from the late 90's if you know how to negotiate a deal. Look for a boat thats listed for around 4 grand and bring 3 cash with you. At least half the sellers out there will take it. Its very very hard to sell a boat, trust me. Sellers will take serious cash offers on the spot esp during the winter. I wouldnt get an older aluminum boat tho unless its all welded. Those rivets scare me. They leak like crazy and you never know when youre gonna bump into something that springs a nasty leak.

Im jealous. I have had my eye on those new loomis frog rods for a few months. I havent been able to talk to anyone who used them cuz they came out in late fall and no one has really been throwing frogs over the winter. I'll wait till I hear some more feedback to pull the trigger on one. Let me know how it works out.

I didnt realize how much more bps charges for plastics then TW. Now I realize what a good deal zoom plastics are with TW's 20 percent off sales. I agree with J tho, nothing really interests me other then the bradia reel. But lookin at the specs and reading bout it, I think I'll pass, that reel is way too heavy and slow for me. I rather spend a lil more and get a stradic ci4. I'm still goin to bps tho and see if I can find anything interesting on sale. I doubt everything is listed in the flyer. If only they sold yo zuri ultra soft line or some cool japanese tackle it would be more worthwhile.

The private side of Lake Anna is never frozen, I just gotta get down there and see how much snow is on the ground. I plan on puttin my boat in next week for a few days. Just checked weather.com, gonna be 52 degrees on sunday ! Im gonna be out on the water at lake anna. I'll let my dvr tape all the bassmaster classic coverage while I fish ;D The snow should all melt with 4 days in a row around 50 degrees or so I hope. I dont wanna launch my boat in 18 inches of snow

Thanks for posting those pics up snoopy. 25 percent off on zoom is real good. I'll have to stock up on brush hogs. That Daiwa Bradia is a real good deal too, I might have to get a few of those too.

I think the 7' mh/fast rod is the best choice for toads. Im gonna be using my avid 7'mh/f this season for stanley ribbits and horny toads. Just cant decide which reel Im gonna use. I really like my daiwa tdz 100m but not sure if its gonna be too slow. Maybe use one of my fuegos instead ?