Darren.

We were forecast 68% chance of rain today here in VA (south eastern). We've got about 2 inches of snow today (so far). I am ready for spring x2.

I've thrown a bunch of different worm rigs in grass, be it wacky, weighted wacky, TX, pegged TX, split and drop shots. Best of those are probably wacky (weightless), and TX rigs in my experience.

Welcome to the forums, David!

Welcome, Aaron!

When the dogwoods bloom, spawn on! Taint happenin' down on the peninsula yet. Maybe some staging going on, but the water is still in the 40s.

4" Yamamoto Senko

Allow for another method, one which, on a whim, I started during pre/spawn/post last year. Wacky rig it weightless, or with a weighted wacky hook. Caught a number of 5-6 pounders. They killed the lizard as it shimmied down.

I use it for leader material, P-Line Floroclear is on most of my reels (again, leader) but YZH is a keeper. I usually have spools of both lines with me in the yak, in different pound tests.

Please make it so down here in the Hampton Roads area!!!

S'pose I'd be a little bit fish-happy if I lived in S. FL, too. Best day in six years!? Then definitely worth shouting about!! Many more days like today for ya!

I believe there's a rule against taunting colder weather fishermen with phrases like "the bite was on fire today", "I got a killer tan while catching a ton of bass today" and such. LOL. Way to catch 'em.

Nice catch!

A speedy recovery to ya, mate!

Well done, proud papa... Even though the proud mamma did all the hard work! A hearty congratulations!

Hey, look on the bright side. At least you HAVE peacock bass where you are!!! Shows I've seen always seem to have peacocks in canals down there.

I got mine. Lost track of how long it took, to be honest. Have yet to spool it up, but I've got one of my spare Stradic spools ready for it (the 12 lb test).

I stand corrected, it is a sheepshead. Tautog have interesting teeth, too, but not quite that crazy.

Priceless!

I use mono, typically. Then add the braid mainline, then use a leader.

That's a tautog, I believe...

Shipped yesterday, so hope to get it early next week. Will let you know!

This is what's wrong with that fish. It's called walleye vision. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KDviXJCfHg

A tip for when you get hung up. Reel in all the slack line, thumb on your spool, and walk backward keeping your rod straight in line with the line. Don't bend it trying to free the hook. Pull steady. If it breaks (the line), great, if not, set the rod down, free up enough line so you can wrap it around your arm, if you have a towel or something, wrap that on your arm, then the line. Pull till the line breaks. You won't be horsing your rod around this way. Only the line will break....

Hi Zach, I see this was your first posting, so welcome to the site. You being on limited budget means you have to be careful what you ask because the Bait Monkey is ever lurking to pry your wallet open just a little bit more. Believe me, I know. That said, for now you can stick with your Fireline. I'm not a fan of it, I'm a fan of original Power Pro. I actually have 10lb Fireline spooled on one of my Stradics at the moment. But as roadwarrior suggested, for a cool $5 you can try out 12lb Tuff-Line. I bought it, but I have not spooled it up yet. The line gets good reviews so far. As well, I assume you have a spinning setup? If so, then I feel braid is absolutely the best for line management. Tie on a leader -- be it mono, copoly, or fluorocarbon. Personally, I use copoly the most. It is inexpensive, and some are coated (P-Line floroclear, fav) or blended (Yo-Zuri Hybrid) with fluoro. They are extremely strong. Become proficient at the Albright - or modified Albright knots for joining braid to leader. Of course, this is my opinion. I like the slender profile of the Albright knots the best, and it is incredibly strong.

Thanks. Understand your reasons for heavier weights. The reservoirs I fish are, maybe at their deepest, 20'. I do have some 1/4, and I think 3/8, which definitely help with bottom feel better in windy/wavy conditions. While I really want to try tungsten, the expense keeps me away. When 3 weights cost the same as 15 or so, I can deal with losing the cheap weight to Davy Jones' Locker, since they often get hung up.