Darren.

Bummer (for me) that it only comes in 5" and not 4" which is my preferred size (well 4.25 for the Stick-O). I'll throw a 5, but not usually. But I'm sure it'll catch fish.

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard!

I'm a 1000 size guy for my bass fishing. But have stated before that reels in the 3000 range are now *in the range* of the 1000 reel sizes from years ago. Especially newer reels in the CI4+ lineup, and I believe some of the Daiwa LT reels (higher end). I'd have no problem buying a 2500 or 3000 in these newer weights and sizes. But I still love my 1000s .

So yeah, there's lots of fishing spots off 64, not just on the Peninsula, but Richmond, too. Those who fish up there will have to chime in. This might give you some guidance: https://www.dgif.virginia.gov/lakes/ Coming down 64 you'll have Little Creek Reservoir, Chickahominy, Diascund Reservoir. There are Google Map coordinate links for each in those articles.

We have a lot of reservoirs down here as opposed to lakes with a lot of bank fishing opportunities. Hampton has Bethel Reservoir, a nice spot tho I've never fished it personally. Actually, I did with my kids at a family picnic. No fish caught. There are bass tournaments there on occasion. Sandy Bottom Nature Park has a fishing pond with a pier. No shore fishing that I know of except from the pier. Jon boats available. Up route 64 is an easy jump to Lee Hall Reservoir, part of Newport News Park. Great spot to fish. Off route 17 in NN/Yorktown is Harwood's Mill Reservoir, also solid. Both Lee Hall and Harwood's Mill have bank fishing but you will need to acquire a bank fishing permit there. Not expensive, but you need it *in addition to* a fishing license. not sure about Bethel. All these spots have docks to fish from, and Jon boats to rent. Further up route 64 is Waller Mill Reservoir. There's a park entrance fee of like $2.50, but fishing is free from the fishing pier. No actual shoreline fishing there. Boat rentals available. Now saltwater is another matter. Lots of places to fish around here .

Either size will work. I primarily use 4" (+) worms for wacky, and I've used from #4 up to #2/0. The 1 and 1/0 are probably the sweet spot....

Absolutely not too small. For years I was using size #2 Gamakatsu Split shot/drop shot hooks for bass and caught plenty of girls over 4 pounds. Heck, for a while I went down to #4 Gamakatsu Wide Gap Finesse!

So. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. And. GO BILLS!!! How 'bout dem Cowboys!!

Welcome aboard! Ah, the Bait Monkey. He jumps up and down on your back telling you that you NEED new fishing stuff. Gets worse the more you enjoy the sport

Welcome aboard! We've got a number of folks who've fished VA Beach/Southside. They'll start chiming in soon! Good luck!

I used to tie pre-rigged drop shots, but stopped after some time experimenting and getting lines messed up, knotted, etc., LOL. I use the Gary Senf method for ds. Gets a lot of smack talk from the likes of @J Francho but I have not had it fail on me. Largest I've caught on that is 4# and change. Now the downside is that the weight is tied on. So if it gets stuck in a rock, you break it off. That said, the rig also allows you to push the hook up and tie on another weight and get back to work.

There's really no *right* answer to your question, only opinions So here's mine. I've been a big fan of BPS Carbonlites (pre 2.0) and having put hands-on the new ones in-store, I'd say they're pretty much the same quality. I also use St. Croix. Have a Premier and Legend Tournament. I like shorter rods and St. Croix meets most of my prefs. Also had a St. Croix Avid, ended up trading up for the LT. Didn't like the tip-heaviness of the Avid. Actually the LT is tip-heavy (slightly) with my Stradic 1000s, but I've currently got a Pflueger Supreme 3000 on it which balances pretty well. Also FWIW, I use Stradic 1000 models 99% of the time. Good luck with your quest. Get hands on whenever you can to help with your decision.

Wait, what? Do you mean retailers marking the FK down $20 to $45, from retail pricing, not TO 20 or 45 bucks? That'd be a steal at $20 or $45 I've experienced the first real "issue" with one of our Stradics (2500 FJ). It is binding, and binding badly. When I can afford (or my son can), we'll send it in for repair. I'd take a long, hard look at the FL based on Tackle Advisor's review alone. He's got a pretty good bead on reels and their workings, IMHO.

Beast! Really sweet end to summer !!

Nice post, Logan! Congrats on 1k.

That's just terrible she interrupted you while you were casting. Awful. Congrats. She's a hawg!

Welcome aboard! Keep it simple. The easiest, IMO, is a wacky rig, mentioned above. It has caught me so many bass over the years. Do not overthink things or you can get frustrated and end up spending a lot of money on lures, plastics, etc. If you are near a Bass Pro Shops, Dicks Sporting Goods, Cabelas, etc., pick up a bag of green pumpkin stick worms. I really like Bass Pro's version called Stik-Os. They're reasonably priced and go on sale often. I personally prefer the 4.25" worms over 5". Next buy some wacky hooks -- I prefer Gamakatsu Finesse Wide Gap, and Gamakatsu Split/Drop shot hooks in size 1/0. The split/drop hooks are a little lighter wire. Tie on your hook with a Palomar knot (look it up on Google), it's easy. Rig the worm on the hook perpendicular. So bend the worm and put the hook through the middle. That's it. Cast to docks, near downed trees, etc. Let the worm fall, it will "shimmy" and attract strikes. Read up on this rig. Plenty of great articles here and on the web. Good luck!

Nice work, Daniel! Looks great!

Now things are clear LOL ... sorry to laugh at your expense. Not really sorry. LOL. I was trying to imagine how you may have gotten sprayed while fishing...twice! Even tho this is in the "Everything Else" forum....

Again!? Daaaaang. Tomato juice and milk bath!!

Welcome aboard! Most of my reading was from mags and such, did read an old fishing book from my Dad. Wasn't specific to bass, but more to finding fish in streams, rivers, lakes. Wish I could remember the title....

Welcome aboard! Agree with @WRB to check for SW use. Is a reason I went with Shimano reels that are both FW/SW capable. Mine are Stradics, but they, and Daiwa, make some of the best spinning reels on the market capable of fishing both types of water. Size of reel, balance on rod, totally in the hands of the fisherman. I like shorter rods, lighter 1000 size reels. But with today's materials, reels are getting smaller, bigger gearing, deeper spools putting a 3000 at the size and weight of some 1000 models of years past. Good luck with your search!

Welcome aboard! If I could pick a lake during the cold, it'd probably be Okeechobee in FL. Guides aplenty. Never been, but it's on my bucket list.

Likewise for WeatherBug. Been using it on various platforms for over 20 years. Also use other apps. My fav was Storm, by Wunderground, but once Weather Channel bought them out they ruined it. The wind direction/speed activity was top notch.