basscrusher

If I'm going for numbers...4" Senko, wacky rigged, color isn't that important but I'll go with smoke/purple. If I want the big bite...Coffee Tube, 1/4 oz insert head, exposed hook. Black and blue has been my best color, even in clear water.

It's definitely a catfish...as for the no barbels thing, well, I live in the Potomac river area, and having seen the types who fish this area (esp 4 mile run, VERY unrban setting) I wouldn't be surprised if someone caught it and ripped off the whiskers just to torture the fish. Not a meat fisherman, who would've kept it, but some bored, punk kid. I've seen similar instances. I'm not saying this is what happened, but I wouldn't rule it out.

Please forgive me but here goes...on a rod with a Tennessee handle, how would the builder put on those rings that hold the the real foot in place (at least on some models). are they big enough to simply slide over the cork handle but not slip off when holding a reel? I'm not building a rod...asking for a different reason.

If snagging grass isn't an issue, I like a 1/4 oz jighead, exposed hook. Otherwise, I like a Slider Pro in 3/16 or 1/4 oz.

If you can shell out $79, I'd recommend the Falcon Bucoo. I wish it was more than 5 feet long, but it's not as noodle-ish as most UL, and light as a feather. Really nice little rod.

If you do get it, post a quick report. I'm interested in the same rod, as well as one of the Cumaras for sale.

Looking for input from someone who may own the 7'2" ML Cumara Spinning. found it at a good price, and I'm intrigued. I like light tackle, but not TOO light to land 4 and 5 pounders. Also, I have 2 Cumara baitcasters and love them, for reference

This may be too heavy but...Loomis LR 844S. Made for small tarpon. 10-20 lb line. 1/4-2 oz lure weight. Beast. I use one for saltwater, big cats, and throwing certain small musky lures.

The drop shot and the C-rig can work shallow...try it! I've had some great days drop-shotting in less than 10-ft of water, and watched my tournament partner whack a nice limit Carolina-rigging a point that dropped from 3 ft to only 7 ft. It works all the time!

I wish they didn't have the clam packs...first pack of Baby rage craws I ever bought, the claws on the last 4 in the pack were cut off due to the edge of the clam pinching down and cutting off the claw.

If you use this rig for bass...you'll find your familiarity with it makes it ideal for bait rigging. In fact, it's my go-to rig for fishing squid strips in inshore situations (my desperation rig when artificials aren't working).

Yeah, I guess it is a bit longer. Whatever it is, it would MURDER Potomac perch in the winter!

Looks VERY similar to the Slider Crappie grub...not sure if anyone makes a mold for it, though.

Sometimes, they won't hit anything. Why attack a lure when the real thing is so easy? If this happens (happens to me and my buddy a lot on one certain lake -- and we're not new to this game) get away from the bait schools and go after cover/structure fish. All the lures mentioned above are the ones to try, though.

In your parts, timber rattlers mostly stay in forested areas, often up in the hills. Copperheads are often around the ponds and streams. There are black bears, but they generally steer clear of people (unlike brown bears). Snapping turtles are all over, and are far more cantankerous than you'd think. Your biggest worry, in VA, should be ticks. Spotted tick fever is no fun (I had it as a kid) and Lyme disease seems to be increasing in frequency. Chiggers are a pain (google a plant called Queen Anne's Lace...they love to dwell in that stuff) and I guess all sorts of other biting bugs are to be avoided. Wasps tend to worry me...I went 25 years getting stung by all sorts of bees with only minor welts, then one stung me playing basketball one day and I had a horrible allergic reaction. Apparently our immune systems store up immunity, and one day it's all gone. Biggest thing to look out for...POISON IVY!!!

for 12" worms I move up to an Owner 11/0 EWG. They look ridiculously big, until you rig the worm. Then it will seem pretty well matched.

I only use tubes for smallmouth, really. I rig them exposed-hook (insert jighead) therefore flipping tubes don't really work for me (too long). Having said that, I used to use the skinny Zoom tubes alot, but rarely do anymore. I'll use any of the big, thick, bulky tubes out there, but my favorite is the Strike King coffee tube. My best colors are Chaos, Copper Craw (I think that's what it's called) and Goby-licious (even though there are no gobies where I fish...brown/purple is just a great color scheme). Either SK doesn't make them in black/blue, or they are always sold out when I go to stock up. In that case I get BPS tubes, or sometimes I find packs of Yum tubes (not the Vibra-king -- a non-ribbed tube) for $2 in bargain bins. They work just fine. I'm eager to try Zoom's new bigger tube, but nobody around me carries it yet.

Hunting Run is the best lake around there, easily. When I was in college (at Mary Washington) I waded the upper Rapp alot. Good times. I caught my first smallie there, and my first striper right below the fall line. If you know how to fish small water for smallies, and don't mind alot of break-offs in the rocks, the upper Rapp is very fun.

The little balls on the ends of the tentacles on the Hydra pick up a LOT of grass (at least it did for me in Potomac river hydrilla).

There are weedless drop shot hooks as was stated before. for a cheap alternative, several companies (like eagle claw) make a baitholder hook with weedguard, and you could make that work. Gamakatsu's skip gap hook is nice for texas riggin on a drop shot (I use this ALOT around grass with trick worms). If you get alot of break offs, make sure you use the clip-on type weights. You'll lose your weight but not the hook. something I do alot that many people find anathema to finesse fishing is to use straight braid (no leader) on the drop shot. 10-lb or lighter braid, and I do get bites, even in fairly clear water.

Stradic Ci4. No contest.

That head is my go-to...at this point I could probably keep the company afloat just with my purchases. I use it for any sort of finesse plastic imaginable...but it shines with Zoom finesse worms and U-tails. And for those of us (like Fishes in trees) lucky enough to still have Bungee worms left over...well, I won't get into that. Like someone said before, that hook is much more stout than a regular Slider hook. I use 10 and 15 lb braid to drive that baby home on my spinning rigs. What makes the slider head shape so awesome is that it is "bullet" enough to come through grass, but rounded enough on bottom to give a stand-up appearance for shaky-heads.

That's a largemouth in your pic!

Hey VA crew- This one's just for fun...I'm not trying to encroach on anyone's secret honey hole. If you'd prefer to keep a spot secret, that's totally cool, just don't reply. I get it. But if you don't mind sharing, let's see how wide an array of answers we get! I'll kick it off. PB VA largemouth: Burke Lake (tad under 7 lbs) - 6" Zoom Dead Ringer (pumpkin/chart,) PB VA smallmouth: Upper Potomac (3.5 lbs) - 4" Senko (black/blue flake) Let's see your stuff!

How did you get the rabbit hair to flare out like that on the bunny leech jig? I've tied bucktail and/or marabou with a rabbit strip trailer, but I like the looks of that. Actually, they all look good. Your wraps are much cleaner than mine.