Nitrofreak

Welcome to BR! 19Krob, there are many who support this sort of thing but first I wish to say thank you for your service, you and your families strength, determination and courage are truly admirable, God bless you all !! I belong to a group that not only does this a few times a year via a gathering every so often but one that allows us to be only a phone call away throughout the year, we do have events but our goal reaches far beyond that, its called the Reel American Hereos Foundation, I don't know if we have any members in your neck of the woods but if you have any buddies that are also in need that might be in different states you might be able to offer them this website as well as others that have already been posted. http://reelamericanheroes.org/ Good luck and God bless !!!

Enjoyed the video, I don't go fishing for spawning bass, in fact last weekend was the first time I even attempted to do so, it still would have been for a short photo op and then back in the water she would have gone, not only should the fish have the opportunity but so too should our children and their children be able to enjoy our fisheries, great advice from Bob.

The T-Rig is like the SUV of all rigs we use, the weight is used for not only distance but can also be used for rate of fall as well, the T-Rig is also used to get into and through heavy vegetation and all sorts of cover, the purpose of the T-Rig is to allow the weight to get to the bottom quickly or quicker than your bait, in turn as the weight sinks to the bottom it slides up your line as it travels if you let it fall on a semi slack line, this gives the bait roughly 6 to 10 inches of weightless presentation, depending on variances of depth and weight choice, once the weight hits the bottom it takes a little extra time for the bait to reach bottom afterward, depending on bait size and chemical construction along with hook size, some baits will fall slower giving you a little longer weightless presentation, shallow waters really require very little weight, heavy vegetation and deeper water usually require heavier weight, pegging your weight takes away the use of this portion of presentation before making contact with the weight, which a lot of times is where you will get a strike and becomes more like a Carolina rig or split shot type rig, pegging your weight close to the bait makes it more like a jig type presentation, I never peg my T-Rig because I want that momentary weightless presentation from the fall as well as on the first movement before it makes contact with the weight. The T-Rig is best suited for working cover, although it's a truly great presentation for almost anywhere, just like an SUV would use 4WD for better traction in rough terrain, this rig allows you to come through and over some pretty mean stuff with less chances of snagging, not that it is completely snag free but it does work these pieces of cover much better than many other rigs because of just how thorough it is, if you are working a brush pile or grass, keep in mind that the tail of the bait may want to grab or wrap around whatever your working, for example, a twist tail worm is less likely to come through or over a brush pile without getting tangled in which case a straight tail worm would be better suited for your presentation where as a ribbon tail worm might be better suited to work just outside of these rough areas.

I pass over that section every time I go to Lake Fredrick, I have always wanted to fish that area of the river because they say there are some beautiful small mouths through there, a friend of mine fished there once and said most of his came on a tube, green pumpkin/green flake, watermelon/ candy, rigged weightless. Let us know how you do and congrats on the new to you ride !! I don't know how VDGIF frequents that section but make sure you read up on rules and regs before you head out, Good luck and be safe !!!

Sent you a PM bgathletics6.

Congrats !! Relax, I rarely take photos either, usually it's my wife or co-angler that just has to have a photo. A short fish is still better than no fish... Thanks for sharing your day with us !!!

Go over to the state park ramp and fish under the bridge and around that point with big worms slowly ?

Welcome to BR, well, I'll be the first to admit that I am not the healthiest and fit of people, I'm pretty happy though for the most part, I don't get all worked up, my faith helps more with that than my dietary plan, not that I have a dietary plan, I figure that if I keep putting in the effort to learn about growth, behavior, structure and cover, water temps, clearity, depth, stratification and how all species relate to each and interact with each and which baits are best suited for each just like the pros did, just like all of those that take the time to educate us here on this site do every day have done, that I will continue to learn and have fun, bloated or otherwise.

The lower part of this lake from Sturgeons down takes a lot of time spent on the water to get a feel for just when and where these big girls will show up and for how long. Understanding fish behavior, especially the Big'uns will help for those not familiar, my techniques for fishing spawners are very limited because I simply don't do it but I should probably learn how to, very few areas will hold to be good enough areas for the spawn, in most cases the girls are in and out of the shallows within a week and it's off to the flats or they will hang around the deeper docks in the area to take a breather before heading out, timing is everything down in those areas, these fish are used to 25+ feet, they just don't like being in places like that for very long. Scan all areas for bait first, those areas will be best or offer better odds. Your chances would have been better near the splits when you were over there my friend, in particular Marshal Creek. Down lake, the fish that I did catch had not even had their tails all beat up yet so they were just moving in, most were still staging out on main lake points and also found on secondary points, few were in deep looking to procure a spot for their honeys. I should have been fishing the entry points but I found that out a little to late, everything is running about 2 weeks behind with all the recent fronts we have had. Thanks Sam, it's much appreciated !! Hopefully we can spend a day on Anna sometime this year and have some fun!!!

I learned something yesterday out on the lake, at least I feel like I did, I took note of where I caught fish and where I had seen those big females, particularly the bottom composition in the area I had seen those Big'uns, I thought about this thread and how much it went against the grain of where we should be looking, the bottom composition was pure muck and the stumps were for the most part silted over, like much of the lower part of this lake, it had all the wrong reasons and yet, here they were. What in the world is it that would attract such beautiful big fish to a location that is not "ideal"? I want to take a stab at this and see where it leads, this lake for the most part is clean of any rock, sand or gravel, especially in the lower regions above 15 feet, the upper regions however are much more thriving, the clearing they did when the lake was created left very few areas that were "ideal" and has since for the most part silted over, carp that was introduced have all but cleared any grass that was useful to the bass habitat, I feel in this case that it wasn't what the area lacked, instead my attention turned to that of what the area offered, what the area in question did have is worthy to note, it had timber, (beaver hut) a fresh water supply via a small creek that drains into this area via a small waterfall, and the wreckage of a small wooden Jon boat, also it had access to deeper water within 100 yards, what made this area prime, well maybe not prime, more like useful, wasn't the bottom composition. I feel like a lot of opportunities could be missed just because we are supposed to seek out what should be perfection, this is why we should not look at lakes or bodies of water as a whole, someone here taught me that but I can't for the life of me remember who that was..., just because an area isn't appealing does not mean it has no use, breaking an area down bit by bit may produce better results than one can anticipate, maybe it wasn't the ideal spot but the spot made it ideal.

Wow man !!! That was an amazing read and thanks for the videos, Congrats on first place !!!!!

Great job guys !!!

I fished Anna this past weekend, all my time was spent in Sturgeons, Duke, Boggs and Beaver Pond areas, all areas that I needed to work on, if your planning a trip to Anna, now is the time, while conditions this past weekend were high pressure conditions I did see 4 rather large units looking for a place to eject some young, while they weren't on the bed just yet I attempted to catch one for a photo opportunity, well, that didn't work out, I rigged a couple of weightless rigs up and tossed my offering in a very gentle manner, they both landed with barely a sound but you would have thought a bomb went of as they scurried to safety, they must have just cruised in scouting the area because these girls were really really easy to spook, but the next couple of weeks should yield some great memories for those who can venture out. Look for areas that contain as many stumps as possible with docks in close proximity, Anna doesn't have a lot offer other than that down lake, there are a few shoals to speak of but really she's pretty barren for the most part and the fish will use these stumps during the spawn, find isolated areas like way back in coves and major creeks that offer peace and quiet and protection from the winds and you will find fish. The upper regions of this lake warm first, your better chances will be up in the upper reaches of Pumunkey and Anna River, or, the first coves at the splits as well as Marshal and Pigeon Creek, on my last visit, Marshal Creek was spotted with some good size bait clusters, this trip, the areas I had fished, the bait clusters were difficult to find with exception of Sturgeon Creek. Ended up with 3, I had 4 bites total, total weight, approx. 9lbs. one came unbuttoned right at the boat, tuff day, water was really clear in most areas with a really clear and bright sky, even skipping docks you could see the fish scatter as the bait skipped across the surface. Hope that helps if your planning an Anna trip !!

First fishing trip this year, surface water temps are 62-65 depending where you go, cooler as you get closer to the dam, water conditions mid lake and down are clear some places you can see down 15 feet, bass are in a holding pattern, few have migrated toward the very back of coves and major creeks, seen 4 really big girls that just pulled up, those 4 were EXTREMLY spooky, weather conditions were blue bird sky's, winds were mild, the pattern was stumps on main lake points as well as secondary points for Sturgeon, Dukes, Beaver Pond areas, it was tuff finding any schools in these areas, also void of any bait pods as well, number one presentation was a Strike King 3/8oz. Structure jig with a missile baits baby D-bomb, high pressure day only yeilded 4 bites, caught 3 and lost a big one at the boat, the bite was so subtle that you really only knew the fish had it by gauging the slack in your line as you brought the jig up and over each stump, all in all it wasn't the day I had hoped for but it was a great day to be on the lake !!

Just got done getting ready for a day on the water tomorrow, first time actually fishing this year so I wanted to make sure I had everything in the boat LOL! Lots of good stuff, I'll catch up ASAP, Hamma, great info in your post, it's going to be put to good use in my clear gravel pits we have spotting my area, bass thumb, are you referencing break lines? See you guys, good luck and be safe if your out tomorrow !!

During the last couple of years I have been working really hard at understanding not just structure, the composition, nor vegetation associated with, but, all of the above, when we talk about ideal composition we are taught to look to places associated with hard or firm bottom areas, especially for the spawn, mainly or "idealistically" areas that can support a growth of vegetation, or areas that can support organisms that attract prey for where they feed, however, too much of a good thing is in fact at times not a good thing, aquatic life can't grow from solid rock, where they live has a lot to do with water conditions and maturity of the bass, am I close to what your getting at ? Where bass spawn, feed and live is different for each body of water we visit and have differences within each section, in order to determine the best areas of opportunity I feel you must not look at a body of water as whole, you must section it and break it down bit by bit, each section is different with its own values that attract numbers of fish, or not at all. I don't have the experience you do by any means so I'm uncertain what you are asking, my experience thus far has been that of where bass spawn, feed and live primarily is associated with areas that contain some sort of firm or hard bottom in, or, close proximity to, each.

Can that, or might that not hold true for even the same body of water but in different sections as well?

Ideal is hard or firm bottom, sand, rock, clay etc...or a good mix of any or all of the above, Composition is one of many keys for productive areas, good structure composition supports life of even the smallest organisms, which in turn attracts species that will feed on these organisms.

Never been there but sounds like it would fit the needs of an event like this.

Ok peeps, it's been a week and so far we only have 3 likes, 2 for bank beater, 3 for boater/non boater, we have the same peeps voting for both so it looks as if it really doesn't matter either way or at least that's what I am assuming, correct? W/C, My suggestion would be just pick a place and a date, bring a covered dish if ya want to have lunch and let's have some fun!!

I've seen him several times, non of the hoopla, monkey dancing going on in his performances, just let his voice do the work for him... and I still enjoyed it!! Out of all his songs probably the one I enjoyed the most was "fightin side of me"

I don't have any more pics to share but instead I just wish to thank all of you who participated. There are certainly some breath taking photos in this thread !!!

Keep in the back of your mind that the bigger fish are sanctuary fish, they don't like the pressure, find key points that have good spawning areas, the pressure of all the shallow anglers may keep some of these larger girls back a bit.

If fish used only their sight this may have some significance, I believe fish use more than just their sight when targeting prey, in most cases that is to say. If sight was their only sensory input they would most likely shy away from most baits made today, I believe that when a bass studies an unfamiliar prey that it is waiting for inputs from all of its sensory organs or maybe requiring more than one input that agrees to encourage a strike or an exploratory bite. In bass fishing, you have to believe, or have confidence in, that on most occasions a bass is studying (eyeing) your presentation, it's up to the angler to make his or her presentation real enough to trigger other sensory inputs that will allow the fish to commit to the strike.

Understand the fish growth and behavior, their relation to structure and prey, 2 books will help you tremendously, "spoon plugging" by Buck Perry and anther called "in pursuit of giant bass" by Bill Murphy.