Nitrofreak

That's 4 of the boats that were able to take multiple participants , we are out of options for this event , unless anyone has any other ideas , I have exhausted every option I have with no interest with participation, even outside of this website , I will keep trying my best to find more support, if no other ideas or interest is shown by Wednesday my suggestion would be to cancel this event , everyone ok with that ?

Thanks Teal, hope to get the chance to meet you some other time , best of luck with everything and be safe !!

Family is always first endless, you have nothing to be sorry about !!!! I will miss seeing you again thats for sure !!!

Cool beans Traveler and thank you very much !!!

My last meal , Budweiser, to the point of oblivion , going out bloated from all that meat ....I'd rather be drunk off my a## with friends and go out just like I came in , not remembering s##t about it !

If you are targeting spots, I would suggest a float and fly, on those more vertical areas , just because its summer the pattern may be the same as colder water months and they usually are unless they are really active !

And then there are the bass that you will find "relating" to structureless cover such as floating swim platforms or docks... a lot of nuance. I don't understand "structureless cover", every piece of cover has structure to a fish , just like you walk on your floor , you have a ceiling , everything a bass does relates to structure in some shape or form , even the suspended bass that you spoke of use the dark pools to ambush prey but they are there because structure led them to these suspending areas , they are still relating to the relative surrounding structure just as we do when we drop a marker , we attempt to duplicate with boat position and accuracy , they know where to position themselves for the best possible chance at catching a meal, they understand depth of perception far better than any angler ever could IMO.

Ok , another boat down , but someone to meet up with , I look forward to seeing you again Traveler !

Sorry for the delay guys, as Zoff stated, I have been really busy. It seems every time I sat down to look at the site, something else would come up, I have been busy looking for boaters to match our non boaters as well, now it seems we are going to be well outside of the available space for all and I am truly having a really tough time finding boaters to match up and participate, I have been looking even outside of this site and no one seems to have any available time to join in. How many boaters and non boaters are still interested in doing this? I can not make it both days as I had hoped but I will be there on the 24th, I am not sure if my wife will be joining me or not, so I may or may not have an open seat, I will try to have a definate answer to that question by weeks end, if anyone is still interested, even if it's just to meet some new faces and see some others I have not seen in a while I would still be game for that too, you guys help decide what we want to try and accomplish if anything. Again, my sincerest apologies for not posting !

It's important to note the time of year you are looking at structure. For example, fish as a general rule, particularly bass, in the very begining of the season when the water is cold, your looking to find more vertical structure in deeper pockets of water on main lake points that lead back into good creek channels. As you look at a topo map, take your time, find the more vertical lines that are out on the main lake points, follow those points and see if they lead back to some shallow flats, shallow flats can be as deep as 10 feet or less, but the fish will let you know what they consider to be shallow, fish will use these flats to spawn, if you already know where the fish spawn in your lake, you are already ahead of the game, you can locate this area on your map and follow this creek out to a main lake point, in between those two areas will be a migration route, this migration route will be used by them on the way in and on the way out as well, this time of year they are scattered everywhere, they are moving up and down old creek beds looking for good spots to grab some snacks. Things to keep in mind as you are fishing structure this time of year. Deeper water, roughly around the 20 foot mark give or take a few feet, if you find a piece of structure, as for example a hump they are relating to, since you don't have a sonar, pay particular attention to detail, how far up the hump does your bait come before you get a strike, you may count your bait down and the water will be approx. 20 feet but the bait gets hit at approx. 10 feet, this could be a real good indication that you have a thermocline, and by looking at your map, this means you can eliminate any structure below that 10 foot mark, that is to say if the fish are giving you a consistant bite in the same area time and again, boat position is just as critical, make sure to pay really close attention to everything, remember you have no feedback from a sonar so you are going to be your own provider for information. A couple of things that may help, Pressured days or bright sunny days the fish will be tight to cover, these days are the toughest days, if you find yourself fishing in shallower waters, concentrate your efforts on heavy matted grass, thick lilly pads, docks, things of this nature will provide the necessary cover the fish will hang to, take your time and fish these areas thoroughly, and I mean pic them apart inch by inch, your best bet may be in much deeper waters on grass beds or in deeper shadowed areas. Non pressured days or slighly over cast days the fish will tend to loosen up and expand from that cover and be more apt to chase a bait, so your presentations can speed up as well, but always experiment and let the fish guide you to what they want, fish will also generally make a move to shallower structure and cover under these conditions as well. Bottom structure, the fish are mostly related to softer structure this time of year, as a general rule, softer bottoms are what you want to try and locate during the summer months with all of the above mentioned baits, this could mean anything soft like grass for example, during the transitions, generally speaking the harder bottom becomes more productive during the spring and fall seasons. All of the rigs in the above posts will help you determine just what kind of structure you are fishing, without a sonar, it's tough and I hope that this helps a little. Good luck and be safe !!!

At a killer rate of 100 posts a year, I have found that your help and insite have been very good in my fishing ventures over the years, thanx for all that you do for us and I look forward to the next 10 years having you around.

Happy Birthday man !!! I would venture to say you have a very caring wife to think of getting you a cake like that, thats an awesome cake and a great idea !!!

X2 When Chuck said to let the bait soak, do exactly that, take your time, look for boat docks that have some deep structure close by, or some interesting structure changes, The changes in her off shore grass has long since gone by the wayside, but there are still some areas that hold good grass in 20 foot depths and less, look around at the splits too, as chuck stated, points are a huge key to fishing Anna especially this time of year and should get you some quality fish right about now. I am hoping to get to her next weekend and get back in the game a little more, hope to see you there sometime !! Good luck and be safe !!!

The dark side !

I lost Dad about 11 years ago, it's not that its painful, it's knowing a lot of different things now that he is not around, you can't physically reach out and have a conversation, have a hug, or see him laugh, that really hits home and you realise then that there is a part of you thats still missing, there are times when I am on the water, especially by myself, that still get's me all choked up, he loved to fish and be outdoors, you never get over a loss of someone you had a close connection to, the best you can do is know that they are at peace. They are with you each and every day in spirit and in memory, it takes time to adjust, make sure the time that you have is spent with all the good thoughts of everything and everything good he passed on to you, make sure all those good things are passed from you to your children. When we are young, we think 30 is a long time, in the blink of an eye you have passed 30 and turn 50, life is short, make the very most of it you can and give it all you got, to yourself and your family, let them know each and every day how much you love them, we never know how long we have them here with us and they never know how long they have here with you. Thoughts and prayers to ya !!

WOW ! Just like your facebook page, now that I can see it on my laptop, you really do need to smile, you look so grumpy !!! Congrats on the good day my friend !!!! You wont find the answers there I can promise you that.....enjoy the beer though !! There are no answers to relationships, only reactions and the objective thinking of the other half, no matter which half it may be, sharing a life with another is not something that comes easy to either one, even though we think it should be, pull your boot strings up guys, have a few and have some fun, without the fun it's hard to find the joy in life and things that matter most to us as humans. Best of luck to you both and God bless !!!

First boat is a 1972 14' sea king, still have it, although it's still in need of repairs from last years storm that came through, got her in 1974. . It spread the beam on it and crushed the seats and the bracing that the seats attach to, but all is coming along, I am going ahead with a complete restoration, this boat taught me a lot about navigation and how to handle waterways. Pro's, you can go just about anywhere you want, it handles 3 people quite nicely, it's very rugged, on hot days you can take your shoes off and the hull will be as cool as the water is, and it's still mine lol ! Con's, slightest little breeze and you stay on the trolling motor, it's not too comfortable to fish up front with the "V" at your feet, it has a tendency to wobble side to side, it's ok if there is just me or me and a friend, but a third party moving around and you need to pay attention, it's just got a high center of gravity, I upgraded to my first glass boat since then in 2001, and never looked back, somehow I just cant seem to upgrade from that, I would love to have a Z-9 and maybe someday I may but for now, I am still in love with my little Nitro !!!

Taking good care of yourself I see, really glad to hear how you are getting along, and really glad to hear that the doctors are looking over you on a daily basis. Keep getting better buddy !!!!! I would love nothing more than to come up there and get you out on the water, at least for the day, but you are still recovering and right now your recovery is much more important, when the doctors say it's ok let me know and i will head up there and we can go out together if you would like.

I have used a couple of them, for me the price is fair because it is a great feeling rod and SUPER lite, I really just cant seem to fork over that kind of money for one though, if you are really interested let me know, we have a dealer here in Harrisonburg that can hook you up.

X3 with a few extra. 3) any craw type bait, the grass at Anna is great for a weedless spoon too, twin tail hula grubs on a 1/4 oz round jig head for the outer parts of the grass, 1/2 to 3/4 oz as you start to work your way in, there are some pretty dense mats up in the Anna river arm, 1/0 to 1 1/2 oz depending on how thick they are, this time of year should be around 3/4 to 1oz., switch to a Fire Tiger spinner on heavy boat traffic or windy days and keep it about 2 to 3 feet down from the surface. 9) Frogs don't work all that well at Anna, very rare do these work, I have thrown every kind of frog that has come out in the last 15 years at some of the best top water areas in this lake, it's drives me nutt's why they wont hit a frog, the best Frogging area that I have found success is in the very back of Christopher run, go under the bridge past the campground and work your way back toward the back, top water baits like a popper or a devils horse are good at times, usually these require very long pauses no matter what time of year you try them, the back of Mitchelle Creek, Pigeon Creek, and especially the back of Contrary Creek are great top water spots for these. Also X2 on what Sam has said, make sure you find a way to get one of Teddy's books, there really is some great insite in there. Don't forget to show us some pics of how you do out there !!!

Happy birthday J!! Thanx for all you do for us !

I do remember where you are located lol! If a couple or a few gallons is no big deal then yes you can get the 200 if you wish, breaking it down there is really not a big difference if your only talking a couple of weekends, here and there, if your talking running miles at a wide open pace every weekend then yes it will be significant, but for what conditions you are describing, there wont be a significant difference imo.

Hope all goes well for you !!! Can't wait for the report !!! Good luck and be safe !!!

This is something you will have to see for yourself, even though the boats sound like they are in good condition, I do not trust what they say until I see them for myself, as for the difference between length and engine size, you really won't notice a "huge" difference, so to speak, but the difference may be just enough to make you swing one way or the other, once you get them on the water you will notice the total difference between the two. If the 150 will work just fine for you vs. the 200, then it may come down to parts and the prices of parts for each, you may want to look up some things just to use as a comparison and how available some of those parts might be, like power packs for example, lower units, etc...the 150's in my area are quite common and I can locate parts almost anywhere, usually it ends up being cheaper than fixing a 200, don't just stop there though, look up parts for each of the vessels and see which is easier, that may also help with the decision. The beam on the 19' vs. the 18' "may" be something you find interesting, a little more room on the deck could be something worth thinking about but here again it's something you will need to investagate for yourself, It's the little things that may not be so little too you, that you will find helps with that decision. Plan a day and go see them both before you start even thinking about either one of these boats, there may be some things you like about each and some you wont, but until you see them up close, you will have nothing to do but wonder about each.

Awesome !!! Thanks for the report Spropro, Only 3 more months until we all get together and have some big 'ol fun !!!! I don't know about you guys but I am starting to get excited !!!!!