Nitrofreak

They all left with the aliens, they wanted to make sure they had good seats for the event !!

I would suggest the lizards and the craws too !!! Rage rig the craw and T-rig or C-rig the lizard, I used to use Zoom lizards, but these things far out perform the Zoom.

Even when your not moving the bait, the bait is moving, the action of the appendage's as it falls through the water is awesome but when it simply sits still it looks alive.

I can't say enough about the rage tail line either, it's RW's fault !! I have used these products for just about everything you can think of since my first use of the craw, the only one I have not tried yet is the shell cracker, but that will change this year, the lobster would have to be my favorite, rage rigged, Thanx Big-O for an awesome bait line and keeping the product here in the USA. Somehow Long Mike I do not think him drawing on the table cloth with a sharpie is true either, one can only imagine the repercussions of such an action. lol !!

The surface temp has nothing to do with when I stop either, I go even if it is pretty cold out, as long as the wind does not blow I can fish the cold, the trick to fishing the winter is finding the fish first, looking for the bait fish is the first key, once you find them you will have more success, then look to see what the bass are doing, are they active at all, are they on the bottom, are they suspended, are they under the bait fish, the most active ones you will find close to the bait, the ones on the bottom may be grouped together, if you have docks, fish the deeper part of the dock, pattern the fish and use your baits accordingly instead of trying this here or that there, adjust your mind to fish extra slow if need be, if the fish are very lathargic this time of year so too must you be, not a lot of action on the water this time of year either, stealth will play a part in your success as well. Good luck and be safe !!!

I have never fished a day such as this, tell me, what is it like not to have to fight controlling the boat and actually fishing lol !! Every weekend I have had the chance to get out the wind was horrible.

I do not think of having strengths that others do not, it's almost like bragging or your one-upping someone, if you get where I am coming from, however I do have a favorite strength, that would be fishing structure, deep structure to be exact, I like fishing 30 feet or more, you hardly ever find me next to a shoreline, only when the time is right for it, even then it directly relates to structure in some form or another.

Stealth...as in no one can see them but you? LOL !!

LMAO !!!!!!

Yep, I seen it for myself LOL !!! I love that place, what I got to see of it, you showed me a bunch and there was still a ton of it left, that place has some awesome beauty and some really fantastic cover, i can't wait to get there again soon, I am looking so forward to this year of fishing, a new out look, changes in the way I see things and do things, meeting new people, spending more time on the water with family and friends. I AM FREAKING PUMPED UP BABY !!!!

Hmmm, I think anyone fishing the Potomac has a pretty good handle on that one, it is the ones who do not fish the Potomac that needs to bring their HD stuff LOL !!

We are looking at late August or sometime in September, it can not be the last weekend of the month, we have one that will not be able to make it if we schedule it then. We will start a new post on Jan 1st for discussions about any questions relating to this and other things, we want everyones input so we can make the best decisions possible. Thanx F4SD !!!

I wen't through this with my mother, I was kicked out of my family by her some time ago, 2 years after that happened, my father went to have a pace maker put in, a normal routine, but the sad part is he never made it off the table, I had no idea he was going for the surgery, no one let me know, my sister or my brother never bothered to contact me as well, my brother called me after the fact. My dad and I were once close, I found out later that my mother lied to him and told him that I shunned the family and wanted nothing to do with him, 5 years after his death, my sister calls me, she is sending her twin boys off to the military as it was their wish to do so, my family joined their family for a picnic, my mother asked me for forgiveness of what she had done, I forgave her on that day, but it was a hard pill to swallow, 2 days later she past as well, my brother and my sister both tried to get the house without having to include me, to this day we do not speak and hatred runs deep between us. However a hard pill it is to swallow, believe in what you are doing to be the best for all, including yourself, no matter the decision you make, make it with no regrets and stand up for it, if it still does not change, know in your heart you gave everything to better the situation you have, it's up to them to follow through and choose the path that lay before them, it may not be the same path you walk, but sooner or later, I can promise you this, they will cross again. Good luck and be safe !!! God bless my friend !!!

X2 Since the OP said he was shore bound as well, reaching these fish may be next to impossible if the bass are in the deeper sections and they are beyond casting distance, however, jig's such as a grass/brush jig should help him get in that tough stuff and come through it, I have had several really thick vegetation areas that I fish with Seibert Outdoor's jigs, they come through pretty good, although I am not familure with this particular area in the OP's post, I feel pretty confident the quality jigs that are out there will/should be able to perform this task. That's what these jigs do, it's what they are designed for, If they did not work as intended, I personally would be speaking to someone and give them some feedback about the performance of their product to help them make the product better. My thought is that it could be possible the OP just simply does not have the right jig for the scenario he/she is presented with.

HHHMMMMM, kinda makes you think about the erratic action you need when using your baits huh!...just sayin !!

Only 14 days left !!! It's now 7 to 5 between the Potomac and SML !! 7 for the Potomac 5 for SML 3 for the Occoquan 2 for the Chick 0 for Claytor This will be updated for the next two Monday's, the 2nd Monday is New Years Eve, we will check the voting at midnight to see who the winner is and post it here, good luck to all !!!!

This is the area at the campground you suggested correct?

Thanx for the heads up Traveler !!!

Cool, We look forward to meeting you Shimmy, you have been a big help here with your posts and I know if you are paired with someone they are bound to learn a great deal.

WOW !!!! Way to go Quanjig !!!! Really nice way putting things together on a rough day or a potentially rough day, don't worry Quan, I hope there will be more opportunities for us to get together and give it a go again, it was a blast and like I said, one trip I won't soon forget. Awesome job Quan and congrats !!!!

How many times have we been on locations that have had fish fill our screens only to come up empty handed? Why do you think that is and what have you done to try and figure that out? I know I have been on Anna so many times when this has happened and came away empty handed, there were a couple of times that the fish were breaking the surface and it keyed me into something. Wayne P. posted something way, way back that got me thinking, "Patterns" these fish were chasing fish near and on the surface so these fish were the most active and I keyed in on the most active fish by throwing a surface bait, that bait at the time was a buzz bait I had already tied on, it was not the most productive bait for large fish but it did land me a couple of fish, actually 7 to be exact, ranging in 2 to 2 1/2 lbs. This got me to thinking again, where were the bigger fish in the school? After doing this on a couple of trips, I watched my sonar as fish broke the surface all around me, the bigger fish were still under these groups of bait fish, this time I had a super fluke tied on, I had it on a keel weighted hook to get down under the group of bait fish, and wham!! I had two nice fish to show for my efforts, one four pounder and one three pounder, since then I have done quite a bit of this type of fishing when I get into situations just like this one, since then I have learned that a large flutter spoon works even better in most cases by ripping it upward as the spoon reaches the bottom of the bait fish, I have found that this causes the bait fish to scatter and the spoon falling down under the bait will trigger a strike. Since then I still do not have "Pattern" fishing down pact but I have found that if you take the time to think you can be more successful on the water taking advantage of things like this. When you choose a bait, even if it's an expencive bait, your going to find that it does not work all the time, but what you will find is that it will work when the time is right if you keep trying, fishing "Patterns" will help you choose the right bait, it's up to you to use patience and excersize that brain you have to figure out these things. Fish move slow in the winter, we all know that, bait presentations must match the bait fish and their speed, if you have ever been cold yourself, you know how hard it gets to move around, think about the bait fish in cold water, shad for example start to die in 40 degree water, their movements are so lathargic, thats why suspending jerk baits are so vital in cold weather, as long as you can get them where the bass are you will/can be successful, jigs are awesome cold water bass baits, but you really have to get them where the bass are so if they are on the bottom then you need a bottom presentation, or something they can easily access, for me, thats a jig, if they are up in the water under the bait fish or getting ready for spawn, then a slow moving bait or suspending bait, match the bait fish as close as you can, "Pattern" yourself as if you would pattern a fish, allow yourself to be open minded and willing to adapt to changes. The time you spend patterning the fish will be worth it to you in the long run, experiment, explore, ask questions, but most of all, take the time on the water to find the fish first and see what they are doing and use your baits accordingly. Good luck and be safe !!!

To All, If you want to be a part of this, make your votes and make them ASAP, the last day of December at midnight will be it, NO MORE VOTES will be counted after that. This has been my experience from the last meet and greet. I have made several friends from this and a lot of memories, I have learned so much from all of these people and I look forward to learning more and sharing more in the future. Each one of these places will get eliminated as we progress through the years, don't miss out on your chance to fish Va. with us and meet some of the most awesome people on this site !!!

You have not voted yet Shimmy, if you want it to be there then every vote will count, it's tight between two with others gaining ground !!! As for a tourny, we can make a tournament out of it BUT it can be for fun only !!! This event is an opportunity for those who otherwise do not have the chance to get out there and fish the way that we do, it's a teaching/learning process for all of us, plus it's a great opportunity to make some really great friends and have as much fun as we can. We look forward to meeting you Shimmy if you wish to join in !!!

I saw no mention of steel toed work boots....Sammy...you had better start getting your act together christmas is almost here !! Does excessive reindeer pee require the use of spill mats?

I did remember, I know it's amazing right LOL !!!!