Bigbarge50

Thanks..... I thought that was starting to get into smallie territory up that way........ Not sure exactly where it started, most people I have heard talk about the "upper" potomac more up by md.

Roosevelt island? You don't say. I never thought about trying to fish up and around the area up there....... I never really hear of guys fishing much north of the Pentagon Lagoon (not that I am some Potomac expert, far from it). Anyone every hit it up there from a boat or yak? That is DC license territory if on the water right? Anyone ever hit up the key bridge then, seeing it is just up river? I would def be interested in getting the inflatable out there if guys thought it was worth it.

Great info guys...... Glenn..... those videos made me want to jump up from work here (lunch time haha) and hit the water this second. I know a lot of people catch em on black and white....... I have had a lot of luck with frogs and it has always been a green frog. I tend to stay natural (I have not frogged at night though, so would think black for sure then) I have always loved the original snag proof frog....... been great to me over the years. My most successful frog The moss master I have had forever, and not as good to me as the original. Do not love how the hooks sit on the frog. Just got this one.....I see so many brown toads around the water's edges that I figured it was time to go with a brown one, and spro is the brand to go with right? Walking the dog is very easy. So now go make my own video right? haha.

Think you got a tough call there. I agree that you "need to let this fish tell you" but I think we all have had a day where we throw and throw with the same color and produce nothing...... and then out of nowhere..... bang.... good fish. Impossible to know if the fish finally got tired of seeing it, wasn't seeing it, or just wasn't there. Be great if the fish, after getting caught could just tell you why he did what he did hahaha. Then we would all be much better fishermen. I tend to like darker colors in murkier water too, yet that might have more to do with my ideas, then what the fish has in mind. Red flake has always been good to me too. I like flakes in every color. You using a rattle at all? Maybe that could help draw some attention in the weeds?

Clayton I think that is a great idea. When I lived in NY, I used that technique a lot. The water I was fishing was very clear, so once the sun got up over the trees, those deep humps were the places to go. I used two different techniques. I would go with a long cast well past the hump and kind of bounce it along the bottom like you would a jig, but with less pause and bigger hops. I also would cast to the hump, making sure to let out some extra line so it sank straight and not back towards me. I would let it fall and settle, pause, then rip it up hard on a short jerk, then fall and pause again. Both ideas did rather well. Needless to say, I did hang up some.... on rocks not weeds (cause there wasn't any). The first technique I found fish typically followed the lure, sometimes for some distance, then strike. The second technique.... the initial fall or two drew the strike. I always used a silver rattle trap doing this, or an old berkley version that had a soft tail. How are the water temps up there...... little too hot for much of anything down in VA

Either Jig or spinnerbait....... both could cover just about all situations..... Held me to the fire on it..... Jig

I was totally planning on making the trip from nothern VA and seeing if I could join in on the central VA fun..... Alas I am stuck working...... buzzkill Hope everyone has a good day out on the water and learns something from the day, even if it is just a new guy to fish with.

In my opinion...... and it is just that...... don't feel too pressured to go too high end on the cranks. One of my most productive lures of all time is the bomber model A in Tennessee Shad...... I change out the hooks and that thing does the rest. I typically go with a 2-5/8th's and will both go deeper or bounce hard off the bottom in shallower water. My father caught literally hundreds (maybe over a thousand) lifetime on a bomber model A 2 1/8th model in the baby spotted bass color. I have never had his luck on it, but done ok with it. I also loose more cranks than any other lure..... so price can be a factor. Now you would find a solid handful of lucky craft, bandit, and norman brand cranks in my box (been getting a lot more heavy on the lucky craft ones) but I still love my Bomber model A's. When it comes to lipless, I have a few brands, but the rattle trap is the one for me. In chrome silver black has always been really good. I have lost nearly every red eye shad I have bought..... even with a new lure retriever. Strike King is making a fortune off me, because I have been hell bent on catching one on it...... still no fish, but I can say with certainty there are 4 red eye shads stuck in underwater structure in burke lake alone.

Sorry to disagree Steve...... but your picture said she was big for where you are at......... she is big for ANYWHERE. NIce catch, great work.

Has anyone here in the greater DC area taken any snakeheads this year? Have not been the hot topic they have been in the past it seems, and those reports seem to tell a positive tale. Just curious if anyone has caught some this year?

Deep.......... Any link to the ebay page on these shakey heads? You like the 3/16 obviously..... feel it is too light or just right?

At the richmond fishing expo...... it is one of the gmco (i think that is the company name), you can get it online I believe. It is really good and used it mainly in the lower part, but it is great for showing where the channel is. Yesterday was nothing to write home about ; low numbers and size. The shallow structure looked so good and I stayed way too shallow. Water was 89 to 86..... Also there were a lot of people around who seemingly did not buy a key.... not sure how they got there.

I got my key in the spring, but will finally be using it today after I get outta work. Can let you know how it goes. I have a great map of the RES and I think the fishing out of there and a little south looks like it could be great.

So went to huntsman yesterday afternoon into the evening. Did ok with some small ones, and a really gorgeous 2.5 lb'er. Was just a great color, a really good looking, healthy fish. I lost one that my best guess was 5lbs +. Got it all the way to the boat, but when I went to lip it he made one last run and went under the boat and broke my line. If anyone catches a very nice fish with a money craw still in it's lip, that was him. The line I was using btw was berkley vanish...... which I know has a very mixed opinion on the boards. Really wish I could have gotten him in the boat and on the scale. because he was a rather large fish, not very long, but looked like a log..... just solid and round the whole way down. Would definitely have vastly improved my pathetic VA personal best. Water was 89-86 and was it's usual stained, though not too bad.

Nice work, think that qualifies as a lot better than "decent"

I have seen two ways guys have gotten a jon boat on there. 1)- Some guys live right there so they literally dragged the boat down to the water through their own backyard...... assume that does not help. 2)- Two guys brought it down the first entrance area with a cart. Think the gate was locked then so had to lift it over the gate, but they definitely used a boat cart to go down the rest of the way. Hope that helps.

Nice work, going to attempt to get the boat out there this week. Wanna work the stumps from the middle, instead of the shore.

Nice work..... that is some nice huntsman bass, and the biggest looks like a pretty short fattie.....

Very Deep? I have never read a depth of over 13ft or so on huntsman...... I am looking forward to the pictures. I have been a little scared of fishing huntsman with the heat wave because of that lack of deep water....... Correct me if I am wrong, there is only a rather small pocket about 50 yards long where the water is double digit deep (again from what I have been able to tell from my downscan). I also wanted to go to huntsman for this reason...... because then I would know pretty much exactly where they would be. After getting blanked the last time I went there (I stopped to "look" while on my way to mercer where I had been doing real well) I was a little down the lake. My VA pb is from huntsman..... so some decent ones in there.

Are the walleye really active at all in the summer? Or is it too hot? Speaking of hot.... pushed my luck and went to Burke again (again mainly because I can stay out after dark) and the water temp was consistently 90..... and in some places 91. I know I was baking in the sun, the fish might have been doing the same. No luck this time around.

Thanks wayne..... that is a great post and a really good idea.

haha fish debate....awesome. Dan I thought rock bass too...... but It was sooooo yellow and no red eye. I have never caught a rock bass down here in VA..... caught them constantly in ny. I mean every time I fished in ny for bass with minnows or shiners, you were guaranteed that the rock bass were going to whack it and get their share. That would make sense too because they were always so aggressive. I did not think the shape was right for a yellow perch..... but I have never caught one. I thought they were far more narrow and less flat..... But here was this very yellow fish staring me in the face. So I figured...maybe yellow perch. After doing some research (sorry boss haha) I thought green sunfish too, but then the fins on top look off..... So then I went back to Rock bass. Then read about a Warmouth (do not think that). Now I wish I took a second picture. I am leaning Rock bass, but the color and lack of red eye make me doubt it and think green sunfish. Either way it is great to catch something new and greta to have guys on here be able to talk about it. I must say it is really interested to see one so yellow and with a pattern like that. I might have to bust out the strike king chartrues and black crank bait a lot more whenever I go to burke again. Either that or my new lucky craft bluegill looking one. I forget to say the water temps on burke were all low to mid 80's...... so while I was catching them shallow I am sure the bigger boys were deeper and cooler (and probably locked jawed because it was burke). No complaints though, was a fun day.

Call me stupid..... why could VA, MD, and DC not all make one universal license you could buy that would cover you. Call it a potomac license or something? Encouraging anglers to use all the areas resources would seem like a good thing.

VAparot I am amazed I have not bumped into you these last two weeks. I have been land locked and been hitting mercer a lot lately, with consistent catches of 5 fish. One ended up just shy of 3lbs.... and went right back in amongst the stumps he tried to wrap himself in. You mentioned burke, was just out on it yesterday to test the boat's repairs out on....... best day I have ever had on it. 6 bass and one yellow perch. I threw every technique at them (drops shot, cranks, spinner, carolina rig, ..ect) but all came on a boohya buzzbait..... which i must highly recomend (lost my second calvitron on a cast break off..... not sure why that keeps happening) This guy was an ounce shy of 3lbs but was only just over 14 inches.... This was a very ambitious perch...... was barely as big as the buzz bait.

Not bad? Think that would qualify as tearing it up.