Bigbarge50

Been tough way up north around DC ...... last weeks cold front, with the one the week before, has thrown off a lot of smaller waters. Think we are close to some great action.... about a week or two probably. Seems like you guys south are doing great, can not wait for some of that to move up our way soon.

Hey guys I am a regular in the South forum as a Virginia guy....Arlington area..... but I have been dating a girl up in Takoma park MD so now when I want to run out and fish, I am often up above DC in md. She likes to walk along the canal at that small park at lock #21 right at the end of swain park road. Well we go to walk so I bring some spinning gear and poof she is hooked. The last two weeks we have gone out.... in the freezing rain and had not luck in that section. Not sure if the fact the water has just risen from super low and two bad cold fronts made the fish lock their lips, but I am also not familiar with this "body" of water. I know the C and O is loaded with all sorts of species, but is that area not great? My knowledge of fishing the canal is small bass and carp in Georgetown..... and I am a total river noob..... I have typically fished Roaches Run and Pohick bay on the river so they fish in many ways more like a lake with tides as opposed to the much faster waters of the river up there. Anyone have any knowledge of this part of the canal? Have i just hit some bad circumstances or do I need to hit another part of the canal? This VA fisherman says thanks in advance and if anyone wants to message me about NOVA fishing feel free.

Yeah no Peter Thliveros at the MD BPS, just crappie madness local pros....If I drove down to BPS in Richmond VA it was also crappie madness but with Ralph Riley. Not quite when I spent the better part of the afternoon with Tim Horton at BPS.

I think it is the "premium" lure companies effect.... When Lucky Craft rose, then megabass, and now Livingstone.... If people will pay 15 bucks for what is essentially a medium running crank bait.... why would these other companies not raise prices. Bandit has risen in price.... but seemingly almost every hard bait has jumped at least a buck or two in price. I would love to blame them but when bomber model A's catch almost as well if not just as good as a lucky craft crank.... why would you not raise to almost the same price if you feel your product is nearly as good. (I own a lot of bombers and A LOT of lucky craft)

Seems like just a few years back they were getting top level pro's to do seminars that were great because you could get lots of access to these guys and ask real questions and get real answers. Now they have some local guys... which nothing against them, but I think shows a lack of effort towards the event. The vendors were also always great to talk to but now are nowhere to be seen. The deals.... well outside of the Yum stuff, not much caught my eye. I am curious... I thought the purpose of "Big Box" stores was they could deliver cheaper prices because of the sheer volume they handle.... yet BPS is not really providing the value.... Think it is just trying to gouge people or is it because they have their own product lines that other, non-BPS stuff is not really a good value?

I am not much help in the spoon department..... but those are two good looking jitterbugs, especially the yellow one. As you said the thin fin is great, especially if it is an old one. A baby torpedo and a small bomber model A in that baby bass color have produced huge numbers back up in NY. Great pick up and good luck with the spoons.

I run a Lowrance downscan that is a few years old.... and it has been very underwhelming to be frank. I also will have my next unit will have sidescan, cause I think that would be something that will really make a difference in my fishing.... otherwise weather sonar or downscan, you are just going to see interesting stuff down there, drop a buoy and throw to it.... not sure you need a high priced unit for that.

Been a little MIA on here lately and late to the expo party discussion this year but I really like this years expo...... but I go with a different approach..... I spend most of my time in the seminars with a notebook and do very little shopping..... There are some great deals but I really want to try to learn some little tips and ideas that can make my fishing a little better. I was there from start to finish basically on the Saturday and really thought Crews and Nixon had some good info to share, especially as Crews was a more local guy. Swindle was very funny. Looking forward to catching up with a lot of guys on here . Been stuck on the shore beating the banks of the tidal basin in DC and some of the smaller lakes in Northern VA for a while.... but I plan on being back in a boat for the spring.

I would say a key is the sales that will be approaching with spring and the kick off of the pro fishing season. Many websites have HUGE deals that you can stock up on. I would also look to see what new reel models are out, then look for the previous years models, they usually get a massive price drop because they added a bearing or made the handle grey instead of black. I would also recommend befriending other fishermen. We fishing guys can be the most generous guys you meet and many will toss you some plastics to try out, I know I do. A quick tackle trade is a great way to try out something new without having to buy it.

Arlington , VA

It can be a little flea market-ish but I make sure to talk to the vendors and see what they are selling lots of and colors and such. With that and the speakers, get a lot of info. Think it beats most other type of expos I have been at, which the info is real blah with no pros

I thought it was a beaver when I first saw the pick

I will be there friday night or sunday afternoon...... or both

There is my seamax ocean. Aluminum floor so can stand in it all day and has never been punctured since 2008. Run a 55lb thrust and a downscan on it. Could go 15 hp outboard if wanted. Can go inflatable without it being a toy.

Oh those two originally mention..... the Yum Like most I am a RI beaver guy..... I never liked beavers till I used them. The kinky beaver in california 420 was killer for me last year

Would love to do this..... my involvement in football takes most of august through the fall out of the equation.

As always Wayne's knowledge of electronics blows me away. Reading your posts is so informative when it comes to how these units work. These companies should pay you to write the manuals.

I am going to throw this out there..... I own only one Koppers crank ( a bunch of frogs and the mouse though) and in my experience while the paint job is awesome (not one of these new ones) the action left a lot to be desired..... did not seem to do much While the detail impresses me, the action would seem far more important because a fish could not see that much detail with a lure moving by while it shakes around with it's action..... I have not picked up more Koppers cranks because a norman, bomber, and bandit all have had better action for me and I can get two for the price of one koppers. Does anyone think I am off about this? Maybe I got a bad lure?

Hey all, Been a little MIA on here for a bit, and a lot of new faces posting about NOVA...which is great. The heat has been brutal so night and early morning seems to be the only chance to get bit..... Myself and some friends have had some luck in the early mornings with shallow cranks and square bills before direct sunlight hits the water. Once it does, seems they run deep and I am nowhere near good enough with a drop shot to sit out in the deep holes and see if I can wait out a fish to bite. Hopefully this cooling trend keeps up..... nights in the 70's beat an overnight low of 90 always

Must be the year for that outdoorsman...... same here. You ever want to catch some bass and look for the answers to women issues in the bottom of some beer bottles, drop me a PM.... I am in Arlington

I love how you always call it "THE historic james".... sounds so regal hahaha

I was right with RW till the end when her said they are for people who don't fish, and I almost never disagree with RW. As we discussed Woo Davies used a spincaster for certain situations and he certainly seemed to do a lot fishing. I agree completely that using lots of equipment is a key and to me is a ton of fun. I own about 12 baitcasters (Diawa, Quantum, Shimano, BPS), 4 spinning (Shimano, Quantum, BPS), and 3 spincasters (Diawa, Lews, and Johnson). I love just about all of em and think they all have their time and place and all do not make every trip, but when they do, I enjoy fishing them.

Traveler is Ken good? His prices seemed a little on the steep side.

I have a plano box of those still from my mother, bless her heart, thought it was a good buy for me one Christmas when I was a teenager. I still have the vhs tape with roland martin on the cover selling those things like they were the next coming...... oh Roland, how could you. It would seem some guys have checked out and are selling and other guys are really out there and sharing some with what they are using. I also do not think we can be mad a pros for not revealing everything. We all get very "pm" oriented on here when discussing spots and lures on our favorite spots...... I do not because I do not like to share with those who also share, but because there are a lot of guys who do not respect our resources the same way and troll on here without posting themselves. The pros are basically doing the same thing, I mean look at the alabama rig explosion.

if you type Potomac river into the search feature on here there will literally be a libraries worth of info on the river on here.