vaparrothead

Today at about 3pm caught this 6 lb hog. I think he's old and on his last hours. Didn't fight hard coming in; felt more like a log or big turtle until he jumped once. As I let him go he didn't splash going away; just sat there for a few seconds and slowly swam away. Second largest LM I've caught and the biggest by myself (biggest was with guide at Lake Anna)

Does anybody have a Hobie Kayak; the one with the pedals? Seems like a great idea; I've looked at a few websites and they are somewhat expensive (compared to other kayaks). Any opinions on them? I seem to recall seeing one that folded up; anybody know about that one Thanks for any input

Thanks to everyone for the replies. Slight difference of opinion on which is better but Tungsten seems to be winning out.

Looking at getting away from lead weights; steel seems a cheap alternative but all the "rage" is tungsten weights. What are you guys opinions on steel vs. tungsten weights.

Spent a week in N. Wisconsin and caught small fish; came home and caught this 3lber from Huntsman- oh well

Went out today with a new guide (Chris Craft, great guy) and managed to land a new PB at just over 7 pounds!! She hit a buzzbait early this morning and now she's back in the water chasing shad. Unfortunately she was just short of a citation but can't complain (too much). Caught 3 others over 12 inches but nothing else like her.

Isn't one of the purposes of this site to share information? Also I generally find it not crowded, occassionally one or two other fishermen but never seen five at a time. Caught it from shore with an *** plastic worm (4 in, pumpkinseed)

Spent an hour with no luck and then... wham this beauty 3lbs 9oz. Not bad from Lake Mercer

Here's two I caught; each one just over a pound. One at Huntsman and the other at Mercer.

Nailed this 3lber about 4pm today, lost one that size or bigger. Got it on a hard jerk bait.

Thanks to the three fellow NVA fishermen who resoponded. I'll sure and contact you when the weather finally settles down and we'll take the "yacht" out for a spin.

Long story short; my fishing buddy moved to Blue Ridge; I've got a 9.5 ft bass pond boat that works well on Burke, the Rez, Beaverdam Creek Res, Lake Brittle, etc. Looking for new fishing buddy; need help loading/unloading boat into back of my minivan. Can fish most weekends; no cost to buddy. Have all required equpment even life jackets. I'm 56 years young; trying to be a better fisherman each year, work as government contractor and retired military (around here who isn't?). Have dry sense of humor. Married with two grown kids; both gone from home. My house is at the Springfield/Burke line just off the Parkway close to Giant/Huntsman. If you think you can put up with me, send PM and we'll see if we get along. Ron

Well I'd like to thank everyone who replied. Based on what I've read in the replies my thinking was on track and most of you feel the rule is unfair to non-boaters.

J Francho: This was a rule before I joined the club; tried to get it changed but couldn't get it past the Executive Committee. The issue was the same as Bass Brat brought up; wear and tear on the boat. Well I agree with you; if you bought a boat to make money on it then you bought it for all the wrong reasons. I'm all for paying my "fair share" of expenses that I wouldn't have if I wasn't fishing with a boater. I'm always willing to pay ramp fees and half the gas and little extra for oil and wear and tear but to pay half the boaters transportation fees seems excessive. As I said in my original post most members didn't use this rule (I think alot of them didn't know it exists) but there were a few who I felt took advantage of this.

I resigned from a club (name withheld) because of the following rule (copied directly from website): Tournament costs are to be borne by each participant and are divided as follows: (a) Fifty percent of transportation costs for the tow vehicle, to and from the tournament site, even though the partners may not ride together. This shall include gasoline, oil, tolls, etc. ( Fifty percent of cost of operation of the boat. This shall include gasoline, oil, ramp fees, parking, etc. As a non-boater I'm perfectly fine with rule ( I should be expected to pay 50% of the operation of the boat but rule (a) really irks me. Why should I pay for 50% of the transportation costs of the tow vehicle if I don't ride with him? I agree I should pay 50% or an amount agreed to if I ride with the boater but if I'm paying $15 for gas to get to a tournment and now I pay the boater $10 (half of his cost because the tow vehicle costs more to operate) so now I've paid $25 to get the tournment and he's only paid $10. Most of the club members didn't use this rule but there were a few that did and it really ticked me off. What are your thoughts?

Caught today about 4:45pm on 5" PumpkinSeed worm. Was about to give up; went about an hour with nothing and then this hog plus 2 other small ones. All in all a good day

Yep; got him about 8:30am

Not huge but a nice top water from Mercer on Saturday. Was one crank away from pulling the lure out of the water. Don't know if he was following or just happened to be right next to me.

Just got back from Mercer; my original email was going to say 3 small (very small) bass and one bluegill but will amend that to 3 small bass, one 3lb bass and one bluegill. Fishing the dam side and saw baitfish busting near shore; threw a green pumpkinseed *** worm (5 inch) and wham. Of course he managed to swallow it. Looked down saw hook sticking out of (I think) his gullet. Almost ripped it out and then remembered the technique where you pull the line out through their gills and rotate the hook up. Well guess what sports fans, it really works. Hook didn't pop out but completely turned around and pulled out easily with needle nose and no blood. Felt good to turn him loose. Had local guy go by in the float tube; he showed me 3-4 bass (one at least 5lbs) he had on stinger. Nohting illegal about keeping them but if we keep taking them out then somebody is going to catch the last one. I don't think VA DNR stocks Mercer, does anybody know for sure.

Current reports say water is high, which is expected but seems to be falling so here's hoping you'll be OK. Make sure you post report after you get back.

Right now water levels are the highest I've seen them in years!! Hopefully there will be a drought of some type that will bring the water down to acceptable levels. Make sure you post how you did when you get back.

OK; that's one thing that makes America great; we can go where we want with who we want. Are you going this year? I'm taking a year off and plan on going next year with my son.

RedLiner: I looked at Rio ***** lodge; too big for me. If I wanna fish with 40 other folks all I gotta do is head for the Potomac. I want to get away from as many folks as I can that's why I pick an outfitter who takes 10-12 max. And yes I asked about the small lodge but they didn't have enough folks to open it when I could go.

Which outfitter do you use? I'm going to skip this year but plan on November of 2010; taking my son (hopefully).

What outfitter did you use; where did you go and did you have any luck?