Sam

Ontario, Canada!!!! Its cold in Ontario, Canada. Now to your question: First, you have to have a special place for your hockey pucks. They will bring you good luck, especially the Flyers' pucks. Second, you need a strap to carry your hockey stick in case a hockey game breaks out while you are fishing. Third, can you go to the Introductions area and introduce yourself so we will have a better idea of how to respond to your future queries. What about setting up your tackle box? Read the guys' posts and do what they say. All I can add is to be sure to bring a pair of needle nose pliers to remove the hooks. You will also need a 'cutter' for cutting your line, including one that cuts braid, when retying your baits and hooks. And a safe and dry place for your cell phone. Now go out there and take some bass out with a high check. If anyone mentions it just tell them what they say in Montreal: "I am sorry and I won't do it again." Seems to work for the Canadians in their games.

JK, I just remembered the place in Goochland that has a beautiful pond that you can fish. $75 for the canoe and I think $100 or $125 for the bass boat with the trolling motor. I visited the place and may go to it later this summer to try to catch one or two of their lunkers. PM me if you want their name so you can look it up on the Internet. P.S. Not to rain on your parade, but farmers do not like people fishing their ponds. People leave trash behind; kill the fish; and the liability exposure is way too much for anyone who lets unknown people use their ponds. An individual could fall in and drown; go swimming and get into trouble; fall out of their boat without a PFD; damage the bank releasing and loading their boats off their trailers; have a problem with bugs and snakes and larger animals attracted to the trash; have an allergic reaction to a bug bite and not have the right medicine on hand; have a medical problem and getting sued for not having emergency phones by the pond to call for help; and messing up the pond for the cows. Just offering a real world view for your consideration.

Fish, let me add my two cents. Thanks. You don't have to fish to be in the fishing industry. So you don't have to try to start a pond or lake fishing service, although you may be able to pull it off. Check out the vendors at the Bassmaster Classic for ideas on the products and services offered to support our fishing habits. You will note so many businesses you can write about starting, including the products and services you want to offer and sell, necessary start up capital and where to secure it, rental space needed and the square foot cost, furniture and fixtures, improvements and betterments to the rental space, shelving for products, number of employees needed, employee training, cash register and inventory systems, health insurance, taxes, overhead, expected shoplifting losses, sales to include "loss leaders" to get people into your store, the ages of your patrons, property-casualty insurance costs, alarm systems, telephone systems, CPA fees for filing payroll and annual taxes, city/county personal property taxes, any vehicles needed for delivery, any bass boats needed for advertising, entertaining investors and manufacturer reps, the benefits of being an LLC vs. an S Corporation, and the list goes on. Whatever you decide to do, don't forget the overhead listed above. Especially the taxes. The IRS loves you.

Memphis, do the following: 1. Get some Q-Tips and run the cotton around the inside of all rod line guides. If any cotton comes off onto the guide then the guide has a knick and is damaging your line. Replace it. 2. Do you get backlashes? Fluorocarbon line can be damaged when working to take out a backlash. No matter how careful you are you can still damage the line pulling on it to get that backlash out. 3. Structure? If you are throwing your fluorocarbon line into wood or rocks the line can get damaged and you will never know it. Flouro is a good line but it can get damaged in blowdowns, trees, piers, docks and boathouses. So here is what you do: After about six or seven casts, run the line off the rod tip to the bait between your thumbnail and index finger to check for any knicks, cuts, abrasions, or anything that does not feel right. If you feel anything, cut out the line and retie your bait. And go to Gamma. It is expensive but it works. I must share a funny story with you regarding Wdycrankbait who is on the Forum but is studying for his Professional Engineer exam at this time so he won't see this. We were on the Chickahominy River and Woody wanted me to see how far he could throw his bait on his new Lew's reel. He said he could throw it a mile. So he takes the rod and puts it behind his head and he casts as hard as he can. And guess what? The line broke and his bait went flying into the wild blue yonder. I could have fallen out of the boat laughing but I controlled my self. Poor Woody. He lost one of his favorite crankbaits but he did create one of the funniest fishing stories I have been involved in a long time.

Keep ordering. And while you are at it you can order some LSU stuff, too, and wear it while fishing. Be sure to yell "Geaux Tigers" when you set the hook. Great having you with us. And you can't go wrong with Shimano.

Bass Fishing Rule 1 - You can never have enough rods. Bass Fishing Rule 2 - You can never have enough tackle. Bass Fishing Rule 3 - Keep adding to your arsenal.

Yes, 100%. The Historic James, Appomattox and Chickahominy river system can support large tournaments. We have the Northern BASS Opens from time to time and we have no problem.

Who is the Bait Monkey? Guys, we have to introduce this young man to the Bait Monkey.

Frogging - Heavy Senkos - Medium Heavy Fast Action Drop Shot - Drop Shot specific rod of your choice Spinnerbait/Chatterbait - Medium Heavy Fast Action Deep Cranking - 6:1 or 7:1 to get bait down to strike zone faster Ned Rig - ? MOJO rig - ? Carolina rig - ? Jigs - ? Remember, the Bait Monkey loves you.

See my post in Southeast Bass Fishing for Virginia clubs. Good luck. The door to Richmond Bassmasters is still open!

Now that it looks like you have everyone's input, let me add my two cents: Show different baits? - Yes. All the time. Change out unless they are hitting one specific bait or presentation. When the pattern changes, we go bonkers and start to throw lots of baits until we can figure out the new pattern. Do bass remember being caught on the same lure? - Older ones are supposed to remember. Uncle Homer Circle says that older bass would back off and hide when they heard a trolling motor. Younger ones seem not to remember anything. Natural or unique? - Depends on the pattern. Water clarity will also be your guide as to throwing natural looking lures or going for the bright yellows, pinks and blacks. Clear water you throw natural. Stained to muddy you brighten up your baits so the bass can see them after being called by the baits pulses or action. Presenting your baits. - Confidence. It boils down to confidence in your baits and techniques. I can be hard headed and not want to throw anything other than a shaky head even though I am not getting any bites. I have confidence in shaky head presentations. There are time when I will throw a buzzbait too long. Or think a RICO is the magic pill. And then throwing only a sexy shad colored crankbait and not changing the color or lip style. And I throw a 1/2 ounce jig and pig. Nothing smaller or larger. You throw what you think will work. It boils down to confidence. The answer to your question lies with the Bait Monkey. He loves you and all of us. That is why we have so many baits that it is mind-blowing. I probably can clear 150 pounds of plastics without any problem. We have no idea what will work until we get on the water but we want to be ready for the pattern of the day and hour. Now go out there in Bama land where the weather is positive for bass fishing and catch some for us up here in the north. Show us the pictures!!!!!!

Looks like you are normal. I still have dreams about the ones that got away. I can see them clearly. One jumped and threw the Chatterbait; a second gave me my KVD Squarebill back and; a third threw my yellow with blue back Bandit next to the boat. Of course, there was the one that hit my Sexy Shad crankbait on Lake Gaston and as far as I know, he is still hauling his butt to Chicago. Still can't figure out how this occurred as my line was tight with good hooksets. Hey, its fishing. Sometimes you win. And sometimes the fish win.

About time you came back. And with all that rain this year's crawfish season should be great. As for your bass fishing, give us some help: what is the water temperature and clarity? Remember, bass' behavior is controlled by the water temperature and clarity. You just keep wearing that purple and gold and yelling "Geaux Tigers" when you set that hook and sooner or later you will land your personal best.

Many years ago while fishing the Nottoway River in southern Virginia along the North Carolina boarder, I flipped my Senko into some beautiful pads. It sank, no action, so when it came close to the closest pad I tweaked it on top of the pad and let it sit. Flying out of the water came this crazy 1.5 pound bass that came right down on the pad and ate the Senko. And I nailed that sucker, too. Gave me my five fish limit. Other than that one time event, I have never seen a bass jump out of the water without being hooked. May I suggest you note what baitfish are in the water and mimic them? A Silver Buddy may be your answer. Please consider it.

Check out Central Virginia Kayak Bass Anglers and ask your question on their blog about small boat clubs. Go see the kayak dealers on this site and at BPS. I doubt Peckers' or Cabela's employees would have any idea but you can ask them. Also, if you had made it to the Richmond Fishing Expo this past January you may have found a wealth of information on small boat clubs. If you want to learn bass fishing on Virginia's lakes and rivers you may want to join the Richmond Virginia Bassmasters as they are seeking nonboaters. PM me if you want details about joining a bass fishing club.

When I get there, I walk very quietly and start casting about 10 feet from bank. To move I go about 50-feet back away from the water, or as many feet I can, to walk to new location very quietly. Remember, if you can see them they can see you.

100% correct! Thanks for the pics. And they both taste great!

If it has teeth it is a Sheepshead. No teeth it is a drum.

The ignition system is a motor problem. I know you don't want to pay to have a professional make the switch but I suggest that you have a certified Mercury shop take a look at it and correct the problem. The last thing you want is to be on the water and not be able to start your big motor.

VA, I thought I had posted earlier today but for some reason my post is not here. Richmond Virginia Bassmasters is seeking boaters and nonboaters. We fish out of bass boats and have 8 tournaments plus one open this year. You will learn the various bodies of water in Virginia; how to get to the ramps; have a club member as your "guide" for 8 hours on the water. There are financial responsibilities. If you are interested please send me a PM. We are meeting the 4th Wednesday of each month at Debbie's Kitchen on Mountain Road just north of I-295. Meetings start at 7 PM but we get there early to chew the fat and lie to each other.

Water temperature. Start at 60* and work up to 70*. If you have Dogwood trees in your area, look for them to start producing their blooms. When the Dogwoods bloom the bass are on their beds.

Josh, the Tatula is an excellent reel. If you can get to a sporting goods store that sells rods and reels, ask to put a Tatula on the rods you are considering to get a feel of the weight and performance of the combination. Not to cast, just to get a feel for the setup.

It, all brands, as stated above, are acceptable. It is going to boil down to your confidence in the braid and how much you want to pay for it. I know two pros who use Gamma Torque. Of course, they get it for free. It is excellent line. Costly, but an excellent braid. Just go with any brand you would like to try and give it a go this season. You can change to another brand if the first one you select does not meet your expectations.

Josh, to add to the above posts: get on the Internet and Google "spinnerbait rods" and see what pops up. Then, go to Tackle Warehouse and look up "spinnerbait rods" and see what they have. In today's fishing industry, you can actually find rods designed especially for spinnerbaits. So do some research, based on the input above, and see what is out there in your price category. And don't forget to check out the G. Loomis spinnerbait rods along with Ike's new rod line and Skeet Reese's spinnerbait rods. Then there are the KVD rods. Enough choices to confuse you for at least six months!!!!!

Crankbait, when a pro or a retail sales company puts its name on a product you know it has to be good. So anything BPS is acceptable. Same goes with the pros. They put their name on lots of items that they want to promote and those items should be top of the line in their price category. I love the Extreme rods. Still upset that they have been discontinued. I fish the Extremes side by side with my G. Loomis rods in tournaments. No problem. Now go out, get yourself a beautiful set up and let's get some fishing done before the ice melts and football season is upon us. Geaux Tigers!!!!!