Sam

Shouldn't you be studying and waiting hand and foot on your wife in lieu of screwing around on the Forum????

Richmond Bassmasters takes nonboaters. Meetings on 4th Wednesday at 7PM at Debby's Diner on Mountain Road. 8 tournaments plus an open tournament. Can fish the BASS Region 3&6 tournaments if you can find a partner. Club tournaments are set up on a "partner" basis and each guy in the boat gets the same number of points no matter who catches them. Financials: $45 club dues; $65 state and national BASS dues; $6 optional big fish pot; amount you pay the boater is between you and the boater; $5 per tournament into Club's pot for the Club; optional tournament and big fish pot if you want to get into for each tournament. Fishing the Historic James, Buggs, Gaston, Chesdin, Chick, Rapp, Mattaponi, and a two day on Smith Mountain Lake this year. PM me if you are interested and I can answer your questions. Come and join us. Great bunch of guys. You will learn a lot, too!!!!

Avid, get the 2018 Freshwater Fishing in Virginia free booklet and look at the locations that list the types of species found in their water. Page 39 has a list of the places that have Chain Pickerel. Page 21 tells you how many you can keep on any one day. Page 43 starts a list of locations that hold Chain Pickerel throughout the state. You can get your free copy at Dick's, BPS, Cabela's or Green Top. Good luck.

Shad colors

Tim Horton told this story on his Facebook page. It is a very troubling story and I am very grateful Tim's family is OK. Prayers go out to the other family. Terrible experience that I hope no one on the Forum has to go through. Timmy Horton Outdoors Before I went to bed Saturday night, Leah and I had one of our good talks about life. We discussed finding the positive in tough situations. Little did we know that in just a few hours our world would be shook like it never had before. Leah, my youngest daughter and I have a much different relationship than most Father/Daughter relationships. We have been this way since Leah was about three....really more like best friends than father/daughter, It’s just one of those things that is hard to explain. Lauren, my oldest daughter, and I also have the same closeness, she will come into my room where I’m working and just sit and talk...not the norm for a busy, soon to be 18 year old. The two are very different. Lauren is much more independent, and....well...a good bit more responsible...in which, Leah would whole heartedly agree with. The last six months or so has been overwhelming at work to say the least, and this time of year I try to take advantage of every opportunity to be at home that I can. I had worked all day Saturday in Guntersville and had an opportunity for one more evening at home before I left for the next seven days. So instead of leaving Guntersville for Lake Martin, I decided to drive back across the state to see the family one last night before hitting the road. It was a wonderful evening, Kim had cooked a big pot of beef stew and all the kids were there. Lauren came down and visited a while and said she was going to spend the night at her friends house afterwards. Lauren is about to turn 18 in a few weeks and has probably asked to spend the night away from home on two other occasion this entire year....never breaks curfew, and doesn’t ask to push things as a lot of teenagers do. I told her that was fine but to be careful and keep me posted. She gave me her “Lauren hug” as we call it, told me she loved me, and left for the night. After Leah and I solved all the worlds problems, I went downstairs where Kim was packing my bags for the next week ahead. We got everything done, enjoyed some laughs and went to sleep. What was to come was as fiercely traumatic as anything I have ever had happened. We were suddenly awaken a few hours later to a constant doorbell ringing. Before my feet hit the floor my first thoughts were Lauren. I raced to the door and saw flashlights outside the door. When I opened the door the flashlights shut off. Two police officers were looking at me, I said “where is Lauren” they said. “We need to come in and talk please” I said again, “Tell me where Lauren is” they said “We need to come in and sit down and talk with you.” The look on their face was so absolute. At this very moment there was zero doubt in my mind why they were there. I understand there is a protocol and this task is impossible anyway, but I so wish I would have been asked my name when the door opened. By this time, Leah is looking down from her room in shock, and Kim has met me at the door. I ask one more time in the foyer and they say can we go inside to talk. Kim and I go to our room to quickly get dressed. At this time my senses had all gone blank, I couldn’t hear, everything was echoed and as if it was being said in a barrel from hundreds of feet away. I couldn’t get my legs raised to get my jeans on as I started to shake uncontrollably. Kim and I went into the den where the two officers were staring at us with their hats clinched in their hands. I have never seen such empathy in someone’s face. My mind was racing a hundred miles an hour trying someway to fix an unfixable situation....thinking of a way not to be told what I was about to hear. After what seemed like an eternity of silence one of the officers asked for my name. I couldn’t speak but somehow got my name out, the officer then asked Kim her name. As Kim said her name the officers turned and stared at each other. Kim collapsed to the floor, as if her legs were knocked out from under her. I was paralyzed and couldn’t even move to help her up, I couldn’t speak I couldn’t look up I was in complete shock. My body just shook uncontrollably. I have heard folks say “you can’t explain it” there are no words, no expression....that type of pain, emptiness, and helplessness doesn’t have an explanation. After what seemed like an eternity, the officers then realized they were speaking to the wrong parents. The vehicle license plate from the accident was registered to the family that lived there prior to us buying the house, and it still had that address. All of what happened next was a blur. I immediately called Lauren and talked to her as best I could. I couldn’t gather myself from crying. Over the next several hours I was crushed for the other family and what they were about to go through and will continue to go through, the officers, who had to gather themselves and go to another home and do that again. All my friends with whom I have grieved with over the years and now feeling guilty myself for never truly understanding their pain. It has now been 2 days and I still have not rested. That night, and a family I have never known will be a part of our life forever. I hurt for them and what they continue to endure. Kim and I have prayed for them earnestly since that night. I don’t know how or in what way to say anything of comfort to those who have lost a child. Kim told me the next morning, she could never survive anything like that again, I told her the only way is through Faith in God. That night, I stared at the ceiling til the sun came up. I thought of the Isbell’s, the Short family, the Strickland’s, my Grandparents, and so many that have went through that moment, and for them...the moment continued. No mistake. But a next...a next breath, then somehow taking another one, then another, that continued through each passing second that feels like years. Please pray for the family that lost their son, and all those who have lost a child. Those that find the strength to carry on and honor their child through their life....that is strength...a strength that can only be explained through Faith.

Jkt, I have fished those ponds and caught only dinks. There were no fishing signs but no one bothered me. Remember, if you don't ask and do it they will run you off. If you ask and are told no and then do it you are in trouble. Just words for the wise.

You will have to drive to a few places to find pads and grass as I doubt you will find them in the greater Midlo area. The pond by St. Michael's upper school may have grass and pads. Look it up on the Internet so you can find it off Traylor Road in Bon Air. Used to be called Winston Lake. No idea if there is a place for you to launch a kayak but you can fish from the bank. Go into Powhatan County for its three lakes. Very good fishing. Think about the Amelia Wildlife area lake, too. Big lunkers in both. Put in at Whipponock Creek Campground or Seven Springs on Lake Chesdin or the Route 5 ramp (Gordon Creek) on the Chickahominy River. Lots of grass and pads available from these two places for a kayak. You can also put in on Morris Creek and hit the pads and grass in that creek. Whipponock Creek has pads and grass and you can paddle into the lake and fish the shoreline towards the dam. You can put in at Roc-A-Hock Campground on the Chick River by the dam and fish the grass and pads in that area. Lots of Florida Strain lunkers in this area but the tournament guys will hit the area all day long. So get an early start if you fish out of Rock-A-Hock and go on a weekday when boat traffic will not be so severe. Wait for the summer and go to Ed. Allen's or Eagle's Landing on the Chick Lake. Plenty of grass and pads during the summer months. Hit Lacy and Johnson creeks. Not a lot of pads or grass from Watkins Landing on the Historic James River in either direction but you can join the other kayakers and float the river. Have you considered the lake off Midlothian Turnpike on Southlake and Trade roads? No idea if you can get a kayak into that lake or how much grass and pads are in that lake. Look it up on Google so you will see where it is located. Try to find a 2018 Freshwater Fishing in Virginia free booklet and note the places you can use your kayak. Be sure to get GMCO maps of the rivers and lakes (Green Top or BPS) you want to fish so you can find the ramps. Otherwise, unless you use WAZE on your iPhone you will not find the ramps, easily. And drive over to the church on Providence Road and look at that pond. Have not fished it in years so I have no idea if the grass and pads are still there. Let us what you find out and give us the details of what you caught.

No. No lunkers. But you got to take what you can get. Give it a try and see what happens. Do you have any watercraft you can use to go to other locations?

Many years ago I fished a pond behind either Providence Methodist Church or Bethany Place Baptist Church on South Providence Road. The pond was covered with grass, pads and matts. I think it may be Providence Methodist Church. You park along the rear parking lot and walk through the woods to the pond. Check it out on Google Earth: just south of Providence Middle School and athletic fields. You may want to call the church office to find out if the pond is still there and if it is OK if you fish it. As far as I remember no one bothered me or cared I was there. I don't think they filled it in. Let me know what you find out. Good luck.

Fantastic! Outstanding! Great! Super! Wonderful! Congrats. You did good. All I can say is Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Zoom Baby Brush Hog with a 1/2 to 1-ounce sinker to throw into the thickest part of the mat as possible.

Congress

Direct. I do not want any "extra" weight on the nose of the Pop-R.

Welcome. The bass looks at least 12 pounds!!!!!

Welcome. Wonderful that you will have the "Piled Higher and Deeper" degree and having plans to be a medical doctor. Keep us posted on your fishing and as your questions. No defense is necessary on the Forum.

Visit Louisiana...come as you are and leave different!!!! One day you have to go to the Mardi Gras.

Glad you are with us. Welcome.

Thanks, Logan. May try my hand at making some. They can be shaken off by the bass in the well.

Great idea. Thanks for sharing. Can you give us the details on the materials used and the length of the strap.

Sorry to read you injured your rotator cuff. Major injury that needs to be properly healed or you will continue to have problems. Reading and watching bass fishing DVDs is a great way to expand your knowledge. As they say at the dog training academy, "HEAL!!!!!"

Welcome. Be sure to fill us in on your tournament activities and results.

Wacky.

Lake Gaston.

You two did great! I know you would make the cut if you fished the third day. Keep the faith!!!! Great story. Thanks for sharing.