Sam

Hey Travis, you doing well these days? Any more young ones running around? How is your dad doing? Please say "hi" t him from me. Thanks, Sam

Tom, I remember when I was growing up in south Louisiana the live shrimp on our unweighted line jumping out of the water near our bobber when a redfish or speckled trout was close to it. When this happened we waited for the cork to take off, which it always did, and we had a nice fish on the line. Interesting that a freshwater fish would do the same as a saltwater fish. Thanks for the info.

OK, so now let me get this straight. You live in a beautiful state with a bunch of great universities, cute coeds, great bar-b-q, and you go to school in New York? That could be a clue for us to include in our reaction to your query. In his book, Knowing Bass, The Scientific Approach to Catching More Fish, Dr. Keith Jones, retired director of research at Berkley, penned the following on page 52: Recently, Dr. John Caprio and his LSU Colleagues measured the nervous response of a bass to a variety of amino acids. Several were found to stimulate the gustatory and olfactory systems. The amino acids L-arginine and L-lysine were especially potent. Others substances that bass can smell and taste include sugars, salts, alcohols, acids, bitter substances like quinine, and many environmental pollutants. Bass exhibit sensitivity to all four of the basic taste sensations (sweet, salty, sour, and bitter) common to humans. On page 72, there is a chart illustrating the time a bass will hold onto a crankbait with and without scent: Adding Scent to Crankbaits Without Scent 21 strikes With Scent 44 strikes Average Lure Retention Time in Seconds Without Scent .390 Seconds (Less than 4/10ths of a second) With Scent .9 Seconds (Almost one full second) This is why we miss so many strikes. The bass knows the lure is there; he uses his lateral line to find out what direction the vibrations are coming; he then sets his eyes on the lure; and he attacks it either viscously or very softly. The bass will decide if the crankbait is food or not, and if not, spit it out before you may even know he took it in his mouth. The chart of page 74 reads: Bass are not always the aggressive feeders they are made out to be. Attacks on slow-moving soft plastics often come as a series of short pecks with quick release times. As revealed in the probability distributions, less than 20% of the strikes on unscented worms result in a bass holding the worm longer than 8 seconds. Only 30% of the strikes lasted longer than four seconds, and half ended in less than a second and a half. Adding an attractive scent to the soft plastic does not fully reverse this trend, as some bass continue to only peck at the worm regardless of the scent. However, scent does increase the probability that the bass will hang on longer. More than half the strikes on a scented worm were held for close to six seconds. So your problem may be solved by putting scents on your baits and keeping a finger on your line at all times when possible and also by watching your line closely. You have to be fast with your hookset. And as Hank Parker has always told us, "it doesn't cost anything to set the hook." Good luck and give some scent a try and let us know if your hook-up ratio improves. Same thing happened to me. She just inhaled the Zoom trick work as it fell. I knew there were no stumps around the area, so I hauled back and set the hook. Less than a minute later I was unhooking a six pound lady.

Fantastic. Fantastic! We need more people like you. Safe travels.

No, not me. Raider. Raider is usually a few steps ahead of everyone else, although sometimes the steps are a little crooked.

A big Sammy or a Whooper Plopper or a topwater bait or a toad or with one or two Suspend Dots to give it more weight as long as the Suspend Dots don't mess up the bait's action. I suggest a 7-foot heavy graphite rod of your choice. A 7-foot graphite medium heavy rod as a second choice. Spinning reel with either 8 pound test monofilament or braid the size of the 8 pound mono diameter, depending on the structure (rocks, wood, grass, pads, etc.) You may get longer distances with a spinning rod setup. Just look at the rod's parameters for line test and bait weight. Take the high and low parameter numbers for each individually, add together, divide by two, and you have the best line test and bait weight for your combination. Have fun!

New, casing a baitcaster is a personal thing and you need to hit your pond or go out in your boat with only the baitcaster and your favorite bait all rigged up and ready to go. Here are some suggestions to avoid backlashes as you learn how to cast your baitcaster: 1. Set up baitcaster with your line and have the reel on the rod with the bait attached. 2. Turn the drag to the position you want it. 3. Turn the spool tension knob so that it holds the bait when you point the rod tip to 11 o'clock. 4. Release the spool and tighten or loosen the spool tension knob so that the spool stops spinning when the bait hits the ground. You will have to drop your bait a few times doing this to get the spool to stop spinning when the bait hits the ground. 5. Go outside and cast the bait as far as you can. 6. Take three arm lengths of line off the spool. 7. Take some electrical tape (or Scotch tape) and put a small piece across the line on the spool. This will stop any backlashes at the tape. 8. Always balance your rod and reel in the above manner (1 thru 4) and use the electrical tape as a necessary backup. If you balance your rod and reel in this manner you will not encounter any backlashes when you are casting. To answer your query: Can you just use your arm below the elbow then a fast flip of the wrist? - YES YOU CAN. IF THIS IS COMFORTABLE FOR YOU. PRACTICE WITH DIFFERENT LINE DISTANCES FROM THE ROD'S TIP (6-inches, 1-foot, two-feet) TO SEE WHICH MEASURMENT IS BEST FOR YOU DEPENDING ON THE BAIT YOU ARE THROWING, THE TECHNIQUE AND YOUR BAIT. Or do you need to get your shoulder moving a lot? - NO, NOT NESCESSARILY. MOST US US USE OUR ARM FROM THE ELBOW DOWN TO CAST WITH YOUR ELBOW EITHER AGAINST YOUR MIDSECTION OR OUT AWAY FROM YOUR BODY. As stated above, your casting method is your casting method so what is good for me and others may not be the best for you. Go out and practice, practice and practice. Good luck

Sphynx, here is the low down on the TV and radio weather reporters. They have to error on the side of the worst weather as people will complain if they say it will be a nice day and they get rained on. They also use the American model for forecasting hurricanes, as it is safe, but the good weather people know the British model is far superior and they will give you both model's computer computations, etc. They can't be blamed if their NWC data is flawed as it is the American model and used throughout the USA. In Virginia we go to WxRisk.com on Facebook and follow Dave. He is a professional weather man and he gets it right 99.9% of the time, even to the location of where hurricanes will hit land. You can find DH Rett on Facebook and see his weather reports, too.

Stopped by my double secret pond in Dinwiddie County today on the way home from a meeting in Raleigh, NC, and believe it or not, there were white caps on the pond. Yes, white caps like in the ocean. I threw some topwaters for about 15 minutes and gave up and went home. We had two heavy downpours in Bon Air, Virginia and some wind but that is all we received from Ida. My best friend and his wife (we were in elementary through LSU together) in Kenner, west of NOLA heading towards LaPlace and Baton Rouge, had part of the side of their house pulled totally off plus roof damage. He told me he could go to his attic and see outside. Now to see what damage was done to the Louisiana marsh, especially the Biloxi which is a fantastic fishery for redfish, speckled trout, sheepshead, drum, croaker, shrimp and crabs. Then we will find out if the oil platforms are up and running and the refineries are back on line. And God Bless the Cajun Navy. Great bunch of guys and gals in their bass boats and salt water water crafts making rescues as needed. So far our readers have responded that no one is injured. Here is what Coach O said about the LSU vs. UCLA football game this Saturday with my comments included. Read carefully!!! On relocating to Houston… “First of all the administration was right, 110% behind us to give us the go-ahead to come here and they all have made their over/under and point spread bets. We are staying at a great hotel, the Hyatt Regency, in the city of Houston. The Houston Texans were great. They gave us the stadium yesterday, met us at the stadium, gave us a lot of cheerleaders to cheer up the team. Really cute girls. Had one for each player. Just like in the French Quarter. Great hospitality.” On how the team has responded… “Our guys have been phenomenal. Curfew at 11 o’clock. They eat good, they’re rested well and they leave the bars at 10:45 to be in their rooms by 11. We had private room study hall with the cheerleaders and we brought our academic people with us for whatever reason, I don't know. So we continue on with the business at hand.” On the UCLA Bruins’ season-opener win against Hawaii… “Chip Kelly did a tremendous job with his team. They looked fantastic for an opening game against a high school team. They played well in all three facets of the game, fumbling, pass interceptions, and total confusion on pass plays. This is gonna be a battle, but we knew this coming in. And we will be ready for them this Saturday night. Geaux Tigers! ?

I'd be worried about splinters!

Everyone impacted by Hurricane Ida please check in with us on this site as soon as you can and let us know you and your family are OK. Bring us up to date on any damages your property suffers. Good luck to our members and friends impacted by this large hurricane.

And they move off their cover to a "safer place" in their minds. So why do we pitch and flip into brush piles and other structure? If all bass do this then we are wasting our time.

Agreed. But to have them all just float away from the structure at the same time seems to be extremely interesting. Wish Catt would get that study completed on Toledo Bend and share it with us.!!!

We all know we search for underwater structure, be it a brush pile, log, cement block, rocks, sunken vessel, etc., to find the bass hanging onto and around these types of targets. I watched a video from ICast where the Hummingbird representative was discussing their new Hummingbird Mega Live Imaging Transducer and what he saw during the test run. He stated, paraphrasing as best I can, "that the bass were in and holding tight to the structure as seen on the screen as the boat approached the target. However, when the boat arrived closer to the structure the bass moved away from the structure in one school as they knew that the boat above them was not a friendly encounter." He said "that the bass moved away from the structure when the boat got closer to the structure." This is interesting in that the bass may realize that a large object above them is a problem and that they actually move away from the structure we are pinpointing. They don't move far, but they move away just the same. So we see a beautiful brush pile and start to fish it and get no bites when in actuality we are fishing too close to the brush pile and we need to consider fishing a few feet off the brush pile to locate the bass. Your input, please, to this statement, and your thoughts on this bass behavior. With new live target transducers being introduced and the prices (hopefully) falling we will be able to afford a live imaging unit and see for ourselves if this is actually the case.

When angered, startled, or provoked into attacking a prey, the preferred feeding strategy of a bass is to strike instantly when the prey or your lure passes within close range. The bass will grab the prey and quickly dash away, returning to its station of safety. The bass can swim with bluegills and bream without any attacks or they can change their attitudes and attack the baitfish swimming around them. This is why we say bass will hit your bait out of frustration, anger, hunger, ease of attack, or protecting their territory or their baby bass. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are outstanding hunters and it is a challenge to catch them. Although they have a small brain, their instincts make them an outstanding preditor and they will eat what they can catch to survive.

Happy Happy Birthday!

Why does he have three arms and hands? I guess that is why he was such a fantastic player at LSU and in the NFL.

Here is the story as best as I can post it: https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/fishermen-unware-of-james-river-sewage-spill-tuckahoe-creek Now, for my part of this story... Wednesday, July 28th, we had our American Legion Crab Feast which was a fantastic success. We estimate we had around 470 people in attendance for all the crabs they could eat, the beer and soft drinks they could drink, corn, and the greatest hot dogs south of New York's Coney Island. I was in charge of the event which was to end at 8 PM that evening, when I was standing in the area between the two pavilions when three boys came up to me and asked for help. They had on only their swim trunks. Nothing else. No PFDs. No water shoes. No ID's. No tee shirts. No sunscreen. No sunglasses. No caps. Only their swim trunks and a smile. They told me that they had graduated from Cosby High School and were on the river floating down to the Huguenot Bridge from James River High School Ramp when their plastic raft hit something in the water and sank. (Cosby is supposed to be the best high school in Chesterfield County, Virginia, too. Kids are supposed to be smart. Then again....) They swam to shore about a quarter of a mile down river from our Post and walked, barefoot, along the bank, the woods, and our rock parking lot to ask for help to get back to the James River High School ramp to pick up their car to drive back to Huguenot Flatwater and pick up their other car. When I asked them where they had their car keys, they old me that they hid the in their unlocked vehicle at the James River High School ramp. They also had no idea about the river flowing to the east or which way was east or west. They wanted to swim back to the James River School ramp and I told them to forget that idea and we would give them a ride to their car. I got Admiral K to agree to give them a ride in his brand new Ford F-250, which he was not too excited about since their swimsuits were still wet. But he gave in, put them in the back seat, and took them back to the James River ramp. On Thursday morning during our Post clean up day after the crab feast, Chesterfield County personnel came by and tacked up a "No Fishing or Swimming" sign on our small pavilion closest to the river and told us about the sewage leak. We all wondered at the same time if they three boys were in the contaminated water. But they did not smell bad; they seemed to be in good health; and made no complaints about the river water. And the leak was down river by Tuckahoe Creek and Bosher's Dam so they were OK. Had they continued their journey down to Huguenot Flatwater they would have been in the middle of the spill for sure if they survived going over Bosher's dam or walking around it. God looks after the dumb people and these three boys could have gotten very ill or drowned at Bosher's' dam but for the blessings of God. So having their crappy plastic raft sink by our Post was the best thing that could have happened to them. Hope they get their careers going (CSX Railroad and plumbing and heating for 2 and community college for the third) and pay a lot of FICA.

I have a 24-volt Motor Guide 80 pound thrust trolling motor to give to someone in the greater Richmond, Virginia area who can come by and pick it up. There is problem with the steering cable that we can discuss but otherwise it works fine. Please message me if you are interested. Thanks.

But you can yell for the LSU Fighting Tigers closer to Baton Rouge than I can. Thanks for the reply. Sam

I have a Motor Guide 80 pound thrust trolling motor to give to someone in the greater Richmond, Virginia area who can come by and pick it up. There is problem with the steering cable that we can discuss but otherwise it works fine. Please message me if you are interested. Thanks.

X2

1. Check the tide times for the Potomac. https://www.saltwatertides.com/dynamic.dir/potomacsites.html 2. Check the time when the park is open the day you want to go and know you will wait in line outside the park until the conservation office arrives and opens the gate. 3. In a kayak you have to be cognizant of the weather and winds that can churn up white caps on the river making it very dangerous. 4. Plan to fish the Virginia side. 5. Get a GMCO map of the Potomac and look for places you can fish with your kayak. 6. Understand that you will be in competition with both kayakers and bass boaters for places to fish. 7. Note the "off limits" areas and stay out of them. 8. Have a pliers to remove the hooks and any Snakeheads you catch. 9. Be patient and wait your turn to launch and trailer your kayak. 10. Traffic on I-95 and Route 1 are disasters. Going early in the AM means you will miss the traffic. Going home after 2 PM means you will be in traffic. Use your WAZE unit for directions and how to vector around the backups. Good luck and let us know how you do.

Call the fishing department at Green Top and ask them after you call the Virginia Game and Inland Fisheries and ask them for assistance. Congrats on your catch. Welcome to the Fourm.