Sam

Outstanding! You get an A+. Good job. Congrats.

Both. Depends on the factors that one has to take into consideration when deciding how to approach your targets. I fix a mixture of both on every outing. Merry Christmas!

Catt, I thought the same way you do until someone from LSU told me that a bowl site may be able to have two games: their regular bowl and then the national championship game. For this season, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa will host their Outback Bowl followed by the CFP National Championship game. Of course, Atlanta gets the AFR bowl and one of the playoffs while Phoenix gets only one playoff game. Now, would the Sugar Bowl get their game and then follow with the National Championship game? Just wondering. I would think the dates would be too close for comfort. Your thoughts?

Glenn, goes for driving a watercraft, too.

Great find. Please consider framing a bunch together and on the back cardboard cover please write a history of these baits, etc. so you children and grandchildren and great grandkids will know about them and the dates.

Riverbasser, good question. And here is my answer for you to contemplate. With the larger and faster bass boats being used today bass fishermen travel miles (some over 50 one way) to hit their favorite spots. But after they travel here and there, where do they bring their fish to the weigh-in? The same ramp they used for blastoff. So now, for example, on the Historic James River out of Osborne Landing you can catch those big Florida strain bass that were stocked in the Chickahominy River by going no more than three miles up or down river. This year I have caught two 4.5 pounders within two miles of Osborne Landing. This was extremely unusual for this part of the river until the tournaments would release the Chick bass at Osborne. Add to the private and open local tournaments the BASS Northern Open release boat (they told me where they release all of those beautiful bass in the river at one time) you don't have to travel for miles in many bodies of water where tournament weigh-ins take place. Of course, it is fun to throttle your boat to 60 MPH and head to another spot on your favorite lake, looking back at that beautiful rooster tail. But it is not needed. What I find amusing is that on the Historic James River, and just about any lake or river with two or more ramps for tournament launches (such as Buggs Island and Lake Gaston) you can watch the boats pass each other in the opposite direction. It is something to see for you new guys to bass fishing tournaments. In a nutshell, no, I will travel within 5 to 8 miles of the launch site unless there is a specific reason to travel farther to find the bass.

Tri, would love to go into the Swamp and then up the Appomattox River but it is just way too dangerous for the boat and motor. Chesdin is a small lake and if there are two club tournaments on any one day you can forget fishing your favorite places. And you are correct: too many skiers, jet skies, pontoon boats and people anchored in the middle of the lake fishing for catfish.

Yes. It is possible. One day the record will be broken. Probably by a nuclear power plant lake.

Bendem, our bass club will teach you about rods, reels, line, tackle, baits, techniques and take you to the lakes and rivers in central Virginia from Lake Chesdin/Buggs Island over to Lake Anna and then the various tidal rivers down to the Historic James River and Lake Chesdin. We may throw in the Potomac and Nottoway Rivers every few years. You will also learn how to net a bass and how to play the fish to get them into the net. You pay the boater $50 a day to help offset his gas bill (towing and on the water) to be your partner and private guide and he will show you what he does and tell you why he does it. PM me and I can send you the details. Merry Christmas.

And it was zero degrees and everyone froze their a*********es off. Maybe we can go out this summer between semesters.

BPS X2! Received coupon in mail that if I went to BPS before and after Black Friday and bought something using the coupon I would receive 500 bonus points. So, I went to the BPS Ashland, Virginia store on the 23rd and purchased one package of trailer hooks and used half of the 500 point coupon. Went back on Monday and bought another package of trailer hooks and used the other half of the 500 point coupon. I left my Rewards card home so I used my telephone number to get into the system on both occasions. So far, so good. But wait! When the lady cashier was processing the purchase on Monday I noticed two spreadsheets on her monitor and she selected one to process the purchase. I got thinking about that when I got home and compared both sales receipts. They were different Rewards numbers. So on Tuesday I made a third trip back to BPS and asked the lady in customer service if she could put my Monday sale with my Thursday sale so I could get the 500 points on my account. She did better than that. First, she looked up my Rewards account via my telephone number and someone in Georgia with my same name popped up along with my Rewards account. Up on the screen popped up two Rewards accounts in my name. So she deleted my phone number on the other guy's account, leaving it on my account, only. She then gave me 1,000 points for the inconvenience and confusion. Glad your friend had a good response as I did with customer service at BPS. Merry Christmas! P.S. We figured someone at a BPS shop entered my phone number for the other guy some time ago. We could not figure out when. So double check your Rewards account just to be on safe side.

Going Friday or Saturday?

Bendem, if you are interested in joining a local Richmond bass club please let me know. Richmond Bassmasters is seeking new members: boaters and nonboaters. You can fish our 8 tournaments and learn about the local waters and where to and how to get to the ramps, which is your first challenge, baits and techniques to use, as well as meeting some fun guys who love to bass fish. Check out the booklet, Freshwater Fishing in Virginia, from our VDG&IF. If you can't find a copy you can pick one up at the upcoming Richmond Fishing Expo at the end of January. Check out my thread in this section. The publication gives you many places to fish from the bank and boat. Don't forget the big pond across the river behind the Stony Point Shopping Center off Huguenot Road. Merry Christmas!

Hey Carylab, I used to drive through Gonzales on the way to and from NOLA and LSU on old US 61, Airline Highway. Of course, with I-10 being the main artery between LSU and New Orleans now my friends blow by the town at 70 MPH. Great having you with us. Please keep us posted on your adventures, add your comments, and ask your questions. Welcome.

Welcome. Great having you with us. Remember to wear your purple and gold when fishing and yell "Geaux Tigers" when you set the hook.

You are correct on both accounts. However, we now have a committee that will include each individual's prejudices against specific schools and conferences where the computer was totally objective. The odds are low for Bamasux traveling out west (or north, east, south) to take on a big school other than in their opener where they will play a big name team on a neutral field. Bamasux beat Southern Cal in Arlington, Texas to open the season before USC got their act together. The remaining out of conference games were played in Tuscalooser - Western Kentucky, Kent State and Chattanooga. An embarrassment to say the least. But a win is a win is a win. We need the NCAA to have the big name conference teams play each other more in the future, like is done in basketball.

Wow! I knew Louisiana had a "stand your ground" law but this is the first time I have read about it being used.

Here is a big rumor: everythingthatswims is on the University of West Virginia's football team. He is a tight end.

When the idea of selecting four top teams was debated, the need to be a conference champion was one of the criteria. After the NCAA thought about it they removed that requirement with the understanding that sometimes conference champs luck out and have more losses than other teams in their conferences. So out went that idea of conference champs, only, in the top four. The NCAA then agreed to have the top four teams, champs or not, based on their overall records during the year, play for the championship. Western Michigan is one of two smaller school that could get a New Year's Day bowl game if they remain undefeated. But teams on their level will not be considered for the big prize at this time. If Western Michigan joins the Big 10 then it could play a more difficult schedule and be considered. The Sugar Bowl usually takes the "different schools" so lets see if the game will be between Tennessee and Oklahoma/OSU or Western Michigan and Tennessee. And food for thought: Should a team with a 4-0 out of conference record against weak opponents score a higher ranking than a team with a 3-1 or 2-2 record against stronger foes? SEC teams play smaller schools to rack up the wins and the smaller schools love the payouts. So should an SEC school who plays the Little Sisters of the Poor and Mrs. Butterworth's Cooking School be given more credit than an ACC school who plays Oklahoma, West Virginia, Southern Cal, Washington, Wisconsin, etc.? Great thread and good thought processes.

Jason, welcome to the Forum. Here are some considerations for the greater Richmond area. Of course, you don't tell us if you have a boat but you say "just get on the water..." which leads me to believe you have a bass boat or a kayak. Richmond Bassmasters takes boaters and nonboaters and is looking for new members. If you are interested send me a personal message. Osborne Landing on the Historic James River. Go up or down river. But, before you venture out check the tides, http://www.saltwatertides.com/dynamic.dir/virginiasites.html. You want an outgoing tide. Flatwater, for kayak fishing, on the Historic James River by the Huguenot bridge. Sandy River Reservoir off Route 460 west of Amelia. Powhatan County lakes. Lake Anna, off Route 522, for a lake. Lake Chesdin. $10 ramp fee at Seven Springs off River Road or free to launch from the Dinwiddie side. There are other places to fish from the bank, such as the big pond behind the old Martin's on Huguenot and Forest Hill Avenue shopping center. Lake Reedy in Innsbrook. May I suggest you try to locate the free VDG&I booklet, Freshwater Fishing in Virginia, to see all of the places to fish in the greater Richmond and central Virginia areas. There are just too many places to list in this post. Green Top, Wal-Mart, BPS, Cabela's may all have them. Also, at the end of January the Richmond Fishing Expo in Doswell would be an excellent place for you to meet the movers and shakers in the Virginia bass fishing industry. Check out my post about the Expo in the Southeastern Fishing section and make plans to attend. Give thought about joining the Richmond Bassmasters. Where else can you fish the local bodies of water with a buddy and learn local places to fish, launch your boat and what baits and techniques work best.

You beat my record of 62 in one day. Never used an underspin. May consider using one next year. Thanks for the input. Merry Christmas.

Welcome to the Forum I had relatives two hours down the road from you in Sunflower. Ask your questions and give us your input and you will have a great time on the site. Remember, Geaux Tigers!!!!!

During the winter when the temperature falls below 70* I inventory and rearrange my tackle in addition to going through my file folders for each body of water I fish. I look at each map and make any updates that I did not make the last time I fished those waters. At the next Richmond Fishing Expo in late January I will ask the GMCO owner, George Martin, if I need to update any maps. George is a great guy and his maps in Virginia are the bible of all fishing maps. Here is his link: http://www.gmcomaps.com/ I will also ask George if he would consider being a Forum advertiser as new bass fishermen in this neck of the woods do not know about his maps and I think being on the Forum will give him some great exposure. So, to answer you question, yes, I look at my maps and continue to mark them while studying the contours, humps, creeks, etc.

Congrats and good luck on your new adventure. Your price ranges look attractive and the products are attractive. I know you will be receiving a lot of feedback from our members which you can use to improve our products.

Last night at dinner my wife and I were talking about us living in New Orleans as opposed to Richmond. I told her I was happy in Richmond and did not miss all of the NOLA turmoil that occurs daily and have no plans of living out my last years in NOLA. Now, Joe McKnight was shot and killed in Terrytown (across from NOLA in Algiers) from a road rage incident. All I can remember about Joe, the number one high school running back from John Curtis High School, is that he spurned LSU and went to Southern Cal where he had injuries and other problems. He never lived up to his billing in the NFL and last I heard he was playing in the Canadian Football League. It is always sad when a life is lost in a violent manner over something as dumb as a traffic altercation. RIP, Joe.