Sam

Finally, and endangered plant worth something!!!!

Kirby, yes, the lakes are back 100% and although you may need a kayak to get around you can fish from the pier in the lower lake and catch some small bass and lots of bream. I think River's Rest has been purchased and there are plans to build apartments or condos in the large field. That would cut into bass tournaments going out of River's Rest. Add to it the plans to tear up the Route 5 park for a water pumping system and our access to the Chick will be limited. Time will tell.

First, you get a live tiger...........

Bobby, there are other places i can give you suggestions to fish, such as the Powhatan Lakes and ponds. Try searching this site for Richmond, VA fishing locations or something like that to find older posts about this topic. I have provided a lot of information in the past to others and it is somewhere on the Forum. Don't forget Maymont's three ponds. Two are OK and one is not. Big pond behind the old Martin's store at the corner of Huguenot and Stony Point Roads. Although there are no trespassing signs everyone fishes the place.

Bobby, please do two things first: 1. Go onto the Introduction page and introduce yourself, etc. 2. Go to Dick's, Green Top or BPS and get a few copies of the free 2020 Virginia G&IF Fishing in Virginia booklet. Pick up two or three copies and keep them handy at home and in the car. Check out the geographical places to fish in the booklet with emphasis on Hanover, Henrico, Powhatan and Goochland counties. You can find each one of the locations listed on Google maps and how to get to them. I would tell you about them but i can't find my booklet. Must be in the cabinet with the boat's stuff in the garage. And last, stay on this site. Don't post and run. We have lots of local guys who can give you suggestions and places to fish. Like Wdycrankbait who got skunked at Southlake off Midlothian Turnpike today. Or Black Bill Dance who knows where to go and what to throw. (Look up Southlake Boulevard on Google maps to see the big pond) Looking forward to reading about your adventures and help providing you information to be the best bass fisherman you can be.

Mapping is always helpful on new or large bodies of water. When we blast off we usually never turn around to see what the shore line or marina looks like. Sometimes the marinas and ramps are not easily visible. We can go right by them if we are not careful. So mapping allows you to get back to the ramp! Funny? Yes. But if you were like my son who got lost on the Historic James River mapping is a feature you really need. Just ask my wife. In addition you can follow your map's line back to other places you had fished that day or previously.

Although you cannot make a Rat-L-Trap 100% weedless you can remove the rear hook and that will reduce your weed consumption.

Email BASS customer service and they may be able to direct you to the right person who can answer your question. bassmaster@emailcustomerservice.com Or call them at 877.227.7872 Let us know what you find out.

Took five days to reorganize all tackle once again. Mow the field every other weekend. Watch TV, especially LSU football game reruns and hope the Fighting Tigers win again. Watch fishing videos on Facebook and one other source. Will clean out shed when the weather permits. Went to local lake to test a new bait (to me) and its presentation. Watch some murder mysteries on TV. I like the Hallmark Channel for murder and mysteries. Do some work for my clients as they request. And tonight at dinner my wife asked me is this is what retirement is all about?

I needed to reorder my 90-day supply of one of my three Rx meds and was told by my pharmacy that it would cost $683 for a 90-day supply, which was up from the $262 price I paid three months ago. I went across the street to the CVS drug store and they told me the same thing: the renewal Rx would cost $683 through my Blue Cross plan. Went home and called Blue Cross and was told that my wife and I do not have any deductible on our federal government plan but that is the cost the Blues are showing for the medication is $683 for a 90-day supply. The Blue Cross rep transferred me to the Blue Cross pharmacy department and I was told that the meds would cost $683 for a 90-day supply but the lady told me to check with the Blue Cross mail order department and she transferred my call to them. The Blue Cross mail order lady told me I could get a 90-day supply for $125. Great savings. Being a veteran, I called the McGuire VA Hospital in Richmond and they transferred me to the VA National Pharmacy people where the lady told me the VA could fill the 90-day prescription for $33. And although the Rx calls for a generic drug if the VA does not have the generic equivalent they will fill the Rx with the name brand which costs $683 at the two local drug stores for $33. Now here is my problem: I am saving $650 and I don't know what fishing equipment and tackle to buy with it. Plus, how can I put the entire $683 Rx original cost that I will use to buy more fishing tackle into my medical expenses and take them off my 2020 income tax return? Decisions, decisions, decisions. They can drive you up a wall. ?

Gavin, if the mods don't move your post to the Western Bass topic please repost in the Western Bass fishing section to get a good reply. Welcome to the forum.

Garry, you ever fish with 4-pound mono on a spinning rig? I will go down to 6 pound test for either mono or fluorocarbon on a spinning rig but not lower. Too much line twist and line disasters with 4-pound mono.

X2. Also, switch to flouro tied directly to the hook. And are you using different baits and presentations? Just remember that if you can see them, they can see you. Plus they can feel you, too, believe it or not, as you walk to the bank's edge and around the area. So go about 50-feet from the bank when you walk and cast around 10-feet from the bank and out of sight if possible.

Believe it or not, my most memorable one hour of fishing occurred when I was 15 years old in New Orleans at the Audubon Park Lagoon. My two cousins and I used to fish the lagoon on a regular basis catching mostly bluegills and bream, with a largemouth bass thrown in now and then. The day it happened was right before hurricane Carla was going to hit Texas and we were having some high gusts and winds in New Orleans with the possibility of thunderstorms reaching out to us from the Gulf and Texas. So what did me and my two cousins do? Using our teenage logic we went fishing at the lagoon. The bluegills were going crazy. Every cast we caught some of the biggest and brightest bluegills we have ever seen in the lagoon. Cast after cast; fish after fish. I thought we were going to run out of white bread but we brought two loves and used dough balls as bait so we had enough for the time we fished. We fished from around 2 PM until 5 PM when my aunt came and told us to go home. I think I heard her mumble something about our mental conditions, too. I have no idea of how many bluegills we caught but it had to be over 100 an hour for each of us. We had a ball. Never had such a fun hour fishing like that ever again.

First, thank you for your service. Always nice having military people on the Forum. Now, let me let the cat out of the bag regarding the Ned Rig as I see it. When is the last time you saw a minnow or small bream drop to the bottom fast and hit it hard? Live minnows and other aquatic creatures do not do this. They go to the bottom in a slow and controlled swimming manner and stay on the bottom quietly seeking something to eat or finding a good hiding place. This is why Senkos, the "dead reckoning" method, the drop shot, and other light weight presentations work so well: they mimic a minnow or other small bait fish enjoying swimming within the bottom area with no worries or interruption by other species. And then along came Ned. Ned set up a softer falling presentation that looks like a minnow or small bait fish swimming, exploring, or feeding on the bottom. Just natural movements. No jerking; no lifting and falling; no fast start or stops; no twitching; just a natural presentation of letting the bait do nothing other than allowing the current and your shaky fingers, hands and rod tip make it move as it sits in one place or you crawl it along the bottom in a slow and methodological manner. Slow and methodological manner is the secret to the Ned Rig. You cast it out, let it fall to the bottom, reel in the slack, put fingers on line to feel for bites, and just sit there thinking about life in general while your Ned Rig floats and moves along the bottom like a small minnow or bait fish. Or, you can swim the Ned Rig slowly like a minnow or small bait fish above the grass and off the bottom. But you do this to mimic a swimming minnow as best you can. And for some reason, it works. Bass and other species will see and watch it and then they can't take it any longer and they will attack it. You can move the Ned Rig a little by lifting your rod tip a few inches and then let it fall back to the original place you were holding the rod and allowing the Ned Rig to fall to the bottom in a slow manner and then sit on the bottom once again. You do this until you can't take it any more, which in many instances is a few minutes. Letting your bait sit on the bottom and you not doing anything can seem like a life time in lieu of the 60 to 120 seconds you will let it sit before you move it a tad. So give the Ned Rig a try and let the bait sit on the bottom and have a natural presentation. Bass are inquisitive animals and they will watch your Ned Rig until they can't take it anymore and they will hit it like firing mortar rounds for effect. You are in a race to see who blinks first: you or the bass. Good luck and let us know how you do with your Ned Rig.

Great catch. At the rate you are going you will find Jimmy Hoffa's body. Thanks for the pics and sharing.

Shakey head. Shakey head.

Josh, I was told by a friend who hit Chesdin three weeks ago that there must have been 3,000 boats on the water. He also did not do well with is efforts. So I have written Chesdin off until we have our bass tournament coming up in May. Best way to fish Chesdin these days is to be at the ramp and blast off before sunrise and be ready to fight it out at the ramp when you are ready to trailer your boat. Good luck and be safe.

LSU with 14 overall picks and five free agency contracts.

X2

1. Morning Dawn. 2. Aaron's Magic.

I had no idea the governor of Maryland banned catch and release fishing. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries allows fishing while the Corps of Engineers has cancelled all Buggs Island tournaments until further notice. I can fish any lakes or rivers by myself or with a nonboater and be legal in Virginia. B.A.S.S. has mandated that all B.A.S.S. affiliated state federations and individual bass clubs do no tournament fishing until further notice. I would think the FLW has done the same thing. Thanks for letting us know what is going on in Maryland. Appreciate the inforamation.

Guys do not congregate at blast off by the ramp. Get in boats and head out to a starting area away from the ramp. Blast off. At weigh-in, only one guy from the boat takes fish to weigh station that is manned by two guys at the maximum. Then you can trailer your boat, parking it away from the weigh-in and ramp area, and either wait for the results or go home and get the results emailed to you if you are not in the money.

Jens, welcome to the Forum. My response to your query: 1. Marsh areas of south Louisiana for redfish and other saltwater species. 2. Any tidal river and its tributaries. 3. Freshwater lakes. Fishing in the Louisiana marsh is fantastic. Fishing in the Louisiana bayou's can be exciting with all of the critters watching you.

Polarized sunglasses help a lot, too.