Sam

Listen to Pigsticker and Rondef. Throw an unweighted pink or white trick worm on top and through the pads. Rig with a 3/0 straight shank hook. Fish on top of pads with frogs or anything Rage Tail. KVD throws cranks in pads but he also removes rear hook from cranks. Object is to make bait move on top of pads for reaction strikes. If you are patient, you can flip and pitch into the pads. If you are new to pads, use the trick worms or frogs. Good luck.

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Super. I send best wishes and lots of luck to the team. Things like this happen only once in a lifetime. Great memories. Have fun and bring a camera.

Go on each web site and see what clubs are in your area and e-mail or call them and get the details about: Annual Dues Big Fish Club Pot Optional Money for Each Tournament Pot Optional Money for Each Tournament Big Fish Pot How Long is the Initiation Period - Usually 3 to 6 Tournaments What is the Age Group of the Guys Where do They Fish How Many Tournaments do They Have Each Year Just ask and then give some a visit.

Don't forget your jig and pigs, especially in Sixpound Creek on the other side of the bridge. For some reason, they just like black and blue jigs and pigs in this area. Check out other jig colors, too, to see if they will work.

Some suggestions regarding Gaston: Americamp is on Great Creek. Fish around Americamp as this is where lots of tournaments hold their weigh-ins. Across from Americamp is a cove right outside of the "No Wake Zone." Fish this area and also fish the Creek back up towards Holly Grove Marina. Leave Great Creek and head LEFT and give the Holly Grove Estates cove a try. It is the first cove on your left as you head downriver from Great Creek. You can continue down river and fish the mouth of Popular Creek. Fish the points and any grass you can find. Fish along the boat docks and piers in the area, too. Across from Popular Creek and heading back upriver, look for Jordan Creek. Fish the boat docks in Jordan Creek. Go back into Sixpound Creek and fish both sides of the bridge. Spend some time on the other side of the bridge throwing jigs and worms all around the mouth of the bridge. Also caught them on Carolina rigs in this area. Try your moving baits, too, like your spinnerbaits and crankbaits. The bridge is small so we are not talking about a great distance. Maybe 50 feet, or less. Got some nice fish in this area in the past and you can not go too far as the water gets shallow as you go away from the bridge so stay close to the bridge opening and by the houses. You all are to go under the bridge and fish the mouth of the bridge; to the right and left of the bridge; and by the white house. Then, if you head upriver you can fish the Buckhead area by the beaver dams or across the river by Mountain Rock down to and past Thornton Place. Hawtree Creek can be OK but it is not on my top 10 list. Heading towards Eaton Ferry Road Bridge you can hit Hubquarter Creek. See if you can find the tree trunks. But Hubquarter is BIG so look for any grass beds or tree trunks or fish the docks and boathouses. On the northside of the river, look for Fernwood Estates. Fish that area, in the cove. Way down river is the dam. Head towards the lower dam (Gaston Dam) and try along the bank from Little Stonehouse Creek down to Pretty Creek. You can fish Pretty Creek, too. If there is still grass by Cedar Hill give that bank a try. It is across from the boat landing at Sandy Trace. Pea Hill Creek is always a goodplace but it is BIG. This is a favorite place for the guys who fish Gaston. At the dam you can fish the islands to your right and the rip rap along the shoreline towards the dam. Throw pointers and crankbaits or a Carolina rig. There are a lot of boat docks and piers; ledges; rocks; wood; bushes; islands; trees hanging over the water; marinas; etc. that you can drive yourselves crazy. I suggest getting a GMCO map of Gaston and seleing an area to try your luck. The lake is way too big to try to fish all places in one day. And no telling where the fish are based on the shad patterns and the weather. Good luck.

I use my Cruado 7:1 on my Kistler and love it. Caught a bass on the first cast using my setup. It was on a Carolina rig in Lake Gaston. Kistler rods are excellent and your 7:1 Flooger Summit is a great compliment. You will have many fun days fishing that rig. Just post your pics so the other guys can get jealous. ;D ;D ;D

Don't forget the Richmond Fishing Expo on January 16, 17 and 18. You will enjoy the show and it is worth the two and a half hour drive from your area to the Richmond Raceway. We are also planning to have a big Forum get-to-gether at the show on Saturday, January 17 so make plans to join us so we can meet you and you can meet some of us. Watch for the Richmond Fishing Expo posts in the Southeast Fishing section in the "Important Topics" sectrion at the top of the page. Stay warm and watch out in the snow.

Yes, there are clubs all over Virginia. Do you want B.A.S.S. or FLW? Most of our clubs are now FLW but B.A.S.S. is still around. Sorry you don't live in Richmond as we are seeking new members for our club. Try these sites: www.vabass.com Then click on Federation and then click on Region 1 www.vafederationnation.com Check in with them as to clubs in your area. Good luck.

JimmyO, Glad you are with us. Sorry you had to leave Sportsman's Paradise and go to the desert of Alabama where they just talk a good game but the real action is in Louisiana. Dont' go over to the Dark Side. Stay on the LSU side. The right side. Do not join Satan and his Merry Men on their misadventures and lies. Don't let the Dark Side tempt you. Stay with LSU and be a good person. And welcome to the greatest fishing place on the web. Just ask your questions and we will answer them. Glad to have another SEC guy with us. Unless you go to the Dark Side.

Dinks will fill up the "dead" time but I am searching for those 2+ pounders and get disappointed if I do not catch any. We all can downsize our baits and catch dink after dink after dink. That's not the challenge. The challenge is hunting for that big one. That DD that is there. Resting under those pads or next to that stickup or off the point. The big one that will fight like crazy and send your blood pressure up 50-clicks. The one that will take your breath away. The one that makes you sit down and catch your breath after you release her. She is there. Everywhere. Looking at you. Watching you. Waiting for you. So to directly answer your question, quality. Its quality. Totally quality. And she is there. Watching you. With the Bait Monkey at her side. ;D ;D ;D

Mentally ill person. Wonderful that they caught him. Sorry gangreen had not set in on his injured leg. Some people are just creeps. >

Hope it is a classic game. Either team will join LSU with two BCS titles. Will be nice to hear "SEC, SEC, SEC, SEC, SEC" changed by the Gators at the end of the game. OU should give Tibow fits but the Gators should light up the scorebaord. SEC, SEC, SEC, SEC, SEC, SEC, SEC, SEC, SEC, SEC, SEC, SEC, SEC

No music. I like it quiet. A beautiful sunrise gets me going. There is nothing like a beautiful sunrise on the water to make you love fishing and nature. A beautiful, quiet sunrise.

I do not time any specific spot. I throw different baits and presentations to the same area in a fan pattern until I run out of different baits and presentations. For example, in the AM I will throw a buzzbait and then follow up with a walking bait, probably a Chugbug or a Sammy. Frogs fished on top will be on the list. Then throw a crank bait followed by a spinning bait. After that, go deep with either a Wacky Senko or a Shaky Head. Then the Texas rigged plastic be it a worm or a creature bait. If those don't work, then there are no fish in the area and it is time to move on. Of course, depending on the weather, I will cut down on the presentations and baits if I can figure out the pattern. Should the fish want Chugbugs, then it is Chugbug time. If they like Spooks, then it is Spook time. If it is sunny, hit the docks, piers and shaded areas. You have to be flexible in your presentations until the fish tell you what they want to eat.

Love my E5. May get an E6 next year. Have two 7:1 Shimano baitcasters so will stick with those high speed models.

Yes, tie a Palamor Knot and then run the long tag line (24 to 30 inches) through the hook's eye via going through the front of the hook (over the barb) and then pulling the knot tight. Your Drop Shot/Split Shot hook should stand out straight with the barb pointing up. Then cut the tag end to the desired length and add your drop shot weight; a bullet weight tied above a split ring; or just a bullet weight tied directly to the line. Add a "wiggly" *** or Slider worm and go have some fun.

Not putting Sta-Bil and the Ethonol STa-Bil in your gasoline tank if you do not drain it.

Yes. Even hook them to the split rings that I put on my baits. Easy to change baits. Will also use the snaps for regular hooks. Do not use snaps with swivels unless I am fishing a Rooster Tail or small grub.

I use them, too. Helps keep the treble hooks out of the seats, carpet and the car's carpet. Yes, they are a pain but stopping to get the pliers to rip the hooks out of the seat or carpet on the boat is a bigger pain.

We had snow in Richmond, Virginia Saturday night and it was 18* on Sunday morning and you want to know how our fishing is, lately? There is no fishing going on in this area until is warms up.

Try to use a crank with a deeper diving rating than the depth of your water to stir up the bottom. Go with a mono line. Have front hook one size larger than rear hook. Add feather to rear hook if there is none on crank. Put "orange" or "red" on bottom of lure.

Nope. Do not know of any tagged fish in the waters I fish. I do know that some fish are tagged and the game commissions ask fishermen to give them the details of the catch and then release the fish. By doing this, game commissions can track the growth rates and moving patterns of specific species of fish.

Jeremy, Where are you launching?

Hey Low, I am looking at my Barlow's catalog and I see their bullet jig with the Gamakatsu hook and it looks like it should hold plastics. My Cabela's Tackle Craft catalot has some jigs but I did not see any bullet jigs. Have you Googled "bullet jigs" and see what comes up? Keep looking.