Sam

I have not heard the news so thanks for informing us. On the local Richmond sports show on Saturday the guys were talking about the great expectations for Clemson this year and how poorly the team has played. I guess going 3-3 when you were expected to challenge for the BCS Championship and walk through the ACC with ease was too much for Clemson's AD and administration. Maybe Bowden can replace Al Groh at Virginia or Tubby at Auburn when Tubby implodes or Phat Phil Phulmer at Tennessee if the Vols continue on their downward spiral. Hey, the Tire Bowl in Charlotte is a nice bowl. So why is Clemson so upset when in the real world, we all knew Clemson was a subpar ACC team.

Wow! A cougar in Louisiana. That's a first for me. Next thing you know there will be wolves in northern Louisiana. I do know where there is a bengal tiger in Louisiana. A very beautiful animal that weighs over 600 pounds.

Sorry, I was a week early. It was MissySippy State upsetting Vandy this weekend. When you get old these things happen. ;D

Vandy upsetting Auburn. Texas upsetting OU. Missouri and Oklahoma State was a great game. And Jacksonville State losing a conference game by three points was great! Sorry the Spiders lost but I think JMU and Richmond are destined to meet again this season in a bigger game and the Spiders will prevail. Although JMU has the best colors of the two schools.

They are probably staging along the edges as the water temperature drops. They may swim around very slowly as the water gets cold, but mostly the large bass will stay put, waiting for a meal to swim by while the smaller bass will be a little more active. I attended a Bassmaster University back in January of 2004, and Ken Cook was one of the presenters. Ken discussed the fish, itself, and gave us these metabolism rates so we would understand how the bass feeds. You can use this information when considering how to fish for the bass during the winter and why they do not feed as fast as they do in warmer water. SPEED OF METABOLISM 40* = 8 days to digest a minnow 50* = 7 days to digest a minnow 60* = 2.5 days 70* = 24 hours 80* = 18 hours 80*+ = 18 hours 73* to 75* degree water is the most efficient metabolism for a bass. Ken went on to remind us that a bass is a preditor and they go on search and destroy misions by ambushing or taking advantage of their prey. Edges are important to a feeding bass. The bass will eat anything that presents itself as it looks for an easy opportunity for a nice meal. When the water temperatures are under 60* and over 90*, Ken said the bass want a "roof" over their heads when not feeding. They will use water for a roof or go deep, go into grass beds, lilly pads, boat docks and piers and any structure they can find for cover. When the water turns cold, Ken says to go with minnows or shad colored baits. So all I can add is to take Ken Cook's advice and go for the bass staging off the edges, just sitting there waiting for your beautiful minnow or shad colored bait to float by for an easy meal or fish any underwater structure you can find where they can hide. Give it a try and let us know how you do.

Norman makes excellent lures. Their cranks are a big seller and is used by a number of pros.

Forgeting to set the drag also happened to me. It happened on Lake Gaston in our club's first tournament of the year. I just plain forgot to set the drag. Totally my fault. She hit one of my favorite crankbaits and took off. She headed west, then east, then under the boat where the line snapped. She is probably in Chicago by now, along with my favorite crankbait. Friend caught a seven pound lady an hour later in the same vicinity. He had his drag set correctly. He won big fish and the tournament. Live and learn!

Good one. ;D

Tin, Any highway around a population area is called a beltway. They are marked with an even number such as I-295 or I-695, etc. Interstates leading into population areas have uneven first numbers, such as I-395 or I-195. Interstates covering a large expanse of land have even numbers for east-west bound roads and uneven numbers for north-south roadways such as I-66 or I-10 and I-95 and I-83. In Rhode Island you have I-295 going around Providence and I-195 going into Providence. I-95 goes through Providence as the main highway. There is really not a beltway around Providence unless you take I-95 north to I-295 to I-95 south. Haven't you heard of the "Beltway Mentality"? This means our congressmen and Senators thinking for themselves and not for the good of all citizens. Come on down south for a spell and do some good fishing, eat some great food and see all the pretty girls.

Dave, If it was a guy I could understand how he was steering the vehicle. But a lady? That is very dangerous. Welcome to the most dangerous place in the world - a United States interstate highway. More dangerous than serving our great country in a war zone. This is why you need to practice defensive driving and let the fools go past you or you go past them. What kills me is seeing the small vehicles driving next to a tractor-trailer rig on an interstate. Let's see....4,000 to 6,000 pounds vs. 70,000 pounds. Guess who is going to win that contest? And at 75 miles per hour, too. Be safe as we need you to pay a lot of F.I.C.A.

Rooster, Are you sure the guy deleted his post? ;D ;D ;D It has been my experience with the two items I had to return to BPS that they replaced the items with a smile and no hassel. Great people; great store; great service.

And to answer your query. Scale down. Go with a buzzbait. Try a crankbait in shad or with a crawfish tone. Go with a Chatterbait, too. Don't forget to fish s-l-o-w with plastics. Ever heard of dead sticking? Dead sticking is when you throw your plastic Senko or finesse worm out and just wait. Just stand there, like an idiot, and wait. If you are a Type A like me, you will have a hard time waiting. Then, after two or three minutes, give it a twitch. Do this until it comes back to the boat or shoreline. Try a jig and pig. Peanut Butter and Jelly; blue and black; something brown with a few strands of orange to mimick a crawfish. Put a chunk trailer on the jig for its pig. You just have to see what they want. Now I am catching them on moving baits, like crankbaits and grubs with big curly tails that give me a lot of line twist on my spinning rig. Try a deep diving crank in shallow water to stir up the bottom. And keep trying. The bass are feeding and they should hit your baits if they are in the water.

Yes. Today I took my brand new $80 ultra light setup to a local pond, slipped, fell feet first into the water and landed on the new spinnig reel. Bent the bail. I think I pushed it back in place but I am very upset. As for fishing, I used the new ultra light yesterday eventing and caught over 20 bass and a crappie at another pond. I was surprised as I did not know crappie were in the pond. Not going back to the local pond as the fish are not biting so I feel your pain. My hand and wet feet and dirty jeans and scraped elbow feel your pain, too. ;D ;D ;D

Google... "lake anna va fishing" for some reports. See my PM.

Deermaster, In the Richmond area the ponds rarely freeze and the more east you go the more they do not freeze. When it gets cold I stay inside so I am of no real value regarding how to fish your pond. I hate cold weather plus the fact that my bass club will not start fishing tournaments until March and that is when I start back fishing. Just take the guys' suggestions and keep on casting. ;D

Big M posted pics of his beautiful crankbaits and I asked him how much does it cost to make a crankbait. Then I thought, "how much does it cost to make a crankbait, a swimbait, a plastic worm, etc.?" OK guys, what is your estimated investment in parts, not labor, to make a bait? Then, what is your investiment in labor to make a bait? Not the pleasure or fun of doing it; but the raw costs associated with each bait from the design stage to the finished product. Please do not include your tools and equipment that you have purchaed. Just the cost of the individual bait after you have made an investment in the tools and equipment for manufacturing purposes. Just wondering. Thanks in advance.

Beautiful. Simply beautiful. How much does it cost to make a crankbait from scratch? Just wondering.

Here is a suggestion that I don't do. I guess it works but I don't know anyone who does this. I read off my 2008 fishing calendar so I would think it is a valid suggestion. Use a wet sure-grip cotton glove to hold bass. Do not hold bass around middle as it can cause internal damage. So, does anyone out there do this? Muddy, you do this?

Outstanding! Good report and pics. When are you headed to BPS?

$2.84 at BP this AM in Richmond, Virginia. I heard OPEC is meeeting to discuss the oil prices and they may reduce their output to increase prices. And when are we going to start drilling in Alaska and off shore?

It is beautiful! Congrats on a nice "steal"!!! ;D ;D ;D Now go out and have a lot of fun.

Beautiful. But did you know that the Bomber Fat Free Shad in Foxy Shad has glitter? It is the same as the Sexy Shad. Your versions are beautiful. What size hooks are you going to use????

Hey Trick, It is now 7:30 so I am awake and can answer you better. Don't forget the Rage Tail products on top. Great baits. What Catt said is true, if you can punch through the grass. I would not throw any Rat-L-Trps as their treble hooks will get caught in the grass. A Horny Toad may work as would any topwater frog. So go out and have fun and let us know what worked.

What about a swimming Senko? Horny Frogs? Otherwise, you have seemend to have most of the batis covered in your post. Don't forget to fish the edges of the grass and slop, too.

LBJ is correct. Largemouth bass, especially when they are deep or are coming out of the winter staging, will be gray in color. We catch them all the time in Virginia lakes, especially if we fish Gaston and Kerr in February or March. There is no problem with the animal other than it has not had time to move shallow and enjoythe sun to get its color back. Anyone else out there who fishes Gaston, Kerr and other lakes noticed this situation?