Sam

While growing up in New Orleans we would go to a fishng camp in the Rigolets area (east of NOLA and off Route 90) to fish for speckled trout, drum, sheepshead, croakers and redfish. The owner of the camp would go out in his 16-foot skiff and catch live shrimp with his trolling net which he would sell for bait. One day he and his wife went out and a tarpon jumped in his boat. Almost clobbered them both. He had the fish scales to show us. He or his wife could have been killed or seriously injured so I know what you were up against. Last week the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries pulled a sturgeon out of the James River around the Benjamin Harrison Bridge by the new VCU building on the river. The DG&IF was testing the fish population by the new VCU building. My friend, a contractor on the site, said the sturgeon had to weigh at least 100 pounds and it must have been eight-feet long, if not longer. DG&IF let it go so it is still in the river. It that sturegon had jumped in your boat you could have been swamped or turned over so I am so glad it missed you. Now how about some posts and pics of your catches?

Now that's what I call a Christmas present! And you really need a Shimano Core and a Kistler rod to compliment it for doing such a fine thing. ;D As requested above, please post a pic after Christmas.

Mase, Ike's rules state the following: Treble Hook Baits - Mono All Other Baits - Flouro Deep Cranking, pads, slop, heavy cover, etc. - Braid As for brands: Yo-Zuri Ultra Soft for tournaments, only. Stren for mono. Silver Thread, Trileen and Vanish for flouro. I also have Power Pro but use that in tournaments, too. So apply Ike's rules regarding the types of line to your query and you will have a base to start your collection of line. ;D

Seems you have a great teacher. Now stop screwing around on this site and do some homework for that great teacher so you can get all A's and be admitted to the University of Maryland and graduate and get a high paying job so you can pay a lot into Social Security. ;D Your parents and I are counting on you! P.S. Ugly Sticks are great for pond fishing and when taking kids fishing as they can't break an Ugly Stick.

Got tired of the office around noon, got a haircut and then ventured over to the new Richmond BPS off I-95 north of Richmond to check it out. I asked Mike in the fishing department for the Rage Tail Anaconda's and he showed me where they "were" as they had mostly disappeared. I picked up a pack of the smaller ones in Green Pumpkin. In fact, it was the LAST package of the Green Pumpkin they had. And they had only 6 or 7 packages of both the small and large versions left. So how do I fish them? Do I need barrel swivel if they twist? Flouro line I know, about 10 or 12 pound test with a 3/0 straight shank or EWG hook, depending on how I feel. Any help is greatly appreciated. And the Bait Monkey will be happy as I dropped $250 by buying a beautiful 5:0:1 Curado 200E5 to go along with my Stren 20 pound mono and my two new Lucky Craft 1.5 cranks for use this fall in cover and structure. P.S. The store is beautiful. The fish need some structure in the tank to reduce the stress on the bass. They expect 25,000 for the week of the grand opening and about 10,000 the weekend of the grand opening so Rondef, let's meet early next week before it gets really crazy. Sept. 30th is out as I should be fishing the Vulcan Pond with John Kook if we can make it plus I have an LSU Alumni Assn. Board meeting that Tuesday night at 6 PM.

What a bummer. But yes, I had a great week until the rains and wind hit Richmond on Thursday. No locks on your boat's compartments? You may want to install some locks on those compartments in the future. The Fishing Gods will treat you better on your next trip. They saved you from some "unknown catastrophe" this past trip so they will make it up to you.

We like to fish the outgoing tide for at least the last two (2) hours and then fish the incoming tide for at least the first hour. Inbetween the water is slack so we fish the shoreline, grass edges, flats with grass, points, etc. until the tide starts to move in. Just be sure you don't get stuck in a creek or a mud flat when the tide goes out. A guy I know was stuck for two-hours on a mud flat until the tide changed and he could move the boat. ;D P.S. This is why I carry a push pole in my boat. It has happened to me, but I got out just in time using that push pole.

Catchum, The guy at Sky Meadow had the double tail. It looked like a pumpkinseed but I really did not look at it in detail nor did I see the package. I like the double tail for more action.

Welcome. Do you go to the Indy 500? I used to go for years but it is better watching it on TV.

Pork Paca Rage Tail Yummy!!! ;D P.S. Rage Tails have fantastic movements.

So I am fishing the Sky Meadow State Park pond off Route 17 and having good success with my Senko and a pickup truck pulls up, parks and two guys get out. They ask me if I am catching anything and I say yes, I have caught seven small bass on my Senko. They say they have fished the pond all summer and had never caught a single fish. So I tell them to stand near me and fish by the drain as this is the deepest part of the pond and it is where I am catching my bass and getting strikes. One of the guys rigs up his spinning rig and then walks over to me to show me a bait he had bought earlier in the week but has never used it. He opens the package and has no idea which is the head and which is the tail. He shows it to me and asks me if I have ever seen it before. I say yes, it is a Gary Yamamoto Hula Grub. He then asks me how to fish it. So I tell him to rig it up Texas style and throw it out and let's see what happens. He does and within five minutes he catches his first ever bass out of the pond. Nothing big. About the size of the ones I was catching, about 14 inches. I had to leave as he was releasing the bass so I have no idea if he caught any others, but my point is that he had no idea what the Hula Grub was or how to fish it and he caught a bass. Go figure. ;D

I think I need a Ph.D. to follow what is open, closed and which ones need permits, etc. Why can't the County just make it simple? ;D

I think I know the lake you are speaking. Never fished it for bass. Do not live in the rich subdivision ;D so I have no place to launch my boat. Great catch. I heard there were bass that size in the lake and now you have proved it. You get an A+. Do you attend Clover Hill High School?

JJ, Conditions are going to be terrible this Saturday on the Chick and the river can get very rough, with white caps and rough water. So be extremely careful and check out www.weatherunderground.com for weather details. Some questions: Where are you putting in? What size boat will you be fishing from? Are you a boater or nonboater? The Chick has some great places to fish plus access to the James River. I need to know where you are putting in as it will help me give you some suggestions on the areas you can fish as due to the weather you may be limited on how far you can go up or down river. Thanks, Sam

Sending a PM.

Where did you catch her? Why were you out night fishing when you needed to be home doing homework? ;D ;D ;D

26 x 26 x 14 = 7.89 Pounds 1200 Memorize this formula: Length X Length X Girth = Pounds 1200 I estimated the girth at 14 inches so redo your measurments from the photo and recalculate to see what weight you promulgate. Nice lady! You did good!

BRG, I was thinking of throwing dog food but I would rather throw catfish pellets. Thanks for the suggestion. I may try it.

First you panic. Second, you try to rig up your favorite rod and reel. Third, you finally throw your plastic near the fish and realize that it took you too long to get rigged and the fish is gone. ;D YES! Fish for that fish. P.S. This is why you always rig your rods before leaving home.

Rondef, Either you, me or Andrew are sure to give it a shot. It looks too nice to pass up.

Dogs and cats are a part of your family and it is always awful when you lose them. My sincere sympathy to you and your family.

Ah yes, USC. Just watch out for teams that have a tree for a mascot. ;D ;D ;D

Beavis, There is a pond behind the Central Park Shopping Center off Route 3 that I have seen while driving by on I-95 but have never stopped to fish. If no one says anything about this pond you may want to give it a shot and let us know how you do.

Guys, Are plastics out at Quantico at this time? I know we are in crankbait season but I caught seven at Sky Meadow State Park yesterday on Senkos and another guy fishing by me caught his first bass from the pond on a GY Hula Grub. They would not even look at a crankbait. Maybe a combination of both crankbaits and plastics will result in more bites? Rondef, what do you think?

Rooster, The specs written on the rod is what you need to follow to have strong casts without backlashes. Line test and lure weights are crucial to have the rod perform as it is designed. I always check out the rod's specs when rigging up for my fishing outings and use the line test and lure weights as recommended. The rod length is also critical to your bait, technique and casting distance as is its power rating. And you thought fishing was simple!