Sam

Yes, in the side on Buggs Island. Nice two pounder.

I thought I cut all that stuff out.

Thanks, Bass. I have Google Earth Pro and will check it out to see if I can find where to go to update the photos. Thanks, Sam

Ain't it da truth?

Does anyone out there know how to update the Google satellite image to a later date? If so, can you share it with us? Thanks.

Contact your state's FLW and B.A.S.S. federations and ask them for their guidance. Be patience as they may not get back to you in a timely manner and you may have to call them a few times. Good luck. https://www.bassfederation.com/about/state-federations/ https://www.bassmaster.com/federation-nation

Buzzbaits only catch fish early in the morning.

Join the club. Had that happen to me two times and both times had to cut hook and head to 1) my doctor's office for surgical removal and 2) Patient First for the removal. I learn fast and so far have not had any problems with treble hooks as I respect treble hooks highly.

I took my wife to her eye doctor for her annual checkup yesterday and decided to bring three issues of the old Bassmasters Techniques magazines that were given away at the CITGO Bassmaster University programs in the early 2000's. I scanned two of the three for the years 2002 and 2003 and enjoyed the ads and the pros that were active back then. Here is a short synopsis of who was hawking what back in the year 2002. And yes, some of you guys were little tykes back then. Us old guys actually remember these guys and the products. Enjoy. BASSMASTERS TECHNIQUES 2002 On the cover: Kevin VanDam Classic Champion Flowmaster - The Exhaust Technology Company Ron Shuffield for Exide Stowaway batteries Ray Scott with the Triton Boats Bass Masters Classic Limited Edition with the Mercury "1 On the Water" motor. Dwayne Horton, David Fritts, Chris Baumgardner, Peter Thliveros, Mike Holt, Gerald Swindle, Skeet Reese and Woo Daves for Zoom. Woo Daves for his Signature Collection of shoes by Georgia Boot Eagle Claw Pro Series endorsed by Jimmy Reese, Peter Thliveros, Dion Hibdon, George Cochran, Guido Hibdon, Shaw Grigsby and Gen Buchholz. Plano New for 2002 - Plano Guide Series tackle box with removable 3504 spinnerbait and worm box. Lowrance X51, X71, LMS-Z40, X91 and one other new futuristic GPS mapping products. Mark Davis for Bass Cat boats. Mad Man baits from Mad Man Lures. KVD for Mustad Hooks along with Woo Daves, Denny Brauer and Tommy Martin. Zell Roland, Jimmy Houston, Bill Dance for Smithwick Rouge. G3 Pro 175 boats. Lucky Craft baits. New and best colors for Gitzits for 2002. There are 10 new colors introduced. So you young guys, what is a Gitzit???? I still have mine. Paddle Tail's The Undertaker lures. Bob Murray for Bomber Model A. Does anyone out there remember Bob Murray? He won two Bassmaster Classics. Spanky by Lunker City in 15 colors. Worden's Poe's Competition Cedar crankbaits hawked by the Hibdon father/son team. Clark Wendlandt and Mark Davis for Falcon rods. Two and three time AOY's plus one Bassmasters Classic winner. Wood Dave's again for the Lindy Rattlin No-Snagg sinker. You can get the same design today. I have a 1/2 ounce for Carolina rigs. Terminator Finesse Jigs being introduced. Woo Daves for Ledgebuster Deep Crankin' Spinnerbaits. "The Ledgebuster Spinnerbait got me to the Classic and helped me win it." Woo Daves for Jack's Juice bait spray. It is still around. Davy Hite, 1999 Classic winner for Gambler plastics in bacon flavor. Daiichi for the "World's Sharpest Hooks" and an order form for free samples. And on the inside back cover, KVD and Mark Davis for Strike King hawking "The Classic winning Wild Thang" for the 2001 Classic Champ, KVD. The Bassmaster University was a fantastic event. I got to hear and meet so many pros, some on their way up and others on their way down. I took copious notes and refer to them from time to time. This is the program where Ken Cook told us about the bass' digestion time of a minnow based on water temperature. So many facts and funny stories. You get Hank Parker and Jimmy Houston together and get ready to laugh. Those guys are fantastic and Hank never referred to his notes during his two one-hour presentations. Never looked at anything other than his rod, reel, bait and the audience. Fantastic guy. Great information on bass fishing. Met him again at the Boy Scout Jamboree in Virginia when I worked the Berkley booth and he is one outstanding ambassador for bass fishing. The stories he told on Houston and Bill Dance were great. We laughed until our sides hurt. Maybe I will go through the 2003 and 2004 magazines and list their ads if you guys are interested. Let me know. And be sure to look for your Gitzits!

What is posted on Lake Mooney: Lake Mooney This new 520-acre reservoir opened to public fishing on July 1, 2017. The fish community has matured to the point that angling can be supported. The lake experienced a protracted filling operation and finally reached full pool in early 2016. The lake name (originally Rocky Pen Reservoir for its impounded stream) was changed to honor the late Stafford Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jason Mooney. The reservoir is steep sided and deep with moderate residential development along shorelines and features abundant submersed brush and rocky outcrops. Several fish habitat structures were also constructed in winter 2015 (which are currently unmarked but should be marked during 2017). Mooney is a water supply for Stafford County. Maps & Directions Take Route 17 north from Fredericksburg, turn left onto Banks Ford Parkway, and right on Greenbank Road. Stafford Parks and Recreation access is at 500 Greenbank Road, Falmouth, VA 22406. Map Fishing Opportunities Lake Mooney was stocked with primary warm water species between 2014 and 2016 including Bluegill, Redear Sunfish and Channel Catfish. Black Crappie and Largemouth Bass naturally colonized the filling reservoir from inundated ponds. Stafford County impoundments are not known for productivity, and Mooney is no exception. Relatively clear, slightly tannin-stained water combined with the protracted filling process to result in a predator heavy community featuring Largemouth Bass and Black Crappie stockpiling at smaller sizes. This means a potentially high level of success in terms of catch rate (quantity) but not necessarily good quality at this point, although bass over 18″ were sampled during electrofishing in May 2017. Thus, the 12-inch maximum length limit on bass (anglers are allowed to harvest up to five bass per day less than 12″, but possession of any bass over 12″ is illegal). Harvest of any size Black Crappie up to the state creel limit of 25 per day is encouraged. The lake’s fish populations are surveyed annually primarily to monitor Largemouth Bass size structure and forage base.

Advertising campaign with Randy Howell, Ish Monroe, Takahiro Omori, Andy Montgomery, and Brent Ehrler as their pro staff back in 2014-2015. And they are also known for their saltwater rods and reels. The company started to give fantastic support for their products with a lot of positive reviews. Good products and good support equal sales. I think Brandon Palaniuk is part of their pro staff today.

Bassman, you got to go where the fish are. So go deep with a deep diving crankbait, spoon, or plastic on a Carolina rig. Try a wacky Senko, too. Anything to hit the lowest water column and the bottom. I would suggest the "Ned Rig" but I have never fished it in that deep of water depth. If they are in the area they may hit your bait out of anger or frustration. Also, any way you can hit the water before sunrise and throw some top waters and upper water column baits? Or fish until the sun sets and they come up to feed? Just a suggestion. Let us know how you do and on what body of water you did your best. Good luck.

On the Historic James River out of Richmond we lose baits to the stripers and bowfin. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, Chatterbaits, and plastics are all targets for the stripers and bowfin. Add in catfish and a smallie now and then and you have a lot of versatile presentations. Head down river to the Chick River and you can add crabs to the list for plastics. I do agree that spoons can be productive in fresh and salt water. I like to use live or fresh cut bait, squid, shrimp, blood worms, and sand fleas for salt water. I also will use the Gulp! shrimp baits as they work great for croakers. Interesting thread. Should be interesting to read what other guys use for both fresh and saltwater species.

Yes Pond Hopper, we all have the same problem you are experiencing. Just too many colors in the marketplace that can confuse us. So what to do? You take only three colors with you for your plastics: watermelon for clear water; green pumpkin for stained water; June bug for stained and muddy water. And that's all. No "with another color of flake." No two tone. Just the three simple colors rigged on a spinning rig for each so you can change them easily by picking up your spinning rods for each color. Then flip, pitch and cast your fanny off using the colors for each type of water you encounter and remembering what they hit in what type water. After you do this a few times you can then expand your colors to the "with flake" or "red or green or blue flake" and on and on as you know what the basic three colors will produce. Sometimes when I fish tournaments I limit my plastic colors to those three main colors as it can become confusing and aggravating to have too many color selections at your disposal. Remember: KISS.

Papajoe, my old tournament buddy used to buy the lowest priced rods and reels and he could outfish anyone. We did really great in tournaments with him using lower end products. When a rod or reel broke he just threw it away and got another low end model. He had an old Cajun boat and I don't believe he had any electronics. We fished out of my boat most of the time as he liked it and he always did very well, which was a confidence builder for him. So when you penned that using one combo, mono line and Walmart bargain bin lures is acceptable in bass fishing, it touched home for me. As my buddy told me, "the bass have no idea of the brand or cost of your tackle." He knew about pattering and he used a number of presentations. He also rigged a Creme worm with three hooks and this was his "go to" bait. You try to figure out how to rig any worm with three hooks all tied together. It is not easy. I learned a lot from him before he moved back home up north. And I still have some of his Creme worms with the three hooks.

$3,200 plus installation. Really not bad when you consider the prices of a top of the line trolling motor and a top of the line GPS system. This way you have both professionally installed, giving you one big advantage over others in tournaments and having fun watching the screen when you fish for fun.

A great way to sell more GPS units. Only $3,200 plus installation.

Which way will it go? No one knows, even the Shadow doesn't know. Should know by this coming Wednesday or Thursday as to what prevailing winds win: northern ones or western ones will guide the storm inland. Hold on Catt!!!!!

I went and viewed the Googan ICast video and it was interesting. What I am wondering is where they got the capital to start the company or did they go bare bones and contract all of the production to another entity in the USA? Baits seem to be along the lines of the Brush Hog and Rage Tail craws plus some Zoom baits. They also mentioned that their baits have scent in them. Not sure if I like that although I must admit I like the General by Berkley and its scent. I put MegaStrike on my baits so this may not be a negative for me. Will I try the new Googan baits? No, not this soon. I will let you guys fish them and then report back.

Bull, got myself and wife life time Virginia fishing licenses. Purchased Virginia Resident Legacy Lifetime fishing licenses for grandson and granddaughter before they were one-year old. Thanks for reminding us of these programs that vary by state.

I just finished draining my last container of 2-stroke oil this past week into my motor's oil reservior and went on a search for two more on-gallon containers. I looked up the local tackle shops and then made a comparison of the prices I noted. What was surprising was Walmart. I walked around my local Walmart store early Saturday morning but could not find the marine oil I was seeking. So I went home and got on the computer and looked upped the Walmart Internet page and found the oil for far less than any other outlets. I ordered two, one-gallon containers and to my surprise a message popped up stating that they were at my Sheila Lane Walmart and I could pick them up later that day at the express pickup area. I took my email with my bar code to the store, walked in and went directly to the phone order area where I scanned the bar code. A message came on the screen telling me to push the "open cabinet door" link which I did and one of the cabinet doors swung open and the two, one-gallon containers of oil were there. I removed them, closed the door and went to Aunt Annie's to get my wife a pretzel. Never had a shopping experience so easy. I guess I am being pulled into the 21st Century slowly but surely. Now to keep looking for those G. Loomis rods on the Walmart web site!

Overall, Lyle is very lucky. He will heal in a few months and get a new truck, trailer and boat. Psychologically, he will have some problems with the accident until he can come to grips with how lucky he is to be alive and get on with his fishing and life. All the best for a speedy recovery and being back on the water ASAP. I am always concerned that some dummy will try to get behind me from an acceleration lane or from the right or left and not realize there is a bass boat being towed. All we can do is practice defensive driving, which may still not be enough to avoid an accident.

Cgolf, I am with you. So far this year all I have purchased are some #3 snaps I stumbled on at Walmart last week. But....I have close to $70 on my BPS awards card for purchases and I plan to head to BPS to get some two-stroke oil, more #3 snaps, #1 and 1/0 weedless hooks. I also took inventory of my line and decided to use up all of my Trilene and Yo-Zuri that I have left and then start my Gamma collection. Don't get me wrong. Trilene and Yo-Zuri are fantastic lines and I have used them for years. But I think it is time to go up to the pro's level and go with th Gamma. Also had my wife order a new retractable lure retriever from BPS which is on backorder. But since she made the ordered it does not count against me.

To add to this thought, how about the tackle manufacturers and distributors, along with their pro staffs, hawking tackle and baits to us that we don't need and we are dumb enough to buy them for a number of reasons? Remember the carrot stick? Everyone just had to have at least one until they started to snap in cold weather. KVD's 1.5 and 2.5 crankbaits? We still have to have them when Bandits work just as well in the majority of situations. Woo Daves old hawks for his sponsors that he no longer represents. The Banjo Minnow? Guaranteed to catch everything, even Moby Dick and Nemo. How great the Alabama rig was going to be? Until we figured out that it was banned from tournaments and it will wear you out. And the list goes on and on. So we are on the same level as our little green friends when it comes to being dumb about buying certain baits and tackle that a pro says are wonderful when in reality the pro never caught one fish on them. Just listen carefully to the pros at the Bassmaster Classic weigh-ins talking about their sponsors' baits and tackle. They don't say they used them. The pros just talk about them. And we fall for it every time.

X2, and way too many times, too!!!!