Sam

First rule of shore fishing....be quiet and out of sight. When approaching the bank walk very quietly and try not to throw your shadow on the water. When walking from place to place be at least 50 feet from the shore so you do not make any noise or spook any fish. Second rule....if you can see them then they can see you. Otherwise, look for dropoffs, wood, brush, grass, pads and anything the fish will hold to for their ambush or safety points. Fish the shoreline right in front of you. Drop your wacky rigged Senko or finesse worm in the water to the left, front and left of where you will want to stand, if possible, before you get too close to the bank. You never know if that big one is hanging out in front of you in shallow water. Use a pumpkinseed with black flake Senko rigged wacky or if the water is clear go with a watermealon. Do the same with your finesse worms. Use weedless hooks if there is structure or cover you want to fish. Pitch and flip into fallen trees and by the drain near the dam. Deepest part of ponds will be by the dam which is adjacent to the drain. Fish the drain area. but get ready for some snags. Throw Rat-L-Traps, spinnerbaits, crankbaits and your plastics. Sometimes a black and blue Chatterbait can be productive. For topwaters, go with a pink or white unweighted trick worm or a Pop-R type bait. Buzzbaits are dynamite, too. In fact, buzzbaits can be your #1 producer this time of the year or in early AM or late PM during the summer. Throw a Cavitron. When the water gets low you need to outline on a map the pond or the shore area where you fish and note the underwater stumps, rocks, wood, etc. that you can fish when the water level rises. Watch out for critters in the trees, rocks and grass that you will have to walk over or under. I was fishing a dock on a pond and watched a small copperhead take his time and move down the bank from my left to right on the shoreline in front of the dock. Just be quiet; have your rigs ready to go; carry a sissors and pliers with you; and have fun.

Hey Dave, Do you think Bassboy15 will ever get a copy? Probably not. Living in KC he will be listening to opera music.

I guess I will have to tune in to the XM Metalica station and listen to the songs. I still say they are lip sinking for a bunch of 13 year old Chinese girls with buck teeth. ;D

Richmond, Virginia Sheetz on Huguenot Road $3.34 Bon Air BP $3.79 Bon Air Exxon $3.59 I go to Bon Air BP as I am friendly with the owner and he tells me that he will be able to get only 80% of his regular weekly order durng the week of September 15. So I filled up the SUV and boat for my Sunday tournament. ;D If nothing else, I can work from home but I can't fish from home.

No. It has to be totally quiet. I used to listen to music and football games when I went hunting but since I don't go hunting any more I like it nice and quiet on the boat or shore. Concentration. You got to concentrate.

Six-inch Zoom pumpkinseed with black flake finesse worm. Six-inch Zoom Mocassin Blue Dead Ringer finesse worm. It's a tie.

Excellent catch. So what do you do when the are short striking your toads? If you are not dragging the toad in grass or pads how about doing something outside of the box. How about attaching a trailer hook? It is unusual and it may make the toad swim differently, but it can work. Congrats on your win. A win by one ounce or 20 pounds is still a win. So experiment and see what happens and keep sending those pictures to us.

The wacky technique will work in stained or muddy water. The secret is the bait's color. Try pumpkinseed with black flake; pumpkinseed with a touch of chartreuse on the tail; and black; or black and grape. You will have to experiment with colors to see what will work on your wacky, Texas or Carolina rig plus pitching and flipping.

May I suggest purchasing some "ears" so you can attach them to the motor and run water to the motor while testing it to make sure it runs, while still at home? You can pick them up at Wal-Mart or a marine store. Second, always start your motor at home before you venture out onto the water. By doing this you know the motor will operate correctly. I agree with what was previously posted. Problems with dirty fuel, fuel lines, fuel pump or even the water pump (was motor hot when it quit?) can cause major problems. Good luck and let us know what you find out.

Rochester, New York? Doesn't it get cold up there? Glad you are with us and just ask your questions and read the responses and others' posts. We have a number of great guys from your geographical area so ask away about places to fish, baits, tackle, techniques, etc. But hurry, it gets cold up your way.

Unlike Bassboy15, Dave is on the cutting edge in bait design. All he has to do is to get his masters or Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and we have ourselves a wonderful bait designer that will be a valuable individual to the fishing industry after he graduates college. So keep an eye on Dave and his designs as his future is bright.

And don't forget to check out your state's Wildlife and Fisheries safety list that gives you the items you must have on your boat, such as a fire extinguisher, seat cushions, horns, first aid kits, anchor, lights, etc. You will need storage space for the required items plus your tackle. You NEVER have enough storage space on any boat.

I have not encountered this in the geographical Richmond, Virginia area. I am going to fill up the SUV and boat today or tomorrow so I will find out, shortly. If this is true, I guess I will be making two stops. One at the BP and a second at the Exxon.

Gitzits.

Yes. And purchase the most expensive reels and rods you can afford. Even if it means skipping a few meals. Shimano for reels. Any name brand for rods.

You may want to consider adding carpet to deaden the sound when fishing. A small trolling motor will be very beneficial on the front. A small sonar unit with the transducer attached to the trolling motor. Do not attach wires too tight or the trolling motor will not turn due to the restrictive wires attached to the unit. A 15 or 25 HP Mercury two-stroke motor with an unattached gas tank. You may want to install a fixed gasoline tank on the boat and then you may not. A deck, as you said, to stand and fish. A ladder to help pull yourself back in the boat when you fall out or it tips over. And I am serious. I am going to put one on my boat. Don't think it is hard to get back in a boat from the water? Next summer give it a try. An emergency shut off switch attached to the motor, if possible and a lanyard to attach to your PFD when under power. A seat with a compartment under it for storage. Two seats with storage compartments under them for storage. You can never have too much storage space. A small insulated compartment for ice under a seat. I know some of these are "wish list" items but give them some thought. Have fun and be sure to post pics as you progress on your renovation.

Join the club. If you fish enough you will catch not only dinks on larger baits but bream and bluegills, too. Great photo. Thanks for sharing.

I just shoot them with my BB guy in my yard. That's enough excitement for me. ;D

Sending you a PM.

Super outing. Thanks for sharing.

I have done that plus caught them with a crawfish in their mouth. Had them throw up shad in the well, too. Glad to know it is universal.

Glad you joined us. Only question I can ask you is..... Are you a Flyers fan??? ;D

Matt, Interesting post, especially with all of our new members. Thanks for the time and effort to research and type that data, even if you were fortunate to cut and paste it from another document. No matter what anyone says about Keith Jones and his publication, his book is a study he performed at Berkley and I do not believe he had any reason to skew the results in Berkley's favor. As a Ph.D. he has to publish or perish and his book is excellent although we all have some problems with some of his scientific findings as they do not balance with our experience on the water. I suggest everyone purchase his book for a very interesting read this winter. I will review it this winter along with the posts I have saved and two other bass books I just purchased. I could not get the basshouse site to open. Will try later. Thanks again and I sincerely hope you will continue your posts and use a Word Document to type and spell check them and then paste them within the forum reply box. Otherwise you could lose the entire post wtih one typing misstep.

Hurricanes are caused by a number of variables that we have had for 1,000's of years ane are out of our control. Hurricanes will continue and they are a necessary part of our environment by moving water into places that have drought conditions and to keep the water levels high in Louisiana so they will have a sucessful crawfish harvest. ;D But I am with Avid. I hope we don't get any big storms but we could use one or two more passing through Virginia before the season ends to help with the water levels in our ponds, rivers and lakes.

Mono for treble hook baits. Use 10-pound test. If you go from a 10-pound to an 8-pound test you will add around 10-inches to your depth. If you go from 10-pound to a 12-pound test you will lose about 12-inches of depth. The 14-pound test will reduce your depth from between 12 to 18-inches. So go with a good 10-pound test mono to keep the crank in the strike zone longer. And remember, you will need some stretch for treble hook baits.