Sam

Rooster, The Rules by Ike: Line Mono for treble hook biats. Fluorocarbon and copoly for anything. Super lines and braid for heavy cover and deep water. So get rid of your mono and go with a fluorocarbon line. 8 or 10 pounds for a spinning reel and 10 to 12 for your baitcaster when fishing plastics. Rods 6' 6" Medium Action for 2500 spinning reels for worms, tubes and jigs. 7' Fiberglass with 5:1:1 baticaster for treble hook baits. 7' Medium Heavy rod with 6:3:1 baitcaster for jig, worms and Carolina rigs. I like graphite rods better than graphite but that is just me. I also like the Medium Heavy rods for their backbond and a fast tip for better hookset. Weights Tungston to get the feel of the bottom better. So rerig and go out and show your brother-in-law a few things!

Man, did you ask the questions. Here is my two-cents and I am sure the guys will add there input, too. How would you suggest I fish this river??? - Any wood or grass on shore; crankbaits, even deep divers to turn up the bottom; pumpkinseed with black flake 4-inch Senkos rigged both Texas and Wacky; try spinnerbaits; try Chatterbaits; and of course, if you can find any submerged grass throw your favorite tube. There isn't any structure that I have found in the deeper (middle) of the river and not all that much along the shoreline except for the docks and quite a few pilings that were used when the logging mills were open many years ago. - Bass heaven! Senkos, finesse worms and creature baits/lizards under docks and around pilings. Skip them with a spinning rig under the docks if possible. Fish back corners of docks near the shore. Crankbaits under and around the docks and pilings along with a jig and pig just to see if they are interested. I'm assuming that the bass have been there for a LOOOOONG time so am I right to assume there should be some pigs in there???? - Yes, and a lot of dinks, too How far downriver would the bass be since it would get saltier as you get closer to the bay... - Bass live in brackish water so you can fish brackish water until it gets totally salt. We catch bass alwong with blue crabs in Virginia waters. There are a few creeks that flow into this river but just a few. Should I fish the mouth of those creeks??? - Yes. Definately. Plastics; swimming worms; Senkos; crankbaits. Any grass you can find will produce some hits. You may want to go with a deep diving crankbait to stir up the bottom as stated above. Check the tides and try to go as far into the creek as is safe and throw to the deepest bank with a tube or Senko or finesse worm or crankbait or spinnerbait or Chatterbait. A nice Fat Albert or Ika may produce some hits, too. In a boat, I can only get a short way up the creek. - Better than nothing so go for it. If you can fish early AM or late PM try topwaters, like a pink or white trick worm; Chugbug; Roostertail; Mepps; Pop-R's; Spooks; frogs; and of course, the trusty Cavitron buzzbait. And give the topwaters a try when you find any wood or grass. Just fish the waters depending on its clarity, temperature and depth, just like any other body of water and let us know how you do. It seems you will have the privilige of finding the fish and what they want to eat. You are one lucky guy.

Smallie - Chrome with black back Rat-L-Trap in James River. Largemouth - Many over 6 pounds in ponds on Senkos, grubs, buzzbaits and crankbaits.

I have always been told that rain puts oxygen in the water. Have you ever seen the big water sprays in office park ponds? They are there to aerate the water and to put oxygen in the ponds for good pond management. I would hope Micro would put in his input on this subject as he would know.

Matt, if you received a PM how about sending one out? Just to double check to make sure you can send and recieve. Sort of like being a Hallmark card. ;D

Congratulations! Sounds like it is time for a party. So go lift a few cold ones in honor of the site and the guys. Not many, just a few. And keep those cards and letters comming! ;D

Hey Fishinfriend, I also use the same Trileen XL and it works well. For tournaments I move up to the Yo-Zuri Ultra Soft in 10 or 12 pound test. I have caught some beautiful ladies in local ponds with the Trileen XL in 6, 8, 10 and 12 pound test. I use the same stuff in 4 pound for my ultra light and it works great.

Regarding the KVD Lure and Line Conditioner, I usually spray the line on the reel's spool before I go out a second or third time. I try to hit the spool from three different directions with the spray. If I ever get an electric spooling machine I may take the line off the spool and respool in going through the Line and Lure Conditioner but for now I just spray the line. Hope this helps.

Unless the Deadskins can get that offense going it is going to be a l-o-n-g game against the Saints this coming weekend. >

No matter what line you purchaes, other than braid, be sure to pick up a bottle of Kevin VanDam's Lure and Line Conditioner. Spray a wet spot on a wash cloth and run your line through it while spooling your reel. Spray the line on the reel as you go along to make sure all line is coated with the Lure and Line Conditioner. This will help make the line easier to cast and help remove the memory. I like a 12 pound test on my baitcasters, be it flouro, mono or copoly. You can cast 12 pound test easily and it is strong enough to land any fish you will hook. Be sure to always check and set your drag on your baitcaster, too.

Glad you are with us. The guys will give you lots of tips and suggestions on outfitting your boat so jus ask away and if possible, post pictures.

Hey FiveBassLimit, Drag the highest paid NFL coaches' salary plus one dollar through a trailer park and you can have Nick Saban when he jumps on it to be the Chief's next coach. ;D

Bassboy15, you watch football? I bet Dave plays football.

ECU deserves to be ranked but remember, we are in a marathron and not a sprint so two wins can be cancelled by two losses down the road. I like teams that play hard and with heart and that sure applies to the Pirates. ECU will be ranked this week and they should beat NCSU, unless they have a let down. And speaking of let downs, did anyone notice that it took a kickoff return and a blocked punt returned for a TD for Alabama to defeat hapless Toolame? And if you see the states the Green Wennies outplayed the mighty Tide. Isn't college football great? P.S. ECU has some great colors, too. ;D

Thanks for the report. Always good to hear what is going on with the Potomac system.

Only suggestion I can think of for an incoming tide is to fish east of Richmond and follow the tide up river, fishing the shore and jetties and drop offs. Lots of places to fish so get a GMCO map of the Lower James River and Chickahominy River and see all of the creeks and places to fish the rivers. Have fun.

Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. It is nice to do something with the entire family.

Are the rods graphite?

Sent a PM.

Jimmy Houston. Funny, articulate and he gives good tips to the viewers.

Super catch. And now you let that one out of the bag. I can see Simon and Link and others heading over to the concete pond and catching those monsters. Actually, the fishing is slow and I am glad you caught that lady to show us what is in the pond. Great catch and super photos. Just right for Christmas cards this year. ;D

19 inches! You have 19 inches! Of worm! That is not finesse fishing in my book but why not? If it works then use it for as long as you can. ;D

Please understand that each insurance contract has different parts which explain what is and what is not covered. Each section is independent of any other section. What you are reading is the liability section of the insurance policy. Please find the Physical Damage wording and read what it has to say. Micro is totally correct so don't read about liability coverage and apply it to your physical damage coverage. And don't blame me or Micro for this situation. Other than Boiler and Machinery policies all insurance policies are written by lawyers. B&M contracts were written by engineers and they are very difficult to figure out. So that explains why your homeowners, auto, boat and personal articles floater are difficult to understand even though the new verison are in English and try to be easy to read.

The major problem fishng after a storm is that the water will be heavily stained, or dirty. You may have to wait until the body of water settles down. If the storm stopped the fish from feeding then you will probably do great early in the AM when things calm down and the bass start to move around. So go out and give it a try and let us know how the water looks and what baits and techniques worked.

P.S. You may have to take up weight training to hold those fish for the pictures so you can smile.