Sam

Pond Hopper, the jig is only part of the answer. 1. What is the bottom like? Wood, rock, grass, slop, slime, sand, pebbles? Makes a difference. 2. Any docks or piers in the water where you can flip and pitch the jig? 3. What type and test line do you want to use? Remember, braid and rocks do not get along. Check the rod's parameters to make sure you are within the line test and bait weight limits. 4. What type of "pig" do you want to use? A really good looking crawfish or a Zoom type pig? Try to match the pig color with your jig color. 5. Colors? Don't be too concerned about colors. Stick with the blue/black for starters and then go orange and brown. 6. Jig and pig weight. Do you want to start with a 1/2 ounce or a lesser weight jig and pig? I suggest a lower weight for starters. 7. Fast baitcaster. 7:1 to pull the fish up off the bottom and to you. 8. Medium heavy 7-foot rod. Try to find one designed especially for jigs. 9. Read, read, and read about fishing jigs. Go to YouTube and look up videos on jig fishing. Check out Bassresource YouTube productions on jig fishing. 10. Experiment. Go with different styles, colors, weights; drag along the bottom with long and short movements; bounce it off the bottom, bounce it high off the bottom; cast and let it sit for a full 60-seconds and then start moving it back to you; keep a log of what you did under what conditions for future referral. Good luck. Let us know how you did.

Here’s a good laugh for the 4th. Enjoy!

I thought you might enjoy this picture of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. Happy Independence Day. God bless the U.S.A.?? A few years ago at the Richmond NASCAR race the Blue Angels had a flyover going from east to west over the track, as usually done at the end of the National Anthem for military aircraft at all Richmond NASCAR races. It was spectacular. But then something happened I will never forget. All of a sudden we hear this loud roar and coming in from the north around 500 to 600 feet over the parking lots and around 100 feet above the track the Blue Angels appeared out of nowhere heading directly at us and then they pulled straight up like shown in the above picture and did their flower. It scared the heck out of us in the stands. One second we were watching the crews getting the cars and drivers ready for the start of the race and then the Blue Angels were there. They just appeared. Bam! Out of nowhere. It was something everyone who witnessed it will never forget. My friend and I looked at each other in total amazement. Fantastic seeing what those jets can do. So who won the race? No idea. All I can remember are the Blue Angels heading straight at me and then pulling straight up at the last second. Glad I was wearing underwear! At last night's performance I told my wife that the Blue Angels were coming back for another flyover. I told her that one flyover was not enough and to get ready for their return. Sure enough, they appeared and someone got the above photo. Felt like I just landed my personal best!

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Suggestion: Ray Marine.

Y'all let us know if this occurs and what the authorities have to report. The fire at Jim Beam's Woodford County facility destroyed over 2 million gallons of bourbon and might impact the Kentucky River. WWLTV.COM Over 2 million gallons of Jim Beam bourbon destroyed after warehouse fires

Kyle, on a weekday I love being on the water by myself. Nothing like it in the world. Just you and Mother Nature. For tournaments, I like to have a partner with me. Not only to help make our limit but to focus on what we are both doing and the changes we have to make during the day to be successful.

Yep. Same thing down here in the city of Richmond, Virginia. Doe and her two fawns running around the neighborhood along with bucks of all sizes. They have torn up the plants and flowers we planted once again. Very destructive animals. Hope the guy who hunts behind our house gets well so he can start the harvest when bow season opens.

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Glad you will be hitting the water over the 4th. I stay off the water on holidays, especially holiday weekends. Too many people on the water who have no idea of how to behave or be safe. In addition, we are expected to have thunderstorms through next Monday in central Virginia so that cancels out any fishing adventures for me. Have a fun time. Catch a few for me!

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Good question. Maybe we need a separate thread on this subject. I have no idea of which ones are better than others.

Ryan, I cherish all of the home made baits I have accumulated over the years and will not use them. Just don't want to lose the art work and memories of past friendships.

Good question and I have no idea. I love drop shotting and it is one of my confidence techniques. I have found limited uses for the Ned rig in the waters I fish due to bottom structure eating the rigs. Neko is OK. Caught a number on a Neko rig. But I still like the drop shot over both the Ned and Neko rigs. Time will tell.

How true. We cannot control water, wind or electricity. Any one of these elements can prove deadly at any time.

Right. The Tennessee guys were extremely instrumental in the Battle of New Orleans lead by Andrew Jackson. They also fought in Texas against Mexico. I believe Davy Crockett was from Tennessee, too.

I did some research and here is what I found. Interesting part of history. Some people mistakenly thought the nickname Volunteers came from the Civil War. No, it did not. LSU's nickname is from the Civil War. Tennessee's nickname came from other wars before the Civil War. Ole Miss is not from the Civil War, but the nickname Rebels is from the Civil War. Ole Miss got its Ole Miss nickname from the name for the student yearbook, The Ole Miss Annual. The yearbook was published for the first time in 1896. 'Ole Miss' was a term slaves used to refer to the wife of a plantation owner. I have no idea who thought it was a good idea to use the term "Ole Miss" but back then it was acceptable. The editor of the school newspaper, The Mississippian, proposed a contest in April 1936 to produce a new nickname for the Ole Miss athletic teams. Prior to this, the teams had been called by various names–the Red and Blue, the Oxfords, the Mighty Mississippians, the Southerners, the Crimson and Blue–and most recently and most popularly up until 1936, the Flood. The Mississippian received many entries and subsequently placed several names including Rebels, Raiders, Confederates, Stonewalls, and Ole Miss in the hands of 21 sportswriters. Ultimately, "Rebels" was the choice of 18 out of the 21 sports writers, a nickname alluding to the University Greys. After five months of contest and polling, the university's athletics committee formally approved the name, and its sports teams have been known as the Rebels ever since. Mississippi sent their Company A of the 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment in the Confederate Army during the Civil War to fight with the Army of Northern Virginia. The Greys served in many of the most famous and bloody battles of the war. Today, Ole Miss has a black bear as its mascot and the football team is referred to as the "Land Sharks." LSU got its Fighting Tigers nickname from the Civil War. According to Dr. Charles E. Coats, LSU's first football coach in a 1937 article by his son, "The Louisiana Tigers had represented the state in the Civil War and had been known for their hard fighting. This name was applied collectively to the New Orleans Zouaves, the Donaldsonville Canonniers, and to a number of other Louisiana companies sent to Virginia, who seemed to have the faculty of getting into the hardest part of the fighting and staying there, most of them permanently. One company I knew of went in 200 strong; only 28 returned and many of these were wounded." One of the generals stated that the Louisiana guys fought like Tigers. Today, the LSU sports teams are called "Tigers" while the official name is "Fighting Tigers." Announcers call LSU the Tigers and us old goats remember the correct name, Fighting Tigers. So tell us about your home state and favorite sports team and how they got their nicknames. Should provide some interesting information.

Here is some unknown history about Louisiana. How about adding some unknown facts about your state to this thread. And the list does not include the great fishing and hunting in the Sportsman's Paradise. Enjoy, especially how the term "Dixieland" got started. Bet you did not know that one. Louisiana proud! A LITTLE LOUISIANA HISTORY LESSON: If Hurricane Katrina causing the levees to break in New Orleans is the only thing you know about Louisiana , here are a few more interesting facts about the Bayou State: •Louisiana has the tallest state capitol building in the nation at 450 feet. •The Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans is the largest enclosed stadium in the world. •The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the longest over-water bridge in the world at 23.87 miles. •Louisiana 's 6.5 million acres of wetlands are the greatest wetland area in America. •The oldest city in the Louisiana Purchase Territory is Natchitoches , Louisiana founded in 1714. •The first bottler of Coca-Cola, Joseph Biedenharn, lived in Monroe , Louisiana and was one of the founders of Delta Air Lines, initially called Delta Air Service. •Delta Airlines got its start in Monroe , Louisiana when County Agent, C.E. Woolman, decided to try dusting the Boll weevil that was destroying the cotton crops in the Mississippi River Delta from an airplane. It was the first crop dusting service in the world. •Baton Rouge was the site of the only American Revolution battle outside the original 13 colonies. •The formal transfer of the Louisiana Purchase was made at the Cabildo building in New Orleans on December 20, 1803. •The staircase at Chrétien Point, in Sunset, Louisiana was copied for Tara in "Gone with the Wind." •Louisiana is the No. 1 producer of crawfish, alligators and shallots in America . •Louisiana produces 24 percent of the nation's salt, the most in America . •Much of the world's food, coffee and oil pass through the Port of New Orleans . •Tabasco , a Louisiana product, holds the second oldest food trademark in the U.S. Patent Office. •Steen's Syrup Mill in Abbeville , Louisiana is the world's largest syrup plant producing sugar cane syrup. •America 's oldest rice mill is in New Iberia , Louisiana at KONRIKO Co. •The International Joke Telling Contest is held annually in Opelousas , Louisiana . •LSU (The Ole War Skule) in Baton Rouge has the distinction of contributing the most officers to WW II after the U.S. military academies. •The Louisiana Hayride radio show helped Hank Williams, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash achieve stardom. It was broadcast from KWKH Radio in Shreveport Louisiana from 1948 to 1960. •The term Uncle Sam was coined on the wharfs of New Orleans before Louisiana was a U.S. territory as goods labeled U.S. were from "Uncle Sam." •The game of craps was invented in New Orleans in 1813 as betting was common activity on the wharves. •When states had their own currency, the Louisiana Dix (French for ten) was a favored currency for trade. English speakers called them Dixies and coined the term Dixieland. •New Orleans is the home of the oldest pharmacy in America at 514 Chartres Street in the French Quarter. These early medical mixtures became known as cocktails (guess they were good for what ails ya?), coining yet another term. •New Orleans is the birthplace of Jazz, the only true American art form. Jazz gave birth to the Blues and Rock and Roll music. Viva La Louisiana!!! - COME AS YOU ARE...LEAVE DIFFERENT.

Blue, you post hit home. We don't think it could happen to us. Never do. But it does. And accidents happen so fast on the water that you may not have time to react. We lost a boater last month on Virginia's Mattaponi River by the Walkerton ramp and authorities are now looking for two Richmond gentlemen who have disappeared on their fishing trip. No truck or boat found so far and authorities are asking for the public's help. Two years ago on Lake Gaston a tournament guy went around a point coming out of a creek and the waves flipped his bass boat. He was an excellent boater and very good tournament fisherman. We lost him. His boater did survive and was pulled from the water by a state trooper who was fishing in the area and saw the boat flip. The boater and nonboater were wearing their PFD's but stories said that the impact when entering the water knocked him out and he did not have the chance to activate the gas canister. The two guys mentioned above did not leave a "Float Plan" at home so the families are beside themselves as to where the two guys went fishing. So wearing your PFD with the kill switch attached is a must and leaving a "Float Plan" home is also necessary. Glad to read you will be wearing your PFD. I go a step farther and ask guys who want me to take them fishing if they can swim. You would be surprised at the number of people who tell me that they can't swim. No swim - no fishing trip. And get your PFD gas canisters checked and replaced. They have an expiration date and you can get a ticket from the Virginia DG&IF in Virginia if they are expired. Same for your flares. Check their expiration date. Thoughts and prayers to Steve's family. Tragic situation when we lose anyone, especially ones with families who have lost a father, son, brother, husband, cousin, or good friend. Makes you understand how important safety is on the water and how fast a tragic accident can occur at any time and and any place.

How about a picture? What about your shorts and tee????

Due to my wife's back surgery and recovery, I have not had the boat out this year so I have been fishing ponds and local lakes. Caught 10 out of two ponds and then quit after 35 in my double secret pond on June 27th. All were under 1 pound. No big ones what so ever. Pond management is a problem but in the past I have always nailed a three or four pounder. But this year I have landed 45, all dinks, missed around another 15 others, all dinks. They are still fun to catch.

Tim, try this site. They may be able to help you. https://www.disabledsportsusa.org/sports/adaptive-equipment/fishing-equipment/

Yikes! No confidence in plastics? He, plastics are half of our arsenal. You really have to keep trying. May I suggest that one day you take only Senkos with you and fish them wacky style on a 1/0 or #1 weedless unweighted hook on a spinning rig with 6 or 8 pound test using a 6'6" medium or medium heavy rod. Smear each one with MegaStrike when you first throw them and then update the MegaStrike as you fish each one. Pitch and flip them into cover, wood, grass, pads, under and next to docks and piers, by rocks, flats, moored up boats, pilings, under and by overgrown trees or bushes, on the bank and drag them into the water, straight out into the water, and at any thing in the water. Don't be too concerned with the color. A June bug, green pumpkin and if the water is clear a watermelon color will work. Keep the colors simple. You can then try shaky heads and drop shots and Texas rigged plastics. Please give plastics another whack and let us know when your catch ratio improves throwing plastics.

I have seen a bass chase minnows towards the bank and the bass came out of the water and onto the bank, where it flopped around until it got back in the water. I applauded the effort.

Yep, we were following you guys throughout the tournament. Congrats! You guys did great. Will look for the story when you have a chance to pen it. Have a safe summer.