Sam

Link, Super pics. Good job. Isn't your wife expecting? And she still goes with you. Wonderful lady. Salisbury Lake is now being "patroled" so stay away. Seems they are running off everyone who is not a member of the country club. Keep those cards and letters coming.

Solstace 2000 for light finesse fishing. Stradic 2000 for light finesse fishing. Stradic 2500 MgFA and FI for all presentations. Baitrunner for catfish. All operate extremely well under all conditions.

Hey Missouri, I also have a Magnum by Plano tackle box. It still has the rid sticker that says "NEW -Another Innovative Product from Plano" and it is in excellent conditon. I thought I was the only one who had one of these. What do you think it is worth today?????

Yes Dave, I had one a long, long time ago. Don't know what happened to it. Probably sold it at a yard sale or threw it away. New systems out do not use the three tray system but if it works then use it. What about that monster of a tackle box you purchased? Have you filled it up yet???

Special thanks to all of you law enforcement guys. We need more good guys and it is nice knowing that you all are out there if we need you. As for nice people down south...yes, 99% of everyone down younder are great people. But it is the 1% that we worry about and that are out at 3 AM when we take off to head for the ramps or who stagger to a city ramp (like Hopewell Marina in Virginia) that can cause trouble. As flechero said, "carrying a weapon is NOT for everyone... but for some, it's like insurance... you have it and hope to God you never need it."

Decided to forgo beef this 4th and I had some wonderful boiled crabs and a super shrimp salad. Tomorrow I will finish the crabs and cook two (2) pounds of shrimp. Then it is Barq's root beer float with Eddy's Chocolate Cookie Dough ice cream. There goes my diet. ;D P.S. Heading to the Richmond Braves game and the fireworks so will probably have a ballpark hot dog at the game.

Great pics! Super fish!! You guys did super!!! Keep it up and sending us those pics of the Richmond area bass. I need to start taking a camera with me like I do when I take kids fishing. I bet the Innsbrook area will be quiet this weekend and you guys will probably have the lake to yourselves. In the meatime, I am cleaning up the garage so we can paint the floor. But rods, reel and tackle box is in the SUV, ready to roll at a moments notice.

Bocraw, Here is what our club tournament rules say about having six (6) fish in your well at the end of the tournament: "Any person having six (6) or more fish in possession at the end of tournament time will be disqualified for that tournament." You do not have to be at the weigh-in. Just having six (6) or more fish in your well is a violation and you will be disqualified.

Will do. I know the 23rd is my bass club meeting at 7 PM but the 22nd may be open. But in myl ine of work who knows what will hit the fan? Will PM you this weekend. Thanks, Sam

Hey Vinnie, You were great in the movie! Welcome and start asking questions.

Hey Vinnie, You were great in the movie! Welcome and start asking questions.

Hey Uno, Great story and welcome to the best place for fishing on the web. As for you fishing for "bait" just remember that us guys from Louisiana eat "bait." And another great thing about bass fishing, you usually don't get seasick! Now, the major issue you have to deal with is which school, Alabama or Auburn, you are going to support this football season.

I stopped by the Hampton, Virginia Bass Pro Shop on my way to a meeting in Norfolk to pick up some split rings and I noticed that the Classic Patterns DVDs were on sale for $4.98 each. The original price was $14.95 each. I picked up three to add to my library. No other DVDs or videos were on sale so maybe BPS is clearing out the current Classic Patterns to make room for new products. So if you are interested in a great deal on Classic Patterns videos check out your local BPS.

Backwoods, To stop the bass from jumping put the rod tip into the water. Did you set the hook with a lot of power? Did you cross her eyes??? ;D As for your drag, it may have been a little too tight. I try to use Roadwarrier's suggestion (sorry if this is not Roadwarrier's suggestion but it is from one of the mods) to use about two and a half pounds of pressure to pull your line off the reel to set your drag. Also, since he was swimming towards you (I hate when that happens) it is always difficult to keep the line tight with pressure. So there are many things that can go wrong, including what NitroMan said. All I can suggest is to go back and try again!

I remember reading that a largemouth bass can swim up to 35 miles per hour. Sorry if my info is incorrect so if anyone knows please correct me. LMB are designed to move fast in the water with a burst of speed. But they are cautious creatures, too. John, thanks for the video. P.S. How is your new boat? Vulcan pond?

My American Legion Post hosts bingo night at our local Richmond VA Hospital and it is a rewarding experience. I have trouble attending as it brings back some memories of the past that I have forgotten; but the other guys have a great time and the soldiers are a lot of fun. If you do go to a VA hospital, be prepared to see some things that you have no idea exist. It is a rewarding experience and I encourage everyone to go at least one time.

Burley, Interesting question. I have discussed this issue with a number of guys and they all say that they do not carry any weapons in their bass boats. Some do have pistols in their trucks, but they keep the guns in their trucks at all times. I have never ecountered a problem on the water; however there is no guarantee that my next outing will not place me in a precarious situaiton. I thought of carrying one of those "snake" guns while fishing the Chick and Nottoway Rivers, but so far I have not seen any water moccasions or copperheads that were a threat. So to answer your question, no - but I have thought about it many times. And I will share with everyone that one of the guys in my boat club was actuall shot at while at a gas station filling up his boat for a tournament. Seems this guy got angry at him so he fired his gun and hit my friend's truck. Local Sheriff deputies took that looney away and he is now in jail. Two other guys had a man run down his lawn from his house carrying a shotgun and threatening the boaters to get away from his dock and fish somewhere else. No shots fired and the local Sheriff told my friends that the guy has a history of chasing fishermen away from his property but he has not fired his shotgun to date. As we all know, there are a lot of angry people out there and it is better to walk away then to find yourself in court facing charges after all you did was defend yourself.

Wow! I had no idea I have been that helpful. I am overwhelmed. Thanks to Glenn and the mods. This is a great site and the information from others has helped me, too. Thanks again.

I don't know if there is any parking fee at Henricus. I don't think so as it is a repica of the first American settlement. Yes, Henricus is before Jamestown if memory serves me correctly. The state has a replica of the camp that you can tour. Check it out on the web. Congrats on your first buzzbait bass. Isn't if fun catching them with buzzbaits? One of my favorite early morning and late evening baits, although you can fish them all day long. Are you using a trailer hook? Trailer hooks improve your hookup ratio. Try the Cavitrons. They are super.

Roostertails, did you all catch anything? ;D ;D ;D Man, what a story. So glad you and your wife are OK along with the boat, motor, trailer and SUV. I have been caught in storms and they are no fun, especially if you have white caps due to the wind. So glad you are safe and can relate the story to us. Now, what did you all catch again?????

Wednesday, July 2, 2008 The area of the James River from Bosher's Dam up to Watkins Landing is known as the Upper James River. I decided to take this morning off from work and ventured out around 8:15 from Watkins Landing and tooled down river to Bosher's Dam. I fished the northern shore, starting with a chartreuse with blue back Bandit 200 crankbait on my Curado 100 baitcaster with 12 pound Trileen XL line. What was so interesting is that I was visited by an Eagle (I saw two chicks sitting on the side of the nest); one Opsray; and a herron. The Eagle and Ospray were checking me out and then they flew back into the trees. That in itself was worth the trip. Had a bass follow the chartreuse with blue back Bandit back to the boat so I changed out to a Tenessee Shad Bandit 200 and nailed a small smallie and a nice bluegill. I had another smallie follow the Tennesse Shad Bandit to the boat so I changed out to a chrome with black back 1/4 ounce Rat-L-Trap. Worked back upriver throwing the Rat and caught three more smallies and three more bluegills on the Rat. The bass and bluegills were about 60 to 70 feet off shore and they hit the lure by swimming upward. Nice hits, too. I missed two others when they hit the Rat but did not take the bait in their mouths. Beautiful day on the river. Only five other guys were fishing the area and I saw two jet skis. The water was low but calm, with a wonderful five to six MPH breeze. I spoke with two guys fishing east of the Route 288 bridge and they had not caught anything. They were using pearl Super Flukes and fishing the shore. I told them what I was throwing and wished them well. Boat now sits in driveway as there is no way I am going on the water over any 4th of July weekend. Too many loonies out there. Everyone have a great and safe 4th weekend and let us have your 4th of July fishing stories, too.

Pitchinkid, The major problem you will have is to decide if you are either an Alabama or an Auburn fan. And I really mean it. You may do better being an Alabama fan and reading up on Alabama football. If you wear purple and gold they will throw you into the lake. ;D Good luck and welcome to the south. The greatest place to be. After all, how many people do you know retire to the north????

Henricus Historical Park is off Route 10 on the James River. Goggle Henricus Historical Park for directions. Here is the address: 251 Henricus Park Road, Chester, VA 23836 You can walk down to the pier and fish the barge pit or bring chairs and fish for catfish off Dutch Gap. You can stop at Castaways off Route 288, turning south onto Jefferson Davis Highway to pick up some live bait and check out the store. Good selection of Zoom plastics and they can tell you what is working at Henricus. Here is a story about fishing Dutch Gap. There are many Turkey Buzzards at Dutch Gap and they will eat your windshield wiper rubber blades and really mess up your car/truck/SUV. One day a friend of mine was leaving Dutch Gap and he was being followed by a Chesterfield County Police cruiser. A Turkey Buzzard flew into his windshield and started to throw up. So he turned on his wiper blades and the bird flew off his car and right into the Police cruiser's windshield. The County Police officer pulled him over and gave him a ticket for "giving him the bird." ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D Joke. Only a joke. But check out Henricus by yourself and maybe it is a place you and yoru wife can go fishing. Just bring a lawn chair and bug spray.

I take as little tackle with me as possible. However, if I get carried away, I can have 30 pounds of tackle, if not more. Eight (8) tackle boxes is a lot. You will tire yourself out carrying this thing fully loaded when you will use only five or six baits when visiting your local pond. After you load it check out its weight on your bathroom scale. I bet it weighs almost as much as you weigh. And when you go boating you will have to place your feet and legs on top of this monster. But, now that you have it you can have fun filling it up!

P.S. CHECK YOUR DRAG. Yes, you need to check your drag on your spinning reel as you will hook into a big fish and you need to let her run to tire her out. You turn the knob on the front of the spinning reel to tighten and loosen the drag. About 2.5 pounds of pressure to move the line is sufficient, but it is up to you to decide how much drag you want to use. When catching a big fish, put the rod tip in the water to stop her from jumping and either lip her (if not using treble hooks) or pick her up from her belly if using treble hooks. Just remember to check the drag on your spinning reel during the day and before you venture out.