Sam

Look at it this way. First, great memories are worth the price. One day your dad will be gone and having good memories and photos of your fishing adventures is something to cherish and to share with your kids. Second, fishing helps your mental health. You can relax, enjoy the beauty of nature and pit your skills against an animal with a brain the size of a marble. (Guess who wins that battle.) Yes, it is expensive, and yes, you may have to cut back on your outings, but please view your fishing ventures as something you are doing for yourself and your dad. Arn't you and your dad worth the money?

You have now joined "The Club." Congratulations. It happens to us all. I still have nightmares about them. I can see them jumping and throwing the hook or rolling over and getting unbuttoned or watching them swim away when they get off the hook. But that's the fun of fishing.

The guns may have been recovered. The perks, Michael Henderson of Bowie Maryland and Leon Waddy of Washington, DC were charged in the breakin. One of the perks is an honors graduate of Virginia Union University. That does not say a lot of good things about VUU. If you graduate with honors and then have to rely on being a stuipd crook then your education at VUU may not be worth that much. If you are going to be a crook with a college degree you need to be a politician. ;D

Did they get any of the guns back? I forgot to ask. I guess they did.

Green Top outside of Richmond was broken into by two masked men and burglarized of 36 handguns a couple of weeks ago. The two men were caught and are now in jail. Seems one of them cut his arm on the glass and the police obtained a sample DNA and he was in the system so it was easy to catch him. Stuipd is as stuipd does.

By the way, if you report the fisherman to TBF or B.A.S.S. he may be suspended from any TBF or B.A.S.S. tournaments. The pen is mightier than the sword.

As I interpert your story, the fish came unhooked at the boat, was so tired that it drifted under the boat where the boater had time to grab the net and secure the fish. In my club that is not allowed. You have to have the fished hooked and 1) brought into the boat; of 2) netted by yourself or the other fisherman while hooked. Even if the fish came unhooked 1) in the boat or 2) in the net, the fish had to be hooked when netted. What you have described is taking your landing net and scooping up the fish out of the water, like during post spawn when the big females just sit there, under a dock or pier, and do not move. Sorry the tournament director did not have a clue as to what to do and may I suggest you check the rules of the tournament, if any, and ask for a second opinion from someone above the tournament director, if there is anyone. Otherwise, your protest was well deserved and delivered and you got the message to the other contestants. I am sure they are all talking about it this week and into the future. Do not be surprised if the tournament director in future tournaments makes a clarification on this issue before the tournament.

Have season tickets to the two NASCAR races in Richmond but I go to both with friends.

This is a finesse application and light line makes it work. I use either 8 pound test on my spinning reel or 10 pound test on my baitcaster when throwing finesse rigs. Be sure to "balance" your baitcaster with the bait when throwing any bait, especially finesse baits, to help avoid or reduce backlashes. I like to use my spinning gear as I know the shaky head will fall straight down where I place it. With a baitcaster, remember that the bait will swing back towards you so you are moving the biat from the selected strike zone you pitched, flipped or casted. I also like the spinning setup as I can keep my finger on the tight line and feel the bites so much better. I use the 2500 Strtadic spinning reels and a graphite rod as the graphite rod transmits the feel of the line excellently. I also use flouro, Vanish, Trileen XL and YoZuri lines. They all seem to work with this setup. Be very sensitive to hits. Sometimes the bait will get heavy so watch your line and keep that finger on the tight line. If you think you have a strike, set the hook. And the bluegills and bream may drive you crazy before you get a good bass hit so be ready for that, too. Have fun.

Sent you a PM about Wacky fishing. As for where to throw the rig? Anywhere! If you fish it weedless you can throw it into bushes and brush and wood in addition to open water. Practice "skipping" it under docks and bushes and trees. Great bait to skip. Just be sure to reel in the bait to the top of your rod when skipping it so you will have better control. I caught two in a row off docks on Buggs Island/Lake Kerr this year. I was throwing a Senko. Read my PM and you will have a great time fishing Senkos Wacky style. In fact, this is the way I fish my Senkos 90% of the time.

You say you have "slabs" which translates into Crappie. A friend who is in charge of Albemarle County's Parks and Rec Department (Charlottesville, Virginia) told me that Crappie will eat all of the food sources in a pond or a lake and seriously hurt the bass population. In my local pond I have not caught any large bass but I have landed eight (8) beautiful black Crappie in a row, whcih tells me that the Crappie have taken over the pond. In other words, the same thing that happened to your pond is happening to my local pond. I have no idea if what I was told about Crappie is true but I am asking Micro and other people who know more than me to add their two cents to this disucssion. I can move the Crappie to another pond a mile away if necessary if you all think that will help the bass population. So guys, what do you all think?

I have four (4) general admission Sprint Race tickets to the Richmond race on Friday, June 27, 2008. Let me know if you would like the tickets. They are free. Thanks.

He always was a true American, making great statements about how great the USA is. He will be truely missed.

Outstanding catch. Thanks for sharing.

Keep trying. If you are a Bama fan, wear all Auburn stuff when you go out. If you are an Auburn fan, wear all Alabama stuff when you go out. If you wear an LSU hat you will catch the big ones. ;D ;D ;D ;D Now, with that said and out of the way, have you used your electronics to find any holes or humps or road beds in the area? Any places that the flowing water forms a nice quiet eddy where they can sit and ambush prey? Do you have a topo map of the lake showing road beds, humps, drop offs, etc.? If not, get one and study the area. If those guys can catch those bass then there is no reason you cannot do the same. But you will have to study the area to find the most productive structure on the bottom. What lures and presentations were they using and their techniques? Swimbaits? Senkos? Finesse worms? Treble hook baits? Swimming worms? Topwaters? Flukes? Creature baits fished on Carolina rigs? Maybe the big bass want bigger baits, like 10 to 12 inch worms or big fat jigs and pigs or big deep diving crankbaits or large lizzards? So you can see that whatever they have found seemed to work that day and you will have to try to discover what works and under what conditions. It looks like the bass get active when the water is flowing so that is one clue. Now to decide how deep to fish (sinker weight) and line test (10, 12, 17+) and bait selection will all have an impact on your results. But the fun is in the experimentation. And remember, football season is a little over a month away! Good luck and keep trying.

Consider the graphite. It is supposed to tansmit the feel of the bait and bites to you much better than a glass rod. Just food for thought.

I have a Kistler helium rod and love it. Strong, but light for such a powerful rod. Fish it Carolina and for Pitching and Flipping plus any deep diving crankbaits on lakes. May I suggest you stick to the name brands and you can't go wrong.

There are articles regarding what colors fish can see in different circumstances, depending on the clarity, top water confusion from wind or rain and the time of year. The red line is suppose to dissolve into invisability but a number of my friends say it does not. The major advantage of red line is you can see your line easily as you fish it. I have no idea of how the line line dissolves into oblivion in the water column so the fish do not see it. A number of guys on this site use red line and they can give you their take on the product. I stick with clear or low-vis green. Good luck.

Just turn the switch to empty on my Tracker and it pumps out the water.

May I suggest approaching your local marine boat dealer and asking for assistance? Drilling in any hull mandates that it be done correctly to avoil leakage and cracks. You may want to invest the money and have a professional complete the work. And if the boat does not have a drain plug then maybe the manufacturer does not recommend a drain plug. How about contacting them and asking before you do any work. We don't want to see you sink. ;D

Can you hold off until their next sale, like July 4th? You will be able to stretch your gift cards' value.

Baby Flukes are my favorites.

Krugey. I found an overstocked "double secret" pond and it is fun catching those small bass. I caught their mother (6 pound beauty) last month. So what am I doing to help the pond? I am stocking it with bream and bluegills from another pond. So far, I have transferred 45 bream and bluegills into the bass pond. I plan to start taking some of the smaller bass to the pond near my house to help stock it. This pond is loaded with bream and bluegill and crappie and could use some more bass. Now for lure selection suggestions: Senkos rigged both Texas and Wacky - 5 inch size should do well but if not, you can scale down to the 4-inch size Roostertails for bream, bluegills and crappie - white/gray Small white grubs on small 1/64 jig head on 4 pound line for bream, bluegills and crappie. Lots of fun to fish. Rat-L-Traps if the grass is not that thick. Chrome with blue back if sun our; chrome with black back if cloudy Spinnerbaits - start off small chart/white and then work up in size Crankbaits, like the Bandit 100 and the Mann's Minus One for fishing over the grass. Firetiger, chart/blue back, anything with charturuse Topwaters, like a black skirted Cavitron buzzbait, trick worms (pink and white so you can see the fish inhale them), frogs, jiggerbugs, Spooks, Pop-R's, etc. Finesse Worms rigged Texas and wacky and try some creature baits, too. Watermealon and pumpkin or pumpkin seed. Any color should do well Jigs and pigs may work. Try blue/black and some sort of brown jig that you have Drop Shot Shaky Worm Split-Shot Consider using a weedless hook if there is grass or weeds in the pond. A 1/0 or 2/0 should do well unless you start to hit the larger ones and then you may want to go up to 3/0. You may want to use 8 to 10 pound fluoro and then work up to 14 and 17 pound test if you start catching larger fish. Remember, mono for treble hook baits. Braid if you have grass. Flouro for all other presentations. As for colors, if the pond is overstocked I would throw Watermealon and Pumpkinseed plastics and you can throw some that have black flake in them, too. Mocassin Blue, Junebug, any plastic with red or red flake, and just about anything you want to try or have in your tackle box. If you want to be daring, throw a pink Senko. In other words, try your luck with all sorts of setups and colors. You should do well no matter what you throw. Have fun and post pics for us.

Congratulations. You have found a pond to experiment different presentations, techniques and baits. Suggestions. 1. Try a Roostertail. A small white and gray Roostertail. Be sure to use a barrel swivel on your 6 pound flouro test line to help minimize line twist on your spinning rig. 2. Throw a small white grub on a 1/16 jig head on same rig as you use for the Roostertail. 3. Sometimes spinnerbaits and crankbaits do not work in a pond so go to your plastics. Try a pink or white trick worm fished weightless on a weedless hook on 6 pound flouro line. You can throw this setup in the pads, over the grass and on top of the water. Lots of fun and you can see the bass inhale the trick worm. 4. Throw finesse worms, too. Watermealon and pumpkinseed for starters on a Texas rig. You can also throw them wacky style. Use a light bullet weight, pegged if possible. The lighter the weight, the better. 5. Senkos. Work great if there are nice bass in the pond. Use a 1/0 or 2/0 weedless hook and fish them wacky. Try the 4 inch variety first and then work up to the 5 inchers. Watermealon and pumpkinseed are good but you may want to try other colors. You can also fish them Texas rigged. Try to use the weedless hooks on all plastics. 6. Topwaters. Jitterbugs, Pop-Rs, Baby Spooks, frogs of all descriptions and colors and a buzzbait will produce, especially in the early AM and late PM. Go with the Cavitron buzzbait with the black skirt and use a trailer hook. If there are small bass, crappie or catfish, they will try to hit the topwaters, too, and the small fish will just knock them around and you will not be able to hook them. So go out and have fun experimenting. Just remember that a pond is a living entity and that things do change during the year and from year to year. If the pond gets low be sure to map it so you will know the tumps and rocks and bottom make up. Pound some PVC pipe sections along the shore to give the bass an ambush point. Throw in some rocks. Plant an old Christmas tree for a brushpile. Let us know how you do and what those fish like. That is, like this year!

Suggestions for split-shot rig. 1. Use a round split-shot. That means one without the lip on it to squeeze the sinker on and off. Less slop or grass will get caught on the round sinker if it does not have the lip on it. 2. Use a lightweight #1 or 1/0 hook. I use a small #1 circle hook or a #1 gold hook. Make sure the hook is lightweight. 3. Go with the watermealon or pumpkinseed colors in your finesse worm. A small, skinny worm works great as it has a lot of action. 4. Put the round weight about 12 to 18 inches up the line from the hook. 5. Use 8 pound line. You may want to go as low as 6 or as high as 10, but remember, this is a finesse presentation and 6 or 8 pound test flouro works great. 6. I use a spinning rig as I like the lightweight presentation, which you will need to be sucessful with this setup. Rig it up and cast it out. Lots of fun to fish and you can catch both small and large bass, bream, crappie and white perch with this rig, not to mention our old friend, the catfish. Have fun.