Sam

Super! Congrats on using your logic and knowledge and being successful. I wonder if they like the "white" type color baits? Have you thrown any white trick worms to see what happens? Keep those pics coming.

I use a Palamor Knot for everything I can. It may take a lot of line but I feel more comfortable with the Palamor. I use this knot on buzzbaits, spinnerbaits and treble hook baits. At least you know you have a good, secure knot at the end of your line.

Texas Rig - This is the most popular rigging for plastic worms. It works anywhere, almost all of the time. It should be "snagless" so you can throw it into cover and structure. How to Rig a Texas Rig - First, slide a bullet weight onto your line so the tip of the bullet points towards your rod tip. If you rig the bullet weight backwards it is known as an Arkansas rig. Thread the plastic worm onto your 1/0 or 2/0 or 3/0 worm hook by putting the hook through the tip of the head of the worm and pulling it out about 1/4 or 1/2 inch from the head. Pull the worm over the hook's eye so that its head covers the hook's eye. Turn the worm around so the point of the hook faces the bottom of the worm's body. Then bury the hook into the worm so that it is close to the top side of the worm but the hook's point does not come out. Or, have the hook's point come out of the worm's top and then you bury it back into the worm very shallow. Be sure the worm is totally straight. You can place the hook against the worm's body to see where the hook should go in to have the worm sit straight. And there you have your Texas rig. Please read about Texas rigging on this site. It is easy to do once you get the hang of it. And learn to tie a Palamor knot. Best knot you can use for a Texas rig. Keep asking those questions.

Richmond, Virginia is hitting new highs this week. Could clear 100. Fish are active and are moving around. Will hit the upper James River on Friday. Wear sunscreen and stay out of the sun's rays as best you can by coveing yourself or using a high rated UVA/UVB sunscreen.

Lemon Senkos. They work great but the other guys will think you have lost your mind.

Thoughts and prayers are with you. The surgery is the easy part. Just carpentry 101. It is the recovery that can be difficult. Please take it easy and do not overdo it even if you feel great. And when God shuts a door he opens a window. You just don't know it but everything is for the better. So hang in there. We need you around for about another 50 years!

I have missed more than I have caught on frogs. I have been throwing the Scum Frog and the bass hit it but they don't take it. I have the SPRO in white and green and plan to throw it this summer. I also have the Romba that looks like a big frog but it is a crankbait and I want to see how it produces.

Late evening, around 7:30 P.M. On a black Cavitron buzzbait with a silver blade in a pond. She was seven and a half pounds. I had to change my underware when I went home! ;D

Three or four times with one type of bait. More if I believe they are under the dock or boat or brush or tree. Will skip plastics and jigs and even crankbaits under docks. Will also skip plastics and jigs and even crankbaits over and onto docks and boats and ropes and cables and into the trees and bushes and into the water with one big splash. But I keep on skipping!!!! ;D ;D ;D

Oldie but goodie.

Your brother has two options. First, to fish an ultra light and have lots of fun catching every fish in the pond, such as bream, bluegill, Crappie, catfish and bass. A small white grub on a small jig head rigged on four (4) pound test will produce a lot of fish as will a Roostertail. About 100 bream and bluegills to 1 bass which could be a problem if he wants largemouth bass but he will catch those fish. Otherwise, I suggest he use one of your spinning rigs (to avoid backlashes) with 8 pound fluoro and a 2/0 or 3/0 straight shank hook to fish plastic worms either Texas or Wacky rigged and then he can switch over to your moving treble hook baits and topwaters (like a pink or white trick worm) with no problems. In fact, teaching him how to fish a trick worm will be very rewarding as he can watch it move in the water and then see the fish inhale it. If he can master a baitcaster then 10 to 12 pound fluoro line on a six foot or six-six medium heavy rod and he can fish as you fish. Of course, you will have to help him with any backlashes and other problems when throwing a baitcaster. And show him how to use a pliers to remove hooks and be sure he always has a pliers with him when he goes bass fishing. It is a very valuable tool. The main goal is to take him fishing with you. Show him what you do and your favorite techniques and how to tie a cinch and Palamor Knot. Leave a rod and reel with tackle with him so he can continue to fish when you go to school in the fall. Be sure he knows water safety and to watch out for tripping hazards and animals that can ruin your day. I suppose he can swim which is a major requirement for kids when they are around water. And a cell phone is a valuable instrument should he get into trouble when by himself. It is great you have a fishing partner and we expect you to continue to take him fishing and show him the secrets, etc. that you know. Send a pic of any nice LMB he catches.

OK Dave. I guess I am not as smart as a 5th grader. ;D

Yikes! One year? You did good. Keep it up. And remember, be a hunter!!!!

Actually guys the bass fishing will slow down and stop in NOVA due to the heat. With the hot weather congestion on Northern Virginia roads will prevent bass guys from getting to the ramps to fish. They will sit in traffic all day as the DC drivers and visitors to our country have their cars break down by the hundreds on the interstates and roads making for tremendous traffic jams. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Texas Rig - This is the most popular rigging for plastic worms. It works anywhere, almost all of the time. It should be "snagless" so you can throw it into cover and structure. How to Rig a Texas Rig - First, slide a bullet weight onto your line so the tip of the bullet points towards your rod tip. If you rig the bullet weight backwards it is known as an Arkansas rig. Thread the plastic worm onto your 1/0 or 2/0 or 3/0 worm hook by putting the hook through the tip of the head of the worm and pulling it out about 1/4 or 1/2 inch from the head. Pull the worm over the hook's eye so that its head covers the hook's eye. Turn the worm around so the point of the hook faces the bottom of the worm's body. Then bury the hook into the worm so that it is close to the top side of the worm but the hook's point does not come out. Or, have the hook's point come out of the worm's top and then you bury it back into the worm very shallow. Be sure the worm is totally straight. You can place the hook against the worm's body to see where the hook should go in to have the worm sit straight. And there you have your Texas rig. Please read about Texas rigging on this site. It is easy to do once you get the hang of it. And learn to tie a Palamor knot. Best knot you can use for a Texas rig. And last, take your time when typing and use proper grammer and spelling. We will answer you but if you come across as an elementary school drop out some of us will avoid you. If necessary, type your question on a Word document; spell check it; and then copy and paste it in the message box. Keep asking those questions.

Dave, Fishing is hunting. Yes, but not with a gun. With your mind and tackle. You have to know the habits of fish under specific circumstances. That is why we have the various lure and technique variations during different seasons. You are the hunter. You have to find your prey. That is Rule Number One. You have to know your prey's habits and thinking and food preference. You have to search for them based on a number of factors that you have to compute in your mind, use your logic and make some choices. If you cannot find the bass shallow, then go deep. If you cannot get a hit on a crankbait then go with a plastic. If no plastic hits, try a jig and pig. If no jig and pig bite, go with a Chatterbait and then a Rat-L-Trap and then a topwater and then a grub and then a tube, etc., etc. etc. If you cannot get a hit on a specific color than change colors. If you cannot get a hit with one presentation then change presentations. It is your responsibility to locate the fish. The fish will be in different places each hour of the day. Some roam around the shoreline. Some have their "milk run" and move from favorite spot to favorite spot. Some just stay put in a specific area. Others follow their migration routes and go from deep to shallow to deep to shallow to deep, etc. Others follow the baitfish like bream, bluegills and minnows. So you have to be a hunter. A smart hunter. A hunter who knows the bass' habits and favorite food and what time of day they are the most active and what is the structure in your pond and is there any cover that the bass can and will enjoy during the day and what is the weather and water clarity and where is the oxygen, etc. Each day is a new adventure. You know that what worked last year, last month, last week or yesterday may not work today. So it is your task to do all you can to find the fish. Once you find them, write it down when you get home. All the details you can so next year on the same day you can see what you did a year earlier. And add to your diary each year and you will have a volumn of wonderful data to use in the future on you favorite pond. Now go out and do some hunting. You know they are there and they know you are there so which one of you is going to win? The big human with a large brain and the option to use reason, logic and memory or the bass with a brain the size of a marble and the option of instinct? Sorry, but I'll put my money on the bass!!! ;D Have fun and always outfish your dad.

Based on your knowledge and experience all you have to do is think like the fish. Seriously, just think how the fish will react based on your knowledge and experience. Some of us put too much into every bait or technique or reel or rod or line we read or hear about when in actuality every situation differs from body of water, time of year and by the day and hour. This is what makes fishing so much fun. Trying to outsmart a fish in the fish's environment. Catt, good post. You make a lot of sense but it is still fun educating yourself on bass behavior and tackle.

Money? According to wife get whatever I want. According to me get the best deal I can and spend as little money as possible. According to #1 son get the Lexus SUV. (I can see my Lexus SUV with a boat trailer parked among the trucks and big SUVs at the boat ramps) According to fishing friends get a truck. Still looking and thanks to all who replied.

Stay away from a Jeep. My wife had to have the headlights adjusted for $35 to pass state inspection and any vehicle that is built so poorly to have to have its headlights adjusted is not worth purchasing. Go with any other vehicle other than a Jeep.

Excellent! Send it to Bass Times.

It seems the City is allowing outside groups to use the water but not individual fishermen. The guys are right on target. Look up the City of Fredericksburg's web page and try to find an official that can help you. A low level employee is a waste of time. But do not be surprised if you hit a brick wall so it you live in the City you can contact your City Council member for assistance and guidance. If you do not live in the City then you will be at the beck and whim of a City official who will tell you "no" as it is easier than to tell you "yes" if you get my drift. Or, have a friend contact their Council member if they live in the City. As I see it, the odds of you getting permission are very, very low. But give it a try and please let us know what happens. You will see your local government at work and wonder how it works at all. ;D Good luck.

You did good. Light line fishing is a blast. Have you tried throwing a one-inch (1-inch) white grub on a 1/64 jig head or a small Roostertail? Great setups for bluegills, Crappie, catfish and bass.

Fish 'em anyway you want. Then, take the minnows and fish them on a drop shot.

Yes, littering is bad but how detailed do you want to get? For instance, if I throw any line I cut after changing baits or checking the knot is that littering? Or if I throw what is left of a Senko or plastic worm overboard, is that littering? Or if I lose a crankbait in the grass, rocks, trees or bushes is that littering? Or if I throw the rest of my sandwhich in the water, is that littering? If so, then I am DQed as our Club rules say we are not to litter. A smoker does not see the throwing of his butts into the water as littering. You and I do, but not smokers. So I just shake my head, not say anything, and wait for the phone call about the guy's heart attack or that he has cancer. Somethimes you have to go with the flow and let the problems float away by turning a blind eye to they guy polluting. Now, any other infaction has to be reported at weigh-in. If so, you need to ask in a nice, polite questioning tone, "Is it legal to ______?" No matter what the reply, you can then add, "Well, I saw _____ do it and I was just wondering." It is up to the Tournament Director to act on your input. At our Club, we have voted on infractions after the tournament to have the Club's input and yes, we have lost a member or two but their infraction (throwing a dink on the shore or being under motor power without wearing a PFD) was major even though they did not think so. I do not like smoking but it is a part of bass fishing and the smokers will continue to throw their butts in the water as they do not see it as pollution.

Hey guys, Just enjoy the summer if you have a job or not. Get that high school diploma and please go to college and get that BS or BA degree. A high school diploma means you can buy any boat you want (before you get married) and go fishing when you want. A college degree means you can buy a bigger boat and better electronics and G. Loomis rods and Core reels and the Bait Monkey will love you!!!