Sam

Super story. Thanks for sharing.

AM - Buzzbaits all around the docks. Cloudy use black with silver blade. Blue Bird skys use white or white/chartruse and gold blade. Cavitrons are the best as you can retrieve them fast or slow. Pop-R's in shad colors with black backs. Don't forget your frogs, too, for topwater action. Pink trick worms fished on a light 1/0 straight shank hook all around and under the docks and all around the area. Early AM - Senko under docks and especially to the back two corners near the shore. Skip Senko under dock. Watermealon, Green Pumpkin or Lemon are good colors. Try Texas-rigged plastics and also the split shot technique. The drop shot may also work if the bass are stubborn. A fast moving Minus One ripped (like take your rod and pull back hard) can cause reaction strikes. On the other hand, a wacky rigged Senko or a shaky head can also produce results. During the Day - Senkos, Zoom finesse worms, crankbaits (to find any fish) by fishing them at different water levels (Minus One, 100 , 200, Deep Divers, etc.). Spinnerbaits, Chatterbaits and a blue/black jig with a blue/black plastic or pork pig. Don't forget those trailer hooks on all baits that you can put a trailer hook. Afternoon - Same as during the day on what the bass tell you they want. Evening - Back to topwaters. These are just suggestions. Maybe a crawfish imitation will work. Or a Rat-L-Trap in red or chrome with blue or black back. Try lots of lures and the fish will tell you what they want. If all that fails, scale down to a Rooster Tail or a small white one inch grub on a 1/64 jig head fished weightless on light line. And fish all over the shoreline, under and around the dock sand under and around the boathouses. Good luck.

I have the Crucial Graphite CRC-70MH 7 foot fast action medium heavy rod and it excellent. Put your favorite baitcaster on it and have lots of fun.

Dave, I am so happy for you and your adventure on the Potomac. Get a map of the Potomac and map out where you went and the baits used, etc. on the map. A GMCO map is an excellent investment. What marina did you go out? Were you in Maryland or Virginia? The Potomac is a wonderful fishery and you just had your fist taste of it. Isn't it sweet? Like candy. Great fishing and I am glad you and your Dad had a wonderful time. Now, talking about bass boats. Remember "Ranger." Remember "Lots of Money When Talking About a Ranger." There are other great boats out there like Bass Cat, Triton, Skeeter, Tracker, ProCraft, etc. that you can find "pre-owned" (a nice way of saying used) that will not cost you an arm and a leg. Of course, if you go to college and get your degree you will have the money to purchase any bass boat you want BEFORE YOU GET MARRIED. That's the key. "BEFORE YOU GET MARRIED." Simple. So remember it. Now you have a reachable goal as you go through high school and college and start working. A bass boat so you and your Dad can go to the many lakes and rivers to fish for bass in YOUR OWN BASS BOAT. Please take the boater's safety course in Maryland even though you do not own a bass boat just to have your boating safety certificate. Congrats again and next time......bring a camera.

Opps! I forgot Ike. I will fish with Ike under any weather conditions; night or day; any place in the world; his boat or mine. You just got to love Ike and his skills and understanding of the game.

Option One Jimmy Houston Kevin VanDam Anywhere Option Two Roland Martin Hank Parker Anywhere Option Three Woo Daves Zell Roland James and Chickhominy Rivers in Virginia Option Four Any two pros Anywhere in the World

There is a pond in an office complex near my home and I decided to fish it to see if there are any bass in the pond. I ha a blast catching about thirty (30) small dinks on Wednesday evening and realized that I did not see any minnows nor bluegills/bream in the pond and was concerned about what the dinks were eating to survive. So I went over to another pond near my house on Thursday evening and started catching bream and bluegills and took them over to the new pond to stock it. Sunday morning I decided to fish the new pond and threw out a weightless pink trick worm with a Number 1 gold hook. My wife overslept and we missed church so what else could I do? I just could not find it in my heart to wake her up for church and Sunday School. It was a lot of fun to see the small bass take the pink worm as they darted from the depths to inhale it. But they were dinks. Lots of dinks. The small bass could not take either a Scum Frog or a Zara Spook in their mouth and kept missing the Pop-R so I could not hook them although they hit all three (3) lures quite often. I did catch a few on Rat-L-Traps and white curly tail grubs. So what happened Sunday morning after about an hour of catching the dinks? I decided to go back to the pink worm for the fun of catching some more small bass and wham! She hit it. I saw her mouth as she jumped and I knew she was a hog. I landed her and she must have weiged at least five (5) pounds, probably more like six (6). I could put my entire balled-up fist in her mouth. I found the mother of all of the dinks. I think she had not spawned as she had a full belly. She was heavy. Beautiful green and black coloring and bright eyes so she is healthy. And she was heavy. A nice fat largemouth bass. I released her and plan to try for her later this summer. Today, Memorial Day, I went back and found small minnows (probably from this year's spawn) so I know the bass are eating well. And I plan to continue to stock the pond with small bream and nice bluegills so the bass will have a food source during the year. The beauty of the pond is that no one fishes it. There is no way you could know it holds fish, and the people from the office complex probably don't fish (although they do litter) when they visit the pond during their lunch break. I hope those dinks grow up next year as this pond should be as good as the golf course ponds I fish in Maryland. Talk about a serendipity and it is ALL MINE. ;D

On the boat or in tournaments I always take two or three extra baitcasters and one or two extra spinning reels so I can "change out" when I get the Backlash of the Year. I used to fool around with the spinning reel spools but now I take the spinning reels ready to go within two minutes of a changeout. Hey, what you encountered happens to us all. It is part of the learning curve.

Actually, if you can make it to your waters for sunup, you will have a lot more fun and probably better results throwing topwaters. Buzzbaits (black with silver blade), Zara Spooks, Pop-Rs and Chugbugs are good choices. A pink trick worm with a light weight straight shank 1/0 or 2/0 hook is a lot of fun and you can actually see the bass take your bait. Maybe a topwater frog will produce strikes, too. Have a baitcaster with an unweighted Senko ready to throw (Texas or Wacky) at the spot where the bass misses your buzzbait or other topwater. They are usually still in the area after they miss your bait so throw the Senko. Put a trailer hook on your buzzbaits and spinnerbaits, too. Then, as you get closer to 8 AM, try your crankbaits, Rat-L-Traps, spinnerbaits and Senkos. If they slap at your topwaters or just strike at it to move it away, try changing colors and the retrieve speed. Don't forget to pause and then rip your crankbaits as opposed to just throwing and reeling them back to the shore or boat. Bump them into any structure you can. A Minus One is also a good choice if they are still on their beds as this lure will aggravate them. Throw parallel to the shore, too. Finesse worms are great, as you know, so throw them. Just go out and don't be bashful by not changing your lures. Experiment with different lures, colors and presentations and the bass will tell you what they want to eat for breakfast or brunch. Let us know how you do.

Graphite. At least six feet six inches. At least medium heavy. Any name brand should do fine. Look for sales for Father Day if you can wait.

Super. You can't catch a fish if you don't get your line wet! Good report, which should be an inspiration to all of us to get out on the water.

Congrats on your new job. There are a lot of guys who would love to do what you are going to be doing so do your best and make all of us on the Forum proud of you. Try to meet the salesmen, too. Get to know them over the summer. They can be of enormous help to you after high school or college. Good luck, and remember..."employee discount!"

I have the Nautic Path for rivers and lakes on the east coast and they work great in my Lowrance LMS-332. I think I paid around $100 each but I really don't remember the exact price. They are worth the price as they really are helpful when you are on the water.

HokieDJ, I have never fished the Dominion Club but give it a shot and let us know what you find. Some good bass in Innsbrook Office Park but of course, lots of bream and dinks, too. Try the pond on the other side of Nuckols Road as you drive through the entire Office Park from West Broad Street. Just park by one of the office buildings. Have fun.

From an immature male perspective, it is funny. From a mature male perspective, it is dumb. From a fishing perspective it is insulting and dangerous. I am glad neither of the guys was injured but I wonder if they swallowed any water and the effect that will have on their GI systems? Yuch!

Forget the Pony Pasture. River is too high, too dirty and too fast for safe fishing. Here are two suggestions to consider in the Short Pump area: Ponds at Innsbrook Office Center Comples - The three (3) ponds off Cox road between West Broad Street and Nuckols Road. The pond across Nuckols Road after you cross Nuckols Road on Cox Road. West Creek Office Complex - Try the lake until you get run off. Check the weather report as we are having lots of rain in the greater Richmond geographical area and we may have rain this weekend. The Innsbrook ponds can be fished all day and you will not have to fish the same place twice. Have fun and let us know how you do.

Happy Birthday. I will eat some Eddy's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream in your honor. Have a wonderful special day even if you are a bit under the weather. Think fishing. Think "Ranger" or "Core" for your birthday presents. ;D

I have the Shimano Curado 200DHSV 7:0:1 gear ratio and I love it. I can fish it fast or slow. I use 14 or 17 pound test and it works beautifully. So give it some consideration. Now, what to do with the 5:1 reel? Keep it and give yourself another crankbait setup. You can never have enough crankbait setups!!! ;D

Wonderful for you to publicly thank Catt. Catt illustrates what this forum is all about. Exchanging information to help us all be better bass fishermen and ambassadors of our sport are the top priorities of this forum and we should all treat each other with respect, even when we disagree. Catt, keep those posts coming!

When man invades nature we encounter various species that do not appreciate our visit. Snakes, bees, wasps and ticks are all around us and they will leave us alone unless we either step on or threaten them in someway. Its all a part of fishing and the beauty of nature. Now, with that said, I am so glad you are OK. A snake bite is not something to take lightly.

Sorry, make that Cessna 172's. Am I old, or what?

Great picture. It is funny. I used to fly Cessna 175s. Flew the Apache one time. Man, is that a sweet bird or what? Gave it up after a friend was killed in an accident caused by pilot error. Have not held the yoke since 1980. Hey, no one ever fell 10,000 feet out of a DeSota!

1. Watch your line, always. If it moves to the right, left, away or towards you a bass has picked up your bait off the bottom is is walking away with it. First, take a deep breath; then reel in the slack; point the rod tip at the bait; and set the hook very, very, very, very, very hard. You may or may not feel a tug. In fact, sometimes they inhale the bait as it is falling and they will just sit there with it in their mouth. So if the bait gets "heavy" SET THE HOOK. 2. You can fish a fluke anyway you want. I like a weighted hook sometimes on rivers. A 1/8 or a 1/4 bullet weight can be added to get the fluke deeper. You can use a Texas, Carolina or a Split-Shot rig to fish a fluke. It all depends on the depth you need to present the bait. Try the Baby Flukes, too. They are excellent after the spawn and the baby bass are schooling. Use the Baby Bass color. 3. You can fish a "Rat" fast, slow, with jerks, yo-yo, bounce off cover or structure and any other way you wish to attract strikes. Just remember the new Rats have sharper hooks than the older Rats so be sure your hooks are sharp. As for colors, a chrome with a blue back for sunny days and a chrome with a black back for overcast days can work. Other manufaturer's "Rats" can produce for you so don't get stuck on the Original Rat-L-Trap. Check out your tackle shop, Bass Pro Shops or the Bass Pro Shops and Cabella's catalogs for the different styles and colors of Rats that are available. Once you hook a fish you MUST KEEP YOUR LINE TIGHT or the fish will throw the Rat-L-Trap. Keep your rod tip pointed at or in the water to stop the fish from jumping and keep him hanging onto the bait. Let us know how you do.

Sure, why not? And to save money, use a base of mono and then tie the Fireline to the mono so that you will have a "full" spool but not with all of the expensive Fireline. Just be sure your rod can support the Fireline hook set. We do not want to you to break your rod when landing that 10 pounder.

Dave, Use duct tape if you want to sink the boat or bail it out like crazy. Please fix the situtaion correctly so that you will not have any problems on the water. And I know a funny joke about duct tape but I can't tell it on the Forum. But it is funny. P.S. J.B. Weld may work. But a professional repair may be in your overall best interest.