Sam

P.S. I may have found another place to fish in Richmond and if I can get in I will let you know about it. It is a private golf course with a pond that they guys say are loaded with big bass. I will give it a try and see if I can fish it. I will let you know.

Congrats! Hope you do well on the finals. Sam

Wow! Beautiful bass. That Cavitron is dynamite. I like the black one with the silver blade in the early AM or late PM on ponds and rivers. My friends throw them on lakes but so far no takers this time of year. I am sure those Cavitrons will work on lakes as the water gets warmer. Thanks for sharing.

Dave, Ask permission. Give them a pie or a nice gift they can use as a "thank you" for allowing you to fish their pond. Tell them you will release all fish and not make a mess. And fish the pond. Don't worry about the oxygen or alge or cow manure in the pond. Just fish the pond. You will find out if the pond is good, bad or indifferent. And you can come back in 30 days and see its condition and fish it again. Let us know how you do. And watch were you step! ;D

Alpster, I have had the exact same thing happen to me at a local pond when a lady started to throw a ball into the pond for her Golden Retriever to fetch where I was fishing. I love dogs and I did not want to endanger the animal so I walked to another spot. The lady knew what she was doing, too. As for jackasses, we have a lot of them in the sport of fishing. You just have to be ready for them and move on. A confrontation is not good and they probably can't catch any fish anyway so if you wait they will be gone. I can't believe anyone would throw their lure next to yours. I would have asked them if "they would jump in my grave that fast?" I guess this subject is why my wife will not let me carry any weapon on my boat when I go fishing.

Man is a "hunter" as opposed to women who is a "gatherer." Since the caveman age, man has always been a hunter. Men are the providers for their families. Men rule over the animals and all living things on the planet. What makes fishing "exciting" is that it is man against animal. An animal in a totally foreign environment. An animal that has instincts that overrule habits. An animal with a brain the size of a quarter, but one that outsmarts the most intelligent animal on the planet, man. What makes fishing exciting is when you outsmart the fish. When you can use your thoughts, learning, training and instincts to locate the enemy and then capture it. All the planning, equipment, time, energy and expense of hunting the fish comes to a fruitful success when you set the hook and put the animal in the boat or on shore. That is what makes fishing exciting. The thrill of outsmarting an animal in the animal's environment. To show the animal that man still rules the planet. Now, go to Bass Pro Shop and spend $1,000 on tackle and gear; buy a $25,000 bass boat and a $30,000 truck to pull it; pay $125 for gas for the boat and truck; purchase insurance on the boat and truck for another $700 a year; pay the $8 launch fee; wear $100 in fishing clothes; go out and find that fish in the sun or rain; catch him; and then throw him back. So who is the smart one in the above senerio????? ;D But it is exciting.

Go out before sunrise and throw a black with silver blade Cavitron buzzbait. Go out at dusk and throw a black with silver blade Cavitron buzzbait. Fish a finesse worm on a split-shot rig. Try the drop shot but you may do better with the split-shot rig. Try a blue/black jig and pig fished slow, like a crawfish. Then go back to the buzzbait. Aggravate the suckers!!!! ;D

It is a bad scene and a scary one, too. The tornado that hit Southpark Mall (second time, same location as the first one about ten years ago) just missed Dance's, a great fishing tackle store. As I tell my clients, a tornado is your worst enemy. Don't worry about hurricanes as we get a lot of warning before they strike, but we get no warning with a tornado. It could have been much worse. We are very luck no one was killed.

Also give "The Wright Bait" Company a call, 804.932.5005. They are in New Kent and they sell their baits at Dance's in Southpark and at the Fishing Hole in Wakefield. Check out Green Top for locally manufactured worms and other baits, too.

Interesting question. Have you spoken to your automobile insurance carrier to see if their company's Homeowners 4 (Renters) policy would provide liability protection for a non-boater. Usually a Homeowners contract limits the coverage to the length and motor size for watercraft but the carrier may be willing to add the watercraft liability onto the Homeowers for a nominal premium. We have insurance professionals on this site who will tell you how to handle the situation. In the meantime, make a telephone call to either your auto or current homeowners policy agents and ask them how to address the issue.

Look up the word "stupid" in the dictionary and you will see his picture. Maybe a nice talk with him after your next meeting would be appropriate. And please call his wife although she may be as dumb as him and take up for him against you. But usually one lady will listen to the other lady. And are there any other guys in your club who can warn him that if he does that in the future he is out of the club? Just wondering. If I was you and he did that to me I would have thrown his fanny out of the boat, even if I had to grab him between the legs to do it. You will also see his photo next the definition of "jerk" in any dictionary. So sorry that happened. Keep on fishing.

Dave, Part of fishing is to eliminate the unproductive water. You have just done that by fishing the new pond and eliminating it from your list of places to fish. Sude55bowtie, we practice catch and release and although your photo is a good one it will get a number of members upset. Please consider releasing the larger bass and keepig the smaller ones. Thanks.

Outstanding! I almost had a heat attack thinking you caught her in one of the secret golf course ponds. Keep throwing those jigs and set another PB record in May.

For those of you interested in Roostertails, Dick's Sporting Goods is having a Roostertail Sale. You can purhcase 4 for $7, which equates to $1.75 each. Lowest price I have seen in quite a while.

And you may want to call your Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to see if they will "shock" your pond to see the types of fish in the water, if any. Also, don't forget to find out if there is a charge for this service.

Fished Lake Gaston in a B.A.S.S. Region tournament on April 16 and we did not do as well as we thought we should have done. I caught mine on a lemon yellow wacky Senko at the end of the docks near the shoreline; a watermelon wacky rigged Senko along the shoreline; and on a split-shot rig using a six-inch Zoom watermelon finesse worm. My partner caught his on a shad colored Shad Rap and a watermelon wacky rigged Senko. And we caught them right and left. We caught over thirty (30) large mouth bass, and my buddy caught a citation White Perch. Only problem was that they were small buck males, all but two being less than 14 inches. I lost two beauties and my buddy lost one nice one. It seemed that the ones we lost were just picking up our bait and spitting it out or slapping at the Shad Rap. One of the ladies that I lost grabbed my lizard as it hit her on the head, jumped out of the water, and spit it out of her nest. And I did not see the nest until we got closer to the shoreline a few minutes later. The other lady took the Senko and slowly swam with it. I sincerely thought she had it all in her mouth, but when I set the hook she came unbuttoned. Other than for the small buck males knocking the Senko and finesse worms silly, the larger bass would just walk with the baits, in no great hurry. We saw the fish on the many beds we viewed and the large females that had just finished spawning. They were big. Beautiful fish. But they were not in the mood to strike our baits. I told my friend that we could go up to the ones that had finished spawning and pet each one as all they did was suspend about six-inches below the surface under the piers. The water temperatures were 68* in the coves and the back of the creeks and 62* in the lake, and I think our problem was that we fished too many coves and back creeks where the temperature allowed the fish to either be on their beds or they had just finished spawning. We may have done better in the cooler waters near the creek mouths or on the main lake. Overall, it was another learning experience on Lake Gaston. Special thanks to all who gave me some advice. I will PM each person and personally thank him.

Good job searching Google Earth. I did it and followed the James River west and found a pond by my American Legion Post that I had no idea was there. Fished it and guess what? No fish. It goes dry so no one has put fish in it. But it was promising until I fished it. Let us know how you do.

With three days of rain the local ponds in eastern Virginia and Maryland are full of water so we can't have anymore excuses as to why you guys in these areas are not hammering the bass. Plus the fact that the ladies should be coming off their beds next week and they will be hungry. Remember to posts pics, too.

Davisaw, Yes, we are very concerned about Appy State. We are scared we will actually kill one of the players. We will welcome them to Red Stick with open arms, just like we did the Hokies last year. And the team will be ready and the fans will be soaked and ready. 92,000 Coonasses can't be wrong! ;D

Is the Des Allemands in St. John's Parish still a good fishery? It was once a top place to fish, even with all of the water moccasins. What about Bayou Segnette State Park? Too dangerous with the gators and other critters? There have to be some ponds you can fish on the West Bank and I am sure you can find them if you hunt around. If all else fails, there is always Audubon Park Lagoon. ;D Never heard of either Delta Farms or Blackwater Canal. But I know about those air boats and their noise and how they tear up the marsh. My LSU buddy, The Animal, who lives in Houma has complained that he has lost a lot of places to fish in the marsh as the private companies and rich guys are taking out the leases and closing the property to fishing. We fished Audubon Park Lagoon for freshwater fish and the Biloxi marshes for "green trout" when I was growing up. We mostly fished saltwater for specs, croakers and reds in the Biloxi, Chandeleur Sound/Islands and the Rigolets. Wish I could help you but there are a lot of nice people in Galliano, Cut Off and LaRose who should be able to give you some guidance. Or head down towards Venice and see what is there although you will be heading into saltwater areas. Good luck and enjoy the crawfish! And one suggestion: Go to to Tyger Gifts and get an LSU tee shirt and cap. As you know the Cajuns love LSU and I am sure they will give you a warm welcome and some secret places.

John J, what type of frog are you throwing? One that is designed to be pulled over grass and pads and slop? One designed to be fished like a buzzbait? One designed to be fished in open water along the shore or bulkheads? One designed to be fished over the grass, like on the Pamunkey? Fish it anyway you want as long as the bass will hit it. I have caught bass in open water and over lilly pads using a Scum Frog. I have had catfish hit the Scum Frog, too. I like the SPRO and the Barinsky (spelling) for their action. The Horny Toad is a fun bait to use on the rivers over the grasses. A Hula Popper (looks like a frog) is a killer on ponds and rivers in the early AM. And what about the Chatterbait designed to look like a frog? So just go ahead and throw that frog all you want, but under no conditions are you to date a frog. Only date pretty girls.

Usually, it is based on the water temperature. Between 60 and 70, with a lot of action at 65 degrees. Birds usually equate light to mate.

New Orleans??? What high school did you go to? Where do you live? I graduated from Fortier. I lived by Audubon Park. Family in insurance business. Love to fish the Biloxi Marsh. Used to ride in Sparta. LSU grad. Let us know.

So when was it removed? I never noticed. Man, I miss so much in my old age. ;D

I helped one of my friends show 80 Girl Scouts how to fish at Camp Kitty in Westmoreland County this past Saturday, April 19th. It was a lot of work but a lot of fun, too. The girls caught some beautiful bluegills and some nice bass. Most of the bass were around one to one and a quarter pounds and the bluegills were big, heavy and had excellent color. There was a lot of yelling and screaming as each girl caught a fish. And lots of photos taken by the parents and scout leaders. In almost all catches, it was the first time the girls have either seen a fish close up or have actually touched a fish. Some of the girls got brave and started to throw the fish back which was a big step for them since they were afraid of the bluegills, bream and bass. My friend and I fished the lake's other side by the beaver hut and caught many one and one and a half pound bass. Almost caught one on every cast. I guess we caught at least 30 bass in about a half hour of fishing. Other than for avoiding the two snakes that live on top of the beaver hut, we had a super time fishing the pond. And I only said one bad word at lunch when I missed one. It took me three casts to finally catch him in the beaver hut but I got him. So for me, saying only one bad word in a day of fishing, was excellent. It is really rewarding to help a bunch of kids fish for the first time and see those smiles when the finally catch a fish. We can go out and fish for ourselves, but if we are smart, we will show the kids how to fish and enjoy the sport. So, I guess when we read or hear "take a kid fishing" it really means a lot to the kid. And to us, too.