Sam

I put the top end three (3) bank Pro Mariner in my Tracker and it works like a charm. Strongly suggest checking out the latest BPS catalog and read about the chargers. I had mine installed by BPS professionaly and I keep it plugged in at all times. Go for the most expensive one you can afford. After all, it is your bass boat.

The job has one of the highest Workers' Compensation loss ratios of any of the professions covered. Usually the Work Comp is placed in the Assigned Risk as the standard carriers will not entertain this type of risk. But it pays really good money, if you can live through it.

Think Paca Craw in the grass. Go with Senkos. Look for the wood and stickups and try topwaters in AM and plastics the rest of the day. Lots of grass so you may be missing bites thinking you are stuck in the grass. So set the hook all day long. Fish the area by the Hope Springs marine before you go under the bridge. Use weedless hooks to minimize snags in the grass. Think creature baits. Check tide times and be on the water 1/2 hour before the tide changes. Fish parallel to any pilings you can find. Black and Blue jigs with double tail trailer on 20 pound test. Try crankbaits, too. Low tide is best. Look for underwater edges - count to check depth when casting to see how deep you are. Try Penrod's Cove, with the concrete off the WW Bridge. SproFrog or Power Pro Special in 1/2 ounce could work. If you want to just fish the grass use 30 pound braid and "walk the dog" through the grass. Don't forget your buzzbaits in the AM and frogs, too. Spinnerbaits can work good as they can manuever through the grass. Double Willow baldes. Topwaters in the pads. Some guys have had super luck with a weightless YUM Dinger fished really slow. Fish a Carolina-rig where the grass is scattered or a little sparse using the YUM Dinger in Junebug. Mann's Minus One's can work as your crankbait of choice. Try a gray Bandit Footloose with a black back. Carolina rigs using Junebug finesse worms. Don't forget your wacky and shaky head set-ups, too. Senkos, green with red flake, have worked in the past. The main river grass can be better than the creeks. Try your spinnerbait in the grass. You can always use a Carolina-rig with a heavy weight to punch through the grass using a finesse worm, lizzard or creature bait. Ask Shellback for more suggestions as he is the "Potomac Kid." PM him and he can bring you up to date on the Potomac. Also PM Vekol. Great guy. Hopefully the NOVA guys can give you some more suggestions. Otherwise, I really have no idea what to do on the Potomac so give everything a try.

Anything RICO.

Reading, writing and fishing. It just does not get any better. Good luck to you guys. Win one for your school and our Forum.

RayRe is right. Use your plastics. Read my PM. See my post in your previous post. If the bass are spawning, you need to fish the shoreline with a Carolina rigged lizzard or creature bait with the tail dipped in yellow Spike-It or JJs Magic. Throw a Shaky Head under docks or at the shoreline, too. If the bass have already fattened up'ed they may not want a moving bait like a crankbait. And they have probably seen every kind of crankbait out there so throw something different. And remember to scale down on bait size and then work up. A big fish will hit a small bait. A small fish will hit a small bait. A big fish will hit a large bait. A small fish will give it a shot at a large bait. Senkos are super. Give 'em a try weightless. If there is any cover or structure you may want to use a weedless hook. They work great with plastics fished in structure or cover. When fishing a Carolina rig, use a Tungston weight. You will feel more on the bottom and also the hits. When fishing a Senko watch for the line to move or feel the "tap-tap-tap." Reel in the slack and set the hook. If you think you have a bite, set the hook. Keep finger on line at all times and keep pole straight up in the air to keep line tight so you can feel the "tap-tap-tap." Always set the hook if you think you have a bite. It is better to set the hook and be mistaken than to stand there and not set the hook if you get bit. When you feel the "tap" or see your line moving, point pole at bait, reel in slack, and slam that fish. Throw yourself out of the boat. Cross his eyes when you set the hook. Yell a nasty word as you set the hook. Put all of your strength into setting that hook. But don't fall out of the boat. And if you miss him, duck as your bait comes flying back at you. Keep trying. Don't be concerned that you are not catching a fish on every cast. Have fun.

Simple question with a difficult answwer. Crankbaits and spinnerbaits can be search baits. A buzzbait in the early AM or late PM (and sometimes during the day) works great so give them a try. If you want to cover a lot of water throw a crankbait. If you have time, then you.... 1. Position your boat by the cover or structure you want to fish. 2. Throw at the front of the cover first, and work your way to the shore line with your baits. 3. Using a "fanning" pattern, throw from right to left and then left to right with your crankbait. 4. Then do the same with your spinnerbait. 5. Then do the same with a Texas rigged Senko. 6. Then do the same with a Wacky Senko. 7. Then do the same with a Shaky Heady Senko. 8. Then try your luck with a finesse worm rigged Texas style. 9. The throw a finesse worm Wacky style. If you don't get bit then there are no fish there and you move on. You can also use a Chatterbait or a jig and pig or a fluke or a drop shot rig, etc. I think you get the picture. Throw a trick worm (pink is great) or a Pop-R or Hula Popper or Chug Bug or a frog at, in and over the grass in the AM. Topwaters work super in the morning and evening. Practice your flipping, pitching and skipping. This time of year skip your Senko or Creature bait under docks or boats. Consider using a Carolina rig with a lizzard on the bank or off the bank depending on the cloud cover and if they are going to their beds. During tournaments, when we are working hard to find fish, we use search baits like crankbaits. When we are out fishing and want to relax you can work any cover you find in any number of ways so take your time and see what works. WHEN YOU GET BIT...look around. How deep were you? How much off shore were you? What bait were you using? Was your retrieve fast or slow? Did he hit it hard or just take a slight wack at your lure? Was it on wood, in wood or close to wood? In the grass? In the pads? Under a bush? In a bush? By a wall or bulkhead? On a point? Rocky or mud bottom? In a stump field? Over a hump or down in a hole? This is "setting the pattern" so you can continue to do the same thing at the next tree or the same type of cover or structure that you caught the first fish. Remember to throw your bait a number of times at the same cover or structure from different angles. Then go back and throw another bait the same way. Now, how about a disussion on what colors work best under what conditions? Ah, another day.

The Scum Frog is a good bait. Run it over pads and slop and just wait.

I think Basspro48 finished 2nd by a few ounces in your tournament. Congrats on your finish. You did great. I am fishing Gaston in a B.A.S.S. Federation tournament on April 26 as a nonboater. I sure hope the guy who I am fishing with puts us on fish. Thanks for telling us about your tournament and super finish.

Great you are with us. You can educate us and we can help you. So you want to do your best and excel in everything you do? How about starting with your grammer and writing skills so we can read your posts? Now, about your queries. Check out the articles on this forum about jigs and crankbaits and continue to ask your questions. We love to give you our opinions. Suscribe to Bassin Magazine. It is outstanding. And check out the pros web sites for information on your queries, too. Now, for some basic informtion: Jigs - Fish slow or swim them. They are to mimick crawfish on the bottom and baitfish when you swim them. You can use either a plastic or pork trailer to give them bulk. Usually blue/black is the best color but you can use any colors you want to either match the hatch or based on the water quallity. Use braid or a fluro line to avoid the stretch of mono. Use your pitching and flipping skills to present them to the fish or skip them under docks or trees, etc. Let them sink and if they don't get bit on the fall and then walk them out like a crawfish. Crankbaits - A fish finding lure you use to find fish when trying to figure out a pattern. Great bait and you can fish them shallow to deep. Many colors, styles and sizes to select among so read about crankbaits and when to use them under what conditions. Your request for info sounds simple but the answers are not simple. So many of us will give you a lot of suggestions so keep asking. Also, one more suggestion - copy and paste those posts you want to keep and store them in a file on your computer. You will be amazed at the number of posts you will want to memoralize for future reference, especially during the winter months. Now, grab your rods and reels and your crankbaits and jigs and go out and have some fun.

They still sell woodburning kits? I think I had one back in the 60s. Nope, too much other stuff to do than woodburning but please show us some of your work.

Theory says that if you see a shore bird like a heron feeding in an area then there are baitfish and bass. I have never had any luck with this theory but I am very interested in the input from the others on this site as to their experiences. And remember there are a number of types of herons so not all are white.

Another Virginian on the site. Outstanding! Keep posting those reports and asking your questions. And be sure to read, read and read some more. As for Hokie DJ, the UVA and LSU guys are nailing the fish right and left. Do you think it is because you are a Hokie and not a Cavalier or a Fighting Tiger or a Volunteer or a Tarheel? ;D P.S. Just kidding - could not help myself.

If memory serves me correctly, the guys on this site think the Banjo Minnow as a gimmick. So if you do purchase a package and they don't work you can always use them to drop shot or as a fluke.

Tennessee Titan, Remember that the coves and the backs of creeks where the water is shallow will also heat up faster than the main lake. And if the water is stained as opposed to clear then the stained water will heat up faster due to the particles within it. When the Dogwoods bloom the bass are on shore spawning and making their beds so keep an eye out for the Dogwoods to blossom. In the meantime, the bass are in a holding pattern off shore so throw your Carolina rig and always remember to test the shore from time to time just in case some move in to spawn, go after the baitfish or enjoy the warmer waters.

Glad you are with us. That is a beautiful body of water behind you in the first photo. I thought it never gets cold in California. ;D Hope you can learn some "secrets" and good tips and enhance your bass fishing enjoyment.

And the crawfish are doing well and the harvest is a good one.

Jay, Is that all you could catch? I would have though you would have nailed at least five. Really, great report. Now you have a benchmark to beat on each of your lunch hours so keep those cards and letters coming along with the pics.

You keep reading and asking questions and sooner or later your friend will jump out of the boat as you bring in a six-pounder after another six-pounder and he is catching dinks. Congrats and we expect to see more posts from you so we can give you the "secrets" that we have learned over our lifetimes.

Great p;lace to fish and live. Hope you will return in the future and also give Louisiana a try. Fantastic bass and saltwater fishing in Louisiana and the marsh is as strong as ever, even before Katrina. Redfish fishing in the Biloxi Marsh or to the west towards Venice and Houma is the best in the world.

Good idea. Take a photo, too.

As usual, Catt is right again. You can always purhcase the seeds and boil them. But if you really want it, check out your local drug store. And it smells like liquorish. And you can stink up the house and if you are married you wife will want to know what you are doing with that horrible oder. Been there, done that. Give it shot. And don't forget Megabass attractant. It stays on your baits and is slippery and does not smell bad.

Yes, I feel your pain. Check out my One Fish Anna post. Hey, at least you did not lose your favorite $30 cap in the wind.

OK, during the week the weather was nice and the Dogwoods are starting to bloom. So you would expect the water temperature to be in the mid-60's and the bass heading to shore to spawn. Wrong! The wind was strong; we had rain and cloud cover; white caps on the lake when the wind got strong; and it was hard to control the boat with the trolling motor which started to get weak around 2:30 in the afternoon. And to top if off, the jet skiers, house boats and ski boats were all over the place, even with the white caps, so One Fish Anna is getting ready for another crazy summer of fun and boating by people who don't know how to do boating. Then to top if off, my new cap from Green Top blew out of the boat and is gone forever. The fish were not on shore as they went back deep although the water temperature was 62*. We caught them off shore (30 to 40 feet from the shoreline) on a Rat-L-Trap, Bandit 200 crankbaits and finally, one on a Caroline rig, which we should have thrown all day. Two homeowners told us that they had seen momma bass and her friends around their docks for the past two days. Of course, with the weather conditions they were no longer around the docks. I caught four on four bites; friend caught four and lost two; we had very few keepers and my largest was 2.6 pounds. 11 pounds won the tournament with big bass going for 5.8 pounds. Hey, there is always next year on One Fish Anna.

You are a horrible criminal. Of the worst kind. Using a forbidden treble hook in public waters. It just does not get any worse than this. Hey, I guess the guy was having a slow day. This is a new one on me. And I agree, get the fishing regulatinos, look them over, and if you messed up just apologize to the judge and hope he will give you a warning. Be sure to dress nice for court. A coat and tie is a nice touch. Dress like a Wall Street banker. Show respect and humility and don't be a smast ***. Otherwise, it is in the pokey for 5 years.