Sam

Man, does this sound like a great way to spend a Saturday morning. See lots of fishing gear and meet a lot of nice people. But I live in Richmond, south of Dale City, and I would have to travel on I-95 to get there and driving on I-95 on a good day is a pain. So I will just have to pass it up. But you guys have a good time and let us know what you picked up.

With money and prestiege on the line may I suggest calling your non-boater and seeing what he knows about the bodies of water you will be fishing. If you meet him the day of the tournament then sit in the boat before blastoff and look at a map and get his input. Tell him your plans and the baits you are going to throw and the techniques you will be using. Since you have a short amount of time it is imperative that you start catching fish ASAP. Work together and hopefully you all will be successful.

You join the American Legion Post on the James River because they have a boat ramp.

I throw out white bread to attract the bream and bluegills. Sometimes I can see the bass swimming with and under them as the bluegills and bream feed on the bread. Other than that, I would have to think long and hard as to what to throw in the water to attract a largemouth bass.

My wife works for the Department of the Treasury. You would not believe what goes on in this country and how people get free money. The fraud is running rampant. If we had to stroke a check for all of our federal and state taxes on April 15 we would have a revolution in this country. Now, with taxes being taken out of each paycheck, we don't feel the pain. But we are still getting screwed. On behalf of the Mexican and lazy people in the USA, thank you for supporting them. You have no idea and you really don't want to know.

I received three of the early spring angler catalogs. Nothing great but the cover is beautiful.

I have Bigmouth, Bigmouth Forever and the Feeding Habits of Bass. All are excellent. I suggest the investment. It will make you an overall better fisherman as you will understand your adversary much better.

Put chunks of salt in the tube. Put Alka Seltzer in the tube. Put a cotton ball soaked in your favorite scent in the tube. Does the heavy vegetation have holes in it? Any wood? How is the bottom, soft or hard? How deep? Can you flip or pitch into the cover? Better to throw your bait on the outside edge of the cover? How far is the deep water from the cover, i.e going from 2 feet to 5 feet? Will your dad operate the trolling motor for you? What will be the water temperature? Bass going to spawn in the cover? Does the bottom change from soft to hard to rock to gravel to sand to mud? Is the cover floating? Is the cover weeds and grass? Are you fishing after a big rain? Postfrontal conditions? More than 8 feet deep? Will dad take a photo of you holding up some grass? Will you smile in the photo? Do you mind losing your lure? Can you trolling motor cut through the cover to get into it deeper? Can you take a pole and put a hole in the cover and then return after an hour (or longer) and fish the hole or holes you made? What knot will you use on your bait? Remember, bass holding on the outer edge of the cover will be the most agressive. You may have better luck throwing a half to an ounce jig and pig on heavy line, like 20 to 25 pound test. Or a plastic crawfish. Or big worms. Or pulling a weedless frog over the cover. Or jumping in and seeing what you can grab with your hands. Let us know the details and is all of your homework done?

ACLU, where are you? Don't worry, they are right around the corner!

Friend works in a bank. A man comes in and fills out an application for a loan. In the box where it asks for name of closest kin he puts down a second cousin. Friend asks him if that is his closest relative and the guy says "yes, she lives across the street from me." Go figure.

Burley, the man, the myth the legend. Great tips and help even though you have not fished that body of water. If Burley says it...then it is the law!

First, don't fish with any Tulane people. Go to the tournaments where the guys wear SEC school tee shirts. Second, consider purchasing Ike's Rules for Better Fishing DVD, Volume 1: Taking the Luck Out of the Equation. Ike has some great tips on finding places to fish. Them, for good luck, hit New Orleans for Mardi Gras on March 5 but if any beautiful young lady comes up to you and starts talking to you please check their Adams apple. You could really be in for a big surprise if you don't.

Sent you two PMs.

Burley, Talk about enforcement that is needed? I hate SML when the jetskis and pleasure boats and pontoon boats are all around. It creates a very dangerous situation when you throw in fishermen who want to be left alone and not bounced all over the place or have to swerve to get out of the way of a boat driver that does not know the rules of the water. I will ask my representative to support the bill. I sure hope it goes through but the people on SML have money and they could fight it. Everyone in Virginia needs to take and pass a boater's safety course and only people 16 and older should operate any watercraft in the state. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Avid, They are all around us. Lurking. Waiting to strike. Be careful. Be very careful.

Wow! What a catch. Thanks for sharing.

Please don't laugh at what Catt says about anchoring. It works. I have anchored in by trees, bridges, creek mouths and boathouses and just threw my fanny off all around the structure. The wind produces the most headaches for me, as stated by the guys. So for boat control, I try to fish by throwing the bait against the tide if on a tidal river so the bait floats down into the fishes faces. Many times, I do not even use a trolling motor and just let the current take me down or up river correcting my position as little as possible with the trolling motor. On a lake I try to position the boat so I can throw the bait to the structure from a variety of angles. And I keep the trolling motor off or use it as little as possible as I believe the older and smarter fish get to know the sound of a trolling motor and they will not strike at anything.

Thanks, guys. I will not only give it a try by removing it but also get a crank and put the bill on it. Sam

I wondred what happened to my AM post. Thanks for informing us.

I just want you guys to know that Virginia Tech earned its second National Championship this year via its bass fishing club. The other National Championship came from the shot put. Way to go Hokie bass club!

Eyeddabassman is correct. Can you hold off until the BPS sale? They will have some excellent deals on combos.

I was told that the "line ranges" on the spinning reel are the "best performance" ranges. So if you go outside of the paramenters you will not have the most efficient or best performance from your spinning reel. To accommodate the larger line tests, I usually do not fill up the reel to its maximum . If you do go out of the "acceptable range" then do not get upset when you get some line twist or line curl. It will be fun to experiement with your spinning reel to see what it can do with different line tests. So give it a try and let us know what you find out.

These are Mann's Baby 8, Minus 1 and another mid range diver.

Got to go by and see what they have at my local Wally Mart. I can go by two of them. Maybe pick up some Shimano reels; some Lucky Crafts; a few RICOs; some Senkos; and Trileen Maxx. Not to forget the G. Loomis rods they have in stock.

He is supposed to be able to pitch 200 innings. One of the few pitchers who can pitch 200 innings a year.