Sam

Andrew, you can't go wrong with your shaky head presentation using a five inch finesse or 3X Strike King worm. Read up on the shaky head presentation on this site's article section or Google shaky head and read what others suggest. There are the football heads and the round heads so you can get confused easily. Right now it seems that the makers of the shaky head jigs are starting to advertise how their jig head design will hold the worm up in the water column. Gary Yamamoto has a new shaky head jig for $3.49 in five weights and four hook sizes to meet all of your needs. He claims his shaky head jig can come through weeds and brush cleanly when fishing weedless Texas-rigged baits. For $3.49 it should also land and put the fish in the well. So read about the shaky head technique and then go out and experiment.

Yes, that't right. Lowe's; Home Depot; Wal-Mart. You may try Staples and Office Max but I don't remember seeing them there. I have them in my garage to hand stuff on and the metal pegs come in all shapes and sizes. I was thinking of getting a small chest of draws or one of those white five-drawer storage conatiners and start putting my plastics and hard baits in them. I have to give it more thought.

Wow. What a trip. That lake looks like a nice place to fish, too. Beautiful fish. You can go back this summer and recatch them on artificials.

Great idea, thanks for in input Robert. I saw a number of these satellite alarms in the BPS catalog and told my wife that I want one for my birthday. Great gift to or from someone that cares about you. When you are on the water by yourself, with a non-boater or with others you never know when you will need to alert the authorities for help. Thanks for sharing.

Well Lunkerfeaver, here we go again. You will receive a lot of suggestions from the guys; all of which are acceptable and will help you make a decision. After you read all of the replies be sure to ask the tackle shop of their opinion and input. Just be careful that the person you are speaking with is knowledgable and not trying to sell you anything. I would suggest a Curado 200 but that may be too expensive. The 200 can handle your cranks and spinnerbaits and it has the power to fish the jig in cover and structure. But I am partial to Shimano. As long as you stick with the major brands you cannot go wrong. Good luck with your selection.

Better planning to find the fish before going out. More patience. (Yikes!) More jig fishing to try to perfect that presentation. Studying one body of water. Maybe the Pamunkey River or Lake Chesdin. Or both. Going out more this year.

Yes, I went on Friday and Saturday. I also want to apologize to all Forum members who said hello as I was involved with my Club's activities with the coloring sheets, the casting contest and the selling of Ranger Raffle tickets. Usually I will stop and talk but today was hectic. I was not that happy with the vendors but I did find one vendor that had the new line of the Bandit lures plus the four-inch mocassin blue dead ringer worms. I got some of the new Bandits which I can't wait to use and I am now set with my mocassin blues, both in finesse and dead ringer. I agree that more and more vendors will start to come back to the show and hopefully it will be better next year and future years. I did get to meet some of my old friends and speak with them for a short time. Two guides and others that I ran into or came by the areas we were working. Maybe next year we can have a time and place for all of us to meet at the Expo and introduce ourselves.

I sent you a PM on your query.

What a timely question. I am taking my boat to Jerry Cooper in Ashland, VA to have it "winterized" and to have the impeller replaced. I hit a couple of mud flats this year and the water stream is not what it used to be. It is better to be on the safe than sorry side of things and having the motor fail while fishing is not something that anyone wants to experience. So I suggest, like the other guys, you change the impeller.

My board did not have the photos. I bet Avid was smiling and he broke the camera. Congrats on a fun day and knocking them down like bowling pins. It is still nice to read Avid's posts as we are freezing our fannies off in central Virginia and not doing any fishing. Keep 'em coming, Avid.

I am for the Pats as they have four LSU players on their team while the Giants have one, for a total of 5 Fighting Tigersin the Super Bowl. I do not like the Mannings and it is enjoyable to watch them go down in flames. I am still upset that the Packers blew their game against the Giants so now I can sit back, eat my oyster loaf, and cheer for Eli to get creamed by the Pats defense. Isn't pro football fun?

Brent, To answer your question, the 5" Thin Senko feels a little harder than it's 5 " cousin, the standard Senko. But it seems to have the same "action" as the cigar shaped Senko. The "harder feel" could be due to its smaller diameter. However, it looks like it is the same material of a regular Senko and the same color formula. I just stumbled upon them at Green Top outside of Richmond the other day and had never seen them before. The number is 9M-10-042J for the thin Senko and 9-10-194 on the standard cigar shaped 5" Senko. So the first two number combos are the same other than for the "M" behind the "9" on the Thin Senko. The last numbers are the color codes. I will give them a try in March (February if it gets warmer) and let you know how they perform. I hope you can find them and compare them to your baits, which I have to order in the near future. Thanks, Sam

Rondef, I saw the fish today at the Richmond Fishing Expo. They have it in an ice chest on display. Very, very large striper. It resembled a big grooper. That was one big fish!

I think it also resembles one of the Bandits. I am sure I saw the same design today in the Bandit lure section. But it does not matter. Just throw her. The fish have no idea of the brand, cost or where she came from.

Please consider the following plus the other input you will receive. 1. Pay the non-boater fee at the blast-off site. 2. Bring your own PFD. 3. Call your partner to see what he will be throwing so you can throw the same and something else (worms, cranks, C-rigs, etc.). 4. Bring your own lunch and snacks. 5. Bring your own drinks. 6. Six rods should be enough. Remember, you are in the back of the boat which means your rods will be placed between the seat and boat side so too many rods can get all confused and create havoc for you. 7. Scale down on the baits you are bringing. You do not need 25 pounds of plastics and all of your hardbaits. 8. Be polite and just go where the boater wants to go. 9. Check out maps and other info on the body of water you will be fishing so you can make some suggestions as to where to go when the bite stops. 10. Realize that the guy in the front of the boat has the first shot at the fish so he will probably outfish you. 11. Throw something different than the boater. For instance, if he is throwing a Pop-R, then you consider a Chug-Bug or a trick worm as your topwater (or even a RICO). You can be the same and different at the same time. 12. Don't litter and clean up behind yourself. 13. Do not bring any Spike-It or other dyes on the boat in case you spill them. Dye your plastics at home before you leave. You may also want to soak your plastics in your favorite scents while at home, too. 14. Talk and show an interest in your partner. Some guys will have a conversation with you while others will be jerks. 15. Help put the boat in and take it out of the water in any way you can. Many guys have their buddies help them so don't be offended if you ar e not asked to help. 16. Be an hour early so you are ready to go when your partner is ready to go and also to listen to the conversations from the other club memebers. You may pick up a tip or two. 17. Help the guy clean his boat. Especially if it is a Ranger. The Ranger guys just have to wipe down the boat and trailer before leaving the blast-off site. It is in their blood. Or it is a mental condition. 18. When you throw into the trees or cover you will have to get your bait. Check with the boater to make sure he will get your bait or you will just have to cut it off and retie. 19. Be careful of the position of the motor and don't slip if there is a well infront of the motor and fall out of the boat. (Bring a dry set of clothes jsut in case and leave them in your car or put them in the boat it there is room.) 20. Always ask where the net is so you can get it without any trouble if and when he catches a fish. You will be surprised how difficult it can be to find and get the net ready to net a fish. That's all I can think of now. I am heading out to the Richmond Fishing Expo so I hope the other guys can give you some more advice based on their experiences. Have fun.

#1 gold hook. 1/0 weedless. 2/0 weedless. I have found the weedless can allow me to get into more structure without getting hung up.

George's posts on this site are excellent. He really knows fishing and he shares his info with us which we all should be grateful. I would love to fish with George, Avid and Catt one day. If nothing else, I bet the comments and stories would be worth it for the entire trip.

Love it. Four (4) pound test line; small jig head with small grub or a Rooster Tail; small spinning reel; light weight rod; and hold on. You can catch everything with this rig. It is deadly at the historic James River Pony Pasture for smallies, largemouths and bluegills. It is deadly on a pond. It is deadly on a river. Never tried it on a lake due to the size and species of fish but I bet you could have some fun with it until the line breaks or is cut-off. Ultra-light fishing is a lot of fun.

Someone put the gar in the pond. Can you transfer him safely to a river? Best surprise I ever had at a pound was 7 pound lady who just had to eat my bait. Great pics. Thanks for sharing.

One of my club buddies launched his boat at the blast-off ramp only to relaize that he had not tied her to the dock. So when he pulled his trailer off and went to park, the boat kept heading out to sea. It was on the Pamunkey River so when we had some sunlight one of the guys took him to retrieve her. All we could do is look at him and shake our heads. And then go into hysterics. He was embarassed and we laughed our fannies off.

Hey Simon, The larger box stores will bring business to Green Top as Green Top has some better selections of Zoom products and other items that the big boxes do not carry. Plus the fact that the guys at Green Top are now friendly and helpful. The Shimano guys will be there on Friday and Saturday. I went by the store today and got some stuff; I was hopeful that the War Eagles and RICOs and Lucky Crafts and Bandit Cranks would be on sale but no luck. Did get some plastics I was looking for. Picked up 6 bags which should last through the summer. See you at the Expo. I will be wearing my LSU sweatshirt.

Take your dad and get some RICO's. Or take your mom and get a new Tracker boat. Senkos, don't forget your Senkos. Weedless 1/0 and 2/0 to fish your T-Rigs in cover and structure and for wacky rigging. The new Trileen MAXX Pro line. At $85 a roll of 2,000 yards it is a bargain. Mocassin Blue 4-inch Dead Ringers by Zoom, if you can find them. Mocassin Blue finesse worms by Zoom. Anything Lucky Craft. Anything G. Loomis. And did I say take your mom? Your dad is too sharp to fall for any of this stuff! ;D

Tungston. Better feel of the bite and bottom. Smaller than lead, too. Give some a try.

With Virginia Tech and UVA football teams losing their bowl games. With Virginia Tech and UVA basketball teams headed to the toilet. It is about time we have something to be proud of in Virginia. Even if it is a fish.

Has anyone seen or used the Gary Yamamoto five-inch thin Senkos? I found them at Green Top today and bought a pack of watermealon (no flake) to try. I had never seen them before and was wondering ianyone out there knows about them. Thanks for your replies.