Sam

Not a personal best but I still have dreams about the one that took the Chatterbait, jumped clear out of the water and spit the bait at me. Had I caught her I may have won the "big fish" prize and ended up in the top 10. Talk about being upset.

Bass do not strike hard when taking a jig. They inhale it. To detect the almost imperceptible bump or tap of a lightly biting fish you have to rely on the sensivity of your rod tip. Reeling in a jig will destroy that sensitivity and you will not be able to detect strikes. Use the flipping or pitching technique and let the jib float to the bottom along the shore or in the lily pads. Try to use a optically brightened line that appears above the surface. Many times the strike is so light that even a highly sensitive rod tip cannot detect it. But you can see your line move in the water or see a twitch, jump, quiver or the line moves sideways. Keep your rod tip moving up and down to work the jig from Noon to about 10 o'clock. Use only the rod top to move the jig. Set the hook if you think you have a strike. You will be wrong more than you are right but being right only once is worth all the effort. Add a plastic trailer when the water temperature is over 80 and a pork trailer when the temperature is below 80. You want the jig to represent a crawfish. Good luck.

Ike, VanDam and Houston. Its a three-way tie.

I got close to the bank on the Pamunkey River in my bass boat this past Saturday and heard something falling from a tree branch into the bushes in the water. I did not hang around to figure out what it was. All wild animals will do their best to avoid humans, including fish. This situation changes when the animal 1) has young to protect; 2) feels threatned; or 3) is "attacked" (stepped on) by humans. This is true for snakes as they are not sociable animals and do not want to have anything to do with humans. However, it is true that every once in a while a human will encounter a snake and the animal will do what its instinct tells it to do: flee or fight. I think I remember hearing that more people are struck by lightning in the USA then are bitten by snakes. All I can add is those famous words my uncle told me when I was growing up in Louisiana, "Son, a snake and a leaky rubber have one thing in common. You don't f--- with either." Good advice!

Cajun, I'll tell you what's tougher. Tulane beating LSU in football. Alabama beating LSU in football. Vandy beating anyone in SEC. Auburn staying off probation for football recruiting violations. Being a jock at Kentucky and not being able to bounce a basketball. Playing for Stanford and having a tree as your mascot. Making a roux without flour. Not having your Community Coffee and beignets in the morning. Meeting up with a moccasin while gigging frogs. Staying sober on an LSU football Saturday in Baton Rouge. Being from Bossier City and admitting it. And fishing when the temperature is below 70 degrees! Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouller!

Fishing is so much better than having psychoanalysis. It is a great change of pace and so relaxing. Of course, blood pressure readings do go up when you get a bite which is much better than working out at the gym. And the scenery is always beautiful. Those who do not go freshwater fishing have no idea of what they are missing and its fantastic overall rewards.

Rockinfish9001, Don't fool yourself about the depth of the weeds and that bass will avoid the area. They are there. Just minding their own business and waiting for a tasty morsel to swim by. Try this next time you fish the weeds: Take a push pole or any pole and make a few 1 to 2 foot wide holes in the weed bed. Make the holes as deep as you can. Wait about 15 to 30 minutes and go back and drop your worm into the holes. Keep going back during the day, too. You may be surprised as to what takes your bait.

Thanks for the info. I will no longer plug in my trolling motor until I am on the water. I never thought of this occurring and it is very serious. Thanks again.

Fish the current. Fish the wood. Fish the pads, if any. Try a buzzbait in the AM parallel to the shore or pads. Use smaller size lures. Always sent your lures. Crawfish sents are very good. Change baits to find out what they want to eat. Don't fall out of the boat!

This is a super site. Just ask and you will receive an answer. Probably many answers. Check out the library, too. It is loaded with a lot of information. And don't worry about your tackle. You wll start to accumulate stuff like the rest of us and make some mistakes along the way, too. Just go out and have a good time.

When I was about 10 years old, my aunt, two cousins and I were visiting some friends in the Louisiana marsh and my older cousin had been bass fishing but caught nothing. So a little while later I picked up his rod and spinning reel and just started casting it out into the marsh water. I don't remember what bait we were using but I think it was a spoon. All of a sudden I had a hit and set the hook on a 2 pound bass. It scared the heck out of me. I had no idea of what to do as all the fishing I had done to that point in my life was either fishing for bream or salt water fish. So I reeled as fast as I could; the fish was jumping and make quite a lot of racket; and all I thought about was some alligator would hear the commotion and come to investigate. I landed her; got the hook out; and let her go. It was a fantastic experience and one that I still vividly remember. Back then we called bass "Green Trout" and my uncle and cousin used to fly fish for them in Louisiana's "Biloxi" marsh (south east of New Orleans) while my other cousin and I fished for speckled trout, sheepshead, red fish, drum and croakers either from my uncle's 46 foot yacht or one of the two 16 foot skiffs we pulled behind the big boat. Memories are great and I have enjoyed reading everyone's first experience. Thanks for sharing.

There are some interesting articles in various publications regarding barometric pressure. So far the inforamtion presented paints a very interesting picture of what the guys beleive about baramoetric pressure and its affects on bass. However, I look at many variables now, including water clarity; water temperature; sunny or overcast; time of day; and the tides if fishing a tidal river. We all know that the fish feed when a storm is approaching (lower pressure) and go deep and look for shade when there is lots of blue sky and sunny weather (high pressure) and we fish accordingly. As for the moon, I have friends that swear by moon phases. The full moon is the best time to fish accourding to these guys; no ifs, ands or buts. All I can suggest is that you check the various articles; fish under different conditions; and make up your own mind.

Vekol, Thanks a million. I will use your and everyone else's information to plan a strategy. Thanks again.

Thanks for the info. You guys are the best. Sam

Every pond I have fished this year in Virgina and Pennsylvania produced positive results. I have found that the weather plays a major role with pond fishing. It seems the weather is a greater factor in ponds than on rivers and lakes. I have been skunked a few times on ponds but I fished them right after a cold front moved through and I did not expect to do well. I have been successful throwing Chatterbaits, a Gitzit, Roostertails, buzzbaits, Gulp! worms and Zoom junebug and redbug finess worms, both weighted and without any weights. The Senko bites have been productive in the ponds. So please double check the weather conditions and fish ponds early in the AM, like around 5:45 AM and in the evening after 7 PM. These times have proven to be very productive. Good luck.

OK, I need your help regarding tidal rivers. How many hours before and after the high and low tides are the best? I thought it was 2 hours after high tide and 1 hour before low tide. Can anyone give me some input on this? Thanks.

Fishing, as any other sport, requires the individual to be in shape. I now walk and swim in a healht club pool two or three days a week; walk by the weights at the health club and check them out to make sure they are pretty and maybe lift a few times a month; and take care of myself by losing weight (14 pounds with 20 to go) and eating right. Just because we don't go out and chase a ball doesn't mean that we should not be in shape when fishing. And please wear your life vest at all times. We lost another fisherman on the Potomac and a sailboater in the Chesapeake Bay last week and I can't understand why they were not wearing their life vests. Learn to swim. I am amazed at the number of people who enjoy the water who can't swim. I had to take two weeks off as I pulled a back muscle so I know what you all are going through. Tight lines!!!!!

Since I am from Louisiana and love to eat crawfish; plus the crawfish is a bass' favorite food, my car plate reads: CRAWFSH I get a lot of looks and smiles as I travel the roads of Virginia.

Goals 1. Have fun. 2. Don't fall out of the boat. 3. Don't break down on the water. 4. Don't sink the boat or break the prop. 5. Catch a variety of fish such as LMB, SMB, pike, bluegills, white perch, catfish and anything that bites. 6. Take a buddy along and have more fun. 7. Take a nice lunch and snack and Snickers bars with me and eat like a king. 8. Don't make a fool of oneself when backing the trailer onto the ramp. 9. Don't hit any other boat or car when backing trailer onto the ramp. 10. Enjoy the beautiful outdoors and see nature at its best. 11. Forget the office and work issues. 12. Turn off the cell phone.

Easy question...difficult answer. In lakes and ponds usually early morning and evening can produce good results but I have caught fish at every hour of the day. On moving water such as rivers it depends on the tides. Some say the full moon is the best guage and on those days I know guys who swear that anytime during the day and at night are very good. So don't worry about the time. Just go out and have a good time.

Sal, I went to a local pond this morning and at 6:10 AM I hooked a 6 pounder on a black buzzbait with a red trailer hook. Try a buzzbait in the early AM. I also cautht two other smaller bass around a pound each on the buzzbait. Nothing is as exciting as seeing that swirl around your buzzbait and have your line tighten. Let us know how you do.

Go Wacky style with your Senko but turn the hook and put the tip back in the worm to make it weedless. You will still get hung up but the percentage of getting hungup reduces greatly by fishing your Wacky rig weedless.

The ad worked. Love it or hate it; good taste or bad taste; it caught your eye and planted a seed for Berkley Gulp! products. To be honest, I thought the ad was dumb and a waste of money. A Wall Street advertising firm created the ad to meet certain advertising goals and to say the least, by the responses to this topic, it worked. What is so depressing is that the ad is insulting, demeaning and stuipd. I guess it was some young college kid with uncontrollable hormones that came up with the ad. When I fish I only think about fishing; the beautiful scenery; friendship with my fishing partners; and a peaceful and relaxing time on the water. Not naked guys trying to sell baits.

In Virginia you can get a lifetime fresh and saltwater fishing license for a one time fee. I did it a few years back after I decided to go fishing early in the year and I did not renew my license for the new year. After I got home I swore I would never do that again so I went over to the Fish and Game Commission's office and got a nice lifetime license which I carry with me where ever I go, be it a local pond, lake, river or the bay. You are more relaxed and can have more fun if you are legal. SO GET YOUR LICENSE!!!

Try to find Mike Iaconneli's book, Fishing on the Edge, as he tells about rising to the top of the sport and about the sport itself. It is an easy read. Maybe you can find some Cliff Notes on the book, too.