flyfisher

I was lucky enough today to be able to do one of my favorite floats on a small local river today. The original plan was to do a paddle up and float back but my buddy couldn't make it out early but he agreed to do the paddle up portion from the take out so i could do the whole float. Anyways, i started out chucking poppers on my trusty Sage 7wt XP and was picking up sunnies on about every other cast with a few spots mixed in. I was actually almost getting annoyed with all the sunnies so i sized up to a larger popper to help weed out some of the smaller fish and for the most part it worked. Ended up catching a few more larger sunnies with the largest being measured at 9 1/2". I did catch a big spot, well big for this flow that is no wider than your standard 2 lane road. He measured out at 13". There are some bigger fish in here as last year i ended up landing an 18" smallie out of here but the rule of thumb is fish in the 8-12" range pretty much all day long. In an effort to try and target the even larger fish i switched over to one of my least favorite flies, the clouser minnow. Yeah i know it is a classic and everyone catches fish on them but i never seem to catch much with them. Well that was about to change. It was a small size 2 clouser i tied, white on white with some flash tied in for extra sparkle First cast i caught a 8" sunny. About 10 casts later i got into a nice smallie that measured 13". The catching continued for the rest of the trip and i ended up with well over a dozen smallies, 10 spots and who knows how many sunnies. I did have a very large smallie come and check out my fly as i was dead drifting past a log but he never went after it but at least now i know where he lives since i marked it on my phone All in all a very good day with well over 50 fish total caught with the total species count at 6. pumpkinseed, bluegill, suckers, spots, smallies and one small catfish. My buddy was throwing a nose hooked yum dinger and caught a bunch of fish but nothing of any size so for today, the long rod won. I love small central VA rivers

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I have researched the teaching certification and that part will not be a problem. This is also a masters program so i will at least have that box checked. Another thing i have been thinking about is we all know there are some great teachers out there and some pretty bad ones too. If i am an older student, making a career change i would think that this would be beneficial when people are looking at my resume of work. It is one thing to graduate college and go for a job but it is a completely different one when you change mid life to make a change. I would think this would look good for me but wondered what you guys think. This would also open up other opportunities to work with kids like at the boys & girls clubs etc....which i did for quite a few years in college and absolutely loved the job.

For me it's a toss up between the Banjo minnow and the Flying lure.

Stake out pole...best thing ever for a kayak.

Catfish are pretty voracious predators and that is a nice one!! I have caught catfish on topwaters and most recently i caught one on a crankbait that it absolutely destroyed when i paused on the retrieve.

No additional info to add here other than to second the suggestion to watch your line. I probably see over half of the strikes before i feel them and this limits the deep hooking problem as well.

Disagree there. I have used a sharpie on braid with no problems. Does it wear off over time, sure but braid without a sharpie changes color too. I have found it is easier to color after that initial break in period where the super slick coating is broken in a little bit.

Also casting in fly fishing the loop to loop connection only passes through the guides when first starting out and not every cast. I would think that the loop to loop connection would mess up the casting ability, especially on micro guides.

if i was only taking three it would be 6'8" MXF spinning 6'6" or 7' MH baitcasting 7' MM baitcasting for crankbaits Those three rods pretty much can handle what i throw. Granted i have more rods but that is as much for lack of wanting to retie when switching baits.

The program i am looking at is mainly online with the exception of student teaching so flexibility is there. it is more i just cannot stand what i am doing at this point and i am losing motivation to continue at it and have been for the past two years. I am also not wanting to lose my time with my family in the evenings and weekends if at all possible. I have a few interviews lined up for part time jobs that wouldn't require the mental capacity and potential for 50+ hour work weeks like i have now. I also don't plan on leaving my current job until i find either another part time job or just can't take the additional work anymore. And yes, the 401k is doing just fine and i don't plan on taking it out unless i have to but at least we are currently in a dual income household so she will be able to up her 401k contributions while I am in school to potentially compensate for mine being stagnant for a few years.

I have been cutting the tails of my stick baits since i started fishing them a few years ago...guess i had a good idea and i will definitely get a pack or 3

In a short answer yes you can. Some of the best days chasing big brown trout which act pretty much like bass have been on high and muddy conditions. I have also had great days fishing for smallies and largemouth under the same type of conditions. Big rabbit hair streamers and anything that moves water will work. Some flies have rattles on them too but i have never tried them so i can;t comment to much on their effectiveness.

So here is the story....i started college back in 1994 went for a few years, dropped out a couple more times to go climbing and fishing and eventually got married without finishing my degree. I moved from VA to TX for the now ex wife for her grad school which she dropped out from and we moved back to VA. We lived in harrisonburg for a while then she wanted to go back to school for her DPT in RIchmond so i said cool let's do it....we move to Richmond she gets her degree and we get divorced while here in Richmond. I did finish my bachelors while i was here a few years ago I started work at a large bank figuring there was no way i would be in corporate america for to long and well it is now almost 9 years later and i have a fiancee and a 3 year old but i just can't stand the corporate world...it isn't fulfilling to me in the least as i am not totally driven by money as most others at my workplace are...yeah it is cool and all but not he same. So, i am pretty well set on going back to school and going back to my original major in college of elementary education only this time i will be getting a masters. Anyone else eve do a career change like this at this point in their lives? I am pretty nervous about it but with savings cashing out some of my 401k and potentially a few loans i think we can do it and make it work with minimal impact to our lives other than the potential lost income from depleting savings/401k. I have pretty much convinced the fiancee but it is still nerve racking since i have more responsibilty and obligations now with a kid and all.... Anyways just wanted to vent a little and get some other people's thoughts.

i organize my gear a few times a season. Being on a kayak at the end of each trip everything that is at my feet gets thrown into the crate for the next trip and until i get irritated at the disorganized nature it stays that way. At home i have everything pretty well segmented out in like groups. Now my fly fishing stuff is meticuously organized but it is a lot easier as flies doesn't take up nearly as much space. I usually have one box for topwaters, one for each type of streamer then one for bottom type baits. I always keep an extra empty one on the water too just so i can put the wet ones back in there while floating so i don't potentially rust out the rest of the box.

We used frogs as a kid up in canada by hooking them through the lips. I felt bad after hooking the first one though and "accidentally" let them all go I imagine toads could be rigged the same way.

I almost forgot to mention but you remember when the brewers played in Philly in the playoffs in 2008 with the rental of sabathia? I was at the game where blanton worked a 8 or 9 pitch walk and oh yeah i almost forgot, the flyin' Hawaiian hit a grand slam Of course that was countered with my last playoff game where i was able to watch the never criticized in philly for some unbeknownst to me reason, gave up a 4 run lead to the cardinals.

I know absolutely nothing about hunting or guns but dang, 400 yards seems like a loooooong shot.

I have caught fish every month of the year here in VA on them but i rarely if ever wacky rig them, usually a weightless texas rig or on a shaky head. I don't catch a ton of big bass on them but i definitely can catch fish all day with them in most types of cover. Lately i have been getting bored with them as the crankbait bug has bitten me hard and trying to learn how to fish a jig too has left the weightless plastic rod under utilized

Anywhere from 100-125 a week for me, my fiancee and 3 year old boy who eats almost as much as i do but at least he eats normal food most of the time. My big fault is going out to eat for lunch because i hate bringing leftovers to work for some reason. I do go to BJ's to get most of my meat products as the price is way cheaper and in bulk which is nice. The farmers market is also a frequent stop which is also considerably cheaper than the grocery stores.

Braid on all my spinning reels too with no issues. I think there is more to this story.

Nice fish but I am more impressed that you can tell the weight of a fish by seeing it hit your bait.

Here in VA i have been asked at boat ramps for a fishing license. I ahev also been advised when chatting with the game warden that they have the same capabilities as a police officer as far as traffic violations etc but they rarely use them inless it is an add on from another crime they are pursuing/investigating. I also do not even have a paper copy of my license on me but i do have the digital version stored on my phone. I was asked for my fishing license once and showed him the PDF on my iPhone and he said that was ok. I asked if it was ok to have it this way and he said technically you are supposed ot have a paper copy but he couldn't imagine why anyone would have a problem with the digital copy.

3-4 ft no no and i have no idea Wouldn't time of year have a big role in this as well?

I would also say avoid the stabilizers and look for a boat that is stable enough already. You mentioned a trolling motor so paddling speed isn't super high on the list of priorities. Stabilizers work great but to me it is one more thing to rig up and take down and get in the way. There are plenty of super stable boats available without needing the extra stuff. Oh and I was out in my coosa today fly fishing a smaller flow and stood up a good bit of the time

They work great for biking and the open compartment makes them hold Plano boxes very well for fishing too.