Avalonjohn44

If it comes closer to me than 25 feet and stays for the length of time it takes to annoy me (more than a minute), I will catch that thing and sell it on ebay.

I will not buy just based on the sheer frustration I've had with their crappy frogs.

I love my Daiwa Tatula Type Rs so much, I bought three replacements to keep until I need them. Gonna buy a couple more too.

Yeah, I'm gonna see if I can get upgraded to a 24v trolling motor right away. I have heard almost unanimously that the 12v is just too little.

No, for me a deep crank is a DT 10. That is about as deep as I go because the big cranks act like a trolling motor on my kayak. I sometimes wonder if the bait is staying in place and I'm dragging my kayak towards it....

The lake is hit hard on the weekends, but is a ghost town during the week days. I have an abnormal schedule and get to fish mid week, which is nice. I do ok there, nothing giant yet, but can consistently get six or seven decent fish on a shaky head or deep crank. Can't wait to fish Frederick from a real boat, my kayak is great, but a 45 yo fat guy in a kayak gets pretty stiff and uncomfortable quickly. Not to mention I'm limited on what I can bring...

Nitro, that is awesome, I live about 15m from Lake Frederick and was seriously considering making a hoist to remove my motor from my new boat so I could fish someplace that I didn't have to drive 2 hours to... Thank you for the info, saves me from dropping the motor and shattering my foot.

I have caught several biggun's on the Aile Goby by Yo Zuri. Tiny little lure that catches everything in sight.

Ugh. Man, I am seriously getting priced out of the game here... lol

I've begun reading up on the different Sonar/GPS units, was thinking of starting off with a Hummingbird Helix 5si, it has GPS and Navionics... It seems to get good reviews and it is the most affordable mid to high end units I have found... I was somewhat shocked that some higher end units are in the 2-3K range.

I went to look for Briery Creek Lake, couldn't find it on Bing. That's what I get for using Bing maps.

Awesome news fellas, thanks for the advice, 175 TXW here I come. Haven't had the boat safety course yet, but I grew up on the south Jersey Shore boating and sailboating through the intercoastal since I was 8. I am fair to midland with a trailer, but will practice... Can't wait... pictures will follow!

I am going to be fishing the waters around Northern VA - Upper & Tidal Potomac, Occoquon River/Bay, Lake Anna, with occasional trips to Gaston/Buggs, maybe the tidal rivers near Williamsburg too... I have been looking at a Tracker 175 TXW, but am beginning to worry that it won't be a big enough boat for those waters, especially the Tidal Potomac... Should I wait another year until I can afford something larger, or will the Tracker be capable? I guess waiting a while wouldn't hurt, would very much like a Mako 18 LTS...

Ya'll convinced me. I think I'm gonna go 175 TXW, and eventually buy the bigger trolling motor. The 175 should handle all of my areas lakes, my small wife and two kids as well. And when I get the 24v trolling motor, the Potomac river should be totally doable... Heck, we used to cram seven of us (My dad, my uncle and five kids) on a 15ft beater w/ a 25hp at the jersey shore when I was younger, so a 17.5 ought to work fine for the 4 of us..

Gonna roll by my local lake (Lake Frederick) and check their signs out again. Haven't since a couple of years ago. Maybe they have an unambiguous sign now.

Problem is the conflicting or incomplete info on the VDIF website and, as Nitro mentioned, the varying interpretations by the individual enforcement officers.

I have been, it seems to be on a lake by lake basis which is a pain in the neck...

I'm dismayed to find so many lakes in Northern VA limited to Electric only. I know we have the Potomac and Anna and parts of the Shenandoah, but don't want to get on the really big water until I am comfortable piloting my boat, so wanted to play in the kiddie pool small lakes for a while... Any suggestions? Do any smaller lakes allow us access if we trim a gas motor up out of the water? Or is it lake specific? I live near lake Frederick, and see guys with their motors up all the time, but I don't see that stated specifically anywhere as OK or not OK... Any help would be appreciated...

I don't think so, they advertise it as a 'No Haggle Price'...

That's a nice looking boat, but with a decently sized motor the cost goes out of my range.

Could holes be drilled to flush the tubes, or is that an exceedingly bad idea?

Checked out the expresses, price is too high.

Best hook for this that I have found is made by Stanley, makers of the Ribbit. Its called the Ribbit Double Take hook, in both weightless and keel weighted versions. Best frog hook on the market.

If it is the Lunker Hunt frog, I have the same problem, just no hits. Plus, I didn't care much for the action either. I ebayed the ones I bought.

Nice, I'm so excited now. BPS here I come. Well, not till July, but still... Haven't piloted a boat other than a kayak in 20 years.