Avalonjohn44

The Helicopter Lure... :-[ I vow to put a flaming bag of doggy droppings on Roland's porch one day...

Of all the stuff on your list, I would buy the Zoom Trick Worms and Finesse Worms first.

I went Saturday and Sunday, and mopped up after 6pm on a Gambler Cane Toad. Caught a couple on an old rebel crawfish crank, but all the others came on the Pumpkin/pearl toad. same color Zoom horny toad got no strikes, I think the Cane Toad's boot style legs were the trick.

If toss a used senko, or any other soft plastic, back in the bags with the fresh ones at the end of the day, will this affect the good ones in any way? I

Awesome, thanks Big M!

I bought an airbrush today for $20 at a yardsale from an old guy, completely unused... It's an Aztek by Testors with a few different jars and nozzles, a video, and neat wooden case. They go for about $150 on ebay. I want to start spraying my own crankbaits, thought this might be a good option to start with before I go committing big money to an expensive airbrush. Anyone have experience with this airbrush? Positives/Negative, or reviews? Thanks!

LOL, I dunno. The same way I can't catch a bass on a tube or jig? Seriously, I caught bluegill on them in 04, but nothing else.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to do that! I just wanted to clear up some lightning myths!

Not switching sooner? Kidding, I dunno. I'm in NoVA and rarely throw tubes either because I just can't get them to bite it. Same with a Beaver. I don't bother tossing either one anymore.

Lightning can go cloud to cloud, cloud to ground, or ground to cloud. It depends on the situation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning

The Cicadas came in VA in 2004, and all the news articles said that everything from dogs and cats to fish and birds would gorge themselves fat on cicadas... Well, my dogs did, and I saw birds catching them, but when I put a hook in a cicada, I did not catch any bass... *shrug* I was hoping NoVA would get a southern hatch of these cicadas this year... No such luck I guess...

It starts if you can match what you're feeling with what you're seeing. Fish some shallow, clear water for a while and watch what your crank is doing while feeling what it is doing... You'll quickly learn the diff btwn a rock, a muddy bottom, weeds, etc. A lot of people will tell you to use a soft action fiberglass rod, but I don't agree with that, I use a fast action graphite rod and do better than I did with the flimsy rod. I use 8 10 or 12 lb mono (Cajun red or low vis green) most of the time, sometimes 14... I try to have VMC hooks, or better on my cranks. I just got some VMC Barbarian hooks from Ebay that I can't wait to try out... Cast your cranks into cover like you would your plastics. After learning the subtle differences btwn wood, weeds, etc, you'll more easily work the crank thru cover... If this makes you nervous, then get a pair of waders or learn to swim to retrieve a snagged lure... Seriously, I have stripped down to next to nothing in late autumn and early spring to retrieve a snagged Megabass lure...

I fish where there are real lizards (not salamanders) running around in the summer, several varieties of skinks. My buddy caught one, put it on a hook, and caught several bass right in a row on the thing. We spent most of the rest of the day trying to catch lizards for bait.

Poppers for me. I haven't had anything but bream peck at a popper in years...

I have heard many complaints about all of the baits up there except for the Giron... I would start there...

I have 4 of the Type X Frogs, and they are very cool. The bass love them, but so do the bluegill up here. Either way, they catch fish. If you get a chance, pick up some Megabass Cyclones...They are even better than the type x's, I believe.

Anyone try these? I found some on clearance at Gander today, and bought all of them. They are supposed to be better than the screw in bullet weights - which are my favorites, but are getting tough to find. It seems a little trick rigging them, but I think they'll work OK. Any opinions??? Thx in advance.

I love throwing a weightless Charm Assassin made by Bass Assassin. Trick worm style bait, but it tapers at one end. When nothing else is working for me, I toss one of these, and it usually produces.

It looks like an old road goes thru one side of that lake, I would key there if you get to fish it again, throw spinnerbaits, frogs, and a DT8 crank all along that thing.

I love the Bandit 200, but it isn't a square bill... My favorite is the Bagley BB2 or BB3 in Late Spring Bream Color. The box says it goes 0-4 feet, but I've gotten them deeper on lighter line.

Aw, it'll just rust out in a few days and he'll be fine...

D'oh! You're right... Sorry!!!

Cool! I can't wait for father's day weekend, I'm hitting both those shops hard. I have ebay money saved up, and it's burning a hole in my pocket.

From Route 7 headed west towards leesburg, take a right on Golf Course Rd, and park in the little parking area near the old green bridge. From there you can go up or down stream. I have fished from the bank, a kayak, and waded, and for goose creek when the water is down, found wading to be the most fun and productive. Right now with water levels so high, I would try the bank. Another place to access from Rt 659 is at the water treatment plant. I dunno if that access is still open, but you can try. It is tough fishing there, but despite the pressure and the illegal aliens net fishing, there are still bass both above the dam and below it.

What's this super secret shop I keep hearing about? I see you live in the Richmond Norfolk area... Not so far from me...