Snakehead Whisperer

Memorize your debit/credit card number, expiration date and CVV code. Problem solved.

I've tried many gloves, but I've stuck with the "Glacier Glove Alaska River Flip Mitt." They're basically fingerless gloves with neoprene palms and a flip over mitten. The mitten is really useful as you can put a hand warmer in it and flip it up if your hands start getting cold, but it's out of the way while fishing. They're inexpensive too. $25 retail, or cheaper if you shop around. The pair I'm using right now is on it's 3rd season, and I fish a lot in the winter. I can drive the boat with the mittens flipped down too. http://www.basspro.com/Glacier-Glove-Alaska-River-Windproof-Flip-Mitt/product/84937/

Can't really fault him for that. I like the fastach clips, especially in colder weather.

Unfortunately I can't really argue with this. I'm still happy to be alive, nonetheless. I really want to find a way to make a difference with this type of thing, but it's a long arduous process, and things are seriously broken where our natural resources are concerned.

Fortunately the voltage regulators on my truck and the VW are external from the generators, and we both carry spares. I don't miss the high prices for filling up in the full size, but with the gas prices now I'm tempted to drive the V8 a lot more. I hear you about not wanting to know the mpg. The C-10 is all business, not a trailer queen. I love that truck, but use it sparingly when needed or for fun only. The Escape has served me well. I always assume that people with the newest stuff are either filthy rich, extremely wise with financial planning or up to their ears in bills. I own all of my boats and vehicles outright, and I'll keep them around until they're no longer useful to me. Wouldn't have it any other way. With that said I do experience boat and truck *** at times, but thankfully I can control my impulses with that and live within my means.

You have different controls than I do on my OMC. I have a 2002 Mazda Tribute (Ford Escape) with a 5 speed standard trans. It'll do both of those things and gets close to 30mpg (except when towing a boat.) I was a hard core GM guy before getting an Escape as a rental one day, then I bought one. It still seems like a new car to me, but then again it's the only vehicle I've ever owned that's made in this millennium. I am quite fond of it these days. Maybe it's time for you to move up to a "classic" tow vehicle. Might have to sacrifice some of the comfort/amenities/fuel economy you're used to, however. My '69 C-10 will tow my father-in-laws 29' cabin cruiser with ease, and looks pretty good doing it. Downside is that it gets about 6mpg doing the deed. A few years ago I drove in a caravan with a friend in a '64 beetle with a dead generator. We swapped batteries several times on the drive home when his spark would start to get weak. I lost track of how many times we swapped and ended up with a tiny wet cell battery in my truck. It started the engine, thankfully. I promptly drove to his house to get my Optima back, and ended up spending 3 hours helping him swap out the gen (need to drop the engine in a type 1 VW, unless you're a glutton for punishment.) Good times. Ah, memories.

I'd fix it, if it were me. Those old C4's are workhorses. I understand the idea that they're a little heavier than contemporary reels, but on a well balanced outfit it's hardly noticeable. Great reels for fast/shallow cranking, like squarebills or wakebaits.

How'd you guys do in the tourney?

You crack me up, Bill. Thankfully it was only the fishing today that was on fire.

I'm with you on that. Don't really care what a body of water is called, as long as there are fish to be caught there, I'm fishing.

You aren't kidding. Just looked it up and saw prices ranging from $55-110k. Ouch. Gonna take me a while to save up for that. A lot of the pics that I've found of that boat have inland state registration numbers on them.

So by that standard Okeechobee (and pretty much every other lake in Florida) is a pond then? I realize these terms are somewhat ambiguous and there is a lot of disagreement on where to draw the line, but 1400 acres seems a bit excessive to me. This is still too vague of a description of where you fish to give you a truly meaningful answer. Just knowing the state you're in would narrow it down. Details will help immensely.

Maybe you should get him a pack of fastach or speed clips, although these snaps are almost as difficult to open/close as re-tying. I'm assuming the snap swivels he uses are duolocks, which work well without the swivel; they just seem to catch more vegetation than other styles when I've used them.

Couldn't agree more. I understand and respect, however, people's concern about any non-native species on their water. But on the Potomac that would include LMB, SMB and many other prized game fish. I realize that these introductions are beneficial to the sport fishery, but not so much to the alewife/herring, shad, dace, darter, killifish, white catfish, striped bass, etc. The snakeheads seem to blend in to the river pretty well, and not pose much of a threat to the balance of the food chain. I've heard similar opinions from DNR (VA, that is) and fisheries biologists. Blues, on the other hand... Just this morning I caught a top 3 blue cat here in DC, maybe a new pb (hard to tell when they're so huge.) It bottomed out a 30lb boga grip with ease, but no idea what the weight was (BR weight calculator says 62.25lbs. 42" length x 36" girth.) It had to have been up near 50lbs. In the spring when I fish for pre-spawn smallies I catch several 10+ lb blues per trip, with the occasional beast (20lb or bigger.) These fish probably make up a majority of the biomass in this stretch of the river, and they eat anything. I've caught them on everything from a drop shot to a popper. This one was caught today on a 1/4oz. Johnson Thinfisher (blade bait.) Caught nice bass too on the same lure, as well as several small yellow and white perch. For comparison I'm 6' and 200lbs. The upside is that I didn't see or smell any jet fuel. There were some Coasties in the area of the spill, but I didn't venture over there to see what they were doing.

Glad you figured it out.

Fixed that for you.

It's awesome that you and your son have something that you're both passionate about that you can do together. I hope that you can top your recent catch during the tournament and win big fish.

Drinking water will probably not be effected as it's collected above the fall line, but limited impact on the environment? It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

This just happened right down river from the boat launch that I use. What a tragedy. Current reports estimate that 7500-9000 gallons of jet fuel were spilled into the Potomac river just south of National (Reagan) Airport. Only time will tell what effect this will have on the fishery and environment in general. It can't be good, though. It's a sad day for Washington, DC. The river is tidal in this stretch, so the water goes both ways. Last night when I was pulling my boat out at the ramp I could smell gas. Had no idea what it was at the time, but now it all makes sense. I just hope that if this was due to negligence that the responsible parties will be held liable in some way. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/fuel-spills-into-potomac-river-at-area-south-of-reagan-national-airport/2015/10/30/e5180c96-7f12-11e5-afce-2afd1d3eb896_story.html Does anybody have experience with this type of spill in the waters they fish? What was the consequence?

I have no experience with Johnsons from that era, but I have experience with the older Evinrudes. I am pretty sure that this is not how the kill switch is supposed to function. This would've been helpful to me earlier this spring. I got up and started walking around the boat with the kill switch lanyard still connected to me, and the stupid key snapped in 2. I was about 3 miles from the ramp and had to drive the boat back with my thumb holding the kill switch button down. It was not easy. I need to get some spare kill switch keys to keep in the tool box, but I haven't found them for sale separately, and the lanyards with 10 different keys on them are ridiculously expensive.

No mercy! Pretty sure those cards are still valuable, if they're in decent shape. I collected baseball cards from the time I was 5 until I was probably 14-15, and somehow amassed a stash of 500+ Nolan Ryan cards. Still have them all in excellent shape. The cards peaked in value after he threw his 7th no hitter, and was inducted in to the hall of fame; but they're still valuable. I don't know if I could ever bring myself to sell them, though. Beckett has an online price guide now, but you need to buy a subscription to use it. I used to love the printed version.

Awesome line up. On a side note, Jimmy Houston owns a marine/tackle store/shop and gas station in Cookson, OK. Great little spot with the best tackle selection around. Veggie-free gas too. I highly recommend checking it out, if ever in the Tahlequah area. I grew up in San Francisco, and once Jerry Rice put a quarter into the Street Fighter (original with the giant buttons, not Street Fighter II) machine that I was dominating. I then proceeded to commence the beat down. He was a good sport and signed a mini football that I bought at the sporting goods store next door to the arcade. Good guy.

No hatred intended in my post (can't speak for others.) For me it's a matter of preference and feel. I tend to finesse fish, as opposed to power fishing (even with stuff like crankbaits and spinnerbaits I'm slow and methodical.) For me, snap swivels kill my feel. It's similar to how I could throw a crank bait on a fast action rod, but I never do. I know lots of anglers who do things that I'd never imagine doing, and many do really well. I'm one of those people, though, who uses different knots for different presentations and different line types. It may be out of stubbornness, or it may be that I'm on to something. The world may never know.

I'm going to venture out on a limb and guess that it's not late fall yet down there in the fishing sense. Up here in DC, water temperatures are hovering in the high 50's, which I consider early-mid fall. Once the water temp falls below 55 things will slow down a bit. You're a ways south of here, and judging by the weather down there over the last month you're a little behind us with the cool down. This year has been tricky though, as the slow onset of autumn is contrary to the reduced daylight hours. Fish react to many environmental factors, not just water temp. But water temp is a big one. My guess is that you should be throwing lures that imitate bait fish and fish them higher in the water column. Possibly with a faster cadence than what you're currently doing. Think swimbaits, swim jigs, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, shallow/mid crankbaits, etc. Maybe even topwaters early and late in the day, and when there are overcast conditions. Fish are probably still up shallow. Try to locate bait fish and throw something that imitates them, or something that evokes a reaction strike from the bass. I'm not really into power fishing myself. At this time of year I like to throw jerkbaits and work them quickly, or swim a regular old 3-4" grub on a ball head jig. I most likely won't break out the blade baits for another couple of weeks (last year it was several weeks earlier.) Blade baits really excel once water is below 50, but also when it's in the mid 50's and you're facing frontal conditions that slow down the bite. They'll catch fish all year, but anything warmer than that and there's a better tool for the job. I'm guessing it's already that time up in Jersey. Fall fishing can be feast or famine, though.

The blue cats up here in DC love to eat just about anything on a drop shot; but they also love jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, topwaters, jigs and pretty much anything else I throw near them.