Sbennett9

Just did this to a cooler with a buddy recently. Depending on your setup it can really vary. If you have access to an additional battery or want to hook it to your trolling motor you can buy the setup at most any store. We went with the D cell battery powered ones which were about a third of the cost. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE keep in mind how many gallons the pump is rated to aerate and make sure you have a cooler large enough for a five fish limit. Most tournaments practice catch and release and the least amount of stress you can put on the fish the better it really is for all of us. That being said a large cooler will work just fine. just make sure you setup the proper size aerator for the amount of water in your new livewell

Does anyone do any smallmouth fishing on the 95 corridor Fredericksburg to NOVA? I have never fished for them and desperately want to give it a try but will not have much access to a boat. Anyone know any Shoreline spots?

Awesome day dude. I remember my first few fish on a baitcaster. It gets you hooked on the setup pretty quickly.

Its very possible that they haven't been discontinued. It could be certain colors or something but I heard it from a couple people and both the Gander and Dicks near me stopped selling them. It would be a crying shame, I really do hope that My information is false.

Had this same experience happen several times last summer alone in a small pond near home. That fish WILL bite again and if the conditions are the same its likely that it will be near where you hooked it the first time. Also for future reference I have had big fish and little fish start to fight then spit it out. At that point most people reel in quickly and curse repeatedly. After a couple times of doing this I decided to experiment and continue the retrieve as if nothing happened. I can't confirm it was the same fish but I have on multiple occasions ended up hooking up with what I believe was the same fish that put it down originally. Anyone else have this occur?

i usually don't go bigger than a 4/0 but do carry 5/0 and 6/0 for those twelve inch worms. Baits that size don't get thrown on my boat very often but definately texas rigged. No other way IMO

Tell me there are other people on here that have success with the space monkey lures by rage tail. I have heard they have been discontinued and that is absolutely devastating because I catch a ton of fish on them! Anyone have the kind of luck I do with them? And are they really discontinued?

The loop can be caused by a ton of different things most of which have been explained here. I ALWAYS line my rods under moderate pressure to ensure a tighter spool. I used to have this problem pretty frequently until i started to do that. another thing to pay attention to is what type of lure you are throwing. alot of lures can cause the line to twist and if it twists enough it causes problem in both the action and on your spool. A good way to check this is to hold the lure out of the water on about three feet of line out and see if it spins. Other than that it appears everything has been covered and you should be good.

I think I'm going to have to go with the Diesel rod next time I pick one up. I picked up a Gander series two piece that is IM8 graphite for 52.50 on sale. I have had good experiences with the one piece rods in those models so hopefully It will not let me down. Couldn't agree more on the Pflueger reels I have had one for close to five years and banged it up pretty good but it has served me well.

Thanks for the info guys! I Have two of the pflueger president reels and love them. I have spent money on several different types of rods and such. Personally i figure that any of the IM7 or IM8 blanks in brands like the bass pro brand or gander mountain will give me pretty good sensitivity. The baitcasters are a little tougher for me to decide on though. i will probably have to splurge a little on the baitcasters. Now here is a big question. Is there ANY two piece out there worth using? If possible I'd like to have one really nice two piece to leave in my truck but every one ive ever had has been terrible.

Being the stereotypical broke college student, I'm looking for everyone's opinion on the best bang for your buck in both baitcaster and spinning rods and reels. I know that getting prime performance often costs top dollar but I am willing to look at companies that aren't as well know if they have a good product.

Is anyone out on reservoirs near Fredericksburg or Spotsylvania? My primary fishing area is from there to Fairfax. I havent been able to really find any good shore fishing in Fairfax or nearby so if anyone could help with that I'd greatly appreciate it!

Depending on how far you want to travel there are a lot of places up my way which rent boats. My personal favorite is Hunting Run Reservoir. It is bass HEAVY so if you want good number head there. The size is dependent on how you fish the lake but at this time of year they are still in deep water there. The VADGIF website will list several reservoirs which you could rent boats for a pretty reasonable price. Hope this helps

Hey thanks for the reply and I will definitely have to consider it. So what kind of bodies of water are you fishing currently? and have you been out yet?

I will be at Mott's Run in Fredericksburg tomorrow morning for an ice breaker tournament. I'll make sure to let you all know how it goes

Hello Everyone, I'm Brand New to this site and upon looking at it there seems to be very little consistant information for us VA boys. I fish primarily out of a Jon boat in electric motor only locations and am always looking for info on new places or ways to fish here in Virginia!