Choporoz

First time a couple years ago. Lews Speed Spool, several years old. Needed a good cleaning, but still functioned ok. When I was done, it did not work. At all. Sent it off to DVT with a few others. Told him to keep it for parts....and it came back as good as new. Opened a couple others since...but if they work when I am done, they aren't any better. I'm done. I know my limitations. Extremely limited dexterity and zero patience.

Lots of great info in this thread. Now the practical application - does any of it help answer your question about what does it mean to your targeting process? For the lakes I fish, not really. Water surface temps here yesterday were 76°. Many bass (most?) were in beds weeks ago. I caught my 5 best yesterday all in less than 5' of water. Before I retired, when I fished once or twice a week, I always extrapolated one day to entire season or range of conditions (water temp, weather, moon, whatever). Having fished for 3-7 hours a day every day on the same lake all year, I can tell you that generalizations about bass location and behavior based on time of year are at best only marginally useful. Mostly, they hinder. With the exception of the very coldest and very hottest periods, bass are going to go where they want to - and that usually means where the bait goes. We should be studying movement patterns of the forage....not the bass, in my opinion. But that is too hard for me right now, because preferred meal changes day to day, and besides, like bass, gizzard and threadfin shad and bluegill don't read the same books we do - they just seem to go wherever the heck they feel like it. I will probably start in shallow grass this morning, but my mindset now will allow me to shift to 18 foot steep drops or middle of channels pretty quickly. I guess another way to say it is that unless you sight fish bass on beds, the idea that knowing if a bass is pre-spawn, post-spawn, post-post-spawn, or whatever hasn't been particularly useful to me - especially given the info offered by @Pat Brownand others above that bass in any given body of water can spawn over a wide range of weeks in one year.

We used to tell the new Sailors to get a greasy pork chop in an ashtray. 27 years in the Navy, but only got seasick once. The ear patches are supposed to help. But, I understand that the best thing is once you feel a bit queasy, get on outer deck and focus on the horizon.

Thanks for this. Tried a scrounger with a Freeloader and you're right. Great action.

A little deeper each year. This winter I spent a lot of time targeting LMB 26-30 feet deep. Mid-summer, I have generally fished for bass in less than 25'. In coming weeks, I expect I will find them in the same spots they were in back in January, so I'm going deeper. I caught my biggest fish yesterday at 20' already. This is a tough time, because they are everywhere and anywhere at the moment. This is my third year on this lake, so I have a lot more knowledge (confidence) about deeper target areas than past summers. I used to ignore any marked fish over 25', but now I will be more likely to fish for them.

Sorry I missed this. How did you do?

@woolleyfooley, you're welcome. When I bought it, I was looking for a jig rod. But I was never fully satisfied with bottom contact lures using it. Fortunately, it really excels for spinnerbaits, other than target casting smaller ones. I also really like it for other open hook moving baits like soft swimbaits and scroungers.

I use DX 744 as my primary spinnerbait bait rod.

Mooney has no gate. (And no fees.) I've been there before sunrise; I left after sundown. Hunting Run is gated...and has 'use fees' and launch fees. Daily or by season. Attendant usually arrives before sunrise, but there was a couple times I had to wait at the gate. @Bird, my imprecise language may have confused. I call Hydrilla (and milfoil) grass much of the time...unless I call it weeds... 😀

I very rarely find a time or place for any of them. If varying weights of Texas Rig, weighted hook, or swing head do not work, I will probably be trying something other than soft plastics

I thought maybe earthen from satellite view. Anyway, oftentimes the deepest parts of a man-made pond are within casting distance of the dam....or maybe 2-3 cast-lengths. Rip rap can be good on sunny days in winter because the rocks heat up better than other shore...though maybe less so for north-facing riprap. Jerkbait worked mostly parallel to dam could be good. Ned and weightless senko might workable through the rock without losing too many.

Can you fish from the dam?

I went weeks in Jan and Feb catching on only three lures: flutter spoon, blade bait and jigging spoon. None of which are great options from the bank if you have any wood around. I also had long stretches where every single fish was caught in 26+ FOW. Lipless didn't become a player until surface temps got to low 40s. Then lipless was lights out for a few weeks.

I'm a card-carrying member. Hadn't thought a lot about it in the past. Moreso recently. I get more and more aggravated by the disdain and sometimes vicious attitude from younger folk towards elders and elderly. Almost as if the 'OK, Boomer' meme, funny at first, gave permission to let loose on the aged. Rather disturbing. Certainly not all, by any means, but the occurrences seem to be increasing. Or maybe I'm just noticing it more.

5 day? Doesn't look it, but she just edged over; 5.10. Hit large Mayor on Siebert Inhaler jig head Was probably best numbers day for me...ever. only a few over 3, but I'd be surprised if total was much under 100. If I went two consecutive casts without a bite, it was unusual

On windy and/or gusty days, I have to literally stop and talk to myself to adjust expectations before I get to a bad place. I place a high value on fishing 'cleanly', and can get wrong in the head when I don't. When I start out in a windy day, I'm better off if I make a mental note that I AM going to miss and lose fish - steel myself against the inevitable disappointments to come Agreed. Frustrating on days when I have someone in the back if the boat. It can be impossible to keep both ends of the boat in good position

Grass in all the reservoirs should be coming up now. You will find it starting out from the bank a few feet and will soon be all the way out to 15 FOW in the clearer lakes. Occoquan is really the only one with less reliable/predictable grass. Don't sleep on the Potomac and Shenandoah, either. I lived in Woodbridge from 2010 until late last year and the bass fishing is surprisingly good all over there.

When I first started fishing Hunting Run, it was all about structure and brush. Shad were introduced and/or naturally flourished and the fishing changed. Brush is still a good bet, but schools of shad are money. Sonar is imperative for both. Sometimes in spring and fall you can find visible feeding in open water - toss a crank or swimbait through the middle and hang on. I never heard a lot about Motts, but Ni has good fish for sure. @Birdis correct. Bass should be spawning. So you will find fish in all stages for a couple weeks. Secondary points in view of creek ends will be good. May not find active fish IN grass right now, but I'd bet inside or outside grass edges depending on their mood. If you are on FB, join NVKBA (Northern Virginia Kayak Bass Anglers). Great bunch. Even if you don't plan to fish tournaments, you can learn a LOT from a great bunch of guys and gals. There is also a relatively new chapter of Heroes On The Water in your area. Volunteer with them to take vets kayak fishing and you will meet amazing like-minded kayak fishermen in the area.

Mooney just might be one of my top 3 favorite lakes. Six pound test there is recipe for heartbreak and frustration. The fish are not line shy there, IMO. When the bigs are on the bank there, they are eating aggressively...or they are not eating. As @Fishingmickeysaid, they had other things on their mind. Keep at it. If you have specific questions about Mooney, feel free to PM me. Love Hunting Run, also, but forage changes and more intense pressure can make it a bit more of a challenge to figure out. Never been on Ni or Motts. Anna is heaven, or more likely hell in a yak.

Smaller guides weigh less. Larger guides allow leader knows to pass through better. That is the sum total of everything I care about regarding baitcaster guides. There is more science I care a little about when it comes to spinning rods. Also spiral guides introduce some science, but best not to go there for purpose of your questions. 😀

Terrible...but good practice. Only thing worse was when I rented a log splitter - there was only about 30 inches between the coupler and the axle.

https://cgaux-helpdesk.kayako.com/article/293-capacity-plate-requirement-on-boats#:~:text=A%3A Under the U.S. Coast,are exempt from this requirement. Depends on your state, apparently

I broke a 17 month old rod yesterday fighting a monster 15 inch LMB. The company has limited lifetime warranty. For $169 plus $30 shipping, I get a replacement. I paid $199 for the rod in Nov '23. How's that for a deal!

That has been biggest thing I have learned since I retired late last year, and now fish (nearly) every day. Once surface temps hit maybe 42*, no consecutive days are ever the same...usually drastically different. I'm not talking jig vs trig in four foot deep brush piles. I mean deep on main lake points one day and 8 inches of water the next, and back to suspending over deep channel the third. It has been really eye-opening. Makes you think, especially when you read sometimes, or watch some 'pro' tell you how to catch them pre-spawn. They are all correct....unless they are all wrong that day.

You are more than welcome to ours. Hate losing baits to the hammer-handles, and having to re-tie after every 10" snot-rocket. The ones big enough to reward with a reasonable fight are few and far between