Choporoz

This has always been my problem with any plastic minnows on inline spinners -- I've never been satisfied with the look while swimming - doesn't take much of a twist or a bunching or a kink to make the whole thing rather silly looking

Brian, that's a great site. Lot of great info there. I haven't parked my cars at every metro parking station, but I don't know of any that I'd hesitate to leave my car at. Most (all?) metro parking will cost you during the week. If you're only asking 'what neighborhoods to avoid', I'd say that is a little difficult - As a very general rule, I'd try to avoid being within a third of a mile of the Anacostia River....I'd probably avoid much around Columbia Heights....in fact, I'd start my search by staying west of about 14th St....but that would omit some very safe neighborhoods, no doubt. I'd think, for most, a hotel with cheap/free parking within a block or two of any metro would be a better option than driving to a metro station from a hotel

Scott, if you PM me with details about where you're staying and what you want to see, I'll be more than happy to flood you with recommendations. My wife is a photographer who is all over the city alone a few times a week and I can only recall one time in five years that she was uncomfortable. (And, I think that she may have pushed it that time for chance at a few shots.) I can think of no 'touristy' destination that you should be worried about....aside from normal precautions that any prudent person would take in a big city. No question there are some neighborhoods that you might consider avoiding at night, but I honestly feel as safe here as I ever did in Chicago, New York, Milwaukee.....etc.

Nothing - even today - says 'bass fishing' to me like a Bass O'Reno:

Check out tackle tour. Many will disagree with some of their conclusions, but they do seem to attempt to explain their rationale for their ratings.

sorry, C&G; I was being sarcastic, suggesting that you will probably want more than 55#

55 sounds good....if you're going to use two. I'd think that wind would be a much greater concern than grass. And...congrats on the boat!

I've read and/or heard of pros talking about 'tire patterns'. I'm assuming they meant sunk vehicle tires. Are tires an 'environmentally satisfactory' alternative for creating structure? If so, it sounds like a match made in heaven.

I think of them as a cold water lure, but I recall a scorching July day two years ago when nothing was working and I got a wild hair and threw on a blue and white bucktail and immediately picked off a half dozen deep suspenders by vertically jigging it.

I believe the wind is a friend for a couple other reasons, also; it breaks up the surface and I imagine that you, your boat, your 'presentation' are going to be more 'stealthy' -- I also think that waves and surface action will stir more oxygen into the water, which is said to be a good thing for stimulating active feeders. It certainly can be difficult, however -- boat positioning can be hard, if not dangerous; and sensitivity nearly goes out the window.....but I think that some wind is generally good.

And then they tack on an additional $8 for rods.....I've put one in a cart three times, but can't pull the trigger......once I'm up to $73, I'm rounding up and back to looking at $100 rods.

Well, it may be a perception thing, but I gotta think that TRD's are sold out all over because people think they'll catch fish better -- not because they last. Seems a lot of people here (me included) don't much care what the cost per fish is...if we're confident they'll catch fish.....so it must be the action...or buoyancy...or ...???? at least as we perceive it to be.

Worked the lake pretty hard on Saturday. Out at 6:30 and in after 4:30PM. My worst day ever on there. Exactly two bass. Neither big enough to take out the scale. I found three different big schools (15-30) of one pounders in 1-3 FOW, but no takers. Not sure what was going on there. Didn't look to be spawning, but just milling about and 'playing'. Crazy thing was that I was marking nothing on fishfinder all day. One exception, I got a bunch of pings at 24' in 26 FOW. Dropped anchor and a drop shot. Immediately got excited that I figured things out, but over 60 min later on and around that spot without another bite. I've not caught any hawgs there, but I've never had a problem pulling in short bass from there before.

These are on sale again. $70, instead of $60, but still looks to be a bargain.

I'm confused.....this from TW description of SK Zero: "The Strike King Zero is impregnated with a ton of salt so it will sink quickly like the other Senko Style baits. But the Zero has one major advantage over any other stick bait, it is made with Strike King's revolutionary 3X plastics making it extremely durable." I thought the bigger benefit of ElazTech for Ned Rig (other than durability) was they float and that the floating action up from a mushroom head was what makes them different.....than say a senko or other stick worm.

I have a Symetre, a Smoke, a President, an Aird, an Abu Garcia, a Mitchell....and a few others. I don't pick it up first every time, but to me, my favorite is a Shimano Sienna 2500. That reel was all of $25. Only maintenance was annual surface clean and oil. It has outlasted nearly every other reel I've had. Takes a beating....and works like it did the day I got it. If I was going to get a reel today under $100, I'd probably get a President, however. It is a little smoother and also has given me no problems whatsoever.

Headache small price to pay for peace of mind that comes from the knowledge that vampires will steer clear now.

It's all I use for topwater...that is, topwater that isn't frogs

Who was the guy on TV!?!?!? I want to watch his stuff. I've never met or heard from anyone else who knows what a bass is feeling. That guy must be the real thing.

Nixdorf, I think you should experiment with some different shaped heads, especially different line ties. I'm fairly new to jigging for bass, so take my words with a grain of salt....but, I think that you'll learn far more about different bass jigs if you buy a few different ones and work them yourself. BassResources's jig videos are a good start. But, man....until you find what works for you....not just catching, but work them through the cover you fish...the bottom of your lakes/rivers...you just can't apply the words you read from anyone else all that well. At least I can't. Now this is NOT a knock, because I absolutely LOVE Mike's jigs, but even the Siebert site uses much the same description for a number of very different jigs. Your rocks, your hopping style, your line your skirt, your trailer are all going to have a unique effect on how you come through stuff.

Appreciate the thread, BM. I've been thinking about this myself. I grew fishing for walleye and pike in WI, MI and ONT.... and used a wire leader 90% of the time. Here in VA, I've never considered it. In a few weeks, I'm going to spend some time up in northern sconnie with the family on a lake with good variety of species and I've been wondering what I should consider using.

HY, they were playing with the mistakenly typed 12 INCH vice 12 FOOT (12" vs. 12')

Wow. 15" will earn you a citation here in VA. That's a monster. I've never caught one, but never fished for them here, either. Funny, though....because I catch them on lots of other waters while fishing for LMB's. Also funny.....while out on Saturday, my wife and I were watching some deer on the Prince William side, and out of the blue, she asked me "Do deer swim?" I told her "I think so, but never seen it with my own eyes. But I have seen deer on islands, so they must." Sure enough, less than an hour later, there was a fawn swimming from PW to Fairfax about a half mile up from Fountainhead.

I use a one tray $12 plastic Flambeau box. And a field pack.......and a 30" duffle bag

Thanks for the topic, A-Jay and to the other posters. I appreciate it. My wife and I spent much of Sunday at Arlington National Cemetery. We try to spend a day there each Memorial Day weekend (and/or Veterans Day weekend, as well.) There were bags full of roses stationed along the roads for people to place at the graves. Nice touch. I don't yet know who donated them, but it was appreciated. We were approached by a retired officer who asked us to join him for a few minutes to help honor and lay flowers at a particular grave. Turns out it was Chic Burlingame, the pilot of the American Airlines jet that was flown into the Pentagon on 9/11. Very moving.