Choporoz

Can't recall the source, but I was told some years ago that cormorant crap provides enough nutrients in a concentrated area to affect baitfish population in that area

Yeah, it's really risky on along some banks here. I now fully comprehend where the word sh***storm came from

Allen, I agree that there are some intricacies, especially when it comes to DC and with PRFC. However, I believe (and I hope) that you are incorrect about upper Potomac above DC, and lower Potomac below DC to 301 bridge. I am fairly certain that MD and VA have full reciprocal agreements above and below DC... bank to bank. And saltwater licenses and regs do come into play below 301.

Check out Big Bass Podcast, if you haven't already. Recent episode nerded out on it for about an hour last month. I have never owned one. I do have a muskie wake plug that I never considered for bass....but now that I think about it, it probably isn't much, if any bigger than a Lunker Punker... hmmm

Most such waters are defined in the regs of one or both jurisdictions. Sometimes it is easy-to-understand reciprocity. Sometimes it is unnecessarily complicated.

Rage Bug... on rare occasions, to my detriment. I have far more confidence in that then anything else, and have been known to force feed it long past the time I should throw something else. So incredibly versatile, though.

I have pegboard wall with plastics. I have plastic storage bins and drawer/cabinets. I have a boat full, an SUV with boxes and 3700s, two closets full, a dining table I haven't been able to see for abouta year, a few boxes on a kitchen table, a dock box with a bunch of stuff, and a couple rod storage racks in the basement.

I live in a townhouse and struggled with the same question. I checked into commercial storage at parks, marinas, commercial storage places... regularly checked Craigslist and FB for garages for rent, etc. I occasionally found secure affordable storage, or secure storage with electric outlet access, but never both. For nearly ten years I stuck to a combination of kayak and Jon boat rental (with my own small outboard and TM). It wasn't until I bought a place with garage and land that I could make it work for me. I always believed there were lots of underutilized garages and carports around that I could find something to rent, but never stumbled into one. Good luck. By the way, kayak fishing turned out to be immensely satisfying, and I'm glad for how well that worked out for me.

I have fished Occoquan river shad runs for several years. I typically rig a 1/8 or 1/4 oz Little Cleo spoon about 12-16 inches below a 1/8 shad dart; spinning rod with 10-15 lb braid and decent length of leader (re-tying will eat up some line). You may find they want different speed or depth different days, so vary the weights and your retrieve. But once you dial it in, you should be good for the day. The shad appear to school in lines (head to tail, not side by side), so move around and find today's highway(s).

Another episode of 'Cool, or Creepy?' My phone is paying good attention. I just got a notification of a video short of cast to hookup using the bulky AR gear from someone goes by 'bendsandbanks', who I had never even heard of. Interesting enough to watch...but I have zero interest in participating at this point

I grew up in Wisconsin. Lived all over the world the last 40+ years. I'd move back to the tropics before I move back to Wisconsin.

IMHO, yes

Senkos, jigs and dropshot, primarily. Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and lipless when I have comfortable clearance. I have a longstanding mental issue regarding snags around docks. I am unwilling to leave hooks in lines and ropes and probably go too far out of my way to avoid them with open hooks.

Good call on the bait wraps. Unless you cut off all treble lures at end of every fishing day, they are an essential accessory.

Two firsts, two seconds, a fifth, and now double previous record cap hit. Worst trade in NFL history?

At first I hated it. Now, I like it. Because I have gone from visiting multiple times a week to maybe once a month.

Pictured above are the fish I caught yesterday. Put kayak in on a lake that has always been very good for me. 48 degree surface temps, beautiful day, between slick and light breeze; cloud cover in morning, clear in afternoon. Post frontal - 24 hours after moderate rains - lake level up considerably in recent weeks. Five hours and change with only two missed bites...not one fish. I'm flummoxed. Lake is under 600 acres; I didn't get in all the creeks, but I was pretty thorough on main stem, pockets and a couple creeks. I marked most fish in schools at 14-21, usually related to bottom, but not always. Two behavior observations that I couldn't turn into bites: 1. Marked fish generally were not stationary...at all...I would move off them, work that spot for a while, go back over to recalibrate...and nothing...they were moving 2. I found myself in a smallish bay, maybe 75 yards point to point with average depths about 6-12 FOW, full of mostly submerged brush/stickups. This place exploded with a school of no less than ten huge bass herding and annihilating bait. I could disturb them and agitate them, but could not get them to touch a lure. Only place on the lake where I could actually see a wolfpack... or any active bass, for that matter. Fascinating to watch, but at the end of the day pretty frustrating.

I'm opposite...I have reel covers I don't use, and I insist on rod socks. Has nothing to do with protection, and everything to do with preventing tangling. I typically have between 10 and 20 rods in car, shed or rod locker. I went nuts with tangled rods before covering all of them. In fact, I recently bought a few extra during sales, because they disappear sometimes and I don't want to be caught short.

I have both. Biggest cons for me: With mesh, you will get hooks in them, and you may poke a tip or guide out the side occasionally. Neoprene take MUCH longer to dry.

Looks like he is on the right Trail

Based on posts above, I just need bigger pockets. I could have saved the cost of the box I felt I needed to put down by the dock🤣

I used Windy for a while. There was actually too much detail and I went back to simple Weather.com app. There's probably ways to tweak the display in Windy, but I didn't have enough patience

FishGrips. Absolutely

This thread prompted me to see what I pay. Crap...apparently I didn't pay anything last couple months. I have been spoiled by VA with regular renewal notifications. Apparently, NC doesn't do that...unless they went to Spam Folder. So, just cleared that up; $25 online, with $5 processing fee added, so $30.

Great topic. My strength...or at least my comfort/confidence zone is 1/16-3/8 t-rig. I will still fish t-rig in some wind, but it takes a lot more attention to details and patience. Boat control becomes harder, but more important. I increase weight incrementally, but I still acknowledge early on that I WILL miss bites. I still work to maintain that 'barely slack' line with bait on the bottom, even with boat moving and wind bowing my line. Works best if my lure is pretty much straight up wind or down wind from me but that limits casting angles. One thing I have always done in a kayak that sometimes translates to the boat is setting up barely in the lee of a point (or dock or wall, etc) and casting out into the high percentage areas out in the wind. Tricky to do usually, but better than trying to manage that retrieve out on the point. Spinnerbaits always get thrown when there's any chop, so little changes for me there, except I may choose something a bit more compact simply for castability. I like cranks ok in the wind, but I do struggle casting them anywhere other than with the wind...traps are good, though.