everythingthatswims

I fish for something other than bass if a cold front is coming through haha

As long as you use hook and line to catch them, obey size and possession limits (if any), it is legal to use game fish as bait in VA.

T-rigged craws, small jigs, senkos, superflukes, spinnerbaits, squarebills (if the grass allows it), and smaller topwaters usually always work for me in ponds, you just have to know when to fish each bait. The way I fish ponds: If one bait doesn't work, try a different one, and keep changing until something works.

If you can sight fish, try weightless finesse worms with super light line (4-6lb fluoro)

Nope, as long as the "game fish"(bass) caught for bait are caught with hook and line it's okay. They do count against your daily bag limit but I rarely keep bass and if I do, they are in the 12-15" range, no need to keep a big one. On a side note, in regards to bass fishing, the dgif suggests against keeping fish in a live well if you plan on releasing them, though it's not illegal... I thought that was weird

That would make it so much worse! On the other hand, fishing in the bass pro shops tank could probably cure most any illness.

If the kids swim on a regular basis, the fish should get used to it. In a local swimming hole, I have swam out in the river (crystal clear water) with 4-5 others to a sunken tree that is 1/2 out of the water, stood on it, and hand-lined smallmouth, big crappies, catfish, and largemouth up to 3lbs from right at my feet while kids were doing cannonballs. The fish get used to it.

I caught a giant (+/-8lbs) in a pond last summer using a live 8" largemouth for bait (this fish was always trying to eat fish we reeled in and wouldn't hit anything else)...The 5/0 circle hook didn't do what circle hooks are supposed to do and the fish ended up gut hooked. Cut the line and released her, caught her again this spring, healthy as can be, hook-free!

There is basically always at least one good bass hanging out near a bluegill bed colony, the beds attract little gills that try to eat the eggs, and bass take advantage of that.

Fishing is something that really makes you realize that tiny things matter. A pack of hooks or weights can be the difference between a good and bad day! My little brother once forgot ammo when we went deer hunting. 1 hour drive to that property haha.

My friend and I fished today and he said "How do people even have other hobbies than fishing?" I have to agree with him, nothing compares...(at least for me)

Think I'm going to just exchange it for a store credit (got the dicks sporting goods protection plan) and spend the extra $20 for a sahara, I have a sahara 3000 for weightless presentations and drop shot type-stuff and it is SWEET. If a spinning reel isn't perfect out of the box, exchange it for another one. If the second one isn't perfect either try another model or another brand. I would not take it apart.

Depends on what the conditions are but overall, I would go with the shad. They are more durable than the minnows

Caught a 24" largemouth in march on the 2.5" rebel floater. It is a ridiculously good cold water bait, something about the way it runs and rattles makes them REACT! I have fished it side by side with other tiny cranks (including much more expensive ones) and none of them are as good. I have caught them in a 1/2 frozen pond on that bait. The zara puppy is a killer bait too, smallies love them

I just bought a sedona 1000 for light tackle fishing, and have owned plenty of shimano spinning reels in the past. It felt really stiff and scratchy right out of the box, normally they are smooth as silk (even the $30 siennas are smoother than this one was). So I took it back to the store and exchanged it for a new one. The 2nd one wasn't as bad, but still pretty stiff, so I took it apart, greased the gears, oiled the bearings, put it back together, cranked on it for 10 mins straight to try to work the grease in, and nothing has changed. Has anyone else had problems like this with shimano spinning reels? This is the first time I have had a problem with any shimano product...I used to have a lot of faith in shimano, not so sure anymore.

weightless superfluke, when they are close to eating topwater, that is a happy medium

I have had plenty of awesome days, but it's too hard to pick a specific day. One of my favorite days was when I landed a chunky 3lb largemouth, a very nice 3.5-4lb smallmouth, and a 12" wild brook trout all within 100 yards of each other while I was kayak fishing on a small river. The trout had been washed down from the Shenandoah National Park 20 miles upriver during a flood (water gets up over 75 degrees in the summer, way too warm for trout to survive in) and somehow had eaten my senko, definitely one of the craziest things that has happened to me while fishing. It also happened to be my personal best wild brookie (I like chasing the little guys with a fly rod from time to time), I never expected to catch my best wild brook trout while bass fishing.

If I ever have a fish go belly up I just snag it and take it home to eat. I never intend to kill them but it happens and I hate to see them go to waste. But even if you leave them in the water, I have always said "try asking the turtles if it went to waste".

Get an UL spinning rod with some 4lb test to chase after the panfish, crappies are GOOD eating. For gar I usually sight fish, just use small pieces of cut bait with no weight and drift it by them, they are a lot of fun.

I finally caught a smallmouth! The rivers in my area have just been too high to kayak until now, and the fish hadn't migrated up into the small river near my house, but after the crazy flood receded, the smallies were here. My first smallmouth was actually about 10" long but the 2nd one was much more impressive. She measured 18" long, I caught her on a 5" yum dinger texas rigged with a 1/8oz weight (lots of current). Hopefully the fishing will get a better after the water goes down a little more...Here are the photos: Also caught a chunky largemouth

Definitely a healthy fish, looks pretty chunky. I'm saying 6-7ish. You gotta figure out how to make their gut hang out when you hold them horizontal with 2 hands!

I fish a lake with a beaver hut that is always covered in 6-10" shiners in the summer, we have always just used tiny (#10-#14) hooks with worm under bobbers to catch them. The best way to do it is to locate a school and fish with small pieces of worm, hooks don't harm them as much as nets do. Don't rule out bluegill as an alternative if you plan on live bait fishing, bass love them too. Just make sure you use circle hooks! Oh and get an aerator to keep them alive in your bucket

Smallies definitely prefer more current than largemouth. In the rivers I fish, the smallmouth will hold in eddies/seams right next to the fast water while the largemouth will be up in/under a tree in the slowest moving water you can find. I rarely catch largemouth in fast current.

So I know these baits are pretty pricey for something that will eventually get shredded by bass (used to be $5.69 each, now $8) but I think they might be worth it. I haven't gotten to fish them very much, but watching how the fish react to these baits has really given me tons of confidence in them. The little hudd tail doesn't look like it's doing much but the fish say otherwise, they have choked the bait as soon as you feel a thump. It's like a cross between something you would use for power fishing and a finesse bait. I can cover water but at the same time I feel like those fish that might not chase down a spinnerbait or crank will still eat it. I have been catching them by fishing it as slow as the water depth allows, usually close to a piece of cover is where I get bit. The grass minnow works well too, but they are a lot less durable so I probably won't get many more of them. Dinks will eat the hudd shad too

Fish during low light and on rainy/cloudy days, big pond bass get REALLY smart. I would try something new that you haven't showed them before