everythingthatswims

The pointer 78 nabbed the first two smallies of the year for me in the little river/stream near my house. The water is unusually clear for this time of year, typically it is green with 3-4' vis, right now it's so clear that it looks like the water isn't even there. Sure was fun watching them chase down the jerkbait! Now that the little ones have moved up into the stretch behind my house, the big ones won't be far behind.

I'm sure you know/know of Don, I watch him on youtube and I would say 75% of those big swimbait bass are on bluebird days with the sun high in the sky.

Lake Orange has plenty of jon boats to rent with trolling motors. We could all take a cooler with an aerator and see who can catch the biggest limit under 16" since there's a 16-24 protected slot! Great picnic area as well, decent bank access if there are any who prefer that.

Take a spinning rod, and 3 baits. Senko, Shakey Head, and a Drop Shot. If there's fish in the lake and you aren't fishing in the dead of winter, you will probably catch something. I've fished maybe 20-30 tournaments, 4 times I haven't had a limit, and only once have I blanked (that was in the winter when 15 boats caught 5 fish). 75% of my fish come on a spinning rod.

I have a recurring dream that bass and trout swim through the ground like it's water. So I'll just be fishing a frog in the mulch in my yard and one will explode out of it and eat the frog.

I fish 8-10lb braid with 6-10lb fluro leaders, usually I use an 8' plus long leader so that I can re tie a few times without having too short of a leader. If a fish wraps me up in a dock or something and there are some nicks 3' up the line, instead of re tying my whole leader I can just cut above the abraded part and tie my bait back on. If I used straight fluoro on a spinning reel I would go broke. That stuff is finicky.

The guys on Lake Anna catch them in winter and early spring on single colorado blade spinnerbaits like it's nobody's business. I haven't figured out that bite but some people definitely crush them on it. When we get a ton of rain in the early spring everyone gets excited over there because it means the water will be stained and they'll eat the spinnerbait.

Fish it

Keep catching them while you can, and I wish you the best during your deployment. Then you can make us jealous again next February when most of us are still stuck in winter and you're catching hogs!

If it was 30 degrees I don't know if that red hoodie would cut it. Adrenaline must have provided extra insulation! Nice job, I'm curious about the final weight too

Keitech Swing Impact 4" in electric shad is my favorite for imitating shiners and small herring. I rig them on a 3/32 or 1/8oz jighead, and occasionally I will use them on a weightless ewg hook if I want to wake it. The swing impact fat is good when you want something that moves more water (but still not as much movement as most swimbaits).

If I catch one carp I don't kill it because it's pointless, if I went bow fishing and killed 50 of them I may have a very small impact on a body of water, but killing a couple snakeheads and tossing them up on the bank won't solve anything.

I just cut up the first thing I catch on a crappie jig when I get to the lake. Never have used food or stink baits, just a hassle and the big fish like fresh bait anyways!

I think he was worried that one of your slither rig fish would eat his if he posted it in your thread.

Not illegal in VA is it?

I don't use spinners. Ever. Trout magnet, gulp minnow on a jighead, and some sort of floating scented egg are the only baits I even bring with me 90% of the time.

That's why I caught one of these at a boat ramp on a local reservoir.

Head on over to an Erie tributary when they run and fish where they'd laugh at the one I caught

February 16th, 2016 25" Weight Unknown (fish calculator says 10.4) 1/8oz SK Football Shakey Head x Nikko Baits 6" Club Tail Bass Worm Green Pumpkin St. Croix 6'8" Medium x Shimano Symetre 3000 10lb Stren Braid x 8lb P-Line Fluoroclear (No I don't usually use copoly for leaders, don't make fun of me) Lake Anna, Va, "Hot Side"

Beautiful weather for 2 weeks right up until my spring break then it's just a string of cold fronts. Murphy's law strikes again.

Powerbait lol....The fish we were targeting have only been in the creek for 4 days so they don't know what real food is yet

All up and down the creek that she was in. When they can't go down because it's 2' deep, they just go FAST

Yup, VDGIF stocks a couple stretches of creek in April every year to have a kids fishing weekend, and every year on the Monday afterwords there is a big rush of adults who go try and pick off whatever is left after the two days of fishing. I had been helping with the event with my high school bass fishing team, so I knew where a couple nice ones were. Battle hardened is how I would describe the fish's demeanor, most would spook when they saw a bait.

Ended up tying my PB rainbow for I think the third time with a 21"er. Pretty fish for a stocked trout.

RIP @A-Jay