VAHunter

I agree with all the responses. That fish is fine. As for the red eye, it is the spawn. Bass, especially the males, get red eyes before they go on the bed.

Yes. Still fishing great.

Frogs, birds, snakes, turtles, plastic lures, etc. The best had to be two years ago when I landed a 4.5 lb. bass. It had a huge belly, so figured it was a late spawner (May timeframe). Nope, went to pull her out of the livewell at the end of the day and found a muskrat in the water. My "fat" bass was no longer fat, rather she was a bit on the skinny side.

I agree regarding the girth. I caught one earlier this year that the guys swore was a 10, but I didn't think so, it was simply too short. However, it was fat. Ended up 9.3 lbs. on the scale. It was only 23" long. Gotta love those pre-spawn fish.

Add me to the Virginia club. Biggest here was 10 lb. 7 oz.

Check out those old rods/reels! That's awesome. I still have some of my grandpa's gear just like that. Awesome photo!

This might be too late, but I used to fish all those lakes many years ago. Pennimen is small with very clear water. Tons of aquatic vegetation. Not sure these days, but it used to hold some very nice fish (6+ lbs.). It's also got a lot of great crappie. I caught bass with basically any standard lures of the time of year. It was hard to beat a jig or jerk bait in the winter. I'd expect you can get into some good ones on top still. Good luck.

Timing is very important in the Suffolk lakes. Pick the right spot at the right time and it's lights-out. It took almost 25 lbs. to win the tournament on Prince Sunday. Second was 20 and there were either 5 or 6 bags over 18 lbs. You are correct, it can be brutal, but the longer you fish them the more you know. Keep at it and good luck! By the way, the Northwest River, North Landing River, Back Bay and all the rivers in NC have been very hot lately. Check out Bob's Fishing Hole on the 'net or FB for the latest action.

Oh yeah, I've lived those days. Been bass fishing for 45 years and there are still days I wonder if I know how to cast and hit the water! Or not get snagged, or backlashed, or line wrapped around the pole... You get the idea.

Wake Board Boats

I've been here for 20 years and Smith is no longer the lake it once was. There are still a ton of small fish, but I can't figure out what happened to the chunks. I have several theories, but no proof. Shore fishing spots in the VB/Chesapeake area can be very hard to come by with regards to public waters. Your best bet is Google Earth. Check it out for areas around you that have ponds. Some of those waters will be posted, but you'd be surprised how many you can fish legally. You can also ask landowners for permission. I've had success both ways. Off the top of my head here are a few shore fishing areas you may want to check out: Oak Grove Lake/West Neck Creek Marina/Mount Trashmore Lake/Lone Star Lakes/Northwest River. I'm sure there are some I'm forgetting. In the long run, it's best to have a boat, or at the very least a canoe or kayak. The fishing in the Tidewater Region is excellent. However, most of that requires a boat/kayak of some type. The water supply reservoirs in Suffolk are all loaded with good fish. As a bonus, they have horse power restrictions, so you don't have to deal with pleasure boaters, skiers or jet skis. Oh yeah, if you have access to the bases in this area, many of them have excellent ponds which offer some of the best shore fishing in the area. Good luck!

I agree it's likely around the 5.5 lb. mark, give or take. However, length alone can be deceiving. I caught a 23" fish in the prespawn this year the weighed 9.35 lbs. I've also caught 22" fish that didn't even weigh 4 lbs. You still caught a nice chunk, congrats!

I had an incident many years ago almost just like the one you described. I was throwing lipless baits on a flat leading into a creek. I fish in a jon boat. Had a guy and his buddy in a glass rig run right beside me on plane, then come off step and stop within a cast in front of my boat, directly where I was casting. I looked at the guy in the front and said there's no way you are going to fish there, right? You are literally sitting where I am casting. He, too, gave me the eye. His partner never even stood up to fish. He just sat in the back of the boat with his hand over his face. I made another cast (without much thought to accuracy) and it bounced off his outboard. He didn't care much for that, but he left. No, I don't own the water either, but I have enough respect to find somewhere else to fish when somebody beats me to an area I wanted to try.

Nice catching, Travis!

The bass have definitely moved on the waters I fish regularly. We have been catching nice fish in water so shallow it's amazing you can't see them. We have surface temps in SE VA right about 60, with some backwaters a bit warmer than that. I'm sure there are still fish out in their winter pattern, but you can't argue that some are on the move.

I caught a 3+ lb. bass on a t-rig. When I got it in the boat I noticed the line somehow wrapped around the fish's head and was pulled under the gill plate when I set the hook. The worm and hook were both hanging about an inch below the fish. The hook never even penetrated all the way through the worm.

Congrats! Nice catching.

I never caught anything of size in the lakes, but the streams, one in particular, held very nice dolly varden. The creek ran under the tundra. You had to pull back the grass and drop your lure in the water. The saltwater fishing was great. I never hooked into any big halibut (my PB there was only 60 lbs.), but I witnessed a lot of fish between 100 - 200 lbs. True doormats. I even caught halibut fishing off the piers. Of course you also had the pink, red and silver salmon. A lot of good memories from that tour!

It's actually been slow this year. And not only for me. Most of the guys have reported a very tough bite. We can't seem to get any patterns put together. Very random bites. Come on sustained cold weather!

Been out on the Suffolk lakes about a half dozen times. Got skunked twice, but caught fish the other times. Largest this year is only 6.33. I've had about a half dozen 4-5+ lb. fish. The water hasn't stayed cold enough for me as I prefer it in the low 40s/high 30s. I've caught fish on jerk baits, silver buddy and shakey head. No bass bites yet on crankbait, which is very strange. Waters around here have been running 43-47.

I'm a former "Adakian" as well. Served there from '89-'91. Great tour. On a side note, that was my second tour - the first was Western Australia for three years. Tough gig there! USN 1986-2010

That's awesome. I caught a bass last year the regurgitated a muskrat in my live well. That was a first for me.

Sorry for the delay, haven't been on here much. In winter I feel like the fish relate more to contours as someone already stated. That is not to say I haven't caught them on structure, but I tend to have better luck fishing channel banks/swings/drop offs. Also, I think bass suspend more in the winter. I routinely catch very nice fish fishing 8 feet deep over 20 feet of water. I do keep the retrieve very slow for that presentation, but it sure works in my area. You mention grass, how deep is it? I will go out of my way to find good grass this time of the year and dead stick a jerkbait over it. You can also rip a silver buddy out of it, but hang on! The grass around here that survives the winter is usually in at least 6 feet of water and will grow out to about 10-12.

I live in Chesapeake, so we are facing very similar conditions. I believe the fact you are fishing a pond is going to benefit you in the end. I've found that ponds generally have more willing fish, especially in the winter. As noted, you can't go wrong with a suspending jerkbait. That is my number one lure, even in water that is barely above freezing. Keep in mind that all fish do not go deep in the winter. There is a certain percentage that never goes deep, they just wait it out in the mid-range. One other bait you may want to consider is the silver buddy or any of the knock-off brands. I've had exceptional days in our region with that bait. I'd start with the 1/2 oz. version in silver. Finally, an Alabama rig can also be killer this time of the year. My buddy fishes a private lake over my way and he slays the bass on the a-rig when the water is really cold.

Yes, the main channel, 20 ft. deep, was located a short swim away.