VAHunter

Most of the ponds in Chesapeake are full of nice bass. However, they are no different than public water fisheries, sometimes the fish just don't play. Oak Grove has some very nice bass in it. I used to live very close to it and fished it often after it was opened to the public. Right now your best bet there would be to fish very early in the morning along the shore that parallels the Great Bridge Bypass. The bass school up there and chase bait early in the day. The ponds that surround Greenbrier Mall also have some great fish in them. My buddy lives on one and his son has caught many over 6 lbs. By the way, all those ponds are connected as well by tubes under the road. I would suggest checking out Google for other potential waters close to you. Then you just need to start knocking on doors and asking for permission. Good luck!

I never use a leader. I fish frogs, jigs, worms and senkos on braid. I always tie hooks straight to the braid. However, we do have some very clear lakes down in SE VA and in those waters I only throw braid on my wacky worms and shakey heads. I always use 10 lb. power pro on those two set ups. Even in clear water (4-5 ft of visibility) I don't think the small diameter braid bothers the fish. However, I go to mono in the clear lakes for my jig and t-rigged worms/senkos.

I fish all the time out of a 15' Alumacraft with a 9.9 against all the glass boats. I do just fine. I obviously can't take any rough water and my range is very limited compared to them. But the areas I fish are small-boat friendly. As was stated earlier, the boat doesn't catch the fish.

Unless you are setting the hook way to hard, I'd have to guess that your line was either getting frayed or your knots were failing. By the way, as previously noted, bass much smaller than 2 lbs. can eat the bait you describe very easily. Finally, you may want to check your drag as well. With such light line you need the drag to slip just a bit on the hook set to help reduce pressure on the line.

Both genders can receive tail damage from spawning. However, not all bass that spawn get physical injuries. About the only thing both male and female bass experience is weight loss. Other physical factors vary greatly for each individual fish and their health before entering the spawn. Also keep in mind that not all bass spawn at once. I'm in Southeast Virginia and we have fish on the beds at the beginning of April every year. We also have bedding bass, albeit not nearly as many, at the beginning of June.

North Carolina put up a buoy a couple of years ago to mark the state line. The river makes a 90-degree right turn after the Northwest River Park. Follow the river straight down and you will see the buoy in the middle. As for cover, there haven't been pads on the river for some time. However, you can get some great grass in the creeks. Generally, the farther back you go in a creek the more grass you get. There is no shortage of wood cover. Don't be afraid to throw topwater all day long this time of the year. Those river fish will jump on it any time of the day. Other than that, about any plastic you like will catch fish right now. I have also fished Back Bay a lot over the years. I'll take the river over the bay just about given time. I've had great days in Back Bay, but my largest bags of bass always come from the river. It has some serious chunks.

That is one huge bluegill (purple fish). The males tend to turn that color when the are getting ready to spawn. The colors can really be vibrant as well. Some people also refer to them as knotheads when they get that size as they can get a knot just behind the eyes. Man, I've been trying for 45 years for a bluegill that size. Congrats!

The fish are now in the fall stage in SE Virginia. Find the bait and you find the bass just under them.

One of my staples from December to mid-March in SE Virginia. We have tournaments here all year long on city water-supply lakes and the Silver Buddy and other knockoffs win quite a number of them. As posted earlier, you never know what you will catch, everything hits them. As for Raul's post, I know I'm fishing them in the right place when I get stuck every other cast. Over time you learn to determine what is a strike and what is a stump/log. I rarely have to use the lead dog anymore. I just position the boat over the top of the lure and shake the rod tip, with just a bit of slack in the line, really fast and the lure normally falls off. Just be ready for a strike when it does. I've caught plenty of bass when that thing falls off the wood.

I caught a small bass on a crankbait a few years ago and reached out with my right hand to grab it as I swung it in the boat. Bad idea, I got the bottom treble caught in the skin between my thumb and index finger. The hook was all the way through my skin. I instictively dropped the rod with my left hand and reached out to grab the fish that was still connected to the lure and me. Worse idea. I stuck the top treble through the exact same spot on my left hand. Alone, not even another boater or house around, I had both treble hooks, one through each hand with an 11" bass hanging below. I had no choice but to grin and bear it. I slowly pulled my hands apart until the hook in my right hand ripped back through the skin. That allowed me to finally release the fish and I used my side snips to cut the point off the hook in my left hand and pull it back out. Every other time I have had a hook past the barb I always have a buddy push it all the way out and cut the hook point off.

That top one is a great looking bass. What a beast. Congrats.

I know that feeling. The Wednesday night tourneys out of Bob's have not been kind to me lately. I've been fighting to get a few keepers in the boat.

In my experience you don't usually need to match the hatch. The fish are blasting bait, just get something in there. Usually the only time the size/color of your bait is important is when they are chasing little shad. In my area the fish will get on those shad starting in late May/early June and sometimes will not hit anything. You can throw the box at them and they ignore everything.

The river has been exceptional. It takes nearly 20 lbs. to win on Saturday tourneys (26.32 was the largest bag recently).

Yes, I fished it many years ago. There are some bass in there, and some decent ones, but it can get very busy and the pressure is pretty high. They stock it with trout in the winter. I tried it several times and wrote it off.

I prefer to go after them with a topwater. I like spooks, LC gunfish and poppers. You may have to experiment and see what works best, but I always have a topwater tied on and handy for just such instances. I throw right in the middle of the pack, or a try to lead them if they appear to be going in a certain direction.

Way to go, congrats on a great fish! That's the way to get the jig bite going.

KVD is the best bass fisherman of all time. However, there have been many great bass anglers (Martin, Parker, Dance, etc.). Some stayed in the game for a while, others left early in their careers. Who is to say what may have tranpired if Hank Parker continued as a touring pro (he left when he was pretty young). IMO, it's very hard to beat the numbers KVD has posted during his career.

My buddy and I were catfishing a few years back with live crawdads. We decided to use the gas motor to move slowly to a new spot up the river. I left my crawdad on the surface of the water as I used the gas motor to move. My buddy watched a 2 lb. smallmouth come up for my crawdad, but the fish missed it. I heard the commotion and turned around at the exact time the fish went over my head and landed in the middle of the boat. I didn't know what happened until I turned back to my friend, saw the fish and my friend told me what happend. BTW, we let that fish go. Another time I was flipping a t-rig worm along the bank. I felt a very solid thump and set the hook. I quickly landed a 3 lb. largemouth. After I lipped the fish I noticed my hook was not even near the mouth. I followed the line and determined that I had lassoed that fish, I never put a hook in it. The line had become lodged under the gills, preventing it from slipping. My son was witness to that particular "catch."

To add to papajoe, you generally need baits that move more water when the clarity is poor. Casting accuracy also becomes more critical. Bass will hold tighter to cover/structure when the water clarity is low.

I was thinking with the length and the fact that it looks very healthy, I'd say 5 lbs., maybe a tad more. Healthy bass in my area that measure 21" will generally make 5 lbs.

I've seen this happen before, generally on smaller bodies of water. I believe it's usually caused by the rain "flushing" the water out and replacing it with clearer water. That seems to be the deal around my area anyway.

I can't speak for Indiana, but here the water hasn't been as hot as normal for summer. If you are experiencing the same thing, you may simply be catching bass that have fed exceptionally well this summer. Most of my fish here in SE VA lately have been chunks. I suppose it's in the realm of possible, but I would seriously doubt that bass would spawn in Indiana in August.

As long as the tournament limit is the same as the state daily limit, I fish team tournaments solo all the time. However, some team tournaments have a 7 or 8 fish limit. That takes me out of it fishing solo as we are only allowed 5 fish per day per angler. Also, it's much easier to position the boat when you don't have to worry about someone else.

I've had the same experience before. Keep in mind that just because he knows where you were fishing doesn't mean he will fish it the right way. I normally just go somewhere else and fish if someone beats me to a particular area. Normally you can find other fish in the lake doing the same thing somewhere else. Keep checking your area throughout the day and get on it when it's open. It's not worth losing sleep over, that's for sure.