VAHunter

So, you are fishing a Spro frog on 6 lb. line? Yikes. I use light line all the time, but never with a frog. In fact, I never use anything but braid with a frog. I want a solid hookset. Even then you'll lose fish simply because that's frog fishing. Frogs and 6 lb. line -- you're the man.

Not sure about best numbers day. I've had many days I've caught more than 100. However, I did find the bass stacked up one January day and caught 78 in three hours on a silver buddy. Nothing huge, but many of them were more than 4 lbs.

Great job to both of you. Way to stick to your guns. Congrats!

Wow. I'm sure they do add nutrients, but I would hate to be their neighbor!

I agree with you if we lived in a perfect world, but we don't. Too many people simply do not follow rules/regulations. Also, the more ambiguity you add to a law the more room is left for interpretation. No culling laws are outdated, but they are left in place for bass as well as other species. The law applies to all species and fishermen, i.e., live bait fishermen who may hook fish deep. Also, some tournament caught fish will die no matter how well we take care of them. I've had crankbaits literally rip one side of the gills off a bass during the fight. Finally, while some organizations have rules against culling dead fish, many do not. I would think that also plays a part in the thinking of some DNR officials.

Agreed. I've also been witness to these activities and have also reported them. We have had plenty of wardens come to local tournament weigh-ins, but they seem to concentrate on checking licenses, etc., not so much about fish length as they know we have rules penalizing that practice.

BASS does get some exceptions, but not across the board. Remember last year when Brandon P. lost his day-two weight for accidentally culling in Minnesota where that practice is illegal? Hontestly, I don't agree with exceptions. Tourney fishing or not, we all need to follow the regs for the particular body of water we fish. If exceptions are granted for the pros, how do we distinguish that for the majority non-fishing public who votes?

Agree. I have been the weigh master for more than a few tournaments. I keep the golden rule handy and measure any fish that is even slightly questionable. If it's mine I have someone else do the measuring and weighing. I used to get a lot of moans and groans, but after I kept checking everyone, and catching several short fish, the guys now appreciate the effort. As Brian noted, if in doubt, toss it back, or at the very least, get a courtesy measure.

I agree, invitations only. While I like it, I don't believe it's the future of competitive bass fishing as it's been called. Anybody ever hear what they win? I sure haven't. As noted earlier, clearly a television product for sponsors.

It's a shame cheating happens, but some will go to any length no matter the potential payout. We had a guy here bring in one fish after a particularly tough day of fishing. Big fish probably only paid a couple hundred dollars. He weighed his fish and was immediatley questioned as the whether he caught it or picked it up off the lakes surface. The fish had obviously been floating for some time. The water was still very cold, but you could tell the fish had been dead for a while. This particular angler was given his cash for big fish and threatened by about everyone present with bodily harm if he ever tried to enter another tournament. Needless to say, he hasn't been back since. In fact, nobody even sees him out fun fishing. I have seen guys in our tournaments catch a 5-7 lb. bed fish and toss it back without thinking twice. Even though I couldn't tell, the fish was foul hooked and the guys here know the rules. Intentional or not, a foul hooked bed fish has to go back. The vast majority play by the rules, but it only takes one to give us all a bad name.

I use the 5/0 gammy weedless wacky hook. I like the larger bite it offers. However, I fish mine different than most guys. I prefer a spinning rod as it allows me to skip the bait much farther. I can skip it easily with casting gear, but not as far as the spinning rod. I use a medium heavy 7 ft. rod and 10 pound braid. I do not use a mono or floro leader. The line I use has 5 lb. diameter. It's very tough to see the line, but I can throw it anywhere you throw a texas rig. I've been known to plow into the middle of a laydown, breaking branches the entire way, to retrieve a good fish. However, most of the time I can get them out with slow, steady pressure. Also, I hardly ever break off.

Mike hit it, they were complimenting you for all the reasons mentioned.

It's no secret that a lot of his shows are filmed on private waters. However, he'll tell you when he is at a public location. He just doesn't fish public water as much as he used to. I don't see a problem with it. I, too, fish a lot of private waters and catch nice, uneducated fish. I still get more satisfaction out of fishing public waters and catching a good bass.

That's just funny right there. I agree with the rest though, update the shot record and keep an eye on the swelling/tenderness, etc.

For fried fish it's hard to beat a fillet that's tossed in flour/old bay, then dredged in an egg before tossing in a bag with Panko flakes. It's the lightest and crunchiest fried fish around - and the flakes really shed the oil well. We also enjoy baking and grilling larger fillets. For flounder I really like to lightly coat the fillet with mayo, then sprinkle on some old bay and cook at 350 until done. Easy and good.

For me it's how the tournament is run. I don't want any hassles, I'm there to have fun. I also expect strict enforcement of rules no matter who makes the infraction. Overall, I just want to see if I can figure them out better than the other fishermen that particular day. Really don't care about the money, I'm just a type-a personality. Competition is good.

Yes, they work. My mother hit a deer with her car a couple years ago. When my dad took the car in for repairs he had the garage put on the whistles. Not even one week later, on the same road, that whistle called another deer right to my mom's car. The deer's back leg kicked the whistle right off the car. Needless to say dad did not replace it.

Keep in mind that sometimes there isn't a pattern. That's where the term "junkfishing" comes from. Gerald Swindle is an example of a great junk fisherman.

Sorry for my delay, I wasn't able to check the board last night. At this time of the year I really don't believe there is a bad bank in that lake. The only thing you have to determine is what cover they are using that day, i.e., laydowns, cypress trees, bushes, tree roots, etc. You can't go wrong by leaving the ramp and fishing the big cove on your left. It goes straight in, then bears right before turning a 90 degree left turn. After than it goes straight back and to the right. That entire area is worth your time. Also, there are two rock shores that separate Smith from Lake Lawson. Everything passed those rocks are really good. As noted though, let the fish tell you what they want. Sometimes they play better in the back end of any cove, sometimes the fish on the main lake are more reliable. That's the fun of this game, though. My buddy and I didn't go there today. We went to a private lake instead and found the crappie stacked up. We kept just enough for dinner, but we had a bunch of crappie that weighed 1.5 lbs. Jigs did better than minnows. Oh yeah, I also caught a spawned-out female bass. She was looking rough and probably only weighed around 7 lbs. I would have liked to have caught her in the pre-spawn.

No problem. My buddy and I also have permission to launch from an "alternate" location. We may be there tomorrow. That lake is loaded with 4-6 lb. fish. My largest weighed in at 8-15 (on a jig), but the biggest I've seen was just shy of 9.5. You also catch the bonus flathead catfish while bass fishing. Those suckers make you think you have a good one until it surfaces. My son has a knack for catching blue cats in there when we bass fish. He has caught them up to 17 lbs. Good luck.

RnO, Lake Smith is closed for boat access right now as Virginia Beach is working on putting in a new launch and pier, in addition to other updates on the property. They are hoping to have it open sometime in July. However, you can fish across the street at Little Creek Reservoir. Both lakes fish the exact same. Both lakes are very shallow. There is one 9-10 foot hole in Smith, but both lakes average probably 5 ft. There really isn't any off shore bite to speak about. As such, the fish tend to hold extremely tight to cover, often in water that you wouldn't think could even cover their backs. The fish are spawning right now, but you can still get some pre-spawners. All you really need right now is a spinnerbait, jig and a few plastics to either fish wacky or t-rig. The fish are really all over both lakes, so you can catch them from the main lake to very back end of the coves. Remember, nothing is too shallow there. As you are targeting very shallow fish, make certain your casts are landing as softly as possible. You want to create a reaction strike. As mentioned earlier, a finesse worm on a shaky head has always been killer in those two lakes. Even the bigger fish will chew it. I prefer plastics in black, junebug, red shad and waltermelon. For jigs I only fish black/blue or green pumpkin/craw. Match your preferred trailer with those colors. I've been catching a lot of fish in Little Creek, up to 6.5 lbs. Most hits lately have been extremely aggressive. Good luck.

None for me. I just prefer to tie direct to the lure or the split ring.

Everyone is offering great advice. The only thing I would add, and it plays off roadwarrior's theme, is to study seasonal movements of fish. This will also help you determine what to throw. Have fun and, as was stated earlier, don't worry about the failures. It's only a failure if you don't learn from it.

I agree, but I still can't help myself from throwing at them.

I do this when the fish are shallow, but the vast majority of the time around here I see them sunning inches under the surface over 15-20 ft. of water. I've thrown all the plastics, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, swimbaits, senkos, topwaters etc. at them. I'm convinced they are there to warm up. Feeding, even a reaction strike, is the farthest thing from their mind. I have never seen small bass do this, it's always good-sized fish. I always throw at them though. You never know when you'll get that first one to bite.