Craw

Zoom Trick Worm, shortened to 4" or 5". Green Pumpkin is my favorite color. Seems to work everywhere I've fished.

I think it's a great idea! It can really pay to know when sunfish spawn and other bait fish patterns. I've hunted enough crayfish in my early days to know how they move but I couldn't say for sure when they molt or have hatches. Let us know if you come across any good information. Any knowledge is power!

Get yourself a 36lb thrust transom mounted Minn Kota. You will love it. I have one as a spare and it's been great. I've had it for over 10yrs. It will really push your 12' row boat well.

Here's a link for it... http://www.questforadventure.com/bassvideocollection.htm

Have you tried any soft plastic jerkbaits? The Zoom Super Fluke is one of the better baits on the market and it doesn't appeal to the sunfish near as much as the bass.

In Fisherman and Bassin get my vote. I haven't seen Gary Yamamoto's mag. yet but I need to check it out. If it's half as good as the baits he sells then it's a winner.

Great site! Has already helped me a lot and I can't wait to be a part of it throughout the seasons. Glenn has done a great job with the format and the moderators are VERY helpful. The members all have a passion for every conceivable aspect of fishing and a willingness to share what works for them. The possibilities here are endless. My deepest thanks... Craw

I have personally seen KVD's spinnerbait DVDs and Denny Brauer's jig fishing videos. Both were good. You might also browse the selection at Amazon.com(here's that link) http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_d/002-0338030-6893640?url=search-alias%3Dvideo-aps&field-keywords=bass+fishing They have some cheesy stuff but also have some pretty good video and books.

I would highly recommend fishing with a guide. I grew up fishing the New River here in Va. and my brother and I decided to hire a guide for a float trip. I'd been fishing this river all my life so I didn't expect to be dazzled with the guides knowledge. Boy was I in for a treat. This particular guide was as excited about fishing as we were and answered all our questions throughout the trip. He talked about tactics for every season, gave us night fishing tips and shared techniques for high and low water conditions. That guy was a wealth of knowledge and that one trip really opened my eyes to a river that I only thought I knew. Well, that all happened about 20yrs. ago and ever since I've been trying to expand on what we learned that day. For me personally, it was a great experience and I would recommend it for anyone regardless of their skill level. One piece of advice I would give is to talk personally with the guide and size him up by his enthusiasm. If he seems eager to make it the best fishing experience of your life then that's a good sign. Good Luck! Craw

I'll be spending less time on the river and more time at my local reservoir. My home lake has one major feeder creek that I plan on spending most of my time in but I'll also hit the upper end of the lake some. I usually will use super flukes, shallow cranks, spinnerbaits and buzzbaits, but as Valascus pointed out nearly anything in your tackle box can work at this time. It's a great time to fish and I'm looking forward to having some outstanding days on the water, Lord willing.

Smallmouth are great fun to catch and quite a challenge to find sometimes, even in rivers. They're extremely mobile and will travel miles upon miles on a given day. It's all worth it once you find them though cause they really can put up a fight. Here in Va. the largemouth fishing just isn't that great but trophy smallmouth are well within reach. As far as being pound for pound the strongest fish...No Way! I love my smallies but they can't hang with some of the other fish. The body of a smallmouth just can't generate the power of lets say an equal size striper. Smallies do possess a few attributes though that make them favorites among lots of anglers. When they are aggressively feeding they strike viciously and their aerial acrobatics are unmatched. They are my favorite but I feel blessed that we have many other great gamefish to pursue here in Va.

No problem! My dad has the same truck and even though I have a 3/4 ton Dodge I have to say, those Silverados with the 350 are sweet.

I'd say it's carp for sure although catfish will sometimes roll on the surface also. Couldn't say what you were feeling on your c-rig unless I felt it. Sorry.

No chance of ever catching a world record LM here in Va. That being said, I'd do my best to keep the fish alive but would not release it. If she's going to be worth a 1,000,000 in endorsements then I'm guessing that some collector would pay even more for a live specimen. I'd like to think I'm not all about money but if I had a chance to improve my quality of life by selling the world record...so be it.

Good luck Dude. I wish I was going! Hope you post some pics.

You bet! I've taken 3 guys from work that I'd never been with before and I invited one friend to bring his son along. It was great! I also took a buddy that I grew up with out twice to fish "the dark side". He couldn't believe how well they bite at night. He even caught his pb smallmouth last night, 20"3lbs8oz.

Lots of ponds have no offshore structure at all. When the surrounding land is featureless, it's likely to be the same underwater. Can't say for sure though without a thorough search. Are there any rock outcroppings in the area around the pond? If you find anything offshore it's likely to be a very small area. I think you should keep at it with that c-rig until you feel certain you've covered everything. Good Luck.

I catch some fish in the river on it when I t-rig but they don't seem to care for it wacky style, which is how I fish it in lakes. Doesn't make sense to me. Darker colors(green pumpkin and black) have been working well in the lakes I fish but in the river they want shades of white.

In addition to hunting I believe that bass will school for safety in bodies of water that contain larger predators like musky. It's been my experience that largemouth of all different sizes will school together while smallmouth tend to school by size. It may vary from lake to lake. I agree that big bass tend to be loners, especially largemouth. I figure a bass that is genetically predisposed to become large has needs beyond what the school can provide. I believe these bass will seperate themselves from the feeding competition associated with schooling fish and develop their own foraging habits. A large appetite and the need to rest between feedings usually prompt these bass to become very territorial once a suitable home is found. In late fall and early winter on my home lake here in Va. we get mainlake striper schooling action on the surface. It's awesome to see. Very large bass are sometimes caught within these striper schools, not on the surface busting bait but down below the school. These bass just wait for injured bait to fall down to them. They let the stripers do all the work and they collect the leftovers. Giant lazy bass, you gotta love'em!

In clear water I use natural colors like brown/green pumpkin, watermelon and smoke. Try and match the bait of course but you can also match the lake bottom. I like to use 4" finesse worms and 3" tubes and work them super fast in clear water. Bass in clear water are used to feeding by sight and will chase baits. Whatever you use it's important that the bass can't get a good look at it. Using colors that blend in and working lures very fast will get you some strikes. When I say fast I mean faaaaaaasst! Get that bait jumping around like it's on fire. Good luck.

My dad is my #1 fishing partner. I take other people but Dad is #1.

My favorite place here in Va. is the New River. I've been fishing it since I was a kid. I would hardly say that I have "mastered" it because I'm still learning things about this river each time I go. It's known primarily for the Smallmouth and Musky fishing but certain stretches can yeild walleye, white bass, stripers and hybrids. There are largemouth and spots scattered here and there as well as crappie, perch, sunfish, redeyes, catfish and carp. Years ago a hybrid Florida strain of largemouth was introduced into a section of the New. Bass up to 10lbs. have been taken from this stretch. Our state record smallmouth, musky and walleye have all come from the New. It is thought to be the second oldest river in the world. Of all the places that I've fished, the New River still gets me excited everytime I go.

Are you able to fish at night? Since you fish a drinking water reservoir I'm guessing that the water is pretty clear. Hot days and clear water make a perfect combination for night fishing.

Welcome to the site. Here's a link for some shows online http://www.lunkerville.com/ltv.html Here's a link for FLW episodes that a guy on this site(Will) gave me. These can be purchased. http://www.flwoutdoors.com/article.cfm?id=138900 Also you can go to amazon.com and search VHS/DVD for bassfishing I'll poke around and see if I can find you some more.

SFC Hall is right on the money. It depends on where you fish. I had a 14' modified V for about 12 years and it was a great boat. Smooth ride, stable in the water and it was tricked out with all the trimmings. I fished both lakes and rivers in it but in the rivers there were shallow stretches that I could not go beyond. I had a good shallow water drive on the motor but the bottom of the boat would hit before the prop would. Finally sold it and got a flat bottom jon w/jet. I got a 16' all welded tunnel jon cause I was tired of playing around with that river. It's good and stable but the ride is a little rougher than my old boat and it doesn't maneuver near as well. I can shoot right up the falls now and that's what was most important to me. You just have to decide if you think you will be going into any shallow water. If not then the "V" will fit your needs better, but if you fish the shallow rivers then I'd go flat bottom.