Craw

Congratulations. Good luck!

Darren, good luck on your trip! Jim is right on the money about the "Stren" fluorescent(it's the blue line). Under the blacklight that line looks like neon tubing. You don't really need the blacklight but since you don't have a whole lot of experience night fishing then it will really help. In addition to the spinnerbait you mentioned, I like Berkley Powerworms(7" or 10"). Berkley doesn't have the best lineup of colors but they work well at night when color isn't a huge factor. The bass will hold on to them for a good while most times and they are bulkier than most worms. Keep a jitterbug handy also. Don't spend alot of time fishing it if you don't get hit with it. On a good jitterbug night the bass will come from far away to get it. Have patience. Last night I fished the same 1/4 mile stretch for 3-1/2 hours before the bass started hitting. The bite lasted a solid 2 hours after that. Spinnerbait and pig and jig worked for me. They wouldn't touch a worm or a jitterbug. You just never know!

I agree with basser89 about putting the trailer hook on first then attaching the tubing to the main hook. It swings freely and gives you two advantages. 1-the bass can't use the weight of the bait as leverage to throw the hook(when hooked only on trailer) 2-bass don't really bite our lures, they suck them in by pulling water into their mouth and out the gills. When the trailer is swinging free then it gets pulled right into the direction of that vacuum the bass creates resulting in a better hookup %. IMHO

In my opinion fishing a pond is not cheating at all. I hear the same thing about river fishing being to easy or my favorite, "Anybody can catch em in a river." I like the "big water" as much as anyone but I need a change of pace once in awhile or I get stale. I grew up fishing the New River here in Va. and that is where my roots are but I love the challenge that our area lakes offer. I currently don't have permission to fish the area ponds that I fished years ago but I wouldn't hesitate to drop whatever I was doing to spend the day on any pond. Back when I was fishing the ponds I really enjoyed the sneakin around to avoid spookin the bass, dressing in camo style clothing so I would blend in and learning to pitch my baits in quietly. I owe everything I know about fishing the t-rigged plastic worm to the half a dozen ponds I was able to fish 15 yrs. ago. I don't participate in bass tourneys so for me I fish for fun, relaxation and that special experience that I have no words to describe(that spiritual connection). I recommend that each of us fish in the manner that we feel comfortable and pay no attention to people who criticize our efforts.

There might be something to that because I've been in the same situation myself. Not only with baitfish but also insect hatches. I don't really know for sure though, sorry.

Sorry those poachers ruined your honey hole. It makes me really angry to hear about things like this. I wish I had some good advice but I don't. I'm just sorry they do things like that.

My home lake is only 4500 acres and this poor body of water gets HAMMERED by tourneys.It's only 10 minutes from my house though! The better lake is an hour away but it's about 25000 acres and presents many more options. I would gladly fish any pond or private lake if I were asked but I prefer all the different options that a large reservoir offers. The best feature that these large waters have is the way they change geographically from the headwaters to the dam. Typically the upper end is shallow and stained with lots of flats, shoreline cover and current while the lower end is clear and deep with more waterfront development and hard bottom areas. The middle is a combination of the two. Also, the larger reservoirs have multiple tributary arms where the smaller ones may only have one or two. I do however see one huge advantage to smaller systems. When the bite is really slow you can at least be sure that you are always close to the bass. On a big reservoir you can't always be sure

Nice little map they put together. Since it's August we might assume that the fish will be on main lake structure. I noticed that several main lake points are intersected by the old creek channel. I would fish these a few times during the trip. I also really like the submerged (150)bridge. That should be a fish magnet! Anyway...the points I mentioned along with the bridge(and it's roadbed) are what jumped out at me first. As a rule of thumb, the bass should be deeper right now but that's just not the case sometimes. If there'e plenty of food and cover for the bass up shallow then they can stay shallow year round. It looks like great pains have been taken to provide cover in this lake and you may not have to fish deep at all. If they are shallow then you will just have to "go fishin" to find areas with the largest concentrations of bass. Good luck, I wish I was going with you!

Everyone has made good points. Anytime the bait is in the water can result in a strike. I've had them strike before the lure even hit the water. When fishing shallow cover, it's been my experience that the highest percentage of strikes occur moments after the bait enters the water. For example...first initial fall of a jig/worm, first couple of cranks with a spinnerbait/buzzbait/crankbait or that first twitch of a topwater. This does not apply to deep water structure fishing which is a different animal altogether. The majority of strikes in deep water occur when the bait contacts the cover or structure itself. For example...casting a crankbait across a point. It may take me 10 cranks of the reel handle to get the bait down to the bottom but once that bait is digging into the bottom I'm looking for the strike. Same with dragging a c-rigged or t-rigged worm up, down or across a channel edge. I'll make a long cast and I won't really even expect a strike until my rig contacts some cover around that channel edge. No doubt about it, a fish might strike at any time and I'm just speaking from my own experience but when the fish are aggressive I like to fish VERY fast and keep my lures in places that I consider high percentage spots because I know the bite won't last. When the fish are in a negative mood I make repeated casts and work my lures SLOW.

It's common practice for alot of anglers to really load up on the hookset. I've fished with guys who jerk with every bit of strength that they have. I see pros do it also. I understand the merits of a powerful hookset...drive the hook into the fishes mouth, turn the fish's head away from cover, compensate for line stretch or long distance from fish, etc. I'm not a pro and I'm not an expert but I'll share what works for me. I like a quick hookset. I try to generate as much speed as I can in the rod tip from say the 10o'clock to 12o'clock position. I never even think about power. I believe that speed generates all the power needed. I look at it like this, think of the damage that can be caused by a bullet being fired at someone or something. Now think of how much damage could be caused by just throwing that same bullet. What makes the bullet so powerful is speed. Here are some advantages I like about the quick hookset- No lure(or even small bass) flying out of the water at me or my partner. No loss of balance when I miss(I miss sometimes like everybody else). Don't break line/rod on the hookset. Don't tear a big hole in fish's mouth. Much easier on my joints and lower back. I miss plenty of fish, don't get me wrong. When I do miss though I don't rock the boat or stumble backwards, so I don't feel foolish about it. The pros miss to. It just doesn't make for good TV so we don't get to see it.

Catching fish that you see can really be tough. My guess is that if you are able to catch one from that pool then the other fish will spook and that will be that. Your spot sounds perfect for a flyrod but if that's not your thing then try really small lures in natural colors. Stream fish feed a great deal on insects and very small minnows so try and match the hatch. Ultralite rod and reel w/4-6lb. test. Try beetle spins, marabou jigs and 2" grubs. Try lures in the 1/32oz catagory. Pitch a small marabou jig in the pool and just let it sit for a couple of minutes. Sometimes they can't stand it being there and will bite it. You might also wait until the rains muddy up the stream a little, then try. GOOD LUCK

With the information that you provided I would choose your neighborhood pond. It has already yielded larger bass and the smaller size of the pond will allow you to fish it more thoroughly. The golf course pond sounds like it's full of juvenille bass and those splashes that you hear could be carp or even the resident beaver. Good luck in your quest to get that big bass, whichever pond you choose.

I believe that some bass will always be around the school and follow them in and out of the coves. I like to throw a RattleTrap around the school but never into it. Other cranks will work also but I can choose the depth with a RattleTrap. It's my belief that bass nearby on structure or shoreline cover are aware that the school(s) are present and are just waiting for the school to come close to them or for that rogue that wanders off from the school to come to them. For this reason I won't spend a great deal of time fishing around the bait. I will use contact lures around the structure and cover that I would normally fish if the school weren't present. Cranks really shine under these conditions as well as spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and topwaters. I love it when the bait school up but I've been guilty of fishing around the school for to long and not getting the most out of my fishing time. One bonus to fishing the school is a shot at multiple species. Stripers, Hybrids and white bass will follow the schools also if they are available in your waters. That being said, I would mostly fish just like I would any other day except now you can fish with confidence cause you KNOW bass are in the area. You can also "match the hatch" with your baits.

Yes. They get on my nerves also. I took a friend fishing after dark once and he went to cast out a jitterbug and a bat smacked right into it as he drew back. It was nasty! Nearly every hook was stuck in the critter. I read somewhere that a single bat will eat up to 10,000 insects during a night of feeding so I'm glad they are controling the insect population. Like you though, I don't care for them getting in my face.

I've had days that made me feel like a pro and days where I couldn't even catch a single dink. Every chance I have to go is another chance to piece together the puzzle. Never know what we'll be up against. You sound like a good angler to me and with the help of all the other good anglers on this AWESOME site you will get better all the time. Craw

I love fishing during the daylight hours but right now it's just 2 hot and I'm 2 fair skinned to be out during the heat of the day. Mid july until the very end of august is when I fish at night here in Va. I fish at night with this in mind...Bass will lay low during the heat of the day and go on the prowl in search of food at night. Bass will use all the same structure and cover that they use during the day but they will also roam areas that they will seldom use during daylight hours. It is these areas that I like to fish. Shallow areas that extend well back from the shoreline. Flats and long slow tapering points are structures that can produce well at night as well as shallow stretches of shoreline with little or no cover. I like to revisit these places at night because the fish may not be up on the flat at 10pm but could be cruising around all over it at midnight. It's crazy how shallow these fish can be after dark. The night bite usually runs in cycles so expect some down time during your outing. Some other really good places to fish are around marinas. They are pretty well lit up after dark and the lights keep baitfish around all the time. A plastic worm or pig and jig around docks and boat slips will surely get you some bites after dark. If there's no marina near you then look for any dock with lights. Lights in general will attract bait so look for them anywhere. It's been said alot on this site that the same lures and colors work both day and night. I won't dispute that even though I stick with dark colors. I've seen the fish hit all different lures at night also. My bread and butter lures for night are... #1-3/8oz. single spin colorado bladed spinnerbait #2-7" or 10" plastic worm #3-3/8oz. pig and jig #4-5/8oz. jitterbug w/clicker Those are my choices but at any given time during the night I might use a crankbait, buzzbait, grub, finesse worm, torpedo or anything else I've got. Find some productive spots and rotate thru them during the course of the night. As I said earlier, the bite will run in cycles so don't give up on a spot if it doesn't produce. Come back later. One last thing...another bonus that night fishing offers is a chance at multiple species. My lake has Stripers, Hybrids, Walleye and Catfish that all prowl after dark. So be ready and expect anything! GOOD LUCK

I live in the New River Valley in Va. and I'm lucky to have 2 rivers and a lake within 15min. of my house. I work at least 40hrs. a week on swing shift so I mostly fish on the weekends. I've been furloughed from work now for almost a month so I've been almost everyday(everynight). I'm broke as a convict but I love all the fishing time!

I was fortunate enough to live on the river as a kid and I can remember reading Bassmaster, Field and Stream and Smallmouth magazine. We grew up using grubs, inline spinners and small crankbaits on that river. I can remember seeing spinnerbaits, plastic worms and topwaters being used in those magazines but all the lakes those guys were fishing looked like swamps compared to our river. I can remember the first time I used a Hula Popper and one exploded on it. HOLY @#%!! My point is...I'm 36 and have been using lures since childhood but it took me quite a while to really catch on to bass fishing the way we do it today.

Denny Brauer-his mastery of jig fishing is awesome. Rick Clunn-the spiritual aspect he applies to his craft is inspiring. Kevin VanDam-fishes faster than anyone I've ever seen.

O.k., so how many of you guys would agree/disagree that the bite is better during full and new moon phases? Or that larger fish become more active during these phases? Also, I've heard that there is a crawfish hatch in every lake and river in the country during the full and new moon. Anyone know?

For ponds the plastic worm is hard to beat, even at night. I'd use a 7" Berkley Power Worm(maybe a 10").

I saw that episode with Luke and Gerald. I hated to see Gerald act like that but I enjoyed the show. Luke sure didn't seem to sweat it at all so I guess it's all good.

Awesome! I love it when you guys post your pics.

Drawdown is a great time to scout. I know you wanna catch fish and not spend the day riding around so I would recommend using faster moving tecniques to cover alot of water and study the shoreline. Lots of cover will be exposed that you are unable to see at full pond. Keep an eye out for baitfish as they can behave a little strange during low water. Low water can be every bit as productive as any other condition. One just never knows. Check out places that you've caught em before and see why they were hanging around there. Take pictures if you're able to. Fall drawdown here at my lake in Va. has been a wonderful outdoor experience for me in the past. Try structures that aren't affected as much by water levels like...points, bluffs, outside bends and mouths of creeks/coves. If these structures don't pay off then fish the "new" shoreline and breaklines that the fish now have available to them. The last few times that I fished in low water situations I was able to catch them on 7" plastic worms and med. diving cranks but as they often say, "Fish your strengths and let the fish tell you what they want."

Still haunted by a GIANT smallmouth that I hooked on a RattleTrap about 17 years ago in some tailraces below the dam. My buddy was about to net it for me but I was keeping cool and wanted to play the fish out so I told him...not yet. All of the sudden the hooks just came out. I won't guess at what she might have weighed but I consider a trophy smallie for my waters to be in excess of 20". I've caught them up to 23" and this particular bronzeback was, for lack of a better word...deformed. I mean she was head and shoulders beyond what I consider a trophy. Our state record here in Va. is just over 8lbs. now but was like 7lbs.7oz. back then and all I had on my mind was STATE RECORD! I'll never know. Anyway, two things that I learned from that experience was that I needed a more limber rod for crankin so the fish can inhale the bait better(I was using more of the pool cue style back then). The other mistake I made was not letting my buddy net her when she was well within reach. I haven't seen another smallie like that since but you better believe that I think about her and maybe another one like her every single time I am on the water.