Dan:

Very nice! I have always wanted to fish the upper james.

Yeah, Mason absolutely killed Randolph Henry in the Region B final. RH was unbeaten until then and I think they may have been unprepared for a good opponent. Mason lost to Floyd in the state playoffs last year. They are a solid team. I heard the game they lost against Radford was called in Radford's favor. George Mason doesn't like Radford too much, there is a soccer rivalry that gets pretty heated and lots of the girls on the soccer team also play basketball. I've heard Lancaster from Region A is pretty good too. Apparently they have one player that is crazy good. Should be interesting as far as Group A women's basketball goes... I really wouldn't care at all if my sister's team wasn't in it. I wish the games didn't have so much time between them. It's annoying that the quarters and semis are a whole week apart and then the final is the day after the semis...

I wouldn't do that unless jumping in a water tank is a felony. Otherwise you could be liable for a lawsuit.

Same here. It just got too confusing. I couldn't keep up if I missed an episode. It's good to know that they are wrapping it up. Maybe I will go back and rewatch the previous seasons and then the new ones so everything is fresh in my mind.

Virginia -home to the Chesapeake bay, the largest bay in the country - also great for fishing -is tied with Ohio for most presidents produced -played an important role in the US revolution that can only be rivaled by Massachusetts and PA -has diverse landscape, from the flat shoreline of the tidal region to the steep mountains down by Burley. -has more civil war history than anywhere else -one of the top 10 most educated states -one of the top 10 richest states -has one of the best public university systems

Burley, I see Honaker and Lee advanced to the div 2 girls state tournament from Region D. My sister's team won the Region B tournament. Her team is on the other side of the bracket but they might meet up with Lee or Honaker at VCU if they make it to the finals. Have you seen Lee or Honaker play?

It's too cold here to even turn the water connection to the hose on without pipes or hoses freezing... We had a similar incident with one of those giant detergent jugs. Babies weren't involved but it fell off the dryer and exploded everywhere. That stuff really is a huge hassle to clean up. It's like you can never really wipe it all away. We just kept at it with water and towels until all the residue was gone. I don't like buying those containers anymore. The valves and opening are just too loosely connected and they often leak all over the place. If I do buy one, I use it to refill the smaller containers because they are easier to secure and less of a mess. That way I can set the big container off to the side or on the ground where it isn't going to get knocked over.

I would also suggest the Citica E from my own experience but I have heard good things about the BPS Pro Qualifier. I think either of those would be good to start with. I tried to learn on a cheap reel before I got my first decent baitcaster and I firmly believe that if you cross the $100 mark for your first reel you will learn much faster than with a cheaper reel. The better quality and components you get when you pay a little more will help a lot when you a first getting used to baitcasting.

The Citica 201D was my first baitcaster as well. I now have the smaller 201E and use my old D for larger presentations like jigs, swimbaits, etc... The D is a good starter reel. I think it is beneficial to start with a reel that has a wide spool. A wider spool provides more access to pick out backlashes that are more frequent for beginning baitcasters.

Trailer Park Boys: Ricky:"They're the stupidest f*#$ giraffes in the dumb dumb salad" Stepbrothers: Dale: Did you touch my drum set? Brennan: Nope. Dale: Why are you so sweaty? Brennan: I was watching Cops. Mom: You yelled rape at the top of your lungs. Brennan: But mom, I really thought he was going to rape me. He had the craziest look in his eyes... and I swear at one point he said "let's get it on." Dale: That was about the fighting! Dale: I

Cool. Andrew, I'll let you know if I will be there for sure within the next couple of days. I may be doing a camping/roadtrip to New Orleans instead but I'm still waiting for confirmation from my buddies.

I went there a few years ago before I really knew much about fishing. It is a few hours from where my family vacations in the OBX. That place is freaking BEAUTIFUL. The canals look great. I think they are deeper than most of the lake. They are LOADED with timber from what I saw. There is a land bridge that runs North and South straight through the middle of the lake. There are drainage tubes/culverts that connect each side of the lake underneath the land bridge. When I went I saw a ton of topwater action on either side of those culverts. I didn't have the equipment to cast far enough to the feeding frenzies but I really wish I had. I assume they were bass but I have heard there are stripers as well and now that I know that, I think stripers sound more likely to be what was chasing baitfish up to the surface. I caught a few fish (and a crab on a rapala minnow) but I think I could do much better now that I know more and have better equipment. I also just found out they have big bowfin and gar as well. From what I saw and what I have heard, you should focus on the culverts along the land bridge and the timber in the canals. The culverts are out in the middle of the lake and the wind creates current that moves bait and attracts feeding fish. frogtog, did you catch them in the timber in the canals? Any size to them? I really, really want to go back there sometime.

listen to RW, you really don't need to spend as much on a crankbait rod as you do on other rods.

lmao, when I read the thread title I immediately thought of that episode of King of the Hill. I have a big rear end and I can't stand bleachers for very long. If foam didn't help then you might just have to stand.

The USGS says the river is low and around 40-45 degrees. I would use slow presentations like jigs and plastics in any deep areas you can find. Personally, I love to use shaky head works in the river. Fish them slow.

Check out the Legend Tournament from St Croix, the Dobyns Champion series, the Daiwa Zillions, Shimano Cumaras, Powell Max, and E21 Carrot Stix gold. What type of techniques will you be using for the rod?

I vote for any of the lakes that Andrew listed. I don't really want to fish Bull Run, but that's just me.

A lot of sauces focus just on being hot. I like the kind that has flavor also.

4 reelz

Wow, I was not expecting that kind of baby. I was expecting a poop thread.

At 30-60 ft?!?! Spoons or plastics and a lot of patience while they sink.

I tried a search and couldn't find too much related to the topic. I am considering a new spinning rod for light shaky heads, maybe some drop shot and some weightless plastics- mostly between 1/8oz-3/8oz, maybe an occasional 1/2oz bait. In general, I like rods that have fast tips for these purposes. My question is, can anyone give me a good comparison of the Shimano Cumara and the TD Fuego rods or some advice about either? I really like the styling of the Fuego and the hand-in-front-of-reel handle instead of the handle directly over the reel but from what I've heard it is a little heavier than the Cumara.

I was literally just thinking about this today. I was thinking about all the money I waste every week on stupid stuff that I don't need and how I could put that money into a jar and I would be able to buy a new rod/reel about every month or two.

I agree with Raul, go the custom route. You will get a rod that is specially designed for you. You can also get it to match your Fireblood to the "T" just like in the picture that Raul posted. That rod was made for that Sol and it complements it extremely well. I have seen some of the rods that Matt has built and they are beautiful. I'm sure you will be happy with the result. Raul, what does a rod like that go for?

I mainly use plastics for river fish. I like to drift plastics like jerkbaits, worms, and tubes in the current from shallow to deep water or fast to slow water. A lot of the time all you have to do is let them drift. I also love to use shaky head worms and crawdads. Use the lightest weight necessary to get to the bottom. Another thing to try is topwaters. I like to use prop baits and walking baits for smallmouth. They will hit them all day, but I do best with them right before sundown. Try some poppers as well. For rod and reel, I would use your finesse rigs that you use for smallmouth for shaky heads and drifting plastics. If you decide to use weights, jigs, topwaters, spinnerbaits, etc then take the tackle you would normally fish those baits with.