Dan:

Well, none of us did all that well. I got skunked but I know the boat with Trevor and Rob had a couple fish and the "Feel the Burn" crew had quite a few, but I don't think anyone really had any size. I'll let whoever wants to report to say what they caught because I really don't remember.

I have found Silver Thread to behave much like Yo Zuri Hybrid Ultra Soft. I don't know if the color makes a difference, but the Silver Thread Excalibur line is very similar to Yo Zuri Ultra Soft in limpness and color as well and I have had a lot of success on the Ultra Soft so I would assume the color doesn't make much difference between Ultra Soft and Silver Thread Excalibur.

I hope you get some by then too, that way you can let me know where and how to start.

Rob, the place where we launched last time is off of Mt. Hope Road, correct? That is where I am meeting the guy giving me the boat, you will be launching there again, also, right? What time are you launching? I'm meeting this guy at 6:15am. If you are already on the water by then, I'll give you a call to find out where you are and see if I can paddle my way over to meet up with you and Trevor so I can say hello.

Haven't been to the Potomac yet this season but I have had success with topwaters this week in some local lakes. I have been using a Skitter Walk and a spook and have had hits and fish on both recently. All fish on topwater have been after sunset. You probably know this but your best bet for topwaters is early in the morning or late in the day/night. Good luck, remember to vary your retrieve, I've had success with both a slow, pausing retrieve and a super fast retrieve with my walk-the-dog baits.

LUCKY! I would love to live that close to two reservoirs and the Rapidan and Rappahannock.

Those are truly awesome pictures, not just because of the great fish, but some of the action shots are just ridiculous! Very nice camera work (oh, and good job actually catching the fish as well ;D)

Andrew, I'm not going to be able to take my jon boat but I am waiting to hear about somebody maybe letting me use an extra canoe or kayak. If the guy says I can use either the kayak or canoe, I'll ask if there is a place to mount a trolling motor or if his registration will allow it. I'll let you know by Sunday evening what the deal is and if I'll need you to bring the motor. Is that soon enough?

:oThat's disgusting. I know a girl that has been sick for almost 2 years now from lyme disease that went undiagnosed for a while. She hasn't even been able to go to school for most of that time. I had no idea it was such a long lasting and harmful disease...

why wouldn't they be? It's the same as all other ebay auctions, there are certain protections to keep you from getting ripped off, but you still have to read the auction details, payment methods, return policies, and feedbacks very carefully.

if the barb is visible, take a pair of wire cutters and cut the hook above the barb, then slide the now barbless part right out. This is a little more difficult with superline hooks

I had to pull off like 5 ticks the other day after I got back from one spot, I just don't want to deal with ticks. I know too many people who have gotten extremely sick from Lyme disease and I just don't want that, especially if it's only for beating the bank by myself.

shoot. That sucks. I may be getting a boat to use but if I don't, I'm not sure I want to walk the bank and battle ticks by myself...I might just stay home and sleep in or make a trip somewhere with less ticks with my dad or something. If I get a boat, I'll see you guys there, if not, have a great time and take some pics.

If no one else has any open seats, I think I'll be walking the bank. Rob, where do you think the best place to walk the bank would be? I want to go to a spot where there is a path or some way to walk along the bank as far as possible. Maybe near where we saw those hispanic guys with the stringer of catfish last time? Where can I park over there? Anybody who plans on walking the bank, make a post to let us know, that way we can try to arrange a bank beaters get together.

Yeah, they are for residents only. Barcroft has signs at every parking lot that says it is for residents only. Fairview doesn't have as many signs as I recall, but I am almost positive that it is also residents only. BTW, I scoped out the Ben Brenman Park today, it looked like a great bass fishing spot (if there are any in there) but there was a sign that said NO FISHING IN THE POND very clearly and there is a Police Satellite Headquarters building right on the lake so I would think any line wetting would be quickly ended.

I'm down as long as the water temps get into the 70s. If they aren't in that area by then, I might have to bail out because that's too cold for me.

I was just google mappin Alexandria and saw Lake Cook, but also a "Ben Brenman Park" a little west of Lake Cook. It has what looks like a lake that is bigger than Cook. Has anyone tried to fish at this lake before?

Just got a reply from Dana. Thanks to both of you, I'll be trying the lighter version in some shallow, rocky Virginia rivers for smallmouth. Shakey heads are on of my go to baits for those rivers so I'm looking forward to trying this one out.

We know it sucks, but do we really need a daily reminder ffd? :-/

flippin4it spent some time giving me some tips recently. The helpful things he told me were 1) turn the tension knob almost completely loose 2) get your wrist involved, you will have no distance on your pitch unless you can get your wrist to maneuver your rod to swing the bait out and 3) keep the bait close to the water, if it gets too high, it will splash too much when it enters the water, and it's easier to maintain the correct motion if you keep the bait close to the water. I got much better from when he gave me those tips and now from simply standing in the back yard and pitching to different targets (bases of trees, into flower pots, etc..)

As far as I know, both Barcroft and Fairview are private so you probably won't see too many reports for either. Shoot me a PM if you are interested in some public lakes in the Burke area.

Awesome, thanks, I appreciate you looking into that. I need to get my boat registered and everything, though.

Well, I'll let you know what I have found then. There is a tremendous difference between almost all low end and high end reels.

I might end up out there with my 10ft jon boat, paddling with my oars like a fool. I really, really hope it isn't windy...d**n I need a trolling motor...

All I could find.