osbornj2

Great looking fish! Congrats on your excellent day with your Dad!

Sounds like a terrible idea....but, if you insist.... ;D

Drmn, Since I'm just right around the corner, could I get it after you? Maybe we could meet somewhere for the "dropoff" instead of having to mail it?! Tks!

That is a great idea to use a weight! I dunno why I didn't think of that already!! :-[

Thanks guys for all of your nice comments! I am proud to finally have a pig to post on here after looking at all of yours for so long It was a double treat to be able to catch 2 of them on the same trip. One thing has been bothering me though, and maybe somebody can give me some assistance... My little digital scales (Rapala grippers...i.e. Boga style with a digital scale built in) recorded the "smaller" bass in the bottom pic (the one that Scott suggested might be a spot...which I wouldn't honestly be able to tell the difference!!) right at 4 lbs. Obviously, she was not as fat as the momma in the top pic, but she was still a healthy pre-spawn fish that was about 20 inches long (on the Golden Rule). She seemed heavier, but I figured that maybe I was just excited and over-estimated her weight in my head. Then, when I caught the pig and put her on the scale, she only registered right at 6.0 (fluctuated for a couple of secs between 5/15 and 6/1-2). She measured on the Golden Rule right under 22 inches ( I was squeezing her tail to get her to 22, but it just wasn't there!! ). She OBVIOUSLY is a fattie and was full of eggs. Are my scales accurate? Is it likely that a bass of that size could only weigh 6 lbs? I should have gotten a girth measurement, but I already had her out of the water for a little while, getting pics and measurements. Every bass fisherman that I show these pics to says that she has to weigh more than 6, and that the smaller fish (the Spot) was maybe even closer to 6. I don't know what to think!! I do not want to overstate my fish, as I would rather underestimate. But, I would like to know if the scale could potentially be off. Any advice or suggestions or formulas would be GREATLY appreciated!

Had a GREAT day on Friday out with a buddy on my "home" lake (Carvins Cove). Caught a total of 5 bass, including my PB for this lake! (right at 6 lbs / 21.5 inches). 4 came on a Chatterbait, and the pig fell to a Mattlures Baby Bass in the striper pattern (see the enclosed photo). Water temps were down a little from 2 weeks ago, but the water levels are up considerably. Can't wait to go back and try to catch her again!

All I can say is, "Wow"! You guys have gone over the top with the detailed drawings, research about local shad populations, etc.! See why I referenced you guys as my "Pro-staff"?!?! 8-) Thanks again!

Tks! I feel silly now! Still not sure how it slipped past me! :-? Have we started to use it anywhere? It is a great slogan!

Maybe I have missed it, but have we ever seen the results of the catchphrase contest that was running back around Christmas? Alot of folks submitted a lot of cool phrases, and I am looking forward to see what we eventually settled on. If it's out there, could someone please post a link to the thread? Thanks!

SPAZ and Speed, yeah...I guess you are both right! I have seen that long "extension" on some shad that you are both referencing...I guess I was thinking that just a single piece of braid (thread) would not necessarily imitate it. But, as is often the case...I was mistaken again ! :-[ Thanks again for helping a brother out!

Hey, I was hoping that someone could help me figure something out! I just recently purchased this BBZ, and right out of the package, it has this little section of what appears to be braid, attached to the dorsal fin. It is not nearly long enough to attach a stinger treble, so I'm not exactly sure what it is for ?? :-? I thought that it may have just been a piece of lint or debris, but Stu said that the one he purchased also had it on there. Before unceremoniously cutting it off, I thought that I had better check in with my "pro staff"! 8-) Thanks for any info.

This is the first time I've run across this thread! (dunno how I could have missed it! :-[ ) We're finally starting to thaw out a little down here, and I've whacked a couple of nice smallies and a couple of decent lmb already (better than Stu, whom for all I know is still SKUNKED for '09!!). So, I'm ready, Coach...put me in! I'd love to get on this list, if for nothing else than an excuse to have to get out on the water again ("Honey, I hate to skip church this morning, but these guys are depending on me for an updated report..."" ;D )

Thanks! This is the VibraSpin (Xtreme Bluegill) by KaRu lures (www.karulures.com), who atleast used to advertise here on this forum. I haven't seen their ad in awhile, so I'm not sure. But, what I can tell you is this...these are way cool "spinnerbaits" (if that is an appropriate term), and these guys were great to deal with. They even included some freebies when I placed my order.

Was able to get out and fish my little local reservoir (Carvins Cove) on Sunday (played hooky from church...shhhh!! ) for a couple of hours. The water is still very low and the ramp may not be open much longer without some major rains. Temps near the ramp were around mid-40's; but as I moved up to the upper end, it eventually warmed to about 54-55 by the early afternoon. I saw a lot of shad popping, and my heart got pumping! But, alas, no takers! There is a population of stripers in the Cove, but they are not stocked or maintained. However, the bass (both smb and lmb) seem to do well here, and boy, do they love the shad! Got both of these girls on a KaRu spinnerbait (props to KaRu for my 1st lmb of '09!!), fished VERY tight to cover. I was throwing everything I had (i.e. jerkbaits, swimbaits, deep cranks, etc.), but the only activity came from the 'ole spinnerbait. Both fish were right under 3 lbs. I hope to be posting more soon...

Welcome to the Board, Jonny! Nice fish! It always feels great to get those first ones out of the way early in the year Keep whackin' 'em, and be sure to post all your results! Tight Lines

Good advice, Scott! Is there a source for getting local water temps and conditions? I've never seen it on any websites. Tks again!

Hey all you SW VA guys...got a question... Stu and I are thinking about hitting Claytor Lake in Sat. evening to test out his new boat. Traditionally, this is about the time of year I have gone for stripers at night...but it's usually later into March and into April and May. Is there anything going on at Claytor this time of year at night? Usually, we put in at the State Park and fish from there down to the dam. I've heard that some guys were getting on them during the daytime hours up at Peaks Creek...but that was several weeks ago. We're hoping that the slight change in weather and warmer evening temps might help our cause! Any thoughts or advice?? Thanks guys...

Thanks, Scott...and AMEN! How about the forecast for this weekend?!? Snowstorm on Sunday, and 70's by Friday....gotta love SW Virginia! What is it they say about March...in like a lamb, out like a lion? (or, is that backwards : ) Drmn - tks for the info! I've never really done much "real" catfishing, but, boy, does that sound pretty exciting!! Maybe this spring we can hook up and meet down there...???

Yeah...that's an important question!! ;D As I mentioned earlier, the water level was pretty low the other day ( I tore up my license plate and my lights on my trailer while backing in the water :'( ), and we had to duck pretty low to get under the bridge! The water was below the spillway, as indicated on the little marker lines on the ramp. At full "pond", while launching the trailer would be MUCHO simpler, you would have to almost lay flat in your boat to get under the bridge!! (that's a slight exaggeration...you could just sit down and paddle your way through). BTW - is there decent catfishing in that area? It looks like great water, but I am not much of a catfisherman, so I wouldn't really know what constitutes good water!

For all that have asked...we were fishing at Snowden, which is downstream from where Natural Bridge and where the Maury meets the James at Glasgow, but upstream from Lynchburg. I know that this is a VERY broad area, but if you can find Snowden on a map, then the boat launch is right on Rt 501, at the dam for the power plant. From this part of the state, the easiest/best way is to take I-81 to the Natural Bridge exit, then Rt 11 to Glasgow, then 501 through the mountains (very curvy and windey!) until you get to the put-in. You could potentially launch at Glasgow, and sometimes we'll take a canoe and float from there to Snowden...but, that involves Balcony Falls, and I am NOT about to do that in February ! ;D Hope this helps someone out!

Great beast, Paul! But, I am curious about one thing...how does your wife feel about your keeping those bass in her bathtub all winter, just so you can take them out and take new pics each year ?!? ;D Tight Lines...

Dan, well, c'mon down anytime!

Just a couple of pics from some smallies that a buddy and I caught over the weekend. We were on the upper James River; water temps steady at 43.5; pre-cold front; water was low and very clear. All bass were caught (9 total) with jerkbaits (Pointer and Xrap) over boulders in about 6-8 foot water. Although we primarily set out to tame some muskies ( I literally threw the jerkbait rod in the boat at the last minute!), we didn't see a one! No follows, no swipes, no chases...nothing! But, hey, who's complaining about 9 bass, averaging about 2 lbs each, with atleast 3-4 in the 3 - 3.5 lb range?!?!

I live in the Roanoke area. Locally, I like to fish the James River (smallies and musky), the New River (mostly smallies), and Carvins Cove (not so much for great fishing, but a pretty place that is very convenient to my home!); Claytor Lake (mostly stripers in the early spring). Looking forward to trying Moomaw later this winter / spring. Other notable VA waters that I enjoy and try to fish regularly: Briery Creek (2-3 times per year), Holliday Lake in Appomattox (again, not so much because it is an awesome fishery, but more because it is a pretty place to fish {and because I worked at the 4-H Camp during summer in college and I fell in love with the place!}), assorted small ponds / lakes / reservoirs. My big trip each year is a week-long fly-in excursion into Canada for northern pike and walleye. One of these days, I am going to get into a large lake trout too!

Great fish, Wayne! Thanks again for your willingness to share your "hard-earned" intel! I know that I speak for all of us when we say how much we appreciate your generosity in making this site one of the top bass fishing sites on the web