Tpayneful

A few years ago I got braces and my orthodontist is in Richmond. My appointment every month was on a Wednesday at 8:45AM. On the way to work I would stop by Greentops and pickup something. Ten dollars here, twenty dollars there and thirty dollars now and again. My wife knew I would go to Greentops everytime. They took my braces off last spring and now the appointments are every 4 months. My supply of brushogs, hooks and senkos are getting low. I need to make a trip to Greentops to stock up!

I have been fishing with my partner for about 4 years. Most of the time he caught more and bigger fish. I was super competitive and didn't want to try his lure or technique. I was going to beat him with something else. About two years ago he was beating the pants off me and I re-evaluated the situation. The next day I went out and bought the same jig and trailer and fished it until I had similar success. Since then I try whatever my partner has success using. I have also made a point of trying to master new lures and techniques. This year my partner and I fished a tournament series and one day I caught the entire 5 fish limit for second place. In another tournament I caught a 4 pounder to fill out our limit. In another tourament my partner caught 8 pounds and I caught 4 pounds worth for a 12lb, 10oz bag. Other days we were about even. We ended up winning our tournament series because we work well as a team! Now I would say that we are about equal but my fishing would not have improved nearly as fast without him!

As mentioned earlier a Virginia license is $18 for 12 months from the date of purchase. I have also purchased a 7 day Florida and 7 day Missouri license this year as well so I think I am up to $60. I need to start thinking about buying a lifetime license for $255.

We won team of the year but the rules seem to change based on who needed to bend the rules. I am a person that believes in right and wrong. We showed up at one tournament at the posted time on the schedule and everyone was gone. They decided to leave a 45 minutes early. About five boats launched with us wondering what was going on. The next two tournaments they delayed the start for 30 minutes because the VP did not arrive on time. I will be looking for a new club next year.

On September 22nd we had our last club tournament and also voted for two locations to have our two day classic. Two locations were selected, Occoquan and Aquia on October 13th and 14 respectively. So we all got the chance to practice at both locations and get a game plan put together. On Friday October 5th I get an email that was sent to all members mentioning that an electric boat club will be launching out of Occoquan and what did we want to do. Somehow it was decided that we would fish two days out of Aquia. So one week before the classic they remove one of the locations. This isn't the first tournament this year that the location was changed. What would you do? Did I mention that we won both tournaments out of Occoquan but had a second and fourth out of Aquia? My partner just bailed because of lack of concideration and I would have to fish one or both days by myself. Just am a little frustrated right now.

The arbor knot is the correct knot to tie the line to the spool. Here is a link to knots: http://bassresource.com/fish/knots.html

Check the switch with an volt /ohm meter. You can buy a cheep analog one at Walmart for $5. Three wires should run from the switch to the relays. There should be three positions for the switch. 1 Up 2 Off 3 Down To lift the outboard, the switch connects the common usually center terminal to the UP wire. To lower the outboard the swich connects the common to the Down Wire. Usually 12V is connected to the common and you connect the 12V to the UP relay or the down relay depending on which way you move the switch. If your switch is in the dash, checking and replacing it is easy. If it is in the handle, replacing it may be more difficult. Disconnect the wires from the relay and put an ohm meter across every combinations of wires and each should be open (not connected). 1 and 2 Open 1 and 3 Open 2 and 3 Open Repeat the test each time and flip the switch up and down with the meter measuring the wires and you should get a short (zero ohms) across two sets of wires 1 and 2 Open up, Open off, Short down 1 and 3 Open up, Open off, open down 2 and 3 Short up, Open off, open down If all of this checks out, the switch is fine. The next thing to check is the connections from the tilt and trim motor to the battery. If the connections are loose, corroded or damaged, you will have trouble getting enough current to the motor to lift it. You can put a volt meter across the positve wire from the tilt motor to the battery terminal and measure the voltage drop when you lift the motor. If it is a few volts you have a problem somewhere in that line or the connections. Repeat the test on both ends of the negative wire and if it has a voltage drop of a few volts you probably have a problem with that wire or connections. If I had to guess, you have a loose or corroded connection somewhere in your system. As long as the battery is charged, you can overcome the large voltage drop that is occurring somewhere. Try these things out and let us know what you find.

I read a comment on here by Road Warrior about fishing the Senko. He said that he fishes them "slow and on the bottom". I had been using them primarily with a lift and drop method and sometimes as a jerkbait. I used his technique on Friday at lunch and caught my longest documented fish to date. 22 inches long and 13 inches around. I didn't have a hand scale so I couldn't accurately weigh the fish. I stepped on a scale with and without the fish and it measured 4lbs. Thank you Roadwarrior for the tip! Here is the fish!

Mass Bass....I just started catching bass on jigs last year. Here is what you need to know. Pick any color of jig you like and as long as it is Black and Blue you will catch fish. ;D A friend tipped me off to using Strike King Bitsy Flip, 1/4oz Black and Blue jigs. My favorite trailer is a Gander Mountain 2.75" Black and Blue craw. Zoom speed chunks will work as well. Cast that jig around boat docks, brush piles or lily pads. Count the lure down. If the water is 5 feet deep, expect the lure to fall 1 foot per second. If the lure gets a tap or stops falling less than 5 seconds, a fish ate it and set the hook. Most times I saw my line moving one way or another and set the hook. Most of my bites are on the initial fall. I ignored the rest of the cast last year and that was bad. This year I read a tip here that said to jiggle the jig when it is on the bottom. Move the jig while jiggling the rod tip. Move the rod just a few inches at a time. If the jig isn't on the bottom and you don't feel the bottom, let the jig fall and jiggle it more on the bottom. I caught my PB this year with the jiggle move it a little technique. If you are pulling it through a brush pile, work it over each little limb. Tap it, jiggle it a few times before you bring it over the limb. I know this is a lot of stuff but it does work. I would throw that jig until you get bit and then you will start to understand what you are doing right.

The easiest way to shrink the size of a picture that I know of is....... 1 Open the picture with Microsoft Paint......Under the Accessories Menu 2 Click on Image 3 Click on Resize 4 Change the Horizontal and Vertical size to 40 or 50 percent. Make them both the same but smaller 5 Save the file under a new name PS......My son Andrew dresses himself. He picked the boots with the shorts! Of course I have a picture of me at five in shorts and boots TOO! It must be in the DNA!

I wish I could have exchanged it for the Pro Qualifier Rods that you guys are snatching up! I can't complain too much......I bought the rod for $29.99 after Christmas.

A few weeks ago I broke the rod tip on my 6' 6" H Tourny Special from Bass Pro Shops setting the hook on a rock. I was Carolina rigging on Lake Anna, got a bite and set the hook into a rock pile and the tip broke. On my way back from Norfolk today we stopped by and was able to exchange the rod for a new one. I showed them a print out of the internet purchase. The clerk gave me a little hastle but the manager agreed with me that they would give me an exact exchange. Once they rang the whole thing up, they gave me the new rod and 12 cents. I didn't argue with free money but why give me 12 cents too?!?!

My partner bought a no name camera and monitor from a warehouse wholesaler (Harbor Freight...I think) for $100. He never used it. It is in my basement right now. I have used it about 4 times. The only way that you can see anything with it is to get it about one to two feet from the bottom. I have a power drive trolling motor so I can sit down and operate the trolling motor and raise and lower the camera while I am looking at the monitor. I have been able to find a few brush piles this way. I actually find them by running the camera into them! You are looking at the bottom and all of a sudden you see branches and wham.... you hit it. Throw out a marker bouy and document the spot. I really don't have enough time to use it much. I really would like to mount the camera on an extendable arm so I could drop it down and point the camera. That way I could check out where bass are under docks.

This is my son Andrew's first bass. He was almost six. He pestered that bass for 30 minutes before it bit his nightcrawler!

Until this year I was a disaster fishing waters filled with vegetation. I am having MUCH better sucess this year with the following: Zoom Horny Toad on Top Bandit Footloose....Rip it w;hen it catches the Milfoil Zoom Super Fluke Chatterbait All of these lures have helped me catch a lot more fish on the Potomac this year!

Bass size is dependent on the water you are fishing. The fish in my home waters are smaller than average (documented by State Biologist) but fish on the Potomac are heavier. Some ponds that I fish have big fish and some have small fish. My average for weighed in fish in 10 Tournaments was 1.8 lbs but the average would be less because fish under 12" don't count. My numbers overall average out to 1.5 to 2lbs.

I have Sony Playstation Bass Landing Video Game With Fishing Controller. It actually has a fishing reel controller that comes with the game. I haven't played it in a while but it helped that it actually had a fishing reel! Of course it isn't for the PC but you can play it on Playstation and Playstation II. It is better than most fishing games.

I live in a neighborhood with an HOA and we have a book with all of the bylaws in it. If it isn't covered in the bylaws, it is legal. If the fish magically apear in the pond, nobody will probably mind. I would just stock / transplant fish at night and not worry about it. I have transferred fish and stocked ponds here in Virginia and it is not recommended but not illegal. I believe the northern states have a propensity to outlaw things such as this and southern states don't. I would stock some kind of baitfish first and then a year or so later stock / transfer bass into the pond. We did this to the pond behind my office. It was stocked with bluegill only and two years later LMB and a couple SMB were transplanted into the pond. One year after the transplant, Bass fishing has been FANTASTIC! Here is a pond stocking link on the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries: http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/FISHING/pondmanagement/stocking.asp

I started using 15lb fluorocarbon Pline this year. Ike and several other pros mentioned using an improved clinch knot. I tried it and have found that I screw up the clinch very often. I lick, I lick and I lick and I still can screw it up. It will pull out after a while. I never screw up a palomar knot. Based on my experiece, I will stick with the palomar eventhough I have heard the pros state that you should use the improved clinch.

My favorite creature bait is also a watermellon seed Baby Brush Hog. I spike the tails chartruse. Of course my partner FREAKS out when I pull the spike it out of the bag! He gives me the "be careful / don't spill it lecture" if we are on his boat.

The baitmoney wonders why you have to choose when you can have both in your tacklebox? The Roboworm saved my bacon on one tough tournament this year but I have had days that the fish kill a Baby Brush Hog and will not bite a Robo. In my last tournament I only got a bite on the Brush Hog while I got nothing with the Robo. I don't choose, I keep both in my box.

I started throwing the Horny Toad this year and the results have been FANTASTIC! I rig it with the Horny toad hook (2 for $1.99 at Dicks) and throw it on 15lb fluorocarbon line. Keep your rod at 11 o'clock and reel fast enough to keep it on top at the legs kicking. They will hit the thing on a straight retrieve or varying the retrieve. When the fish bites, reel down, give it a 1 second pause and then SET THE HOOK! Some guys like to fish braid and I would if I had a rod only for Frog fishing. Owner just came out with a 5/0 hook with the corkscrew on the end like the Zoom hook. I bought a pack of 5 for $4.99 and they are even sharper than the zoom hook. Throw that Horny Toad early and late and you will like the results!

Thanks guys for the encouragement! We were told that we get BIG trophies at the Classic. My kids are excited about me getting a trophy. Now I can put one with all of their Teeball and soccer trophies.

My partner Chris and I had our last tournament today at Lake Anna. We caught two fish, the team in second place caught two fish and the team in third place caught two fish. Ours weighed 2lbs and theirs weighed 1lbs, 13oz. So we won the Angler's Challege Team of the Year title by 9oz. Our total for the year was 63lbs, 9oz in 10 touraments. We weighed in 35 LMB for an average weight of 1.8lbs per fish. Our biggest fish of the year was 4lbs, 14oz and was caught by my partner. We won both tournaments at Occoquan, came in second at Chickahominy River and Aquia. We also had a third place finish on the Rappahannock River. Our best bag was on the Occoquan of 12lbs, 10oz. My partner caught the second fish today with 20 minutes to go in the tournament and secured the team of the year title. We liked fishing Occoquan, Aquia and the Chickahominy River and HATED fishing the Rappahannock River and Lake Anna. This was my first attempt fishing a club tournament series and am surprised that we did so well. It was a great year and a great experience.

32251, Missing the last 35 years of fishing is like being in a coma and missing the "space race". You wake up one day and a man is on the moon. You would think, what happened?!?!?!? Now a days the fishing industry is driven by tournament anglers. The new lures, rods and reels have made some aspects of fishing more expensive but it has also made good equipment more affordable. If you compare computers and fishing rods you will see a commonality. If you wait a couple of years, you will get a better product for the cheepest price. If the fastest computer is 2 GHz now and costs $1,500 it will cost $500 in two years. The same principle applies to rods. The IM-6 graphite rod that was $100 ten years ago can be purchased on sale multiple times a year for $19.99 at Bass Pro Shops. Ten years ago you could only get 3 ball bearings in a baitcast reel for $80 but now you get a reel with 8 ball bearings for the same price. It may seem odd but it is only evolution and you missed a chunk of it. The part that worries me is that less people fish each year. Less fisherman equals less options and more expensive equipment.