TOXIC

12# floro. Unless I am jerkbaiting with a spinning rod (which is a secret technique among Smallie fishermen) then it's 10lb mono.

Good day in anybody's book. Now you know why I got to Lake St Clair every year for the Smallmouth. Can't be beat.

Fishing gives my life purpose. In addition, it has given me many, many friends that are like brothers. Fishing is a universal language. Fishing makes you learn and use what you learn. Fishing is rewarding even if your not catching. Fishing is the closest many of us will ever get to a "Zen" experience. Fishing can be done when you are 5 or 95. I have approached fishing from all angles. Casual weekender, as a profession, as a retailer, and as a sponsored representative. I have never lost my passion and I have never failed to be rewarded as a result.

One element that they need to not do away with and keep just like the current MLF format is the lack of pre-fishing or practice. That's the only way you get to listen and watch how they break down their water.

I prefer them with the screw lock keepers. if you try to Texas rig any plastic with those keel weighted hooks, you are going to tear the bait up horribly. You can insert the head from the line tie end of the hook though but that is still a larger hole than I want to put in the bait.

Totally depends on whether or not it was a conscious act. If someone truly doesn't know then they could possibly benefit from being gently schooled on the proper etiquette. I feel that for most they already know and just don't care. No amount of conversation is going to change the way they act. It serves no purpose escalating a situation when the offender knows exactly what they are doing. Frustrating as that may be.

Devil is in the details. I have heard that it's an exclusive trail 80 anglers and they will be paid 200k a year, no entry fees. Now.....for my humble opinion. MLF has been a success without any on-site crowd or fan participation. They have relied solely on video broadcast. This new trail will attempt to take it to the next level in that format because the viewership has shown they can "touch" a lot more people and save money doing away with the weigh-ins and crowds. It's pretty costly to have the whole setup in the FLW/BASS/Elites style tournament. You've got a lot of employees needing to run the weigh in, set up for stage and holding tanks. release boat and a million other details that the Video format does not have. For the anglers, would you rather gamble on a pay day or be guaranteed a paycheck? It's been common knowledge that very few of the pros are making any $$ on tour from tournament winnings. There are more gambling with their 75k entry fee and losing than are even breaking even. This I'm not guessing at because I do consider some of the fishermen on the Elite Series friends and I do get to hear their opinions. As for the overall Catch/Weigh/Release/Total Weight style of tournament, there are pluses and minuses. Pluses include better fish care, more action and there's always the video component that let's every viewer be in every boat. My concern is does it really show who is the best angler? In for example, an Elite Series tournament, not only do you have to catch fish, you have to catch big fish not just "score-able" fish and you have to manage your fish for multiple days. IMHO it is much harder to fish that style of TX compared to the MLF format. All that being said, I enjoy watching the MLF format. IT will be interesting to see how the details play out.

Let's be honest here, no matter what line you use, there is a "pro" pushing it or using it. So just because a pro is representing a line manufacturer, doesn't mean it's bad. I happen to think that "most" of the pro ranks spool the line they promote but as is always the case, trial and error is the best way to refine your line choices. Everybody fishes differently in some way and that will help determine what line works best for them....but not necessarily you. Determine what type of line you are looking for and for what application and then getting opinions is fine. Just keep in mind that eventually, you will get a recommendation for every line out there.

Had the same thing happen on St Clair. We were fishing a drift right in front of Metro Park. We were doing pretty well and a guy idles up to us and asks where Metro Park is.......We point to the beach (no more than 200yds away) and hear the unmistakable beeps of a waypoint being set. We just laughed and kept on fishing. For those that fish the Potomac here in Virginia, your head would explode if you got upset at all of the rudeness that fishermen display out on the water. Some of it is just ignorance but most of it is intentional. Many have seen the clip of Mike Ike and the Potomac fisherman who gave him the business when Ike idled down a grassline marking spots prefishing.

Sooner or later you will realize it's just not worth the frustration. I don't waste my energy on others and actions I can't control. As a guide, I have had boats follow me all over the 13,000 acre lake I guided on. It gets pretty obvious after you move three times and make pretty good runs and the same boat(s) are still around you. I always chuckle when it happens because the saying of an old fishing friend always pops into my mind...."You ain't gonna catch another man's fish". And it has played out many, many, many times. There is a downed tree on the lake which can be seen from the house of another guide who lives on the lake. As I dropped off clients one day, he was doing the same and we always talked (we were friends) and he said, "I saw you on that tree again this morning". I chuckled because I always start there with clients because it will give up 2 or 3 good fish every day. I told him...well now you know my secret spot (smiling). He said,,, I got news for ya, that tree gets pounded every single tournament and most every day but you are the only one I have ever seen catch a fish off it. My answer.....You ain't gonna catch another man's fish......

Life changing moment for me as I worked at 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue. We were evacuated into the street and told to move towards Georgetown since there were reports of the White House being another target. There were thousands of people in the streets. Cell service was down. A co-worker and myself decided to get my jeep out of underground parking at 801 17th street in another one of our buildings. I had it clear in my mind that I was going to do whatever it took for me to get home even if it meant crashing some gates and going offroad. I got out and after 6 hours getting out of DC I drove past the Pentagon that was smoking. Once I got out of the area, there was -0- and I mean -0- traffic on the roads. As I got closer to my home I went past an intersection in the country and there on the side of the road was a war vet who had to be 80 years old, in full uniform and in a wheelchair holding an American Flag with his head bowed. I will never forget. I will never forgive.

I am in Warrenton, VA for those who want to google it. Far enough inland and North to just get soaked and maybe some trees down. If anybody needs a safe haven in this storm feel free to contact me. I've got a lot of room and more than willing to help out. If nothing else, keep my location in mind in case of an emergency and you can't find anywhere to land. email me is an option as well. hammertimeguide@gmail.com.

2 in 40 years. Both my fault, both in the bed of my truck. Oh, wait......3. I forgot a GLoomis that I used when wading and I hit a tree branch when I set the hook. As for day to day usage when I was guiding, I had all CastAway rods in my boat and retired some at over 10 years old and they were just as good as the day I got them. Without a doubt, CastAway makes the toughest rod I have ever used. Their weights and actions are a little on the heavy side but they are iron sticks. I've had clients do just about everything you could imagine to them and they just keep working. Stepped on guides, baits reeled through the tips, smacking the boat with them and on and on. Not a plug...just the truth. I am not sponsored by them anymore.

I forgot to add that I spray a little WD 40 on my hooks in the Plano boxes. I also put a chunk of sidewalk chalk in them as well.

Careful....common thought is that all of the eastern half of Virginia and pretty far inland is still in for destructive rains and flooding even though landfall is to the south. This is a big storm. DT has covered the potential of inland and coastal flooding. Patiently waiting for the updates.

The new 2 stroke G2 is a complete miser of gas and oil and has lower emissions than most 4 strokes. Every motor is going to need maintenance.

Yes and no.... As a general rule, you never put terminal tackle in the same storage as plastics. So, for dropshot for example, I have a small terminal tackle box with weights and hooks and a larger 3700 size box with plastics. I combine my dropshot and shakeyhead plastics in the same box to conserve space. I never store anything in the original packing because after a while, the bag in a bag method really reduces space IMHO.

I'm a lipper, no net and when I'm throwing cranks I just pay attention to how the bait is positioned when I bring them in. 70% of the time I can get a crank out without pliers but I always have them nearby. And yes, I have been stuck but never deep enough to employ the string method.....now watch....... I just jinxed myself......

Noble cause. Someone will be very lucky to get her. I have an 11 year old Weim that we are starting to consider what our next dog will be. This is the 2nd Weim we have owned. The first was a standard and our current is a Blue Weim of 100+ lbs. He is smart and a very very good protector of home and family.

I'll admit I have a lot of Yamamoto because that is the only plastic I throw. How I decide on what colors is through reading different forums and from personal experience as well as those around me experience. Then I field test them. I can tell you out of 20 guys I know that fish the Potomac, there are at least 15 different "favorite" colors between them. And every single one of them will claim that their favorite catches them the most fish. What does that say??? C.O.N.F.I.D.E.N.C.E. I am a firm believer in confidence. I've said it before, I was told by Gary Klein when we were working a show together one time...... "I don't know that confidence helps you catch fish but I do know that if you have no confidence in a bait, you won't catch fish" I always remembered that. By the way....this is how my Yamamoto orders come in, so I have quite a few colors to try at any given time.

Last year I replaced my old BPS/KVD 3700 travel bag (all of the zippers broke). I had it for at least 10 years and it served me well. I went in search of a bag that fits easily in the rear storage of a Ranger 520C because that's my buddy's boat and I spend a good amount of time in it. I would also throw that bag in in my 21 ft Ranger if I was lazy. I picked up a new Plano with the hard bottom and the fold over flap and buckles instead of zippers. So far after 1 season and a trip to Wisconsin and Michigan, it's ......"OK" I originally liked the idea of the flap and no zippers thinking maybe I will get even longer usage out of it but it has come with it's own set of problems. First, there is only 1 grab handle on the bag and it's center rear. It is unbalanced and awkward to pull out of a storage compartment. You can't use the shoulder strap to lift it out unless you are standing on the deck. Second, the flap is hard to unhook after you put the bag in a compartment. The 2 buckles are low on the front of the bag and the flap gets in the way of the lid closing. You have to fold it over in the compartment to get it out of your way. You also can't unhook the flap prior to putting it in a compartment because as I mentioned, there is only 1 grab handle and it is on the back of the flap. Finally, the rubberized material the bag is made of is already showing stress cracks and wear where you have to flip the flap over. Overall, it's a good product but I am just very good at finding the weak points of anything.

Yamafrog or a Yamamoto DShad. As a matter of fact I tore them up on the Dshad last weekend popping it on the top. Pitched to some wood and landed on a log. As soon as I pulled it off it got hammered. My buddy said that was great, you got both dinner and a show!!

I am in the foothills of the Blue Ridge and we normally don't get bears unless there's a drought and their food source in the mountains runs out. I have had them come up and check out my smoker. The pic is from my great room and my house is built on a cliff. That's my lower deck where I put the smoker. The grill is on an upper deck where Yogi can't get to it.

Here we go again....We can't catch a break here in the DELMARVA. I trust DT's weather predictions but I'm still going fishing Saturday!!

I can attest to the fishing in Michigan. I spent a week on Lake St Clair in May and it was stellar. Went to a river other than the Potomac last weekend (the Rappahanock) and the external temp sensor on my buddys boat read 114 all day long. We ROASTED but we caught fair numbers of fish. We are going back this weekend if we don't get clobbered by the latest hurricane predicted to hit the East coast.