TOXIC

It a progressive thing. I have a couple pairs of Redhead fishing pants that are unlined and I started wearing them all summer for sun protection. As it gets cooler I use BPS Pro Qualifer gortex bibs over them. The next step up is to switch to cold weather sweat pants under the bibs. The next step up is long Johns under my fishing pants. Next step is long Johns under fishing pants and step up to BPS 100mph gortex bibs. As with all of the pants options I use fishing shirts, long John tops and hoodies for up top with the matching BPS suit tops. Any colder than that and I’m not going. 80% of the time I assemble with the Pro Qualifier suit for the cold here in Virginia. I’ve been snowed on while out fishing and been warm.

Also, do you have “moose antlers” or any other support system for the reel ends? I put 3 rods per tube in my Ranger and I have never broken a tip and I’ve traveled on 2 day trips. I have the moose antlers.

Are we glossing over his statements about winning crappie tournaments on lakes he was never on or even prefished? Beating out locals who knew the water well. Plus the fact that he saw crappie lakes totally devastated from FFS? Do you not think that if the main quarry is largemouth or smallmouth, the same thing won’t happen?

@A-Jay…..showoff!! 😂🤣 I forgot to post what I caught my small jaws on. 85% were caught on a Ned with a 5 inch Pro-Senko as the bait. They did not want any of the Ned specific baits this year.

Oh…we’re adding species to the list? I posted by best big head. Here’s the best smalljaw. No real bigs this year on St Clair but I could post 50 pics of smallmouth that size. Always a trade off between size and numbers seems like.

Rod Socks.

Weight…..Heavy Bait……6 inch Yamamoto Senko on a 4.0 gamakatsu ewg and a 1/4oz Bullet screw in weight.

What boat is it in? Portable tank or built in? If the fuel looks that bad you need to drain it one way or the other.

Do I have a problem with it in tournaments? No. Do I have a problem when it impacts the entire fishery? Definitely yes. The problem is finding the nexus of those 2 comments. If anything goes then why ban the A-Rig? Why ban live bait? Why ban rods over 8ft? Slippery slope.

Prefer to vacuum seal but when not available a zip lock with no air voids works well. Took out some walleye fillets from end of May and fried them up. They were in the zip locks. They were very good.

@Captain Phil, you and I are a lot alike. I feel like I know exactly where you are coming from. When my passion was out of control and I was guiding, traveling all over the country doing shows for the grand openings of Bass Pro and Cabelas (before they were under single ownership), as wall as being Pro Staff for Bass Pro and at the risk of sounding a little self centered, being pro staff for companies like Hawg Caller, Lunker Lure, SPRO, Gamakatsu, Smith Action Optics, CastAway Rods, KeelShield, Jack Links and because I was on staff for an outdoor Rep Group, a ton of other fishing and hunting companies like Quantum/Zebco, Bullet weights, and hunting products like Burris optics, scent-lock, and a dozen others, I was totally consumed by the industry. After my 2 year stint in Florida, tournament fishing, yes I had a full time job during all of this, I decided when I moved back to Virginia to back off most all of the commitments. I did not want to let Yamamoto go though since I had been with them for 20+ years. When they got bought out and I was lucky enough to be retained, I have been happy writing and promoting for them. Now the new company has expanded their fishing line up I get to test out a few different makers. Bill Lewis, SteelShad, Buckeye Lures are baits I have now open to me. I guess I will stay engaged in the industry for a while longer.😋

It’s always fun when you get the species smorgasbord. Here on the Rappahonock River it’s not uncommon to catch multiple species in a single outing. I was told about a VDGIF challenge to catch all 3 species of bass in a year. Largemouth, Smallmouth, and Striped. I chuckled and submitted my entry where I caught them all in the same day on the same body of water. Good ol Rapp.

This has been a tough year for fishing relationships. My fishing partner was overseas for work for a month +, I didn’t get to working on my boat, we had 1 of our longtime (20th year straight) Lake St Clair buddies pull out and looks like another maybe will this upcoming year and scheduling our Florida trip has been a real hassle. A lot of it has been due to the economy and how it is affecting people. As for the fishing itself, it’s been fun and productive but honestly after 40+ years of fishing I am pretty confident on the water. Everybody has bad days but just keep it in perspective. The company that bought Yamamoto also has purchased Buckeye Baits, Bill Lewis, SteelShad and Big Bite baits so I have a lot more products to try and write about which should be a blast.

I have yet to get it but the wife has had it twice. Both of us vaxed and boosted. The most recent was the worst for her, lost taste and smell, fever, fatigue and cough. I was tippy toeing around here trying to lessen my chances of picking it up which included sleeping in the guest room. I managed to avoid it once again and the wife read an article that claimed those with O+ blood type were less inclined to get it. That’s me. One thing I had to do was go grocery shopping which is something I never really do other than stopping into pick up 1 or 2 things. The wife has a system where she goes to the local Giant grocery store, Wegmans, Walmart and BJ’s for the best prices. She made a small grocery list and I just went to Giant because I’m lazy and holy cow…..2 plastic bags of staples, meaning not a lot of meat or more expensive items, was $109.00. I’m more in tune with fuel prices but not groceries. That kinda drove it home. Get well soon. Rest hydrate and recoup.

It should be fine. There are a lot of groups in Northern Virginia like “Hunters for the Hungry” who donate all their meat to homeless shelters. The guy she’s going to let hunt just wants a safer place for his kids than the plot he has that he shares with a group. She’ll get some back straps out of the deal as well as field work. He’s offered to cut hay on her fields for a 60/40 split which also helps her out. The only “problem” is a group of “locals” who are confrontational and reckless. She already has had one run in with them when they parked on the road outside her house and drank beer, spotlighted and shot deer at 10pm on a plot of land with horses all around and a very narrow safe shooting lane. Sheriff was called and so far, so good. Time will tell.

Spinning vs casting always worth a few pages of “discussion”. ?

And as an aside, my daughter has decided to let a local guy hunt who has permission on an adjoining plot in exchange for some field work. These are her hayfields. He wants private access to an area where he can comfortably take his kids to hunt without any other hunters. I may invite a friend down from Michigan to hunt her land since he is always bringing blackstrap’s to our annual fishing trip.

We have not replaced our last protector. Cobey was a 110lb Blue Weimaraner and the second one of the breed we have owned. He was an awesome dog, friendly to everyone but instinctively knew when to kick into protection mode. I firmly believe he thwarted a potential home break in when both my wife and I were working. It was such a loss, we have not attempted to get another. Time will tell.

All 3 of her dogs have a high protection drive but only the 2 GSD’s are formally trained and certified.

Hahaha. You are right. It is a yawn but the “total sweetie” you don’t want to test. ??

Thanks for the well informed reply’s. She is just in the “thinking about it” stage right now. A few clarifying points….I don’t think she wants food plots or tree clearing, as it stands, there are a lot of deer and no need to bring them in or clear shooting lanes. Big consideration is that not only she, but also her neighbors have horses although a conscientious hunter would easily be able to work around that. As you look at the arial pic I put up, her farm continues to the top where you see the buildings. The farm to the left is 300+ acres and has 90 free roaming horses. The farm to the right is 100+ acres and no livestock. Her farm continues across the road to the north of her buildings with another 100 acres but there are very high dollar horse farms on all sides of it. As a matter of fact there is a tract of 40 acres next to her property across the road that an old time owner who doesn’t live on the land went and rough planted some soybeans so he could get a deer nuisance permit. He had 5 guys sitting on the road spotlighting and shooting deer at 10 pm one night. Neighbors called the sheriff and made them pick up the downed deer and clear out. That situation is ongoing. As for the dog. You might want to reconsider. She has 2 GSD Shutzhound trained and the brown one is a 1/2 malanois 1/2 cattle dog she uses for stock work. The 2 Shepards are for protection when she hauls and on the farm. The female is in the pic above and the male is the one with brown legs. Let’s just say I don’t worry about her when she’s on the road. ??

Here in Virginia, my daughter is on a farm with a very robust deer population. She is considering either doing a seasonal hunting lease or an “as you go” meaning every time you access the land type of fee. Is this even reasonable or how would you regular hunters structure it? Land size is 50-60 acres mixed woods and pasture. No food plots have been planted. Surrounded by mega acreage horse farms. She found a full skeleton which may have been a lost hunt, buck battle, or some other reason for it being deceased and she has seen some massive bucks in her fields.

Brought 3 cases back to Virginia this year. 2 for friends and 1 for me.

Here we are in a severe water restriction. No watering allowed. No washing vehicles. All my grass is crunchy.

Junger gave you a good rundown but in all honesty, DC proper leaves a lot to be desired shore fishing for gamefish and panfish. Carp and catfish are plentiful and easily caught but for a shore angler it’s a tall order. I was a guide on the Potomac and even with a boat it’s rarely easy. For some real fun google Fletchers Boathouse and keep tabs on the Shad and striper runs. You can also rent small boats there.