TOXIC

I have fished the James a few times and it deserves a lot of respect. It’s got a lot of flats and bars that have a tendency to change with every storm. Good mapping is needed to keep in the channels. Tidal rivers are a whole different deal. Be aware of going up a creek or cut during high tide and trying to come out on low tide. Tidal fish can key on different tides to feed. The key is finding the right tide. Locals should be able to tell you the “right” or best tide. Good luck!

I am a terminal junky. I have had to split all of my terminal tackle by technique. Dropshot, ball heads/football heads, weights, hooks, and 1 box of a mix for taking in others boats. Hooks alone, I probably have 15 different sizes and types from dropshot #1’s to weighted 6.0. EWG’s from 3.0-6.0, and on and on….

In my best Rod Serling Twilight Zone voice…..Imagine if you will a factory in China where a buyer comes in, sits down with a catalog of parts of varying price and quality and puts together a reel of their design and price point. Your trip through the Twilight Zone is to know who the buyers work for and the markup they put on the product once it’s branded with their name.

Rain is fine but when the thunder boomers and the light show starts,……we gone! Happened yesterday we ended our day a little early because my fishing partner has Sirus Weather on his lowrance units and it alerted us to a storm firing off about 50 miles from us. It had a fair amount of lightning in it. As soon as it got close enough we heard the thunder, we hightailed it to the ramp. Beat the storm by about half an hour. We’ve been in rain hard enough to swirl water down the floor drain in the boat but lightning is a deal killer.

I watched a KVD interview one time where he said “ I power fish to catch the most aggressive fish first. If I know there are more there, I will downsize and slow down.” Me personally, I consider myself a finesse guy first and foremost. The way I look at it, a fish will bite a finesse bait almost all the time whereas they will only bite powerfishing some of the time.

They are still biting good on the Rappahonock River. This was yesterday. Caught on a 5” Senko.

I know I’m a little late to the party but I ran a Mercury 225 for hundreds of hours on e-10. It was a 2000 model and I sold it in 2012 with the original plugs in it. Never had a motor problem. In my 250 Yamaha I run e-10 but I do add a stabilizer (stabil) and Yamaha’s Ring Free to help with carbon. I’ve been going out with my partner for so long, I’m now going to have to do a full maintenance on my motor. Drain gas, new fuel lines, new bulb, new water separator and fuel filters, impeller and water pump, plugs (possibly) and finally, pull the injectors and send off to be cleaned and flow tested.

Had to put this one up just for the perspective. Lake St Clair.

I know smallmouth use the same beds every year but I couldn’t tell you if it was the same fish.

Just for fun, I googled it and it appears there are still a lot of franchisees in operation. I can remember when I was working and traveling a lot, I would see them in airports. We loved the pizza but used to make fun of the hamburger because it looked like rat turds.?

Great way to give back and good for our local Virginia guy, John Crews to sponsor it.

Funny, I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and I remember when Godfathers pizza was started by a local guy before he turned it into a national franchise. There is a local pizza shop in a stand alone building on the corner of a shopping center called La Casa that uses strong Romano cheese and I laugh every time I think of it because my mother would have a fit when I walked in with it. I’m 65 and that shop is still there. I also miss being able to go get a Runza when I want.

I don’t know where they are sourcing their fish. It’s not us. If you keep them you have to kill them. If you plan on releasing them, you have the option of releasing alive or killing them. DNR has requested that they be killed but it’s not a requirement. Studies have found they do not feed on bass fry as much as was initially feared. On the Potomac I think their main prey was small baitfish.

They are now sold in supermarkets here under the name Channa. Much more appealing than snakehead. ?

I can’t explain it, I used to only throw a 5” but I found there’s some days when the 4” really out fishes it.

We used to throw frogs in the slop for them and they will readily hit spinnerbaits and chatterbaits but most of ours come on the good old Ned rig. We usually aren’t targeting them. The last pic of my 14 pounder was caught on a Senko with 8lb test in Quantico Creek on the Potomac. The others are the Rappahonock River.

We get into them regularly on the rivers we fish. It’s the law here that you cannot put them in a livewell or transport them alive, so if you want to keep them, you have to kill them. I have eaten them and they are very tasty but in order for us to keep them we would need to bring a separate cooler full of ice to keep them on the hot summer days. Lots mistake Bowfin for Snakeheads but they are very different. My biggest is a little over 14 pounds. There are now guide services for them, tournaments for them and a favorite target of bowfishermen. We have had a lot of friends come in from out of state just to catch them.

Untapped resources. Hidden gems. Where the big girls live. My daughter just moved into a farm on 50 acres that has 2 ponds on it. I can’t wait to give them a shot.

And I’ll restate my misunderstanding as well….looks like we are talking about 2 different styles of guides. The op talked about the ones that bolt to the trailer and stick up as a visual guide to the corners of the trailer, guide poles. The other style are more like bunks even though they are also called guides. Those are meant to take some moderate force when loading just like a bunk. The others fold like a noodle in my world. A lighter tin may be guided on with them but not a big fiberglass. As for seeing the trailer backing up it’s more about the width than the height. If you have a cap and tinted windows you’re not going to see the guide sticks over the top of the cap with your mirrors are you? The fact that the trailer is narrow allows it to get too far to one side or the other to easily correct right?

I’ll go against my own opinion and repeat what I hear so often…..There is no plastic that cannot be thrown on a baitcaster….I don’t believe that but it’s obvious many do and they refer to the new ultralight finesse baitcasters now on the market.

I’m the outlier here but I have a 21 foot fiberglass lead sled. I have loaded in tidal current, wind and river current, let alone storms that have frothed the water. I found that I had to practice, practice, practice to get fairly proficient at loading in all conditions. I’ve seen too many fiberglass boats mow over bunk guides damaging the boat and trailer. In my world, a “guide” is a visual guide not a physical one. As for visually seeing your trailer, that may be valid if you can’t openn the hatch or drop the tailgate to see the trailer. I was a “turn your head” backup person and found I was not being able to see the trailer befor it got too out of whack. I put a tonneau on my truck and forced myself to use only mirrors. As soon as the trailer peeks out from either side, I can see it and correct it if I need to.

Not that I wouldn’t love to and I know it sounds corny but if Yamamoto doesn’t make it, I don’t throw it. That’s for multiple reasons but I do pay attention to others in the boat who may be throwing something different. It’s just like my fishing partner throwing his ZMan baits on his Ned and me throwing my Yamamoto baits. Sometimes he does better, sometimes I do and most days we are pretty equal, but I can tell you he mooches more baits off me and I’ve never asked him for one. ??

The 4 inch Senko is super versatile, I fish it weightless, nose weighted, c-rigged and my most favorite way….on a Ned rig. With the most popular trend nowadays being to throw huge baits, swimbaits, glide baits and worms, there’s a definite reason to throw smaller baits. Especially in pressured or less productive waters like the Sabine River was.

I did it as a break from my real high stress government job traveling the country closing banks and planned on doing it full time in retirement. I’m now retired and find that traveling and fishing new bodies of water or returning to favorite bodies of water is much more fun. I get drafted into guiding sometimes but not like I did in the past.

Generally speaking I am a finesse fisherman and my gear is set up to match……but……my trips to Florida in February have pushed me into the bigger bait category. I mainly use 2 bigger baits (to me anyway) a 7 inch Speed Senko and a 7.5 inch Yamamoto Kut Tail. The Kut Tail has a lot more plastic and I use a screw in 1/4oz nose weight. The Speed Senko can be fished weightless or with a smaller screw in weight depending on the cover. Both have caught a lot of fish for me.