Lord Castlereagh

Okay, dumb question 101... If I tail hook the worm and toss him out, won't he fly off the hook? I guess he won't or you would have told me that, but it seems to me he'd go flying. Thanks

Are there states where it is NOT legal? And why? Very curious about that. Thanks Hi, Tom: LOVE your replies to all my stuff, and you seem to be QUITE knowledgeable, but... I can't make out all that you wrote above. You're saying I should "fly line" it? What is that? I'll google it here in a minute, and I probably should have googled it before responding, but oh well. I should hook it through the tail and use no weight, OR I can hook once? Ounce? in front of the band.

Ahhh, because I am no longer 15-years old, I refuse to wear shorts in public, making me the world's foremost expert on this subject. My favorite choice is LL Bean's washable 100% wool pant. Don't let the wool fool you; it is feather light, VERY comfortable, breathable, and dries in seconds. BEST outdoor pants in the world, and you'll be frequently mistaken for Indiana Jones, instead of some kid skipping school. https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/79817?page=washable-year-round-wool-pants-classic-fit-pleated&bc=&feat=men

I eat a LOT of the bass that I catch. So, what is the best way to use nightcrawlers to catch bass. Thanks, all...

Well, I let it hit bottom and then pop it off the bottom, let it drop, pop it, etc.

When fishing nightcrawlers, what is the technique? Slowly drag the bottom like a wacky rig? Thanks

Did autocorrect mess this up? "An arig." What is that? Thanks

I see "buzzbait" mentioned several times... Is this the same as a "chatterbait"? Thanks

Hi, All: What is the best technique that does NOT involve S-L-O-W-L-Y working the bottom. I really prefer to throw a lure and retrieve it, vs. slowly dragging the bottom. That's probably why I loved trout fishing this past fall and winter. So, what's the best such technique and does it work in the spring? Thanks

Hi, All: I used a spoon for the first time the other day, and had great success. Got crappie, bass, and a 15.5-inch trout. However, I almost never hear anybody sing the spoon's praises, and I notice on this board under the "What's Your Confidence Lure?" thread, hardly anbody (maybe nobody) mentions spoons? Why is this? Thanks

Bookmarking for later reference.

Darn. I was afraid of that. I naively hoped that one place would be the absolute best place to go, say, 90% of the time. I hate shopping around. Oh well. Thanks

Hi, All: I imagine to y'all this is a pretty simple question, but for a guy who's only been fishing for 9 months, it's not so simple... Where is the best place to buy lures online? Cabella's, Bass Pro, Amazon? I just got a popup from "lightinthebox.com", and the prices look FAB! But I've never heard of them before. Thanks

What is "combat" fishing?

Thanks for the tips, Smallie Chaser. Staying home sounds like the bet. My exquisite library and a cold one.... Ahhh!

Just as I thought!!!! That's why I hoped that Goose Creek, which feeds the Potomac, would be gold! But, alas, no bites on either body of water. I suspect it might be linked to the frigid water temps. I had a banner day 3 days ago when the water temp as 55 degrees. Today, it was only 49 degrees.

You gat an A+ for speed, but only a C for your brevity. Flooded waters just not worth it? Where do all those fish go? Thanks

Hit Goose Creek and the Potomac today. They are in flood stage. The MASSIVE ledge mentioned in earlier posts is completely submerged and absolutely invisible. Got no bites. Of course, the water temp was only 49 degrees. So what are the rules (if any) of fishing flooded creeks and/or rivers? Thanks

Thanks to all. It is as I thought. From the day I began fishing, I noticed that I lose just an amazing number of fish AT THE VERY LAST SECOND, just as I am lifting them from the water. It happens maybe 20 percent or more of the time. Today, I had my best day fishing EVER!!!! My previous best was four trout in about 2 hours. Today, I brought in 13 fish!! Bass and crappie. But I lost NINE fish. EIGHT of them, AT THE VERY LAST SECOND!!!! I don't fully understand the science of it, but clearly a fish "weighs more" as it is leaving the water, causing problems. I have ordered a dip net. I will NEVER lose another fish who is 3 inches from the bank again. Thanks, guys.

I THINK I know the answer to this question. Even my VERY limited experience has taught me, but I am not 100% sure, so I will ask... What is the purpose of the scoop or dip net? Why net 'em at the very end as opposed to just reeling them in all the way? Thanks, and excuse a new fisherman's ignorance, please.

Tales of the Fish Volume II Bass or Crappie… What's the Difference? Izaak Walton Pond, Loudoun County, VA The first lure hit the water at about 800am. It was 60 degrees, going to a high of 82. The water temperature was 58 degrees: a rise of 10 degrees in only two days. This had me very excited to fish, of course. The beautiful, warm and breezy day, on the beautiful pond with not a cloud in the sky were all icing atop the cake. The pond is truly coming to life. There were dozens of turtles and our resident mating goose pair were also in attendance. And there were fish. Literally hundreds of fish were circling the pond in the shallows in plain view. The last time I could see a fish in the pond (other than the trout who were stocked in October) was probably last July. Things got off to a rather slow start. At 855am I was fishing a huge lay down that has been highly recommended to me. It is very old, so that only the trunk remains; all else has rotted away. You can cast out 30 feet to the far end of the log, and retrieve all the way back down the length of this monster with very little fear of snagging your lure. Better yet, the log has a twin. Their bases are close together at the shoreline, but they diverge at about a 30 degree angle, meaning you have two massive structures for bass to school near. I carefully climbed out onto the bigger log on the left and moved slowly along the massive trunk to about five feet from shore. On my third cast, I saw that violent silver flash that we all lust after, and I was once again struck by just how blindingly fast these fish can be. She hit the lure and I started cranking. There was a lot of silver, more than I was used to seeing. I brought her to the bank, and surprise! She's a crappie, and not a bass. The good news is that I have been desperately trying for a crappie on this pond since last summer. I've never tasted one and I hear that they're the filet mignon of freshwater fish. In all those months, I managed to nab only one crappie: a tiny one in mid-January that I threw back. As you can see from the photo, this is no tiny crappie (12 inches and 11.2 ounces), and at long last, I'll be able to savor the legendary fish, probably tomorrow night. Surprisingly, that was my last fish of the four-hour trip. And I was not alone. A family was there and they had up to four poles in the water at a time, and they were there at least four hours. With all that fishing going on, with the warm water, and the hundreds (thousands?) of fish on the move, you'd think there'd be a bunch of fish brought in. Nope. One crappie for me and one largemouth for the family group. Still, I have my first eating crappie and I am content. Until next time, Lord Castlereagh

Fishing the Potomac river and it's got a rocky bottom that takes a lot of my lures. What's the best rig to avoid this? Texas? Carolina? Wacky? Something else? Thanks

This is amazing. I really need to get better with this tech stuff. Thank you very much, and yes, this is exactly where I was fishing.

Oh, got you. Sage advice. I will use it next time I am in unfamiliar territory. Thanks

Thanks for the kind words. Are you suggesting that I append a map? I'm not real tech savvy, but I suppose I could figure that out.