Bill U

Hello All, I am going to be visiting my 13 year old son in the Fayetteville NC area next weekend and I was wondering if anyone knows of a good place I could take him fishing? Either a place that rents small boats or a good place to shore fish. Thanks for any help! Bill

One thing I would add is if you are fishing in DC definitely get a DC license. If you fish the Potomac along the MD/VA line you need to have either a VA or MD license. From the VA DGIF site: "Resident anglers with state freshwater licenses in Virginia or Maryland may fish the Potomac River and from both banks." The thing is DC doesn't have the same regs, technically you are supposed to have a DC license even if you are standing on the VA shore fishing the Potomac along the VA/DC border. I never understood why that is until I emailed a guy from the VA DFIG about consuming fish from the Potomac. (btw, I wouldn't consume anything out of the Potomac, I was just curious) He told me to get a hold of someone from Maryland's Department of Natural Resources because Virginia doesn't have jurisdiction along the Potomac River. Basically the MD state line goes all the way across the river, so once you step into the Potomac you are technically in MD, or in DC as the case may be. Of course that doesn't include the inland waters of VA such as Pohick Bay. So in short if you have a VA or MD license you can fish the Potomac from either shore along the stretches that are between VA and MD. If you fish the Potomac anywhere along the DC border you need to have a DC license. I hope that is not too confusing! I agree though, Fletchers Boat House is the place to start. Also if you have the money and he has the availability Steve Chaconas is supposed to be one of the best guides out here.

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Thank you for the laugh! I laughed at the original but what really got me was the "Double Rainbow Song"! I think I just pee'd a little!

I agree with night crawlers. To avoid the bluegills attacking it try to lay it on the bottom. No bobber just a couple small weights about a foot from the hook. This worked for me as a kid at night, we also caught them on hot dogs, but hot dogs don't stay on the hook as well!

I would contact the Indiana District Fisheries Biologists for your district. They should be able to tell you. http://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/3590.htm If you do find out I would be curious to know what it was, I've never seen teeth like that in anything I've ever caught. The more I look at it though and even though you said it had scales, my best guess would be some form of catfish.

Last week I hooked this bass for over 4 hours, It jumped clean over the boat, broke my rod, Left me out there with nothing but a paddle.

Thanks HuntfishSpokane! I agree it definitely looks like a Northern Pikeminnow. Well now that I know that I'm not as excited about catching them! lol

I just had the unbelievable experience to visit Kamloops British Columbia. The reason for my visit wasn't fishing but as anyone who loves fishing knows it's hard not to think about fishing when you visit somewhere as amazing as this. So on my last day of my visit I set out alone to fish a spot on the South Thompson River near the small town of Chase. I was fortunate enough to be able to borrow a fishing pole with what I would say had brittle 10lbs test line and a couple of small generic spoons with two of the three treble hooks cut off. I honestly had no idea what I would catch or if I would catch anything. After about a half hour of casting my spoon I hooked this little one. I'm not sure what species it is, I'm thinking a Dolly Varden but after looking at pictures online I'm not so sure? After about another 20 minutes of casting I hooked another fish that had some size to it. I got it close enough to the shore that I could see it was similar in color to the small one I had just caught but it was much larger. It unfortunately wiggled off of the hook before I could land it. It got my heart pumping though and gave me confidence to keep trying. Then after about another 10 minutes had past I had one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had fishing. I hooked something that I could tell had some weight to it and fought as hard or harder than any fish I have ever caught. When I finally got it close to shore, even though I had never caught one before, I instantly knew what I had, a beautiful Rainbow Trout. Unfotunately I had to leave for the morning but I was able to go back later in the afternoon for another try. Although I didn't catch anymore rainbows I caught three of these which again I thought were Dolly Vardens but if anyone knows exactly what they are I would greatly appreciate knowing for sure. They were exetremely fun to catch. Here is a link to a short video I made using my cheap digital camera. What an amazing day of fishing and what a beautiful place. I will certainly be back.

This isn't related to pond fishing but on the Potomac they sure do bite all winter long! Record Largemouth Bass Caught In Potomac Above Wilson Bridge Of course I haven't had much success fishing in cold weather! ;D

Thanks for the tip Dominion Dan, I will have to check that place out sometime in the near future. Also, I know it's like spittin into the wind, but why don't people pick up their trash? I saw multiple empty nightcrawler tubs just lying around! I know this sounds a little self rightous but I always try to leave a place I fish a little cleaner than I found it. I would also like to say to Rondef and JCryz4Bass that I really appreciate all the tips. I realize that fishing a place from a boat or a canoe is a lot different then fishing it from shore. I'm sure I would have had a lot better success from a boat.

Well it was my first time out at Algonkian park in Virginia. My son and I arrived at around 6:30PM, we decided to go later in the day because of the heat. To be honest it wasn't what I pictured it as. I guess in my mind I was picturing a rockier shoreline like at Great Falls. I also wasn't able to get the Gitzit Tubes that JCrzy4bass recomended because the Walmart on Rt. 1 sucks and didn't have them. They did have some other tubes but being a cheapskate I decided to just go with what I had in my tackle box. I'm not sure it would have made much of a difference anyway. I'm also not sure if I pulled in on River Rd or not, I didn't see it on Google maps, when I arrived in the Park I just drove around until I hit the parking lot for the boat launch. Then I went to the parking lot to the left of that and parked in the back. There were quite a few people out picnicing and loud salsa type music filled the air. Not a criticism, just an observation, personally though I would have preferred some rock but to each his own. It looked like everyone was enjoying themselves and it looked very family oriented with balloons and kids running around. We walked down a trail through the woods a little bit and found a spot that looked as good as any. Here's a pic of my son Donovan on the bank. He decided to go after the small ones with a hook and bobber. He wound up catching a few small bluegill and a little baby largemouth. I decided to through out a "Rocket Shad" it's a spinner type bait that a buddy at work recomended. You can through it a mile and it doesn't seem to get hung up very easy. I avoided the skunk today by catching what I'm pretty sure is a rock bass. Here's a pic of me with my catch. I know, I looked thrilled! A closer look with my son holding it. I'm not sure if I ever caught a rock bass before and if I did it was when I was a kid, so in retrospect, that's kind of cool! I also threw out there a Baby 1-Minus and as the sun set I tried a Hula Popper with no luck. With every cast today I had to deal with the weeds. I guess that's expected this time of year fishing from shore. My son also wound up catching this on his worm! Although we didn't have the greatest day catching fish it was still fun to be out there and we got to enjoy a great sunset! So for a few hours on a hot summer Saturday we got away from it all! Oh, and all fish caught were released, well except for this one that my son decided that since our goldfish died he would put this one in our aquarium. If it can learn to eat goldfish food it will have a long and happy life! Until next time and there is always a next time!

Do you know what the town of Beloit WI was named after? The sound a fart makes under water! ;D (BA-LOYT)

Welcome to the boards. I just started posting myself and I'm originally from Illinois myself! I'm now in Northern Virginia so I can't help you in Florida though. Love your avatar, Go Cubs!

Hey All, Thanks for the kind words, I originally did that video as a goof and to send to my family back in the Chicago area. I never thought I would post it on a message board but it just seemed to fit in with the whole Dick's conversation! My wife laughs at me because I really don't talk with that much of an accent in real life. I did grow up around Chicago but I have lived out here in Northern VA for over 20 years now. I did actually buy a few of those spinnerbaits and its true, they suck! You definitely get what you pay for. JCrzy4Bass, Your blog is awesome, I always enjoy reading about fishing! Sorry to hear about your buddy getting sent overseas. I actually spent just a month in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm at the end of my time in the Army and I can't imagine being over there any longer! Plus I was never even close to being in harms way. Thanks too for all the info on Algonkian, you've just saved me some anxiety! I was also thinking about what to use, I will definitely pick up those tubes. I've never used them and it will be fun to try something new. I can't wait to get out there. I haven't caught a smallmouth in over twenty years and that was in a different country (Canada), my son has never caught one. My fishing background is this I grew up in Illinois and was lucky enough as a kid that my grandparents had a small cottage on a little lake in Southern Wisconsin. I grew up fishing primarily for bluegills and largemouth bass. My parents would also take us up to Canada for family vacations and we would fish for walleye, northern pike and smallmouth bass. When I came out to VA because of the Army I met my wife and we started a family out here. I occasionally would take my kids fishing but its hard when they are little. I didn't really get back into fishing until a few years ago. Well after not posting for over a year you all now know my life story! I view fishing like my father, "It's fun just to be out there and if you actually catch something it's a bonus!" I look forward to reading more fishing stories and posting some of my own!

There are terrible things going on in this world, just do what you can to make it better! "Hey Jude!"

I feel your pain, go with Coke Points and AMC theatres! ;D

Beautiful fish! I definitely have to get down there and fish!

Another great lure for the Northern Pike is the good old red and white "Daredevil" As a kid I caught plenty on these lures. Funny thing is, back up north, we used to call small Northerns "snakes".

Alright, that does it, I'm sticking with ;D

Thanks for the offer Skip2myBass, I'm always looking for new places to fish. I have had moderate success with the local ponds. I like your tag line, no matter how old you get you never stop learning. I've learned more in the last couple of years, thanks to sites like this one, then I ever did as a kid. Of course there is no substitute for getting out there and fishing!

Thanks all for the warm welcome. Rondef, Sounds like I will be heading to Algonkian, I've read a lot of your and your sons posts and you guys seem to really have a good time fishing and you two also seem to have great success! Nitroman, Thanks for the offer I will definitely keep that in mind! Although, my budget is pretty tight right now. With gas prices so high I even had second thoughts about driving up to Algonkian but the call of the smallie is just too great! Slomoe, LOL, I hope to be posting some cool and funny fishing stories soon! Flippin4it, LOL, I live in Alexandria, outside of the Beltway. JCrzy4Bass, Wow, thanks for all that info! When I originally thought about fishing for smallmouths I thought about the Rappahannock River (because of posts on this site). I've never been fishing down there and it is definitely on my list of places I want to fish. Unfortunately this weekend I don't have a whole day to devote to fishing so I need to stay a little closer to home. I will be saving that info though, that sounds like exactly what I'm looking for! Thanks too for pointing out a life jacket, I didn't even think about that! (see being an idiot in my first post!) Well, now I'm really psyched about going! I look forward to posting some pictures of fish soon! Thanks again for the great welcome! Should I be worried about going to Dick's! (that sounds wrong, really, really, really wrong!)

Hello All, I have been visiting these forums for over a year now and have really enjoyed reading everyone's posts. Very informative. I live in Northern VA and love to fish in this area. I've been wanting to go get on some smallmouths and all the posts about the Upper Potomac has really got me wanting to go. My question is where would the best place to go to fish from shore be? I will be with my 11 year old son so I'm not gonna be able to do much wading. Plus I don't want to be the idiot on the 11 o'clock news who they had to drag out of the river! It's been years since I've been up that way and as I remember Great Falls looked pretty rough. I was thingking about going to Algonkian but have never been before. I also noticed on Google Maps a couple of other parks between Algonkian and Great falls that look like they might be pretty good. Any advice on the best place up there to fish from shore would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to your responses and I plan on posting much more in the future. Thanks in advance. Bill