JCrzy4Bass

Location: Rappahannock River (Kelly's Ford, heading upstream ¾ mile) Time: 11:00am 2:00pm Today I decided to make a wade on my own to a new spot on the Rappahannock River that a friend had pointed me out too. I wasn't going to go far and was going to take extra caution (though I don't condone wading by your self to anyone). I ended up making a ¾ of a mile trek or so upstream as I heard this is where the best fishing was to be had. The spot was Kelly's Ford, a small canal area where many canoeists, kayak enthusiasts, tubers, so forth launch. I saw a few people swimming later on my way back, but on my way upstream I was in solitude. What a beautiful morning. You could even hear the coyotes howling on the shoreline, though I wasn't lucky enough to get a picture of the solo one I saw. The left hand side of the river was very shallow and provided rock cover almost all the way up to where I made it today, making navigating deeper pools much easier (though most of them were on the right hand side of the river and harder to get to). I managed two fish right away on a new Rapala Floating Jointed Minnow in a trout pattern (F-5 Model). It's a new lure I picked up this morning. This was the first time I'd try my luck out with hard stick bait lures while smallie fishing. Good choice. The first one I managed to get under a fallen tree just barely above the water. There was current sweeping underneath it from a rocky area near the shoreline. I tossed in front of the tree, let the current sweep my bait down the rocks and then retrieved back through the current. I knew there had to be a fish or two here. Sure enough, fish on. It was only about 7-8 inches but was fun to land. The next one came off the same rock line (which went horizontal across the river). I tossed out to the other side of the river pulling through the main stream current that the rushing water coming over the rocks made. This fish pulled a lot harder when it hit. I got it to my feet and pulled it up seeing my first 10 smallie of the day. In the first 20 minutes I had two fish. Throughout the next hour I caught two more smallies on the same lure. One of which was in a slower moving pool by a large boulder with underwater rock piles adjacent the left hand side of the shoreline. The other fish was caught off of an underwater rock line that was parallel to the shore. It was further upstream and the rock line with the current had made a deeper hole where the sand bottom had eroded. I basically pulled my bait down quickly and worked along it a few times. By the third or fourth time I had another 10 smallie on and pulled it up after a nice fight. The only other smallie I caught today was a nice 14 incher pulled off a large boulder in the middle of the main stream current. It was later in the morning and came on a reaction bite. The fish hit as SOON as my bait hit the water by the boulder. I didn't know it was on at first and thought I was snagged. But the fish rocketed out of the water two times near the boulder keeping the hook on. The third one was closer to my feet, but I managed to pull him up. Just as I went to take a picture of a possible new pb, the fish shook loose from my grasp and dived back in the water. Story of my day haha. Altogether today I caught five smallmouth. Two dinks, one 8 smallie, one 10" smallie, and one 14. I also caught a 8 fallfish, a decent sized rock bass, and two redear sunfish. All off the same bait. Tubes today was ineffective, though I only tried larger 4-5 models in one color (red/black). 9 - 10" Smallie 7 - 8" Smallie 8" Fall fish Rock Bass or Green Sunfish?!?!?

Attached are some pictures of the bass we pulled out on our second trip here in two weeks. We didn't catch the 18 lbs or so we caught last week but we had enough bites to get that or more. The bite was a LOT more different out here during the passing front (fished between storms). My report explains all the happenings. Feel free to check it out and comment for you local NOVA guys, and or anyone else interested: http://another sitereport.blogspot.com/ It's the first blog entry on there. Today we caught 5lbs 8ozs. All fish came topwater over submerged/emergent hydrilla and or over huge areas of lilly pads. I caught my fish on a Cavitron Buzzbait and my dad caught his on Rage Tail Frogs. Big fish was 1lb 11oz. Woo Hoo!!! Haha. But we had bigger at the boat. Still trying to get the hang of lipping and directing bass in a canoe with fields of lilly pad systems... lots of fun. Braid anyone?!?!?!? My 1lb 2oz Keeper My 1lb 11oz Keeper Dad's 1lb 1oz Keeper Dad's 1lb 10oz Keeper Most of these fish had a nice belly. My dad's last keeper had length though. Good day overall because I got time with my dad. Our hook up ratio sucked today, but you can't be perfect every time out. Somedays the bass win the match.

Was fishing the Rappahannock River (Kellys Ford) last Thursday and caught this guy. Identification help please? Green sunfish??? or Rock bass???

WOW! That fish is almost as big as your kid Haha. Nice smallies man. And a nice largie to boot. The lake your fishing looks beautiful too. Calm water like that is a blast to fish topwaters with. Good job man! P:s: If that's a decent smallie than the ones I have been catching down here mine as well be pan fish lol.

Hey Dan, Tried out that spot you pointed out to me last year wading upstream. Nice place. A bit harder to navigate on your own as the bottom is a lot more rockier at least on the left hand shoreline. But I managed a 3/4 mile trek in 3 hours or so. I caught five. The biggest was at or a little above my pb. Went about 14" or so. I tried to grab my camera but as I was holding the fish and grabbing it he wiggled off my treble (Rapala Minnow) and darted back under. Caught two others around 10" and two dinks. I also caught a 12" fallfish, a rock bass (about 7-8"_, and two redear sunfish. All on the same lure. I have a report on my blog site if you wanna check it out. There is also a report on this weekends angling at Quantico. I'll have pics posted tommorrow morning as my camera is in my car. http://another sitereport.blogspot.com/ The reports will be available in the outings section in the morning as well once I have pics uploaded. Later bud.

I know this is a little late, but I wanted to chime in on this because I believe Sam is one of the most beneficial guys on this forum. When I first signed up over a year ago he was one of the first to greet me, point me to different clubs in the area, different big name lakes and areas to find reports. Since then we have traded valuable information on Pony Pasture, Lake Anna, The Potomac River and more. He has given me some info regarding lots of ponds in the area of Richmond for when I am down that way and from time to time gives me pointers on all sorts of lures and such. His knowledge has helped me learn a whole lot over the course of the last year as well as try some things that I may never have tried (glad I did) to nab more pressured bass. Anyone in Northern Virginia or in the Richmond area should try and establish a rapport with this not only great fisherman, but great guy. You can always count on this guy to give you up to date information around the area, and if he can't he will point you in the right direction. Thanks for all your hard work, dedication, and willingness to help others on the forum Sam. You are truly a class act guy and a pure motivator when it comes to fishing. We are lucky to have you aboard.

Good numbers guys. I'm gonna have to head up there one day and give it a shot. I never have luck on the white 2-3" grubs I use so I may have to try some of the clear colored ones in pearl, chartreuse, etc. Some dark fish there too. You guys fish with heavier weights (1/4, 3/8 oz) or what? Deeper pools? Good job again. Simon always has a smile on his face with those fish. Goes to show you that some people just have a pure love of this sport regardless of the size of the fish. I could catch smallies that size all day and be perfectly content like him. Got some good ones mixed in too. Nice fish fellas.

Hey 619. Welcome aboard man. I've done some saltwater fishing down that way but no fresh water fishing. I'm sure you'll find some good holes down there man. If you ever head up north a few hours and want to meet with some of the Nova guys we'd be glad to hook up man. Good luck down there. And FYI, a 5lber is a beautiful fish around here haha ;D. It's gonna be hard to get used to the smaller fish but I'm sure with the approaches you take to catching larger ones out west you'll manage to find em' out here too. Later buddy.

I don't think it frayed but there were a few casts where I pulled it from some sticks and one hangup but I kept checking the knot. More than likely just not enough tag end and too much slippage. Only explanation I can come up with. Should have spent the extra 15 bucks and got me High Performance... that stuff never lets me down. But I'm not gonna second guess myself. Like I said, I pretty much blanked out everything around me when that fish was on and immediately started thinking of everything I have learned about playing a bass and put it to work. It just wasn't meant to be. Thanks for the additional comments fellas. I'm saving this thread. You guys really have a way of relating and making a guy feel alot better about situations like this and help us manage to fins the best in them. I'm lucky to be part of such a great forum and such an awesome part of not only fishermen, but friends.

Hey guys instead of using a new thread I just decided to modify this one. I'm off Monday, three day weekend! Woo Hoo! I'm thinking of either smallie fishing down on the Rap at either Kelly's Ford and or Falls Hill Avenue. If anyone is interested in doing either one of these or maybe hitting up Phelps WMA for wading as well let me know. I plan to be out early. Or if anyone is going out and has a free spot looking for a partner I'm available. Let me know guys. I'd be interested in pretty much anything as long as we get on some fish!!!

Looks like somebody took a page out of Skeet's book with that color scheme Nice lookin' boat you got there! If it can handle Erie waters I doubt it will have problems anywhere else in your tourney trail. Sorry you didn't fare as well in the tourney. Did you get a pic of the first smallie you caught in the boat for memorys sake??? Nice choice guys!

BTC, I relined my rod two days ago. Lol. How convenient right?!?!?!? Haha. New 30lb braid from Spiderwire as I don't have enough money to be buying High Performance Suffix with a baby on the way due in September. At least you got to be with you dad when he hooked into those fish, just like my situation. It's a joint memory... that's definately the main thing that makes me smile about the whole episode. That and all of your comments. Thanks Vekol. You definately said it right... it's about the memory. And I think as days go by I'm gonna realize that more and more.

Hey Nitro, other than that it's been good man. My dad and I found a new spot on Saturday that seems to produce some nice fish. Give me a shout over pm and I'll let you know. Gonna need a smaller non motored boat to get to it though bud. Check my blog... it has the outings report of how we cleaned up. Also has the story of this post as well. http://another sitereport.blogspot.com/ Thanks to everyone for the kind words over my post today. It put a lot of stuff into perspective for me and helped me get through the day. It was easy when we were busy at work earlier today. But now that it is dead and it's getting close to closing time I can't help but think of it. But I just keep rereading some of your posts and they make me feel much better. It hurts though... I'm not gonna lie. It's like heartbreak and a gut wrenching, stomach dropping feeling all at once.

Hawg, thanks for the comment man, that definately actually puts some things into perspective for me. It's been eating away at me all day and that right there, what you wrote gives me some hope and confidence to get back out there. The first thing my dad said is "I wish I wouldn't have left the net in the boat". So true... Lol.

Fisher, state record is 16lbs 4ozs or so out of Connor Lake back in 85' I think. I don't think it was nearly that big. Like my dad said 12+, probably honestly between 11-13 in my opinion just based off pictures after looking through this site, seeing large fish before at Bass Pro, seeing some friends and or people at lakes we have been at caught, so forth. I honestly believe that this bass was that large. State record, no. Double digit, more than likely. Big fish... you betcha. And oh yea... this summer... this spot is going to become my home. I am aiming at catching her again. I will cover every spot of that area for hours on end. I'm on a mission. Mepps, I would have jumped in but I had to be at work in less than 2 hours, would not have time to change. I can't miss time now, we are in the heat of summer and fall registration at our community college (nova) and I have thousands of students coming in a week to take placement exams. I HAVE to be here. Especially since we are already short staffed. If I was off, I would have been in the drink. GUARANTEED!!!

I used this stuff primarily because when I used my spooks, subwalks, and any other top water stick bait my line would twist and not spool tightly over my shimano symmetre reel. As soon as my buddy gave me some of this to try my line spooled tighter and did not twist at all. I swore it was just coincedence/magic/whatever but this stuff works great. I purchased a bottle last week (after he showed me a couple weeks ago) and it's in the mail as we speak. Definately recommended for line twist, line life, backlashes, etc. I would try this stuff out if your having any of these issues or just want your line to be in great shape.

I'm between heartbreak and... something else. I can't describe how it feels. I almost cried this morning when this happend I was so upset. I was beside myself for hours thinking of all the "what if" scenarios in playing the fish. For starters let's begin with the bait, the line, the rod, and style of the fight. I was using my Bass Pro Shops MH Graphite IMG Series Rod lined with 30lb Spiderwire Braid on a Abu Garcia Cardinal Reel (matched for 20 -40lb line). I had my drag set perfectly as I checked it this morning two times before I put the bait out. I was on a local river doing some shore fishing. I had NO IDEA that a chance at this size of a fish existed here as I have NEVER heard of ANYONE hooking into something this large and the average fish here is about a lb and a half to two lbs with an occassional four mixed in. I was standing casting parallel to the shore. There was a lot of submerged hydrilla and it was an outgoing tide so there wasn't much room to run any bait over top other than topwater and or spinnerbaits (burning). So I tied on my go to spinnerbait (a Terminator 1/4oz with a white/gray skirt w/ red specs, dual colorado blade). There was the definition of a "perfect" lay down in front of me. It started at the shore and is a tree that had fallen a long time ago as I've seen this spot for years. It went out about 30-35 feet from shore and stopped at about a water depth of 6-7 feet (at this time during the outgoing tide). I made two very accurate casts and on one of them had a fish short strike my lure. Well I made about 5-7 more presentations hitting every spot on the lay down. Sometimes burning my bait others letting it sink. On the ninth cast or so I let my bait drop about half way down the laydown for 3 - 4 seconds and reeled two times. That's when she struck... I had a SOLID hookset. Perfect, couldn't have done any better on it. She's SOLIDLY hooked. Fought for about 30-35 seconds. The ENTIRE time my drag on my reel is screaming and she's pulling me back and forth, back and forth. She darts down two times at the end, gives a few head shakes and surfaces... My dad is on his knees at the shoreline going to lip the bass and yells "Jay, it's MASSIVE", "it's your new PB"!!! I see the bass' mouth gap open wide as he begins one last final head shake. My dads fist was practically engulfed in his mouth and had room for at least another half of a fist! I was holding my rod tip up firm and high keeping pressure as he went for the lip. Just as my dad started to cup his fingers around the bass' mouth... my bait slips off my line and goes down with the bass into the abyss. I have seen 3 lb bass, I have seen 4 lb bass, I have seen 7lb bass in person... this bass topped them all BY FAR. It was VERY long and it's mouth was insanely huge... I know it's just a fish story now... but myself and most importantly my father were both there to witness it all enfold. I had no clue bass could get that big around here, especially in this part of the river. The one explanation I can come up with is that this spot sits across from a marina and the channel swings right next to the shore as the river bends out to the left. Access to deeper water is RIGHT there. I know bass are territorial and I'm sure that one will be at least "close by" in the near future. The question is do you think it will eventually throw the bait, and or hit a similar bait again? Fish this big aren't dumb, they've seen alot and are conditioned (at least from what I've read). I doubt I have a chance to get her again... but man... my arms were sore and she was a beauty... It's a morning I will surely, never, ever forget. This is a fish story that will be told for generations. Thanks for reading guys... sorry I couldn't provide the picture... just a memory. Hope you guys enjoyed the story and could get a good mental image of the happenings.

Nice fish Paul. I've never been up on the upper part of the Potomac... scenic isn't the word for the lower part lol. But their are exceptions. Anyway, what launch did you guys hit? Or did you just put it your kayak at a random spot? My dad and I have a canoe now he purchased next week and we are trying to find somewhere we can go where the current isn't too terribly bad to fish for smallmouth and we can make the paddle back upstream afterwards. The rap's current and James' are too fast moving to do that. Maybe I should try and find a spot up there. Did you snag any largemouth in the process? Glad to hear you had a fun time man.

Dad, sounds like the topwater was just as productive or at least present as it was Saturday. Sorry you lost those few, but at least you got your first frog fish... a feat I've yet to accomplish. I'm probably gonna try to throw my spro and my sizmic toad when I go Saturday with you. Hopefully between the buzzbaits and frogs we can't get some exciting hits. Glad to hear you had a fun time though. Wish I could have been there. Did you manage to get any pics today or did you not bother to take pics of the smaller fish? Later.

Nice job Kevin, that's the way to whack em' dude. Surprised you weren't using your black fury! ;D Anyway, topwater bite has been great with buzzbaits all around Nova lately. Doesn't surprise me big mama wanted your hunk a metal! Just wish she'd find mine every now and again lol. Hit me up through pm and let me know what your schedule the next two weeks looks like man. I got quite a bit of free time, we should hook up. Later dude.

Location Quantico Marine Base, Northern Virginia Time 530am to 1030am Today my father and I packed up the canoe and our fishing gear and headed down to the Quantico Marine Base. My dad had been down there a week or so ago and found a nice launch spot they had for canoes and kayaks (mostly for nature viewing). Well we decided to put in and give it a try although it was a pretty shallow area. A first I thought we may hook into some small fish, but nothing of size. We saw a TON of carp rolling around on the surface splashing their tails and so forth but then as we got to where this shallow area opened up we found a lilly pad and spadderdock haven! I was originally going to throw a frog but decided since I'm not much of a frog fisherman I would tie on my new Cavitron Buzzbait in white/red (3/8oz). My father was throwing the same in chartreuse/red. After fishing with both Strike King and Boo Yah Buzzbaits let me tell you that Cavitron is the smoothest, deadliest buzzbait you can find on the market. My dad and I tore up the topwater bite this morning. All of our fish came off the same spot early. Basicaly what we would look for was a small grouping of lilly pads scattered away from the main pad area. We caught four fish in less than an hour doing this on the buzzbait and my dad and I lost one other one. After fishing for about an hour we had four fish that weighed an impressive 11lbs 4oz. My dad had nabbed a 3lb 1oz largemouth and a 2lb 7oz largemouth. I had caught a 3lb 7oz largemouth and a 2lb 5oz largemouth. After we had fished the winding channels of spadderdock and lilly pads for about an hour and a half we reached an open bay area where we found scattered matted hydrilla galore. At this time the sun was starting to come up overhead and was beginning to heat the water so we decided to go subsurface and try and nab a few more before they took off into the thick stuff for the day. I figured that since the buzzbaits with the skirts we were using would would that spinnerbaits in the same color may be ideal. Well, it paid off. We tossed on some spinnerbaits and began to pull them over the hydrilla in hopes of finding some scattered suspended fish in this huge bay. I had a Terminator 3/8oz bleeding type colored bait on (red, white, silver skirt w/ dual willow blades) and my dad tossed two different spinners. A bleeding bait series Strike King model with a green/red skirt (Colorado and willow leaf blades) and then his new Rattle Head spinnerbait (unsure of color and blades). During the next hour and a half or so we caught a total of six more fish. Only three of which were keepers (myself -2, my dad -1). One of my keepers was caught where the hydrilla met the thick spadderdock at the end of the winding channel and beginning of the bay area. The other was caught on one side of the bay in the middle of a large grouping of lilly pads. One of the keepers went 2lbs 7oz. The other went 1lb 8ozs and were both caught on my Terminator Spinnerbait. The 2lb 7oz fish hit so hard that he completely straightened my spinnerbait wire so it was 180 degrees and vertical. He leaped out of the water about 2 feet after he had done this and I saw my bait and freaked out. When he dove back under he was STILL HOOKED. He made 2 runs and then I landed him completely beside myself not thinking it was going to be possible. Probably one of the coolest fights I've ever had with a bass. My dads keeper was caught around the same pad area where I nabbed mine and was caught on his Strike King Bleeding Bait Spinner. It went 1lb 5ozs. The remaining three fish were dinks. I caught two, my dad caught one. Mine both came on the same Terminator bait and his came on the Rattle Head Spinner. During the morning we had lost a total of four or five more fish. I pulled the buzzbait away from one too early after he dove under with it and had two other blowups on the bait, and I also lost two fish that hit so close to the boat on my Rage Tail shad (in the bay area) that I didn't have time to think and set the hook. I also had one other blowup on the Rage Tail. My dad lost another on a buzzbait and had some more hits on his spinner. All in all it was the greatest day of fishing we have EVER had together and it was our FIRST TRIP here I our new canoe he bought last week. We caught a total of 16lbs 8ozs. Our best five went 13lbs 11ozs. Attached are photos from the trip with biggest fish to smallest (keepers only). We didn't get a pic of my dad's last 1lb 5oz keeper because he didn't want one with all the bigger fish we had caught yesterday haha. I can't wait to go back here with my dad as it was the most fun fishing we have EVER had, What a day! My 3lb 7oz My 2lb 7oz My 2lb 5oz My 1lb 8oz Dad's 3lb 1oz Dad's 2lb 7oz

Hey fish, thanks for the tip dude. There were two lines on the bottom, one for address and one for name. Go figure both of them were blank. It's kinda obvious who the house belongs too though so I could check with them. Problem is I don't want to ask because for all I know the pond next to it MAY be private as well just not too many people see it since there is a large wooded drop on that side of the road blocking the view, so they may not have signs on that side of the road figuring that people don't know about it. I don't want to lose out on fishing this little hole so until they put up signs or until someone tells me that this pond is private too, it's fair game. I'm not breaking any laws in fishing it. These are two seperate ponds, but the road splits them and a drainage pipe under the road fills the other pond. I am figuring that I doubt there is any way this pond can be owned by the same people on the other side of the road. There are no houses around this particular one either.

Pond location is generalized in the original post I am pretty good about the hookset with the buzzbait just today I didn't feel like relining my other pole which I normally use (mh) for buzzbaits. Ran out of line last time out to use it effectively. Essentially I was using a medium rated rod with 10lb mono. Too much stretch and not enough backbone for firm quality hooksets. That will teach me to be lazy though. Relining both my poles tonight for the first time this season. Switching my braid to Spiderwire though because the suffix high performance braid costs too much for me as of the moment. I normally use 30lb test for that rod and fish all worms, jigs, single hook topwaters and frogs with that. My other pole is for crankbaits/hard jerkbaits, etc. Thanks for the comments guys!

Anyway, went to a new little pond I found on google satellite this morning off of Route One in Northern Va. Go figure I get there and it is posted... no trespassing signs everywhere. However... there is a pond across the street that this one feeds (have to walk through woods a bit to get there though) and there are no "no trespassing" signs here. So I figured I'd give it a shot even though it looked a bit smaller. Turned out to be a nice little pond with grass all the way around the edges but a small navigable path all the way to the dam in the back where it got too marshy to head to the other side. Luckily if I sent out a cast like hercules I was able to hit the other side a majority of the time (bait pending). There was one single stump which I got three fish off on one side of the pond, the rest were caught close to shore right over submerged hydrilla. I caught eight fish in 2 hours and 15 minutes. Three of which were keepers. One of which was the biggest I have caught in over two months, so that put a smile on my face. Best three went 5lbs 2oz: -2lbs 7oz -1lb 10oz -1lb 1oz The rest were pretty much dinks at 3/4lb or under. I caught the first three of the morning topwater with a white Strike King tri-blade buzzbait (2) and a sunset colored Rapala Subwalk (1). The biggest of the day was on the subwalk right at the shoreline. I had finished my "walk the dog" retrieve and was pulling in the slack line when the bass EXPLODED on it lol. I was stoked. First fish of the day too in just ten short minutes fishing, so I definately decided to stay a bit longer. The rest of the fish wer caught on Rapala Original hard stickbaits, Mann's Minus One Cranks, and a Chatterfrog. The last two keepers were both caught on the chatter. Definately a good morning, and it looks like I've found a new confidence pond to hit when I am in a slump looking to rebound. I can't wait til' fall when the whole thing is navigable and I can fish all sides. I'll do much better then. Only regrets I have today are not trying a spinnerbait by the dam and or trying finesse baits in the deeper water. I lost my pb at the shore, easy 4lber on a Mann's crank. I saw him take it as it was about 6-7 feet from my feet. He pulled the bait down to the bottom shook his head and before I could set the hook he was gone... sad time. I'll be back for him. 2lb 7oz Keeper 1lb 10oz Keeper 1lb 1oz Keeper Average Cookie Cutter Dink... (some smaller, some larger) I lost four others, two on a buzzbait (due to bad angled positioning and poor quality hooksets), one on the Mann's, and another on my chatterfrog. could of been an even better day... but I'll take that for a couple hours of fishing before work.

"Pond" is generic. I just want to know if anyone has fished on base, if so where and how well they did. We are gonna fish a lot of the spots (more than likely) so I'm just looking for generic info. Just trying to see what they are hitting on the ponds there and possibly chopawamsic if anyone has been out. I don't need specifics.