JCrzy4Bass

Had two thus far this year. Both from lakes where I was walking through thick brush. Lake Huntsman and Lake Mercer. I've decided I'm gonna hold off on fishing the thicker areas until fall and or wait for cooler days where I can wear long jeans and tuck everything into my boots and socks so there is no skin to immediately get onto. Just be careful in areas that are very wooded, or have tall grass. Also be weary if the specific area has a lot of deer. Where there are deer there are deer ticks that have a higher chance of carrying diseases with them. Another thing I've been reading a lot online is that a very high percentage of ticks DO NOT actually carry disease, however... this isn't to say take them lightly. Use whatever tips neccessary and avoid the areas where they are more likely to be. This is the best part about being in a boat with somebody. May be worth the rental if you have time and/or money during the summer.

Report (full) will be up on my blog around 4 - 4:30pm. Paul and I caught three keepers and four dinks for a total of seven bass. He caught five total (two keepers) and I caught two (one keeper... barely only at 1lb 1oz). The other fish I caught was keeper if you went by length but wow was it skinny. We fished from 6:40am until 10:50am for a total of about four hours. Not bad for having never launched out of here before (either one of us). Cool parts of the day... learning. Paul taught me a whole bunch and is one class act guy. He really knows how to break down water and I could not thank him enough for all the tips he bestowed upon me today. He gave me pointers on walking the dog, pitching, the benefits of line conditioner (I am a firm believer after trying it today), and just general fishing knowledge. He really knows his stuff and I definately want to get back out with him again. Thanks again Paul. Another cool part of the day came when I caught a Crappie the size of my biggest bass. Boy was he fat. Came off a lay down and fought so hard I thought I had a keeper bass lol. We fished a lot of different water and tried dialing in on a whole bunch of different patterns in a short time. We caught fish on a variety of different baits and in a lot of different areas. So that was also cool. All the details will be up on my blog that I write during lunch. Check it out later (link in my profile). Will have pictures there as well. Blog is now up: http://another sitereport.blogspot.com/ Edited at 4:12pm.

My advice along with the great tips these guys have submitted is A) Fish off colored water around runoff areas. Typically after a rain (depending on if it's cold or warm) the bass will gravitate to these areas as food supplies (minnows, shad, bait fish, etc) are congregating depending on the length of the runoff. If not right in these areas, around these general areas where it joins the main body of water. It helps to have a breakwall where the current comes in and or current nearby as well. Fish deeper during the day. I would look for anywhere you see grass with a channel bend nearby, with access to shallow areas. Preferably if you want to focus on summer patterns look for shade covering the shallower water. Plenty of overhanging trees on the main river and in some creeks. C) Main points, outside of creek mouths, and main river submerged structure can all payoff during low tide or falling tides. The key is being positioned deeper and fishing starting around the 5' -6' depth and working deeper as you go. Try Rapala DT's if you focus on areas of this depth and work them down tapering drops and or ledges. Lastly as cold fronts are known to make fishing tough, slow down. Really focus on your presentations and don't just kill a bait after a 10 minute workout. Try your confidence baits in high percentage areas and focus on your strengths, not weaknesses. At times like this it is hard to experiment with new stuff, you want to catch your limit quickly so you can look for the bigger fish/females which should be further off shore now that the spawn is over (especially on the low end of the tide). Submerged structure is key here. Hope this gives you some ideas to go by. Later man.

Hey Paul, I actually JUST got a pm with a definitive answer. Leave me your number through pm and if something happens I can call you later this evening. Sorry dude, thanks for the interest though man.

Ok guys, I get off work at 5:00pm. If I don't have any offers from anyone by that time I'm gonna give the spot to one of the non-forum fishing buddies I have, so check your schedule and let me know. Be up for meeting new guys in the area too. Whoever is interested, just let me know. *Rant* Even the non forum guys I'm asking can't make it tommorrow. Does anyone fish some mornings during the week?!?!?!? Geez! As of now I'll check a few more times tonight since I don't have anyone to go with yet, so let me know.

Nobody free tommorrow morning? This is FREE on your part lol. No gas money, no ramp fees, no boat rental fee. Just 5 and a half hours of fishing for some bass. Anyone?!?!?

Falls Hill is my favorite area but River Rd seems like it may be better from what I hear. Haven't actually waded that part just fished some spots from the bank. Normally don't make it all the way up to Embrey but I almost get up to the old dam site. The water is typically too deep at one point after you pass the river campground a ways up. Need to wait for the water to come down at the lowest level of green to chance it with the current there. If not need to get out at the shoreline there and get back in further up by the dam. How is the fishing at that spot? We will get together eventually. Maybe one day next month dude. Keep in touch and let me know what your July schedule looks like. Aside from the college battle thing we may set up and me going out of town last weekend in July I don't have much booked up yet and it's my last good month of fishing this year as my wife is due with our first child mid september. As of August she's a ticking time bomb and I need to be around full time in case she goes into labor. Later dude.

Does anyone know if there are any lenient golf courses around here that allow fishing on the property if you ask politely and so forth? In "around here" I mean Woodbridge for me. Belmont Bay, Montclair, Lake Ridge, and or courses around Lorton and Fairfax? If so can you guys pm me details? I'm tired of catching 2-3 lbers (yes I know I can find 4-5 lbers in local lakes).

I figure we just represnt our schools and pair up universities. We can do number afterward as to what schools got what weight and we can maybe do averages as far as length to see what school gets top spot? No prizes, just bragging rights and stuff and fun times most importantly. If you're in send me info folks. -Name -School -Choice for body of water (list three and give me preferences in order) -Shore fishing or rental? <---preference -Possible weekends in late June/early July If I can get at least 10 dedicated anglers I think this would be worth it.

So who wants to fish the Rez tommorrow? I have a free rental pass from an employee last year includes boat, electric motor, battery and preservers. No money needed. Just need to meet me at the launch at 6am to help me with the boat and load gear. I am doing this out of Fountainhead. I wanna be in the water at 6:15am (rentals start at 6am) and be out by 11:50am (need to be at work at 12:30). If you're interested respond asap. I need a definate, not a maybe. So we will get about five and a half hours of fishing. I already have some spots pegged out that I'd like to try but having someone along who knows that part of the rez well would be beneficial as I've only been out of here one time and had no luck (though I've caught some nice ones from shore). I know what patterns need to be worked as of now and know what to look for but I would like to have someone who currently has an idea of where the fish are here. Let me know folks. Offer stands all day. I'd like to set this up asap. After the storms tonight it looks like temps will start at 72 around 6am and only get up to 82 before I have to leave, should be fairly comfortable out there after all this heat.

Part of the game... welcome to Lake Mercer and or Lake Curtis lol.

Let's get some dedicated anglers guys. Who is in? I'll go ahead and set this up if everyone wants to pm me a list of possible weekends in late June, early July I will compare and report back with what seems like the most logical time for us to do this. Also send me any ideas for bodies of water as well. I know all of us don't have boats and stuff and would want to spend some time talking and having fun as well as catching fish so I'm thinking bank fishing could be an option but if not boat rentals would work. I know that weigh ins would be tough as obviously we are all catch and release and most don't have live wells so maybe pictures with rulers by the fish for length? Best 5 fish, most length wins? Also let me know if you guys would rather do individual or teams. If we do teams I was thinking we can draw numbers on the day from a hat and those who pair up fish together. Even if they are from different colleges we can put together individual numbers of the specific colleges after the tourney to see what individual wins. Any other ideas would be wlecomed fellas. But for now let's concentrate on dates and dedicated anglers. Pm me your info with ideas for bodies of water as well. Would like to hear from as many folks as possible. Oh also send me your university so I don't have to look back in the thread digging for it.

Senkos, senkos, senkos. Spinnerbaits later in the day over weed mats. Topwater mornings and evenings. I believe the early heat has definately helped push the post spawn condtions into full gear and I think we should be focusing on summer patterns in most areas aside from some tidal waters. I know shade is gonna start being a big factor here soon just like flippin stated so you definately wanna use shoreline areas that have any large overhanging trees, limbs, etc casting long shadows around the area. I like to cast parallel to shore when doing this (if on the bank) and swim a senko very slow with a 1/8oz tungsten bullet weight. Change your presentation by hopping, dead sticking, swimming, popping, etc until you figure out what the fish want. Having grass in this area doesn't hurt. On days that do have a little wind pay attention to the area it is blowing too, sometimes these can be much better pay off spots. One thing is for sure I think with all the rain we had early this year and late last year a drought is not of any concern this season. But the way the weather has been, who knows. It's too unpredictable.

Fillip, bout that time of year that those summer deep water vertical presentations should work well. Something else you may wanna consider thats worked well for me during this time is slow rolling a spinnerbait deeper in those areas. Caught my last few fish doing that. I love that pattern in the summertime. Honestly wind, water current makes no difference to me, a spinnerbait has applications you can apply in numerous conditions that some people tend to forget. Keep killin em' on those plastics dude. Thanks for the report on the rap. I was curious. I may make my way down there next Thursday pending on if I can get someone to wade with. But I will be going further upstream by the wildlife area. If anyone is interested please let me know. I know there are bigger smallies up here as my dad's friends from work catch fish regularly above 2 and 3 lbs.

Dan, the water clarity is in my report on my blog site but it was around 3 feet or so. I tried those shady shoreline areas you talk of and got one good hit but missed the fish. I tried all sorts of different current, but you're right that's where they seemed to be held up on this trip. Too late I didn't figure that out til' late in the day. Just lack of experience smallie fishing I guess. I was working slower current and deep pools where I thought they';d be later in the day because the heat. However... I didn't remember water temps play key and not air temps. Just some things to remember next time as I head out. Thanks for the kind words Micro. Later guys.

If you weren't so far from NOVA I'd take you up on that. But the furthest I would be able to drive for that would be around the Radford area and even that is pushing it with a pregnant wife at home. If we can plan something where we could meet around that area I may take you up on that one weekend in the next month or two. But no promises. I'd have to work it out with the Mrs's. I've never fished the New but ever since I started smallie fishing I've been dying to go down there. Ps: Radford is already a 3 to 3 and a half hour drive for me. Is there any place around here that rents canoes?

2lbs 3ozs. Yea I had to be that precise lol. But that is definately a nice fish man. Good job.

Another good idea that may come out of this. Maybe if we get enough reps from each university we can have a small bank like get together where we all represent our given school and wear the regalia and so forth. We could get some great pics that represent the universities and the southeast bass section here on the forum. Could be a pretty cool thing if we all were down with it. We would just need to find the best central location like maybe central Va (Lake Anna) or something to that effect. Could rent jon boats too and have a weigh in and stuff. Maybe I'm getting carried away. Let me know what you guys think. If we're all cool with it I can put together a date that works for all if not most and we can do this shin dig. Mostly for fun and bragging rights. We could pair up to if there is enough of us.

Ah the ole spinnerbait bite at Lake Anna. I need to convince myself to start throwing those out there during the summer with all the reports I see on em'. Good job for not really trying man. Some of us try real hard and only manage a fish or two. Anna does have some large fish. But yea they are tough to catch. I wish I knew what the heck those tourney guys that launch out of Sturgeon during the week do because they seem to always hook into nice ones. Congrats on the weddign and hope to hear more fish stories from ya man. Later.

I decided despite the heat, chocolate milk for water clarity, the rain earlier this week and the time constraints I would head out during lunch to try my luck at Lake Accotink. One of our well known lakes, though not neccessarily for it's largemouth bass. I know of a pretty good summer pattern here that has worked well for me (numbers wise) here so I tied on one particular bait and was tossing around at the shallow end of the lake... I know, I know... most of the bass are on the left side of the lake and the shallow area ESPECIALLY during the summer doesn't hold many bass. But their are a few particular areas along the dam that ALWAYS hold fish. Fortunately even though I only had 20 minutes today on my LAST CAST I managed to get my bait in an area where I saw some carp feeding and rolling on the water... the bass didn't seem to mind though the ones that were feeding top water were swarming around baitfish. I had a big fish (more than likely a carp) hit, but it felt like it grabbed it for a quick second and then rolled on top of it, no fish. Three or four reel rotations later my bait was being pulled down. I set the hook quick and reeled in a small bass just under keeper size. Sure nothing special to most, but given the conditions today, mid-afternoon heat, and unlikelyhood of stumbling upon a feeding frenzy this time in the afternoon I was pretty stoked. Made my day. Twenty minutes, one bait, one fish, one heart felt smile. Good stuff!

Wow dude. There were tornadoes that were spotted (did not touch down) in Fredericksburg and making their way right up along the Potomac there. You are one lucky dude man. Regardless of where you were on the water that is one heck of a storm to brave. The rain was so strong in Dumfries my wife and I opened the door and could not see the sidewalk, cars, parking lot, or parts of the balconys near us. It was insane. We were in the laundry room closed up with the cats for 15 minutes when the rotation was above us and we had our warning for 20 or so minutes (7:50 - 8:10pm). When my dad and I see clouds now we BOLT literally to shore no matter what kind of water we are on. Fire up that motor and make the run and get out of there. We've been in sudden fast moving downpours on the boat and even on a large lake or reservoir around here it can get BAD fast! Glad to hear you're ok. You got some brass down there dude.

Hey Phish, I fish down there quite a bit on the Rap in different areas and have fished cozy too. I will help you out in any way possible man. You should start up a petition or something with guys from the area chiming in and signing. I would do it. Anyway, like Nitro said, talk to higher authority levels. These receptionists are just gonna enforce what the "higher ups" tell them with no back downs what so ever. Get to the source man. Find numbers, etc.

Hey Rush if you don't mind can you share the info I sent you with snow? I don't feel like typing it all up again lol. Good luck out there man, I'll see if we can hook up next weekend or something based on my schedule since Father's Day is that weekend. Later boss. Snow, pm sent with a tip.

Ok well the deep pools were hard to get access too because the larger rocks were under water as you went further upstream and or downstream from Pony. It was at 4.39 feet and receeding a bit throughout the late afternoon but not as much as we would have liked before we left. It was a tough day out there and boy did it get hot. Despite swimmers and sunbathers all around my dad and I managed to catch five out of one hole where the kids were jumping in the water. Throughout the afternoon at various other spots we hooked up with four more. Total fish, nine. Only two keepers today. Nothing picture worthy for me. My dad hooked into one that was about 1 lb 1/2 and another that was about 1 lb if not a little more. My biggest was maybe appraoching 10". We had a hard time putting together a pattern until late. We didn't see a whole lot of big ones except for some schools where there were a fish or two approaching 2lbs swimming together around some huge underwater boulders. But no matter what we did they would not bite. Rule of thumb: "If you can see them, they can see you". Especially in water this clear. Visibility was close to 4 feet or so in most areas. It was a tough day. It was fun and I can't wait to get back, but next time I'm waiting for the water to be lower, under the four foot mark. The deep pools were just too tough to get to today and we weren't taking chances with the current that strong. Full report available on my blog site. Follow the link in my profile. If you want further info on Pony Pasture from today feel free to pm me. In the mean time, be safe out there, while it says it is in the "green" zone the water needs to come down a bit more if you want the full wade availability. At least in my opinion. Or at least for those who are not well versed and such at this type of fishing.

Hey Rush Pm sent. You are not far from an area where there are a wealth of ponds available. My dad and I took a drive out to Herndon/Centreville one afternoon with some buddies a couple weeks ago and we stumbled upon some gold mines. Mostly numbers but some fish over 2 pounds and some approaching three. Pm sent with info.