JCrzy4Bass

My dad and I have been getting better about keeping these in the boat and wearing them on the water when we go down to the river. On lakes we will wear it if it is gas motor, if it's just trolling generally we will keep them handy but not wear them. It's mainly for runs. But I couldn't agree more that they are an important item to have aboard. Actually, Virginia is making it mandatory now that you have as many PFD's in your vessel as you have occupants, plus one throw. The game wardens and so forth and patrols on the water are getting very strict about this and will make you return to launch if it is not in your boat. Glad to hear the situation went smoothly and you both are safe. Lesson learned for those of us that do not currently use them.

Yo Micro man, T-rig those with a 1/8 or 1/4oz tungsten weight if they are relating to the bottom. That tail action when it's darting back down drives them nuts. Don't need no carolina rigs for dragging anymore, if you hop or pop that thing up off the ground a couple times you will get strikes. I prefer the pumpkinseed, it's my favorite swim senko and one of my best producing baits of all. It is perfect for both stained and clear water as I've caught many bass in both conditions. And rigging them weightless works well too. It just has so many applications (the swim senko model) it's crazy. Swimming em' works great too with a slow retrieve. I hear you about that wind today man 15-20mph gusts on the occoquan river up here. My dad and I managed 7 but only 2 keepers. The biggest... caught on a junebug type colored SWIM SENKO off a dock by my dad lol. Our odd catch of the day was a 2lb channel catfish that took my dad's lipless crank on the fall. That pic of the pickerel is pretty mean looking man, the ones I have caught haven't been that fat, but you better believe they both took my senkos clear off the hook. I missed a real good sized one at Lunga Reservoir on the Quantico Marine base last weekend... was ticked!

Dan, as soon as they get temps up I'll post them. Right now it says it's unavailable. So I'm sure they are in the process of getting those up or will do it sometime soon. If they don't I'm gonna call down to the department in Fredericksburg and see if I can obtain the info from someone down there.

Looking at the USGS site right now the Rap is at normal pool at Fredericksburg and the discharge is relatively normal. This weekend's weather and into next week looks good right now so the 31st is looking ideal for the first wading trip for those interested. Details: Meeting up in Fredericksburg at 7am at the intersection of River Rd and Falls Hill (dirt parking lot at that corner on the right). Fishing until 2pm Heading upstream from Falls Hill Avenue and working our way up past the campground. Definites for next Saturday? Right now it's myself, my buddy Eric (sk mafia from this forum), my friend Andy (Angler N Fuego) and possibly my pops. Dan, you still gonna be around and up for it? 71rig you figure out what's poppin' for that weekend yet?

Hey onthereel, you have one of the urban fish ponds right in your area. Lake Cook. It is stocked in the winter months with trout but has native largemouth, catfish and sunfish populations. Might wanna check it out. You can find more info about it on the VDGIF website. Good luck with finding more.

Did pretty good this morning despite horrible conditions with sustained winds between 10-20mphs and a small craft advisory on the Potomac and Occoquan Rivers. We caught 7 bass, one Channel Catfish, and one Yellow Perch on a variety of different baits. We started at 7:15am at the mouth of the river out by Belmont Bay and worked our way back finishing at 11:00. I'll have a detailed report on my Bass Blog (linked in my profile) in an hour or two for those interested in current condtions and the bite on the Occoquan River. Feel free to check it out and comment if you want. Only two keepers today, I caught one that went 1lb 2oz. My dad caught the other on one of his last casts and it went 2lbs 11ozs. All other fish were dinks under a lb. But it was fun and it was cool we put together fish in tough conditions. Later guys.

Hey guys, count me in here in northern Virginia. My wife is having our first child in mid-september so I won't be fishing much after that. So if you wanna send it, the next three months are good for me. Brian and Al, thanks for your service and protecting our country. You guys make everything possible for us by keeping us safe.

Can't wait to fish this one pops. It's gonna be awesome to contribute to this cause through fishing! Anyone in northern va and even around the surrounding counties should contemplate taking the time and heading out to this one. Hope to see some of you out there. The launch is out of Leesylvania so many of you Potomac junkies aren't too far out of the way. Even if you normally launch aquia a short trip up 95 may be worth it if you're interested in the cause. Would be cool to hang out with some other boaters who show support for cancer research and finding a cure. With diabetes running in my family and cancer in my wife's family we are always looking for a way to contribute.

Nice shark man. I bet those are fun to bring in. Did you catch your bait or do they actually sell mullet down there at bait shops? We don't normally have bait like that around here for saltwater. I'm going to the eastern shore this weekend and will spend saturday fishing for sea trout, drum and striper. Hope to hook into something as I never really catch much saltwater fishing. Three trips only one small striper and one small bluefish to show for it. But quite a few skates lol. Ps: What kind of rigs are you using down there? I set up a thread on how to rig for saltwater for beginners asking in this sections but didn't get any ideas. Could you suggest an easy rig to start out with for bottom fishing?

I don't use scents but when the bite is slow on a body of water around here my dad swears by them on his senkos and other plastics. He will normally catch a bass or two and normally they will hold on longer than average as well. I have seen and heard of bass engulfing the entire worm in some instances and being hooked further down. So does the scent work? For some I guess. I am in the court of human scent and or other less than appetizing scents we may have on our hands when tieing baits can turn the fish off a lure. In times like these I may borrow my dads scent he uses (bait mate or whatever) or bust out my older bottle of bass attractant and put some on. Just too much work for me, I'm lazy. I already have to waste time tieing baits on the water, I don't want smelly nasty hands that I have to clean up... oh oh, but wait... Thats why the have MEGASTRIKE! Lol. Lunkerville w*ores that stuff out. But I haven't tried it so I can't knock it.

Hey guys read some disturbing news in a report my dad just sent me from one of our regular bass report masters around here : Reel Bass Adventures Quantico Creek apparently has some type of fish kill. I do not know what populations of fish this is affecting and if there are any other types of wildlife affected but my primary concern is that we have the industrial area all over that area of possum point and there may be possible contaminants that somehow managed to escape in the water way? Just seems coincedental if you ask me... Anyone have further info? I'm just making assumptions, but I hope I'm wrong. Whether or not this will spread further up creek or how far upcreek it has gone thus far is a mystery to me. Just trying to see if the likes of Vekol or any other Potomac fishermen in the area have heard and or seen anything?

My dad and I had this same problem with a small group of people last year at Bull Run Marina here in Va. Some men of a certain descent where keeping over their limit of fish and leaving trash all around the shoreline. My dad called the park authorities and they said they would step up their presence in this area and try to get the trash cleaned up and so forth. The one time I have been this year the water was really high covering the area where I last saw trash. So either they did clean it up, or it moved downstream, or its under water. It really disturbes me to see all these people having such blatant disregard for our parks, shorelines and waters. If you don't know how to take care of your belongings and trash you don't belong on the water and need to learn some things before heading out next. It just irritates me, especially being in the boat and seeing such trash in the water and under the shallow areas of the shoreline... egh! Rant over. Contact your park authorities or fish and wildlife department like the other guys said. You never know how much offense someone is going to take as far as your stance on the issue and you never know whether they are carrying anything on them such as a weapon and or have anger issues, etc and decide to jump on you for making them look bad.

Have we had any boaters out on the river in the last week or so between these rains? I know fish were all over the place with the spawn before hand but I'm not sure exactly how the bass spawn works on the Occoquan. Last I read bass weren't really a migratory fish but all the regulars I have talked to out there at the floating dock, boat docks, etc insist that the bass don't "move into" the Occoquan from the bay until early to mid May. The further into May you get the better your chances of starting to find them. Do they all spawn on the outskirts of the river towards Belmont and then move in? I know Stripers come up river to spawn then move back out but I had no idea bass moved so far in a river system after spawning. Do any spawn in the river itself? My dad and I have some grass lines pegged out that are always good for us at the end of the river that we are gonna fish tommorrow from 6:30-11:30. I figure the fish are gonna be deeper based off the front that just came through and the colder water temps. I'd assume they got pushed back. So we are gonna start with grass edges and channel bends and work our way into the thick stuff as the day goes on. The tide is around 8:30 or something tommorrow so we will be fishing incoming and outgoing. Great timing with my work schedule finally. Anyone know what they are hitting here now? Anyone finding any decent patterns this year on the river or has anyone found good spring patterns here before? I am gonna work the grass with spinners and plastics (probably texas and or split shot rigged), might work some rapala originals or lipless floating rapala cranks burned above the grass. If the bite is on I'm gonna search the outside edges for big females with my new lake fork magic shad swimbaits, pre-rigged. Been itching to try them out on the river. Any info regarding the spawn, current conditions/patterns, and bite would be appreciated fellas. Thanks in advance.

Right now the height is 3.7 feet. Still a bit above the "dangerous level" of 3.2 Water temps are unavailable. I think they are in the process of updating to current info. Might take til' the end of the day. I'll keep you guys posted. I may also email the vdgif down in fredericksburg and see if they have any info or ideas about how this pattern may have affected the spawn of our local smallmouths.

Yea, that's what I was worried about with the timing of that last front and all the rain we had. And yes if you look at the usgs website for water factors you will se it dipped as low as 45 degrees. It sucks. We will feel the effects in 4-5 years when this years class reaches maturity. Hopefully your right and the first wave came through unharmed and there are still some that may spawn after the levels get back closer to normal. I will post results of what it looks like right now later today when I have time to check out the site.

With some of those chemicals I'd imagine there may be such a thing as "too much"? Isn't there guidelines set forth as far as what you're suppossed to use and in what kind of quantity, so forth? Anyway, I'd take Marty's advice and give that place a call. They are most helpful when I call about the ponds in my area. They have even done some stuff to control the beaver population at one I fish. Wouldn't have happend if people hadn't made calls.

Scratch that. I'm a week behind lol. Yea so looks like as of right now June 14. Almost a month away. Can't go next weekend cause I'll be on vacation.

Hey guys looks like lately as far as surf fishing goes from some of the websites and what not (tackle shops) that drum and striper and sea bass have been the big catches. Striper ranging from 32-29 inches. Drum that are pretty good size with some pups mixed in. Sea bass on the small side. Anyone know of some good rigs to catch any of these guys? This is only my second time out, my last surf fish adventure was a bust and I didn't catch anything. Advice on casting and a couple of rigs I can setup as a beginner at salt water? We will have our own private section of beach as we rented out a cottage on the water from the 23rd to the 26th of the month for memorial day weekend. So if you could: List some easy rigs with maybe some how tos or how to websites. What kind of bait will be my go to this time of year for catching these. I read something about bunker??? How would you recommend casting? Put the biggest weight that holds bottom and just launch it out as far as you can?

As of right now, next Saturday (The 17th) is wade number 1 (water temp depending). We will meet at my place at like 6:30 and drive down to Fredericksburg. The water level has already come back down to four feet but there hasn't been a temperature check sinc ethe first storm so I'm not sure what it's at but I'm sure it hasn't come up much at all yet. The second wade will be early/mid June. Probably June 14, cause I work the 7th.

If I could be out with anyone, I'd chose my dad. Ever since we both got into fishing we have kind of rekindled our bond we had when I was a kid. It's great being out there with someone who can relate to you. We have a great time, we both chose boat location and try each others spots, we both give input on what we are throwing and how the bites are coming and typically we can put together a pretty good pattern almost every time out. Other than that, if she would get out with me more I really enjoy being out with my wife. But she's pregnant now so those times are few and far between. Lastly, it would be my buddies here on Bass Resource. I have a blast with some of those guys.

Chai, Honestly dude, fish another lake man. Burke is a TOUGH lake if you are just starting starting out. Once the grass is back in full force come summer you can catch some small ones in the grass almost every time out with senkos. Some of the guys know some "spots" where you can pick em' off with C-rigs and what not, if you ask them they may be able to provide help. Other than that I'd take a ride a few miles down the road to either Lake Huntsman or Lake Mercer. Mercer is probably really high right now so Huntsman may be your best bet since the water was so low before all the rains and such. If you need directions to either call me dude. You got my number.

Fishing, Where are you launching out of? The state park, Sturgeon Creek, Dukes Creek, etc? Each of those launches has current up to date reports if you google their given location. Just click on fishing reports on the side navigation bar. My dad and I went out pre spawn but I'd imagine that the spawn is over for the most part downlake. I don't know how Anna works but I don't think all the fish move downlake to spawn (like the stripers moving), however if you go further uplake you may be able to find some spawning bass patterns. Or if you head up to the river you may find them on the spawn there. I don't know how current is in the river and I'd imagine the water is gonna be rough anywhere on the lake. On the plus side you may not have to deal with too much boat traffic this weekend. Can't imagine with the water so high the conditions will be "great" as far as most are concerned. But ya never know. Let us know how you do, my dad and I might be making a trip soon so it would be helpful. Good luck man.

Hey Glenn, did you get a chance to interview Ike among the list of other great guys you talked to? That would be sweet if so. If so I need a link to that interview. Ike is my FAVORITE bass pro out there right now besides Omori, Crews, Scroggins, Duckett, and a few others. His articles in Bassin' are normally great and no one beats his enthusiasm on the water. A guy that can get that excited about a big fish can relate to the beginning tourney guys and recreational guys alike. He has done a lot of outings with kids as well as put together a great club in New Jersey to get the bass fishing scene kicking there. Great guy. Like him or not he is huge for the sport and is a voice that gets a lot done.

Hahaha... That's some funny stuff. Is that what they used to call em' back in the ole days? Lol. Wish they woulda showed the target afterward!

Thanks for the info 71 rig. Looks like I'm gonna have to wait things out until after my memorial day vacation to chincoteague with my buddies. Doing some saltwater fishing over on the banks there (rented a cottage for the 4 day weekend). If you're interested in coming down with me early June hit me up man. Should be a fun time. And nothin' beats fishing for those Rappahannock bronzebacks... unless you're on the James