JCrzy4Bass

Hey guys. I have this pond literally 2 minutes down the road from my work once I get in my car. I found it on google earth. It probably has about 25-30 homes that surround it. Most of these homes are probably my guess are around 500,000 to 600,000 dollars. Nice upscale homes in a secluded residential area off one of the busier roads in the city by the college. I haven't seen anyone on this small lake when I drive by. However, there is a small cul de sac that is by a private drive and there are no "no parking" signs or "no trespassing" signs. There is no given path down to the water so I assume all the shoreline is private. I think some of the homes have security systems set up so I'm afraid to go knocking on doors asking permission. But the lake looks really good and I'm sure it holds fish. How would you guys go about getting permission? I have another lake 15 minutes down the road but by the time I get there walk to one of the better spots and fish I only get 25 minutes fishing time. If I got to fish this pond I'd have over 45 minutes of fishing during my lunch break at work (hour long break)!!! Best part is I wear jeans tennis shoes and a t shirt to work so I don't have to worry about getting nice clothes really dirty, a stain or dirt mark here or there is ok. I was thinking about saying how I am an avid catch and release bass fishermen and that I don't keep any fish. I was also thinking of telling them that I will not bring any food/drink around the shoreline and will not litter at all and will clean up any thing I bring along with me as far as tackle and so forth before I leave checking to make sure nothing is left behind. Also I was going to say I always have two rods so if they'd be interested in learning or watching I could show them some of what I know. So... whaddu you think?

No science behind the problems these "plastics" cause fish or ecosystems and waterways. Until that is shown no worries. And besides, you honestly believe that people won't start creating their own molds and making their own plastics? Heck of a big buck to get started but once you have the equipment you can be making your own plastics in no time. These regulations will never be able to be enforced. People will consistently get away with it and it will be yet another joke just like the "this product contains lead, a chemical known TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA to cause birth defects". Seriously? Do we live in seperate worlds? These environmentalist groups have nothing better to do then hug trees. Whatever.

Yea they are talking about the one that's designated JUST FOR FISHING. If your coming up 123 going northbound it's the little narrow entrance that says "public fishing lake". They have been getting very strict lately, checking licenses every time I'm there as well as other friends of mine. If you ask me it's great. About time we have a place where our money is getting used the right way. I paid for my license and I use it religiously. These other people who want to walk their dogs and play fetch and bird watch have plenty of other places in this park to park their vehicles. But yea, they are taking a step in the right direction. I don't think it's as big a problem as they are making it out to be though, unless you go on weekends. There is always plenty of parking when I go. Just trying to make the public aware that they are serious in this matter I guess.

Dad, WTG on nailing that new pb. Figured you weren't too far off. I fear for those fish come spawn time, you know that lake in and out now. Don't know of too many other guys around here who catch fish over 5lbs as consistently at that lake. Hopefully I can find one of em' next time out or this Sunday on the Potomac. Like to finally break that 4lb mark. Good job on going the extra mile in order to save the fish. And just the other day you were calling Ike and idiot for pulling crap like that on his boat lol. Now you can see why big fish just make you do the craziest things. Again, great job.

Nice fish Jr. Congrats to your son on his first this year too. Better than my little dink was, at least his is a keeper. Looks like a great father son outing. I can honestly say ba7 is right, nothing beats a quality outing like that. Except when you can convince the ole' lady to get out with ya ;D

Not to hijack - I got my first born coming in September around the middle of the month. Find out the sex in three weeks (she's 17 weeks today). Can't wait. Either way I'm hoping that it will love fishing as much as me. My dad and I have it running through our veins so I'm sure once we show the youngster what fun it can be they will be on board too. Great picture, too cute for words lol. Now just remember to snap those first pics when you get it out on the water with you!

I work Friday bud, but thanks for the offer. Still planning on headind down there the 10th (May) and I may go down there instead of doing the rap on the 25th. Depends on what river is lower and warmer. My guess will be the James, but we will see. I'll be keeping an eye on the data sites. Those shad do look like fun though. Might hav to fish Brittle for them a bit more year round now. Saw some older guys killing them out there with grubs, crappie type plastics and minnows last time I went. Said they get BIG in there. Saw one they had in a bucket close to a couple lbs.

I think the brush hog is definately for bigger fish, I tried one for hours upon hours on one of my better rivers last year where senkos tear it up, but had no luck. I may just pick up a pack of creatures, power beasts and baby brush hogs and see what works best. I don't want a huge bait something more subtle but something I can add weight to and work all over the water column with good action. The power beast looks like it would hold up a bit better than the kreature as far as how solid the appendages are on there. I just have no clue how you'd rig it... through the tip, texas rigged hook going through the middle of the body? I may try out the baby brush hog but after my experience and having next to no confidence with the original I don't know. May start out with one of the first two and see what works better and produces more fish. Or more importantly which I have more confidence with. So any reviews or words about the power beast? I figured with as popular as their craws are and their other plastics people would be chiming in on them.

If it's gonna be big... anyone forget about "the big show" himself? Scroggins is gonna be nasty, keep an eye on him. He's been bringing big bass to the table all throughout these first events and he came darn close in the last one being edged out. I always gotta stand by my boy who is DUE for a good event and has done well on Texas Lakes in the past... Ike! Any other lake outside of Texas and his weight probably would have been good enough for first in this past tourney.

Hey guys. I'm looking for a new plastic to kind of go hand in hand with my trusty go to senko. I was looking at one of two creature baits and wanted to get your takes on each. The Berkley Powerbait Beast and the GY Kreature Bait. I just want to know pros and cons, ways you guys rig em'. I have tried Kreature baits only once with no success and normally just rig it texas style with the appendages up, flare at the bottom with a 1/8 or 3/16oz weight depending on where I'm fishing and conditions (much like a senko in the way I present it). I like to flap it up and down and swim it a bit more because of all the appendages and actions. Let me know what you guys think. I'd be throwing these baits around a lot of mats, grass, and some wood/laydowns.

Thanks for the link Vekol, I'll try and pick up a copy when I get paid next week. That is some sweet info. Printing it out and adding it to my fishing folder. Soon I'll have enough for a book lol. I take all the info you guys give me and add it to a file so I have essentially another book to study along with my magazines. Learned a lot doing it. You guys here in Nova rock.

Saw a 1lb 5oz Shad come out of the Rapp yesterday. Unreal! Never seen one so big. Guy caught it on a 4" white grub. I started throwing the same and hooked into a tiny one, maybe 7 inches. But wow, those things can fight pretty good. Had a bunch of others pecking the bait. I parked on River rd and fished the tidal portion at the park there by the Princess Anne Street Bridge. There were a TON of them jumping. I'm mad that I forgot my spoons to use yesterday, I was targeting smallies. No luck. The water is too high and all the breaks and boulders are covered up, I was getting snagged left and right cause how strong the current was. Need to let the river recover some from these rains and get back down to normal levels.

Outdoorsman, due to weather for Saturday... pending a small craft advisory on the Potomac for Sunday my dad and I are launching out of Leesylvania and headed across river to fish Mattawoman Creek. If there is a small craft we will launch out of Burke or head out to another lake around here with a launch. Maybe Germantown. Anyway, if you wanna meet up in the am and follow and fish alongside let us know.

Guilty, I always forget the spelling between the two. Strykul pointed it out to me a couple weeks ago. ;D

Thanks Andy, I'll be placing those baits aside in my tackle to give em' a try. Sounds like spinners and rat l traps have been working well out there too from other reports (on the Potomac). Good luck out there. You busy Saturday?

Just Jack for me sir. Nothing beats a hard jack and coke! Then there is my home made Jackonade recipe: In one pitcher: 2 12oz sprites 24 ozs water (measure with sprite can afterward) 2 large pouches of country time lemonade Whatever amount of jack gives you the kick My friend and I used to kill a 750ml every Saturday night with this. Doesn't hurt in the morning either... it's nice! Try it out!

Dan, After personally meeting up with you at the last outing and having a chance to talk to you for a bit I can see that what your grandfather has passed down to you has become a huge part of your life. It's great that this sport can bring people together in such a way that no matter what the type of situations life hands you, you can always manage to smile, laugh, and yes maybe even shed a tear. I'm sure part of the reason your grandfather wants you out there doing what you do best is because he wants you to continue living this for him even if he can't muster up the energy to get out himself. He wants to live on through you years down the road, and I'm sure with your love for your grandfather and this sport that won't be a problem. I'm sure your grandfather is a great guy if he's anything like you. And no matter what happens, what he has given you and taught you in life is irreplaceable. Cherish every and any moment you get from here on out. I will be praying for you and your family and hope you guys get along through all of this. You have my email and my phone number man.. don't be afraid to use it. And if you need some relaxation time and a way to get stuff off your chest there's always an open seat for you in our boat. Take care buddy. Jason

Vekol, thanks a lot for the temperature info. My dad and I don't have a depth finder that gives us temps so all we have to work on are the structure, bait fish pods, and fish themselves. Cool. Well I will be following your previous report and looking for similar areas. We will probably focus most of our efforts on main river points and secondary points looking for drop offs and more than likely fish deeper most of the day. What kind of depths were you finding your fish at on that last trip to Aquia? Thanks alot again Vekol. Informative as always. We'll let you know how we fare. Hope we do better than we did at Occoquan at the end of March... what a waste of a day that was lol (though my dad and I had fun).

You guessed it. Burke is VERY pressured. Probably one of the most pressured lakes in nova if not the most. Best off fishing deep water, better off on a boat. If your on bank, your best bet is to walk to the opposite side of the lake or to drive over there (not sure about parking on that side though). That's the side that recieves less pressure. Alot of boater's fish the island too so that gets beat up quite a bit. If you want a "large lake" that has a better cph ratio your best bet would be to launch out of the Occoquan Reservoir at Fountainhead, Lake Ridge or Bull Run (be wary of the crew teams at Bull Run this time of year though). Not exactly the friendliest or polite bunch. The Rez gets a bit of pressure but the catch rates are better imho and it's an easier fishery if you work for it. Should be getting better there after this week when the water warms up (temps in the 60s and 70s most of this week). Rain later this week, let's hope it's warm. Most of the better lakes in the area are smaller and only allow small craft like canoes and jon boats. Other lakes to look into if you don't mind a longer ride (electric only) are Orange, Abel, Lakes at Quantico (if you get the required permit to fish them) and Hunting Run.

Hey guys, specifically I'm talking "Mattawoman Creek" in Md across from Leesylvania. Has anyone been out about there lately? My dad and I are going on Saturday and I'm just curious as to what I should be expecting as far as water temps with most days this week being in the mid 60s close to 70 degrees. Also are they still in pre spawn mode, are they staging, or are they moving to the back of the main creeks, or are they breaking off into the feeder creeks? Also where are you guys finding most of the bait fish? If you can help at all we'd appreciate it. Haven't got a clue because both days we've wanted to go there have been small craft advisories. Other wise I would have at least an idea of what they are doing right now. I took in Vekols report earlier last week but things change with these fronts and as we have more days of 60 degree weather mixed with warmer evenings and nights we should be getting closer and closer to bed time! Oh yea, to get the best fishing we will be launching three hours before high tide (or as early as we can pending gate opening) and staying til' 2 or 3 hours after peak high tide.

That article was pretty good. Alot of the "spawn" articles I have read lately say that a carolina rigged, or texas rigged lizard will produce good during the spawn. Also a tube bait in a sandy color to imitate spring craw, as well as a yankee rigged shallow running crank like a manns (looks like it's feeding on the bass eggs). If you type in yankee rig on google you should find a diagram of how to set it up. You need a three way swivel for it. Other than that I'd imagine craw type baits and other plastics should work well (my first time fishing the spawn as well). The biggest thing about the spawn is the fact that it's actually broke up into stages. I've been trying to read as much info as possible on it, but in that same bass magazine Terry Scroggins breaks it down really well as far as the beginning of the spawn (bass move from deep to staging areas), the "mating" period or time when the bucks and females both pair up, the spawn itself, and then post spawn which is similar to the first period where bass will move back out onto staging points or suspend over deeper water (one will stay back to protect the eggs... or at least be around the bed until the babies hatch). From what I've read topwater can be pretty good during certain parts of the spawn too, I just forget exactly when. Get some polarized glasses and if your bank fishing it's gonna be all about presentation. I'm hoping to nail my pb in one of two lakes this spring that I have been eyeing and watching the bass at over the last few weeks. I think I'm on the right track. We will see. Good luck. If you wanna hook up for some spawners shoot me a pm and maybe we can get out one day in the next few weeks. Goes for the rest of ya'll too. One other thing. I've read a lot on this forum about having to be patient during this time. Some of the bass will be guarding the nests very close but some may not pick up your bait or just defensively tap it or move it and not really take it in. Vary your presentations, be patient, and wait for them to take the bait. This is probably one time during the year where you can make a couple attempts if you were to miss the first bite. As Ike would say... "Never give up"!

I never knew Mercer had shad in it. Especially not that big. Cool deal catching one on a crankbait none the less. Nice bass. That three and a half pounder is looking fat. I guess eating shad that size can do that to em'. I'll definately be going there instead of Lake Accotink Monday morning for a couple hours. Hopefully I can catch a nice one. Looks like you broke your slump. Now you just gotta catch those at Mattawoman next weekend, but you'll have a bit of competition Good job today!

Mike when does the new season start and when can we expect more shows online? Just curious.

They have a boat launch. My friend's dad actually has his boat stored over there and launches out of there all the time. Not sure where it is exactly but it's the first thing you see when you get down to the water. Parking lot will be on your left.

Hey Hokie, My friend used to let us get in on base til' he turned 18, then he couldn't get on anymore. There is some great bass fishing there on base, as well as fishing for carp, striper, perch, and catfish. BIG carp and catfish. But the bank fishing for bass there is indeed pretty good. My wife caught a 3lber first time we went out there. Do you have access to the base? : I know some pretty good ponds in the area if your interested in the Woodbridge area, just pm me.