JCrzy4Bass

What's up Leegan? Welcome to the forum man, guys here in NOVA are very helpful so ask away bud. Lake Mercer is off of Hooes Rd in Fairfax, Va, you should be able to mapquest it. It comes up as a recreational lake (can't remember whether the name is on it or not). But you will know which one it is. You can park in a few residential areas but I'm not sure of the names, some of the guys here will probably list them. Dam access is off of Hooes Rd if you park in the dirt lot after the guard rail on your left (coming from 123). Huntsman is right down the road as well off of Huntsman Blvd, there are also other access points to this lake as well. One of which is Golden Ball Tavern Ct. You can park along this road (but not in the apartment complex areas) and have access to the whole shoreline on the side of the lake right of the dam. You can also get quick access to the d**n and park right by the gate. Dorothy Lane will put you on the other side of the lake but the walk is a lot further. If you fish from the woods there and don't mind gettin' dirty then you can find some areas to cast along that lake side. I caught a few this way last year. Check your pms as I've put you on some spots. In the next week or two weather permitting Huntsman has been pretty hot, some guys are catching em' at Royal too. That's off Guinea Rd in Springfield/Annandale. Other than that I'd say the rivers (Occoquan and Potomac) aren't quite warm enough to tear it up from shore yet, but if you want to try you may want to hit the floating dock at Occoquan Regional Park on a high tide, plenty of deep water structure as far as timber and rocks are concerned there. For the Potomac almost anywhere you are gonna need a boat. But you may wanna give Mason Neck (on the Potomac) a try come the end of the month or early april, if you want info on where to go in this park pm me. Not many fish here and the good spots are well secluded. You just need to walk a bit. Any other info you need just pm me.

Yo Simon, might take the boat out on the Occoquan on Sunday morning weather permitting. If you wanna tag along as of now there is an empty seat. The wife isn't going because it's still too cold for her. Pm sent.

As soon as you turn your head to talk to a buddy or check on something in the boat, you take the attention of your bait. THAT is when you miss the biggest bite of all. Don't know how many fish I've missed because of that.

Hey guys saw this thread and thought you may wanna check this link out. My friend sent me this video months back when this first became a prob. I guess over a year old or so. Anyway it shows what happens when you electroshock the water in the river now. Crazy. These things jump so hight and I can see now why people get hurt. I hope it just doesn't resort to having to poisin parts of the river and having years of a fish kill (kind of like cali did with the pike). I doubt it though seeing as this is an open river. Don't know what else they could do. Anyway... here you go. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2007/06/21/mattingly.ms.river.carp.attack.cnn

Where there is shad... there is bass? No? Lol. How is the bass fishing there when this is going on? I assume probably difficult due to the abundance of bait fish in the area. The bass are probably really picky. Anyway... where do you guys fish when this happens? Fredericksburg City Docks? I don't know of many other access areas other than the little parks along the water there. What days and times do you guys predict we will be seeing the run? Let me know when it's gonna happen if you guys keep track. I may bring my panfish/crappie pole and pick up some baits and tag along. What types of baits do you guys use for the shad?

Rat L-Trap seems to be the lure of choice so far this early early spring. You and my dad Simon. I caught both mine on a Mann's Minus just like Vaparrothead did at Huntsman. Looks like the crankbait bite is pickin up fellas. Nice fish there Simon. Tear em' up buddy!

I'll have pics up tommorrow but yesterday after me and my friend fished for catfish, perch and crappie all day, we caught nothing. Tried two spots at Occoquan Regional Park, two at Fountainhead Regional Park. Anyway so on the way home I had this feeling. Two days ago I fished the pond at vet's and had a monster slam my bait but not take it (using a rattle trap). So I went back on and tied on a shallow diving crankbait (Mann's Minus One) my best bait at this pond last year and caught my biggest bass of the year last year at this same spot (2 lbs 14 oz). Well... I casted out and caught a small one on my 10th cast or so, maybe a half a lb. About 20 casts later after I moved down to the other side (where the spatterdocks are starting to grow back) I ran it right over the dead vegetation and a 2lber gulped it up. Landed him. Nice fish, very healthy and fought like it was middle of summer out near the edge of the channel. Had another even bigger one take my bait and dive down, fought him for about 5 seconds but he came off. ticked me off. But at least I caught two and finally got off to the right start for this year. I'm excited, there was a lot of feeding going on at the pond and the fish are on the move. So I think the bite is back on here and the fish realize it's warming up now. Good stuff. I may be going back tommorrow or Thursday after work for an hour or two cause I get off work early. Anyway... can't wait to land another one. Felt good to finally have something tugging on the end of my line!

Let me know when you guys organize that one. Anyway, less than two weeks fellas. Get pumped. So now that we are getting closer let's have a role call. Who will definately be there (unless something comes up last minute). Count it down. Jason - in, that's 1. Tuco, not a lot of people from shore at the same time. It recieves its pressure but not nearly as bad as some of the other lakes around here like the Reservoir and Burke Lake. Great place to fish. Worms, traps, spinners, and shallow running cranks have worked well for me here. Water is typically slightly stained to very stained. Wanna use darker colors and so forth. When this place turns on, it turns on.

Welcome to the bass family man. Nova guys are some good anglers. Lots of areas to fish around here. If your looking for family fun Burke Lake is good and has a pier and a path all the way around as well as boat rentals, however it's the most pressured lake in nova on the weekends. Other than that Occoquan Regional Park is a great place for a picnic, fishing, and wildlife watching. If you don't mind a little drive, Leesylvania State Park has a great fishing pier (though you have to get there early in the am cause it can fill up. But plenty of catfish and white perch are caught off here all day with the occassional striper and yellow perch mixing into the bunch. Bring minnows, worm or shrimp for bait. Cut bait perch is excellent for the catfish here. Fountainhead Park (Occoquan Rez) is awesome and has a great floating pier with plenty of room for multiple families to fish. Carp, catfish some pike, and bass can all be caught here. Some shoreline access if you don't mind getting muddy. Lake Ridge is great, has boat rentals, good crappie fishing, bass fishing and some catfish here, lots of blue gill and some carp yet again. Has a small fishing pier, some boat docks and some shore access. There are other places, if you are interested in further day trips pm me and I can get you some info. Also may I suggest checking out VDGIF. If you google it it will pull up the department of inland game and fisheries for va. Great place to find lakes, rivers and reservoirs, even some ponds. If your into saltwater action, right across the bay bridge there are two piers: Matapeake which is generally crowded 24/7 once the season opens up and Romancoke (less crowded of the two based on my experience). Both you can pull in blue fish, striper, spot, perch, crabs (if your into crabbing) and multiple other fish. Good luck in your ventures. Oh, and once it warms up go down the road five minutes to "river rd" or "falls hill avenue" and fish along the rap with tubes. You can catch smallmouth all day and follow the shoreline for over a mile. Awesomeness. The smallmouth are plentiful but bigger ones are further upstream and require a hike. But if your kids are old enough and you guys are careful you can make a day out of it. Picnic, wading, swimming, tubing, fishing, etc. Good times. I am envious of you fishing for those huge Salmon out there. My dream is to take a charter on one of the rivers up there and fight one of those king salmon. I've seen videos of guys having them on and whales completely devouring or splitting the king in half. Crazy stuff.

Rob, what time do you get off. If the other guys can work around it maybe we can push it back. If not there will be another I'm sure now that all these guys are meeting up. Sucks dude... Thanks for the pm.

So far still looks like Royal guys. Thread will remain open until next saturday (as far as the poll goes). If anyone has any reconsiderations as far as location let us know so we can get the final tally. But plan for Royal, plan on 7am. Two weeks from today. Coming up quick. Can't wait to hang out with you guys and meet up with people I haven't fished with. Should be good times. If it is indeed royal any ideas on where to meet up? The d**n seems like it could hold a good many anglers. Not sure on other parts of the lake as I've only fished it once and much of it seems shallow. Though with all this rain...

Matt, some great advice dude. I have heard similar things from other people. I appreciate it. Micro, trust me I am gonna have a zebco rod and reel combo with all the extras stashed away before the kid is born. Then when its old enough to hold it... it's on! Lol. My dad already said he hopes it's a girl because we can teach her how to fish and with the many open spots on the womens tour it would be easier for her to break into the sport lol. He's crazy. First thing out of his mouth when we told him was it's gonna be on the tour, no doubt lol. We just laughed. I think he's gonna have a fun time playing grandpa, and if he does half the things he did for me when I was young this kid is gonna have the best family in the world. I really thank you guys for all the kind words, support, and advice. I am actually gonna print out this thread later on and save it stashed away somewhere so I have it to refer to if I get in a jam and just need to stop and think stuff over for a second. I don't know how I'd survive without this place. You guys are all the best!

Had the fake me out brand. Me and some friends had to drive to an ABC in Maryland to get a bottle of that and a bottle of everclear. If you like black licorice or however you spell it this stuff is for you. If not you probably will vomit. Anyway, I guess what we did was pour the absinthe over a sugar cube in a spoon with a slit in it. You pour it in a small high ball type glass and drink it straight with the mixed in sugar (stir after cube disolves). Don't know if any of you others have done it this way. But after two glasses I was feeling pretty good lol. Everclear is better though. Man, pour a half shot in a mixed drink or what not and it seriously is the memory eraser. Don't remember NOTHIN' from the night before. Pure grain alcohol.... craziness.

If you look at store locator, select Baltimore and view the event info, it's four different anglers. The other two guys I have no clue on who they are. I'm calling today during lunch.

Buck you read me to a tee man. I do that religiously. I'm there for her all the time. She's had crucial morning sickness in the evening. It sucks to see her get home and feel like crap every night but I give her the good ole foot rub, back massage, shoulder massage whenever I can and even draw the bath or shower for her and I always ask if I can pick anything up for her on the way home.

Lookin' at 3.08 here in Woodbridge, Va as an average. Wawa this morning (our cheapest) was at 3.05.

Of course Flech. But you mean to tell me you wouldn't get that urge in the back of your mind on occassion? I'm gonna be the best dad ever. My kid, boy or girl, is gonna love to fish, love football (although it will develop a complex, since her family likes the Steelers, I like the Broncos, my family are Pats fans, and my wife is a 49ers fan), gonna love to jam guitar, etc. So if it's a girl... tom boy, no doubt. Anyway I can't wait to have it arrive just because my wife and I have talked so much about what a great family we could make and how cool it would be taking the kids on trips to our old favorite places when we were young, watchin' em' get through school and make buddies, and watching em' grow up and develop such a unique personality and stuff. It's gonna be great. I can't help but think of the first time we play catch, or I teach them how to swing a bat or field a pop up... I can't wait to see them riding around on their tricycle and then teaching em' how to ride a "big boy" bike or two wheeler. I think of all the things my parents did with me and now I wanna pass that down and give my kids even better to pay them back. And that way they grow up knowing they had an amazing childhood. P:s: Congrats Cigar, I may be taking pointers from you when you get chances and seeing how you are doing and what not. Good luck!

Any guys headed up there this weekend? They will be at BPS in Hanover, Maryland. Has anyone been to one of these things? Do the pros give seminars? Do they sign or take pictures with fans? What time do they normally show up? Is it packed all day waiting for them? Etc... just trying to get some info on it. Do you think if I called BPS they'd be able to give me an estimated time as far as the guys showing up there? Hope to see some of you out there. My dad and I will be rolling up there so if anyone wants to join us shoot me a pm and I'll see if we got room in the suv for ya. Later fellas.

K guys, got some exciting news, however it is definately gonna affect my fishing. And I just had a few questions for you guys on this. My wife is now almost 12 weeks pregnant. I can finally post this as we broke the news to our families this week and my dad (who frequents the forums) know. So... I know my time is going to be limited fishing this year especially as we get on down to that last trimester. I know she doesn't want me out all that much and said she'd prefer one weekend day a week which isn't that bad, and I could go out occassionally one weeknight after work if it's nice out since she has hmwk for online classes to do. So I was just curious after the bundle of joy came, what happend to you guys as far as fishing. I'm expecting a couple months of possibly not going out, although I know the parents said if we need "time off" or a "break" they could watch it for a while, but thats husband and wife time. And while I know my wife likes fishing, she ain't gonna wanna do that with all our free time. I'm thinking of compromising with her and maybe doing something that she wants the first time like going to see a play or going out to dinner or going to old town alexandria or fairfax to walk around and so forth. And then maybe next time... fishing? I know it's gonna take away a lot of time on the water and I can't wait til' my son or daughter is old enough to be out there with me, and only hope they love the sport as much as I do. But how often did you guys get out? I'm not gonna sneak around at night and leave or sneak out with the kid after daycare real quick to get casts in, but when did you find you had the time to do what you enjoy? Years ago I quit my band after college, though we were getting really good, had really good draws, and had we another singer, everyone I heard from said we could have probably made it and got signed. When I had to quit because my schedule I was so devastated. Work for a living? Or pray you make it big? Well bass fishing filled my void. It's what I live for. And now I see it becoming a small piece of my life, set on the back burner. Just trying to find out how you guys coped, what you did to make the urges and impulses go to the back of your mind. I know I will be so focused on the kid and I'm gonna love it and that enough should make a lot of it not matter anymore. But what else did you guys do when you looked back and just wished you could be on the water. Appreciate any responses guys. Ps: I'm the happiest most anticipating daddy in the world. I can't wait to see my kid.

Ok I did some research. Don't know how common otters are in VA. But the things I'm seeing in this pond ARE INDEED otters. I looked at plenty of pictures and have seen these things up close. Definately not beavers. This is also supported by the claim that I have literally seen them swim by the rail I fish from holding a fish in their mouth bringing it to shore. DANG IT! I never shot a firearm... and if these things are endangered I'm definately not going to get involved. I may take sam's route and find out who owns this thing by going to the correct office and get a couple of my friends who fish the pond regularly to help me out and see if a "few" rather than just one can make something happen. Thanks for your suggestions guys. More than likely I will just have to see this great pond die off. Or maybe I'll be lucky and the stupid things won't return. One thing is for sure they made a huge pile of sticks and wood over by one of the shoreline areas. Also after thinking more about it. It makes sense that they are river otters because the occoquan river has a marina right across the street where they easily could have come from. Wetlands to the left of the marina directly, the river in front, and across the street... my pond. It all makes sense. Also I found this one a nature website: Otters live in burrows on the bank of the water body, often under the roots of a tree. The place they made that burrow is on under a trees root (big tree) sitting elevated above the pond on an elevated shoreline. Also just found this direct from VDGIF: River otters were nearly extirpated from Virginia during the mid-1900s. Reintroduction and natural reproduction have created hotspots in the state for seeing this very curious mammal. Early morning and late evening are the best times to see otters. ... Now I'm screwed!

Apparently according to the game and fish website they are not a "nuisance" and they say this about them: Beaver The main complaint about beaver is their ability to destroy ornamental trees, usually in the yards of stream or lakeside houses. The only way to discourage a beaver is by wrapping trees in chicken wire or other heavy metal sheeting or wire. The tree must be wrapped to a height of 4 feet to be effective against a full grown beaver. If this does not solve the problem, you can contact your local game warden for a permit to have the beaver trapped and euthanized. Moving beavers to other areas is not permitted under Virginia code. Moving them usually only relocates the problem to another area where the same problems then occur. In other words looks like I'm sol. I may call the closest place or game warden I can find but I bet he'll tell me sorry can't do anything Although I did find this: http://www.dgif.state.va.us/wildlife/nuisance/trappers/index.asp?fips=153 Apparently there are trappers for my county who will trap beavers according to the chart. However it says landowners can call, so since it's public I wonder if they will still do it. I doubt it... My thing is there is a whole area of wetlands right down the road, so maybe they could bring them there? Just this one dang on statement kinda messes it all up: "Moving beavers to other areas is not permitted under Virginia code" That sucks. Maybe I can still see if someone can get a sampling of the pond...

Hey guys, I live in Northern Virginia around the Woodbridge area. I have this public pond that I love to fish and started fishing in June of last year. There are some nice sized 2-4lb fish in this pond and I think mama may be even bigger. Anyway, here's my situation... Last fall around November I noticed two to five otters inhabiting the shorelines and making a huge stick pile by the d**n area. I also noticed them diving under the water continuously and sometimes coming up with not only sticks, but fish. Not sure of how many bass they consume here. I did some reading and found that adult otters can eat up to 21 and a half pounds of fish a day. I haven't seen these guys in the pond since probably early January between icings. So I think they may have left as I also read that they move between 5-47 miles in search of other bodies of water after getting their fill in the previous spot. My question is if I see these guys again what can be done as far as my part to contact the right person to see if they can possibly move them or rid them to another area? I don't want the population in this small 2 acre pond to suffer (it's actually a little smaller than 2 acres). The other thing is it had to have been someones property in the past since there are houses in the area, but locals all fish it now and there are no "no trespassing" signs or "no fishing" signs in the area. Who do you think would be in charge of the pond and be my main contact? Would I call the fishery dept for my state and see if there is any re-stocking they can do? Or will they not focus their efforts on a small public pond? Also do you think they could do a sampling to find out what the current population looks like if someone asked? I doubt they'd do all this work, but this is one of my favorite after work spots to go when I'm in a crunch for time and it's a great place to see other wild life and fish for multiple species like bullhead catfish, black crappie, and big blue gill. Any ideas?

Bassin' is an awesome publication but yes it does have a shortage of issues like others have stated. However Hank Parker, Mike Iaconelli, KVD, and others give you valuable information on baits and techniques in there. Great stuff in my opinion. They also just put out a 50 best baits list in their winter issue (you can find at Walmart), that one was pretty good as well for those of you who want to revisit the bait monkey. I don't read any other mag right now but am always looking for another good one. My dad is a member of bass so when I'm at his place I glance over those issues.

Haha, funny you should bring it up. I didn't last year but after reading up on here and some other places I have seen that guys really have learned their weaknesses, strengths, improvement areas and so forth by keeping track of their outings. So this year (three trips ago) I started my own bass blog which I keep online keeping track of weather conditions and factors, baits I used that day, water conditions and temps, what I fished as far as structure, cover, banks, drop offs, etc and a lot of other factors. I haven't caught anything to date because water temps are still pretty low right now and fishing is still tough but once I start catching em' I'm hoping I will be able to look back and see patterns or see what worked under certain conditions on any given body of water and translate that to a day where I am facing those same conditions again. So I will make it a point to look over my blog before and after every outing so I can see what I may want to do that day and what I should have done. It looks like it may provide a very useful tool this year. We shall see. If you want an example of how I set mine up just let me know. It's simple in a note pad document but it works. I will eventually transfer it over to excel when I get the chance to horse around with all of it.

This coming from a non-tourney fisherman. My dad has a 17' Lowe's fishing boat. Not exactly your Class A bass boat but it's great for what we do and runs awesome now that my dad has put in some work into it. He is pretty good about splitting up time as far as each of us getting the front and the back equally and actually let's me fish the front more so sometimes. Anyway... When I am in the back a few of the important things I like for are A) Paying attention to the depth finder, where the drop offs occur, what depth we are at and how I can work these drop offs from my position (we do not have baitfish and structure on ours) What visual cover is there around my casting range, what angles can I cast from without getting in the way of him or others in the boat C) What range do the fish seem to be holding at on the depth finder? What is the water clarity? What lures do I normally use to catch these fish in similar situations? It's hard until you get your first bite and get that confidence build up. It's even harder when the other guy in the front is pulling in more fish than you and you know he has the advantage. One thing i really try and do is concentrate on every single rod, reel movement I make and make sure I'm giving my lure the best action possible. Every thing counts when your put in this situation. The only thing you can hope for is the guy guiding the boat puts you in a spot where you both have a good chance for the fish. If your a tourney fisher I don't know how often that happens, but I'd like to think some guys are helpful in that matter as we all want to be competitive.