JCrzy4Bass

Ok man, I gotta get on you seein' as mikeinma didn't catch it lol. What in the world is up with the bo sox hat and the CARDINALS jersey? lol. Us Red Sox fans question where the loyalty lies with clothes like that. Haha. Nice fish though. Would rather a cardinals fan hook up like that than a Yankees fan!

Hey guys just wanted your opinion. What do you guys find works better with worms like senkos, ribbon tails, wave worms, etc? Gamkatsu Wide Gap in size 3-4 or Gamakatsu straight shank on size 3-4? I find I have lost many a hook set with the straight shanks compared to the others. Do you think I should push the size up to a 5 on the straight shanks if I'm gonna use em? I just feel like maybe the fish is not getting the worm high enough on the hook on some strikes for me to get it. I've tried countless different hooksets, from easy, to hard, to everything in between. It's not my line, I never ever have the problem with the wide gap. But when boaters world and walmart are out... i'm out of luck.

If you decide to launch out of Anna Point make it your effort to check out the first cove to the right of the launch. Not the turn immediately after the docks there, but the cove after that first point on your right. There is a nice set of small trees that grow in the corner of the cove where I caught two small ones on Rapala Floaters early in the morning by using a twitch, twitch, slow reel approach there. There were tons jumping in the middle which I suppose I may have been able to pick off if I had changed my tactics a bit and didn't stick with just one bait in the area. I definately didn't fish it thoroughly enough. When the weather got hot early in the day it got tough. If you have a depth finder it helps. There is a fish attractant in the middle of the cove that was placed into the lake aways back. If you have one of the lake anna maps thats marked with these and a decent finder, you will see it. However, during lunch in the heat of the day I took a break with my dad and fiancee and docked back up at Anna Point. I caught one that almost went for two pounds by beating the ledges and grass (which can be thick) by the dock area there. I caught mine on a 5" swim senko I was pulling from a hang up in the grass. My dad also lost a keeper right there in the grass after a minute to two minute fight, throwing a spinnerbait. The bass hang out there in the morning because the gusy that run the shop actually feed the carp and bass with minnows before the sun comes up. Me and my fiancee watched when we went before we launched and the water was so clear you could see the bass and carp come up for the fish and fight the ducks for it. It was awesome. But they DO hang out in this area. Anyone who thinks bass are not conditioned are wrong. They come here to feed every morning from what the guy says. Just be careful because there are spots where you CANNOT fish here. The middle of the launch area to be specific. Make it your goal to try out deep water docks around ledges or drop offs, and any grassy shoreline that has deep water access along the main lake (north side) heading up to the river. I got some nice hits up here outside the coves along the points. Later boss, hope this gives you some ideas.

My fiancee found these fishing jokes and thought we'd get a laugh out of em'. I sure did. She swears that the third one will be me someday lol. Later guys. Enjoy! A young man from North Carolina moves to Texas and goes to a big "everything under the roof" department store looking for a job. The manager says, "Do you have any sales experience?" The kid says, "Yeah, I was a salesman back home in North Carolina." Well, the boss liked the kid so he gave him the job. "You start tomorrow, I'll come down after we close and see how you did." His first day on the job was rough but he got through it. After the store was locked up, the boss came by. "How many sales did you make today?" The kid says "one." The boss says, "Just one, our sales people average 20 to 30 sales a day! How much was the sale for? The kid says "$121,345.64 The boss shouts out, "$121,345.64, WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SELL?" Kid says, " First I sold him a small hook, Then I sold him a medium hook, Then I sold him a larger hook, and then I sold him a new Penn fishing rod. So I asked him where he was going fishing and he said down at the coast, so I told him he was going to need a boat, so we went down to the boat department and I sold him a twin-engine boat. Then he told me that he didn't think his Honda would pull it, so I took him down to the automotive department and sold him an Expedition. The boss said, A guy came in here to buy a fish hook and you sold him a BOAT AND A TRUCK? The kid said, No, he came in here to buy a box of tampons for his wife and I said, well, your weekend's gunna be shot, you might as well go fishing! A man was stopped by a game-warden in National Park recently with two buckets of fish leaving a lake well known for its fishing. The game warden asked the man, "Do you have a license to catch those fish?" The man replied to the game warden, "No, sir. These are my pet fish." "Pet fish?!" the warden replied. "Yes, sir. Every night I take these here fish down to the lake and let them swim around for a while. I whistle and they jump back into their buckets, and I take em home." "That's a bunch of hooey! Fish can't do that!" The man looked at the game warden for a moment, and then said, "Here, I'll show you. It really works." "O.K. I've GOT to see this!" The game warden was curious. The man poured the fish in to the river and stood and waited. After several minutes, the game warden turned to the man and said, "Well?" "Well, what?" the man responded. "When are you going to call them back?" the game warden prompted. "Call who back?" the man asked. "The FISH." "What fish?" the man asked. Two fellas are fishing in a boat under a bridge. One looks up and sees a funeral procession starting across the bridge. He stands up, takes off his cap, and bows his head. The procession crosses the bridge and the man puts on his cap, picks up his rod and reel, and continues fishing. The other guy says, "That was touching. I didn't know you had it in you." The first guy responds, "Well, I guess it was the thing to do - after all, I was married to her for 40 years

Hey man congrats dude. I feel you. I just started this summer as well and had my first four fish day (all under 10") last week at a lake that has beat the pulp out of me the past 6-7 times I went out (was fishing the wrong side of the lake apparently). Anyway, I know the feeling. I don't care if they are dinks, the important thing is your improving your hook up to catch ratio, your skill, and your understanding of the different baits available to catch bass. I think thats awesome man. Good job out there. Good luck on the next trip and can't wait to see the pics next time!

Cats don't have teeth, Their lower fins are pretty sharp and have punctured my fiancee pretty good once. So deep we ended up in the ER getting it looked at because it bled all the way down her arm pretty bad. They are nasty fighters. Make sure you have gloves. Grab under the top fins by the head of the fish and squeeze a bit. This pressure stuns the catfish and allows you to have an easier time handling the fish and removing the hook. Sometimes the barb can be hard to get out of the fish and can be stuck pretty good. You can put your hand in the mouth while removing it but the pressure from their bite and the strong mouth can and will hurt like crazy if they decide to clamp down pretty good (normally only the bigger ones). Bring a pair of pliers to remove the hook, it makes it a heck of a lot easier. I don't know why you wouldn't want to catch one, but if you are using live bait like squid, shrimp, nightcrawlers, or others it definately is a possibility. Good luck in whatever you do try and catch.

Good luck this weekend T-Payne, grab a nice bag for me as I won't be able to get out on the water this weekend... freshwater that is. Will be down at a beach house in NC at Kittyhawk enjoying a weekend on the beach with my fiancee. Although you know we have to fish somehow. We will be out on the Avalon Pier doin' some saltwater fishing hopefully pullin' up blues, croaker, spot, and flounder. We shall see. Let me know how you do buddy. Aquia's grass can always be kind if you hit the right part at the right time. You planning on staying within Aquia or gettin' around to other areas as well? I hear frogs were doin' pretty well around there this summer, buzzbaits in the early morning hours as well. I would probably pitch jigs into the grass the majority of the afternoon if I were out there. Though I haven't been to successful on the Potomac so... Tight lines.

Haha, my dad forwarded me that picture in an email about 2 weeks ago. I think it would be hilarious. Except I think the NFL should tell him... "ok if you can outrun 100 aggressive pit bulls down the whole entire football field without being attacked and make it to the locker room we will grant you permission to play again... oh yea... the gates for the tunnels will be closed!" MWHAHAHAHA!!!! What a waste of talent!

Hey G-Man, better be careful. Avid has a thing for her you know . It would be the reverse sitaution of Mrs Jolie's "Taking Lives". Avid would be tracking YOU down lol.

Brats are a must! Potato salad has been on the menu before. But we like bringing steaks, shrimp cocktail, chips and dip, chips and salsa, hot dogs, polish sausages, sometimes chicken. Thats about it. Don't forget the beer, beer, beer and the occassional soda. I mostly tailgate to skins games (though I'm not a skins fan), and sometimes have tailgated at concerts. I'm not a big college football fan. I watch the bowl games and stuff and the bigger matchups or when my fiancees team (Penn State) is playing, she'll occasionally turn on the game. When I do watch I root for BC (Boston College), Clemson, or Michigan. Boston College is a hometeam of mine (born and raised in Boston, Go Bo-Sox), Clemson and Michigan are just two of the teams I know a little more about because some of my favorite NFL players have come out of there (mostly quarterbacks), me being a Denver Fan and all. Hey Chicago START BRIAN GRIESE DANG ON IT!!!

I used to use Matzuo Spinners and I thought they were great. They got the hits, but I've lost more fish than I can count on them. My hook up ratio has been much better with Strike King Spinners as far as landing the fish. I've never seen their lures though, I didn't even know they made lures. I've seen a lot of other ones at my local stores like Yo-Zuri, Rebel, Storm, Rapala, Strike King, Bandit, Norman, etc; but never Matzuo.

My Walmart is a great little stop on the way to the local lakes. And everyone of my friends I fish with uses it as a restock source on worms, lures, hooks, and weights. They are usually so quick at selling you can hardly find any weights or split shots where the tags hang. They have a GREAT selection of hooks with most top name brands. They sell senkos there now, have a nice selection of rapala lures, hart and strike king spinners, rebel lures, mepps inline spinners, the basics and most useful stuff. Their rod selection is not that great but they do carry some nice shimano and abu garcia reels. I have noticed their gun section is hurting a bit and they have pulled a lot from the shelves and actually recently seen some of the gun buyers get a little upset at the counter when asking for info. My store is in Woodbridge, Va. They have not pulled anything from the shelves and are only stocking more, as now they have added Bill Dance Videos and Learn Yourself Fishing Videos from some of the pros (ones on throwing crankbaits). I can see it being regional as most guys said. It would make no sense to have just as big a fishing dept in a Walmart store that didn't have water for nearly 30 miles nearby. Every lake, drainage pond, river, and rez has a healthy population of game fish. With as many die hard fishermen there are in my area (fresh and saltwater) I don't think it would be wise for Walmart to trim down or close their fishing section. The profit they get here has to be unreal. Me and my friends probably drop about 100 bucks a month EASILY.

Thanks Avid. I guess I need to invest in some different worms for when the swim senko isn't doing it's thing. I swam and deadsticked today with senkos, I guess I just wasn't in the right spot at the right time. Would you guys t-rig, carolina rig, or drop shot in these conditions? How deep would you be working the plastics?

Your home lake is low by a few feet or more and the weather is hot (like 90+). My lake is generally grass around the shoreline edges, with some sharp drop offs of 2-3 feet in some of the coves but a lot of them are fairly shallow (few feet max). The water is generally pretty clear up to 2-3 feet deep sometimes more. There are a lot of sticks and logs littering the bottom. There are a some lay downs but this is a LARGE lake. There is a path all the way around providing access. The past few days the only place the fish have held is on points of grass near deep water, and in these areas by the laydowns. They have been hard to catch. What are your primary baits? Do you fish slow or fast? Keep in mind this is shorefishing without a boat. The fish in this lake are catfish (channels, tons of em'), blue gills, perch, other sunfish, walleye (hard to catch), largemouth bass and crappie. There are some coves that are normally shady all day because of tree cover but those ones are normally harder to get to on foot because the ground is generally marshy (especially when the water is low like it is now). There is also a TON of pressure at this lake. This lake is ranked close to the top as far as pressure in our state (Va). If anyone is curious as to the name it is Burke Lake. There is also a fishing pier that goes out 50+ feet into the lake.

Cool, thanks for all the tips guys. Looks like bottom rigs near the pilings and shoreline areas. Will try squid and bloodworms and see how it goes. We may get some shrimp too depending on how much bait costs down there. Hey MD thanks for the ideas for food and restaurants. I appreciate it. I'll post pics when I get back on Monday. Later guys. Take care.

Bought a Bandit 200 Series because the colors they had for the 100 were very limited. I like the action and wide wobble the crank gets. I chose white as the color. Ran it for about 30 mins today in a cove and around points but it was hot as all get out as soon as the sun was up at 7:30am and the water right now is hot. I also bought another Mann's -1 in a black and chrome color and ran it for about 20 minutes or so by a fishing pier, wood pilings, and rocky shoreline with no success. The bite was just hard at this particular lake today, they didn't want cranks, senkos or spinners, or topwater. Not a bite in 4 hours... worst day out in forever. I will give these some shots next time I'm out though sometime next week. Thanks for all the input guys.

What hooks come standard on Strike King Spinners? I use Gammy for everything else. My Senkos, My Zoom Finesse Worms, and my Crawdads. So horse these suckers in when they slam the spinner? I didn't know if I should be horsing em' on those spinners. But I guess if I have the rod tip up and I'm horsing em' in I should be maintaining pressure and it should work. Thanks Avid.

Thanks alot man, I appreciate all the info. I'm just gonna cover the basics on this trip and get size 4 hooks, bottom rigs, bloodworms and squid and toss it right by the pilings and see what I get. I don't care what I catch I just wanna start getting some fish when I go out saltwater fishing. Thanks for ll the info, we will be near mile marker 1.5 so we will hit that tackle shop and ask whats going on there lately when we pull in and then probably fish the closest pier to them. Crossing my fingers for some luck. I'll post pics in this thread when I get back if we catch anything. We are gonna surf fish from the beach front in the mornings and nights since we have the beachfront property, so that should be fun too.

Well my fiancee enjoys nightfishing and the relaxation it provides on the pier. Bring a couple of lawn chairs and sit out and shoot the bull and kinda just talk and stuff while we fish. Its really gonna depend on how busy the pier is as far as us moving around a bunch. It's hard to find structure in saltwater fishing, least as long as I've been doing it. Not much of it around. Any tips on that? Ok well I'll probably pick up blood worms and squid then, squid is a usual for us. I was figuring bottom rigs. They say the seas down there have been a little crazy and stuff so I'll prob go with the 2-3oz sinkers you said to use. I will prob get at least 30lb line just because of the possibility of hooking bigger fish, I doubt it will happen but we'll see. What size hooks do you recommend us getting? So as far as leaders don't worry about it? just bottom rig? If I were o go with a one hook setup on a leader line, are there any other fish I can get to hit out there that are bigger? Sharks? Bluefish? etc? We may start earlier in the evening to get a couple decent hours of bluefish action if possible. Do minnows work for any of the fish out there? I only ask since I caught a blue on my rapala out there last time. I'm assuming the surf will just beat them up?

I have a Mann's -1 Elite series shallow runner but I haven't used it much, and when I have I don't think it's been in the right situations. I'm gonna continue to throw this bait and try and get used to it. Where do you find you have most of your success with this bait? I like the action on it and the wake it creates, I just haven't generated many strikes on it, actually closer to none at all haha. Gotta stick with it though til' I understand it. That's how I am about all my lures at least until I know exactly how it works and what situations to use it in. I hear its a quality bait so... keep chuckin'!

Yea... I def didn't know that CJ. As far as technical knowledge goes and all I'm not to that point yet. If guys on here are gonna get on me about it though I'll pay more attention next time? lol. Not trying to be a pain just I had no clue it was a jerk bait honestly. I run it like a jerk bait at first for a couple twitches, then run it shallow very slowly or really fast depending on water conditions. Thanks for the info on those two lures though, a lot of people I know like the bandits, including my father so I may look into them. Lucky Craft is out of my price range until I get better at running lures and such. Still a newb at crankbaits really. Only ones I have run are Rapala Shad Raps, Rat-L-Traps and sometimes Countdown Minnows. I'll probably pick up a Bandit or two before I head up tommorrow. Those are mostly good for warmer water conditions right? Because the wide wobble? That works fine here cause most of our water temps are in the 80s.

Hey guys, not a huge fan of crankbaits, but I do like shallow water cranks or topwater. Some of my favorite are the original rapala floating lures (although I can't cast them very far (with light line)). I like the action these lures have and the variety of retrieves I can use as far as twitching, shallow slow runs, and quick runs to get a few inches under the surface. I'm looking for some other lures like these by other common companies I may see in boaters world, walmart or sports authority. This way I have a couple of different kinds on hand that have different actions for situations where they may not be biting one due to the action or the unrealistic look of the lure I'm currently using. Any suggestions about what to try out? I usually just run these around rocky shorelines or shorelines that have stumps and logs in the water. Mostly run them during period of time when water is clear or slightly stained. I like pearl, minnow, firetiger, and white colors.

My previous two trips were pretty lame as far as fish caught (we had bad parts on the pier too though). I caught a 9" Striper on a nightcrawler bottom rigged with a 1 oz weight at Solomon's island. Second time was at Matapeake Pier by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and caught a 12" Bluefish on a Rapala Deep Diver Pearl Minnow while I was just goofing around with my bass pole. Normally my bites are few and far between. Any casting tips or ways you could answer previous questions from my first post.

Hey guys third time going saltwater this weekend on Saturday evening (night fishing with my fiancee ALL NIGHT). Buying a new saltwater pole friday night before we leave. My question is: what can I catch right now? What rigs should I use? And what size lb test should I buy, and size leaders? I don't know what is in season right now too well except for the fact that croaker, spot, and flounder have been caught off piers near we are going recently. I will be in Kittyhawk North Carolina and I want to actually catch some nice fish. My guess is fish off the deepest part of the pier and get out as deep as I can? How much weight should I use? I'm guessing bottom rigs? How do you guys have success in situations like these? Any types of bait your favorite this time of year for this situation? I catch croaker all the time in the Rappahanock River (off Urbanna Creek) near Tappahanock on nightcrawlers. My biggest is about 3lbs. Hope to get some advice. Later guys.

Thanks Fin. Looking back on the past two fish I missed I was playing the angles pretty bad and never thought about the total idea you just stated. Next time I will do that and picture the hook in the fishes mouth. Come to think of it, the last two times I lost them my rod was facing the opposite direction the fish was going as I was trying too hard to horse em away from that direction. It all makes a lot of sense. So two lessons learned for me in this thread... actually three. 1) You don't need to kill the hook set, but instead keep pressure on by playing the fish correctly and keeping the rod tip high. 2) Sharpen my hooks, though some of you think a trailer may not be key I am going to at least give it a try, but the sharpness will be the first thing on my mind from now on. 3) Pay attention to the angles, direction the fish is swimming, where my rod is facing, where the fish wants to go, etc. Thanks a lot guys. I always learn so much from you guys on here. Hopefully I'll be reeling another in on that spinnerbait real soon. Picking up a couple new ones tommorrow morning before I hit Burke Lake. I'll post results if it's worth posting. Later folks.