.. just been catching a lot of dinks on my plastics, jigs, senko's, and spinner baits and even on my cranks.. i know fishing has been hard these past couple weeks during the rediculous heat we had. but has anyone had any luck at all catching some decent size? if u did what was it on?

atleast i know im not the only one having issues getting a bite. the biggest i caught was 1.2 pounds in the past 2-3 weeks and its been the same lake i have been catching 2-3 pounders constantly.. i guess it looks like that the hawgs have slowed down and the chances for a big one are slimming down till its cooler again...

what have u been catching them on?!

Unfortunately, unless you have the ability to get to deeper water with better o2 levels, your chances of finding quality fish right now is low. Adjust your fishing to winter like patters. Water temps like we have now force the fish to feed less because their metabolism slows down. Fish are still there, it just takes a slower presentation and getting a reaction strike. Fish will still feed, just in smaller windows of opportunity. Try nighttime!

yeh thats what im going to be doing.. and i shore fish so for me to get to deeper water is hard for me.. ive been fishing from 7-9 but nothing but a couple dinks even after slowing all my presentations..

Jigs and shaky heads (fished slowly) have produced quite a few fish from 3-5 lbs for me over the past couple of weeks. I've also been doing the evening deal -- fishing from 6 or 7 until dark.

JSPOONE if you were pulling 3lbers consistently before then be happy you were pulling that high level of fish. FIsh that size in this heat are going to be locked down unless some O2 moves through due to current or heavy winds or in the thermocline like Quan mentioned.

The river might be good because of the moving water and the heavy vegatation will be pumping out some O2.

I bass fished yesterday. Of the 30 bass I caught, none were over 5#. The mid-day period was the most productive.

I don't have to guess where they are, I find them with my electronics and fish directly for them, sort of like sight fishing.

Slow presentations and crankbaits have been the most productive for the past few weeks.

Wayne you ever get skunked? You seem to always produce some serious numbers.

Wayne you ever get skunked? You seem to always produce some serious numbers.

Yes, occasionally. January 31 this year was one of those days, never did figure out the pattern to get a bite even though I could see the fish suspended in trees with my electronics. The air temp was 65 and water temp ranged from 43 to 47 degrees. I don't use live bait. That was at the same lake as yesterday.

I would love to get on a boat with you Wayne to see how you decipher the images with the SI units. I truly think it is something that I could really use to my advantage on the occoquan reservoir! With all of the different types of habitat the res has, I think it would really be helpful in understanding what makes that place tick!!

JSPOONE if you were pulling 3lbers consistently before then be happy you were pulling that high level of fish. FIsh that size in this heat are going to be locked down unless some O2 moves through due to current or heavy winds or in the thermocline like Quan mentioned.

The river might be good because of the moving water and the heavy vegatation will be pumping out some O2.

Yeh I only shore fish so its hard for to get onto the river. If I had a boat I would b fishing almost everyday. So hopefully in the next yr or two I will b able to

been going out on a private lake in the evening or at night. Catching mostly small ones, but my buddies have a hooked and lost a few large ones on wacky worms in the shallows at dusk or after dark. I Have gotten lots of bites lately on a medium depth crank baits( the ones that shake hard), really burning it through the water. usually between 5- 10 feet of water is where I get most the strikes.

A friend and I caught a dozen dinks in two hours the day before yesterday on senkos and small jigs. Fish were in the 10-15 feet range. I can't find the really big ones anymore, but I know where to catch a few decent ones (in the 3-5 lb range), Will try again for them next week.

Ken Cook

Bassmaster University

Richmond, Virginia

January 2004

Speed of Metabolism Based on Water Temperature

Number of Days to Digest a Minnow

40* - 8 Days

50* - 7

60* - 2.5

70* - 24 Hours

80* - 18 Hours

81*+ - 18 Hours

73* to 75$ is most efficient metabolism

Water temperature is critical to your fishing plans

You will start to catch them on a regular basis them 60*

Just thought you guys would like to have this data.

Cut and paste it where you can see it in your man-cave.

Sorry for the typos. Trying to get ready for a tournament but I think you all can translate what Ken Cook said at the seminar.

thanks for that post sam i didnt know that till now...

i went out yesterday from 6-9 caught 1 and lost 2 decent size ones from not setting the hook good enough or my hooks are not sharp enough.

any1 know good sharp soft plastic hooks?

Sorry for the typos. Trying to get ready for a tournament but I think you all can translate what Ken Cook said at the seminar.

Thanks for that info, that will be very helpful. Good luck on your tourney.

thanks for that post sam i didnt know that till now...

i went out yesterday from 6-9 caught 1 and lost 2 decent size ones from not setting the hook good enough or my hooks are not sharp enough.

any1 know good sharp soft plastic hooks?

For good hook penetation, you need more that just good sharp hooks, you need a line that does not stretch too much, a rod that is not too soft of an action, and a hook diameter and barb that offers the least resistance for penetration that can handle the task. You also need a soft plastic that is not too hard and/or a rigging method that allows for the hook to do its job.

For Texas rigging, I use Gamakatsu or Owner offset worm hooks in an appropriate size for the lure and the intended species at a particular location.

Had some luck @ LakeBraddock today landed this one and two more before the rain started closin' in using a 2/0 hook, 12# line and a blue/black zoom u tale... http://twitter.com/R.../large?tw_p=twt

Been getting no bites at lake Braddock lately. And im there 2-3 times a week. What part have u been fishing

Hey J, I was on the raintree st side and some old guy was just leavin when i got there and he showed me where he landed a few so i stuck close that area after the rain I came back to do a lil catfishin' but only got a few bites after i switched up to that dip bait onnacountof the chunks werent doin nuthin LOL

lol yeh i might have to try catfishing there im sure there is some big one's in there if royal is holding big ones too.. i usually walk towards the dam and fish over there next to fallen tree