new occ res fisherman here haven't fished for 20 years ,fell in hook line and sinker and bought a jon boat with a 9.8 merc and last weekend installed a foot controlled trolling motor

been doing good on catching 2 lbers on spinners and crankbaits still working on finding the big fish

 

I'd be right there with you buying a small boat/trolling motor except me and teh GF are expecting a baby girl in November.  So I have to really watch what I spend.  Doesnt keep me from the occasional Amazon.com or Basspro.com lure orders here and there LOL:)...

Wow. Some of you guys fished yesterday?! It was HOT. Still is. No wonder it was slow. If I was a fish I'd go deep looking for the AC!

Hey Redneck... would you happen to race at NOVA BMX? I'm an old school bmx guy myself and got my daughter into racing a bit last year. Sorry to the rest for the threadjack.

 

It was hot but we had to get on the water so we dealt with it.

 

BMXing was a while ago for me, I've been out of it for years and have never heard of NOVA BMX.

 

I was going to go, but you're right... it was HOT!  

 

What type of line are you guys using on baitcasting gear?  I'm using Yo-Zuri Hybrid 12# right now and it's been working well, but since I'm adding rods/reels I have been thinking about braid.  Maybe 50# power pro with a fluoro leader if I need it.  Would probably be nice around trees and grass and such.  Thinking a high vis braid might help with me actually being able to watch my line, too. 

 

You should taylor the line to what kind of fishing you're doing. If you tie the right knot you will break the rod before you will 12lb yo-zuri so 50lb braid isn't going to do you much good on a lot of rods. If you do decide to use braid I would stick to 20-30lb test and I would use suffix 832 over power pro for a baitcaster. The power pro is very abrasive compared to the 832 and just doesn't cast as far. If it was me I would stick to the yo zuri hybrid and a good mono unless you see a reason that you need braid. I can also tell you that clearing a birdsnest with braid, if it happens, is near impossible.

I'll probably just stick with the Yo-Zuri.  I like it so far and it hasn't given me any problems.  Sometimes it's difficult to see, though.  

Yozuri is great line, by far the best flourocarbon type line I have found. It has very low memory and excellent knot strength. Pretty much all of the other flourocarbons I've used either have way too much memory unless you use line conditioner or they have poor knot strength. I do want to try seaguar because I've heard great things but I just can't bring myself to pay $20 to spool one reel. I'm not cheap by any means but thats just too much for one reel with flourocarbon.

 

There's really no reason that you need to see your line, if you can see it, bass can see it. The whole point behind flourocarbon is that its hard to see and virtually disappears under water. If you can see it, fish can see it. On the rare occasion I used braid its green or red, the only time I use yellow is for saltwater fishing when seeing your line does have a major advantage.  

I like to see it when fishing Senkos.  When I can, usually I can see a strike when the line pops.  But I guess it's not that big of a deal, and I'm just trying to buy more stuff I don't need.  

You shouldn't be relying on seeing the line to feel a strike, if you can't feel everything with the rod then you should buy a better rod. A good rod will not only let you feel a strike but you can also tell if a fish has taken the whole thing or just nipped it. You can also feel the lure hitting structures and crossing logs and stumps with a good rod. I would suggest buying a good mid priced rod like a St Croix Premier or Mojo, or a Shimano Cruicial. I used to fish cheap rods but I quickly learned the difference. I don't buy $400 Loomis rods but I also don't waste my time with $50-60 rods anymore.

You shouldn't be relying on seeing the line to feel a strike, if you can't feel everything with the rod then you should buy a better rod. A good rod will not only let you feel a strike but you can also tell if a fish has taken the whole thing or just nipped it. You can also feel the lure hitting structures and crossing logs and stumps with a good rod. I would suggest buying a good mid priced rod like a St Croix Premier or Mojo, or a Shimano Cruicial. I used to fish cheap rods but I quickly learned the difference. I don't buy $400 Loomis rods but I also don't waste my time with $50-60 rods anymore.

 

99% of the time my Senko strikes are on very slack line when it's falling.  The only indication of a strike I get in that situation is watching the line.  If I can see it, I can see it pop before I feel a thing.  That's when I know to reel down and set the hook.  

yea majority of my Senko bait bites are on slack line after twitching it a few times or dragging it a few feet and letting it fall.  your line isnt tight like it is with  spinner bait, crankbait or just a heavier bait in general, there's slack. 

I snapped 4 of the 5 rods I had in the boat a couple weeks ago when my buddy shook the boat and I fell on them. I am thanking my lucky stars that I don't spend a lot on my gear... Just picked up a $40 baitcaster replacement rod that I'm sure I'll be happy with. That's 1 down, 3 to go.

 

....and let my example serve as a lesson. Don't bring half a case of beer on the boat and not expect something to go wrong!

I woke up late this morning and made it to Bull Run around 7:30 AM.  I didn't have any luck all the way up to noon, but I did enjoy hiking the trail so it wasn't a total loss.  

I haven't even thought about going fishing in this heat. Any of you guys having luck? I gotta think it's really slow going. I might try for some post sun-down buzzbait action some time this week.

From the shore it definitely is slow.  I can't speak for the guys on boats, but I assume it's slow as well... only with more options.  Still, it's nice to get out and fish.  I have had luck catching dinks at Lake Ridge Marina.  

I love buzzbaits at night!

Where was that?  I have one buzzbait but have never really used it.

Here's a silly question:  Has anyone fished the "lake" at Best Buy in Woodbridge?  I stumbled upon a fishing report last night where a gentleman briefly fished that lake and caught a largemouth on a spinner bait.  

 

There are fish there, and I have to believe it's not pressured... would be interesting to check out.  I would just feel awkward parking in the BB lot and walking into the woods with a rod. 

Try slow rolling a buzzbait in the shallows just after sunset. Try throwing parallel to the shoreline just a couple feet out. Fun!

 

Honestly I don't like to give out locations on this forum. Too many watchers that I know have spoiled other locations in the past. There are other more private sites.

No worries.   

Honestly I don't like to give out locations on this forum. Too many watchers that I know have spoiled other locations in the past. There are other more private sites.

 

I recognize the grass from your photo!!!   That is a funny looking bass. I am still trying to catch my 1st decent sized bass on buzzbait.

Hey all, 

Been a little MIA on here for a bit, and a lot of new faces posting about NOVA...which is great.  The heat has been brutal so night and early morning seems to be the only chance to get bit.....

 

Myself and some friends have had some luck in the early mornings with shallow cranks and square bills before direct sunlight hits the water.  Once it does, seems they run deep and I am nowhere near good enough with a drop shot to sit out in the deep holes and see if I can wait out a fish to bite.  

 

Hopefully this cooling trend keeps up..... nights in the 70's beat an overnight low of 90 always

Hit the Res today with my dad.  We went from 6am-Noon.  Launched out of Lake Ridge and made our way up Sandy Run.  We had some luck early, mainly with little ones on spinners and senkos.  My dad hooked a ~2lber early but right as we got him to the boat he shook off.  Plenty of 1 punders on the day but nothing of substance.  I'm guessing the big guys are still deep.  Still had fun... it was very nice out but a bit too windy for my tastes.  Was hard to keep our canoe in place later in the morning.  

 

I think we are going to hit Burke or Accotink next... someplace better suited to a canoe than the res.  

The wind will make the day on the res! Wish you had something more able to deal with the wind because you can load the boat in the right spot with the wind hammering a point or bluff face!

Went to Accotink for a few hours this morning. Tried the pond below the dam and some bank areas along the trails.......nothing. But it was fun trying.

The smaller the bait the better at accotink. Look for stumps and lay downs, cast along tha thru them, you should get bit!!

Was at LOW this weekend and finally got my GF to fish with me.  We fished from shore for about 40 minutes after sunset.  she landed a real Nice 5-6 lb catfish on a new chartruse colored sinking Senko style bait.   Put up a great fight on the light spinning rod I had her using.

 

Following day I caught two small bass, one on a senko style bait and one on a KVD sexy shad colored 15-20' diving crankbait.

So is she now hooked on fishing? I certainly hope so.

I think my dad and I are going to give Burke Lake a shot this Saturday in the canoe.