I was wondering if anyone knew of any good places near JMU to go check out.  Thanks for any help.

:-X

j/k. I just graduated from JMU. There are actually bass in Newman Lake on campus but I never caught any big ones there and the lake is pretty nasty sometimes. There is Silver Lake off of Rt. 42 (High St. ) If you go South from Memorial Hall. Just turn right when you see a sign for Silver Lake Mill on the right. Don't go during trout season without a trout stamp. It is stocked so you must have a trout stamp to fish it (you won't need one in the fall)

Then there is the North River in Bridgewater. Just go south on High St. until you get into Bridgewater and turn left just BEFORE the bridge and then into the little park along the river. There is some good fishing in there. Make sure you take some weedless topwater baits like frogs or something because the weeds grow very high by Fall. There are smallmouths, largemouth, and even pike in that part of the river. You can also continue down the road that you turned left onto from High St. and keep going past the football fields and to where the road ends. There is a little dirt road parking area along the river behind the golf course where you can catch some smallies and largies.

Also, you can try the Shenandoah at Port Republic (just go east on Port Republic Road until you cross two bridges and then keep an eye out for a left turn marked by a brown "Public Boat Ramp" sign. This spot is the farthest from campus.

Lastly, there is Lake Shenandoah. It can really be hit or miss. Lots of weeds and not much else to fish. There are musky in the lake but I've never caught one. To get there, go east on Port Republic, then take a left on Shen. Lake Rd. than a right on Massanetta Springs Rd. They rent boats and motors there but the building that rents them is hardly ever open so I've never done it.

If you are a freshman then you might be out of luck until you find a friend with a car who will take you or let you borrow their wheels. Until then you might be stuck with Newman lake but I've caught many bass from there. Also, I usually fish where the creek feeds the lake right by the stadium and sorority row. Those sorority girls used to freak out whenever I actually caught a fish outta there.