quanjig

Yes, you should just pretend to be fun fishing, LOL! When you put yourself into the mix of competition, you may have a tendency to do things a little bit differently. With that being said, maybe you should work on being consistent. Don't be that try hard guy. You know how to do it, you have done it before, have the self confidence and know in your mind that what you do is correct. fishing behind a professional is a daunting task! I'm not sure they leave many to be caught by the co-angler! The best thing you can do is chalk it up to a learning experience and work on things that will make you a more rounded angler!

^^ Do you know anyone that lives in Ashburn? They could probably take you as a guest but like Bashcrusher said they do crack down on people that are not residents. I've never been out there to fish and it's very tempting, but a criminal trespassing charge is no joke!

I have been catching quality and quantity from the res and Huntsman in the past few days. Football jig has been the most consistent producer with the fish absolutely mauling the bait! Find you some nice drops near deeper water and drag that thing around!!

Occoquan reservoir people! That place has been on fire for two months now. Point bite is in full gear. Don't take my word for it, go fish it!!

Nothing like being first on the water especially in the summer! Blasting down the reservoir (9.9hp!) and having your choice of any spot you want, shorts and a teeshirt, what's not to like?! Even duri g the coldest months, I find early-thirty to be almost as fun. After a shocking cold night, shad are a bite easier for the bass to chase and easier for me to catch!!

To me, Beaverdam is a late season deal when the fish are bunched up in predictable locations! It has some very nice smallies!

I think you would be better of with a kayak or canoe, like Bigbarge said its a hike! If you have wheels on it, you can drag it down the dirt access road at the top end by the stumps but again it's quite a walk.

I think you are right about huntsman as well. I fish there more than mercer and have noticed a big drop in quality as well as quantity of catches. Big shad kill there in late January early February this year. Couple of time I counts more than a dozen eagles in the trees as well as hundreds of gulls looking for the shad as they rolled to the surface. I don't recall ever seeing anything like that from there before. My catches from Huntsman this year have been dismal. Hope it's just cyclical and fishing starts to improve!

Surprised nobody has said top water other than buzz bait! Chug bug, popper, spook would get my first cast on weedy points with flats a close second. I would then look at the ends of bluffy areas and flip a beaver style bait around any cover. From there, I would look at deeper points with a medium crank or shakey paying close attention to the graph looking for suspended bait and the depth they are mostly relating to and look to target those depths as I continue my search. Football jigs and scroungers would play a major part in my day!!

X2 on catch and release and frozen bottles as well. Follow the directions on the bottle and try to keep the livewell water cooler than the surface water, not freezing cold, about 10* cooler is sufficient. Good luck and let us know how you do!

They were caught along the dam and both fish were caught on jerkbaits. Mercer is a tough place to catch fish. The forage base is shad and crayfish, with plenty of bluegill and crappie. Every one of those fishes is way out of control and big fish are tough to come by anymore. It used to be a place you could catch a lot of nice fish with the occasional giant. I think those days are gone. You can also catch some nice pickeral and really big crappie from there!!

Google maps will help you with the road name to get you to the upper end of the lake! This fish March '11 This fish March '12 I don't have much luck after the prespawn at mercer. Bigbarge is the guy that can be of most help about mercer. Vaparrothead also does well there!!

Jspoone, pm shimmy. He fishes there often enough that he may be able to help you!

Smart. I had a cat fixed, ruined two pairs of shoes by relieving himself in the left shoe of each pair, caught him the second time. When he was finished, just walked away and gave me a look as he sauntered off! I thought to myself, "hmmmmm, I guess he didn't appreciate that!"

Bourbon?? Tequila??? Sounds right up my ally! What's the address again?? Nice digs Robert, enjoy responsibly........ when possible!

Flatties that size are so abundant on the res! I've probably caught at least 10 that size bass fishing. Always fun on bass gear and yes, for about 15 seconds you think it's the man!!

Makes me not want to go to Anna!! I've been checked a bunch on the res, but after a while, the guys recognize you and just wave as they go by!! I realize it's a much large body of water that gets an amazing amount of use by many people that by all rights are barely able to walk and chew gum alone operate a craft!! seems a bit over the top being checked that many times in such a short amount of time. I would have had a hard time asking if they don't coordinat these checks with one another!

Yes

Fish should start to get out on the points on the res. I plan on flat out beast mode stomping them Sunday when I go!!

Shimano lost me when they discontinued the 200B. Picked up a scorpion and it's nice, hope it holds up. I have too many friends that have had serious problems with the "E" line up. I'll stick with the 2nd gen revo SX! THAT is a sweet reel and with the price reduction, it's a no brainer!!

That's how I have my Johnny set up Wayne. How much for the TM??!! JK!! Those things last forever!

One mans trash is another mans treasure! Some love those reels, others do not. Simple observations while holding a reel in ones hand are just that, it's one persons opinion. We've all done it. Simmer down now, it's why we all have loyalties to what we believe is the best for us. Will it keep me from getting it, probably not. If I think it's going to be a viable option for what I do, I'll get it, if not, who cares but me!!

I have fished both Fountainhead and Burke for 20+ years. Both have great fishing if you know where to fish and at the same time can be tough to find fish. Time on the water fishing small areas and learning them will get you more and better results!

Two weeks ago caught a couple of solid 3 lb fish on points with a shaky.With the receint rain and high water, I wouldn't rule out weed lines shallow. Lower lake was better than the top. Good luck and let us know how you do.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I think I'm going to give the Sunline a try. I like to think I'm diligent in checking my knots and line, retying frequently and might just move up in line strength as well as new brand!