shimmy

we actually could launch yours. That is the little secret that others haven't picked up on. The old launch has been open since last November when they were doing construction on Mt. Hope road. One nice nitro boat figured that out but i have yet to see people launch their boats from that side. That would be fun. My secrets on the lake are no good to me once i leave so i must spread the wealth!

Ha, thanks man! Yeh, if you ever wanted to tag along just give me a holler since i am sure as always you would probably end up teaching me! It is crazy how kids grow. Just had my second one two weeks ago. I still have no idea what i am doing but man are they fun!

I have posted a video in the fishing reports section. Since there is a lot of talk about this reservoir, i hope some of what i have to offer can help you catch some of the nice bass this reservoir has to offer. I will fish it for less than a year before i take off and if you ever want additional information or help finding some of the spots, just shoot me a pm or talk about it on the forum. This is Part 1 of a two part series. Part 2 will come out once i edit the darn thing, which may take a while. Shimmy http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/127891-virginia-beaverdam-creek-reservoir-video-series/

I started filming a while back and found it extremely fun and addicting. Watching your catches over and over has been a blast and allows me to relive the glory while i am trapped indoors. I made a precursor video for this video a while back that was just for fun which will be included as well. My overall goal was to share with others many spots, lures, and techniques where i have caught some of the better bass on this 350 acre reservoir. Nevertheless, there is still so much about this reservoir that i do not know and am sure i am missing. Those who fish it know that it can be a nightmare, but you can always get lucky. This lake is often vacant during the week and offers beautiful scenery for a day on the lake. This is a trolling motor only lake which can drive you crazy when you troll over to a spot for 30 minutes only to get skunked and then have to turn right back around. This is a 2 part series of videos and this is part 1. The smallest fish is 4.0 lbs and there are several bass exceeding 23 inches. Enjoy! Intro Part 1

Obviously not as rare as Minnesota, since the 9 would break the state record. I don't know anyone who has come close to the 8 pound mark and have only read articles of a few doing so in Minnesota. I would say though that catching a 6 pounder out of MN is easier than catching one over 6 in northern Virginia. Pretty weird.

So it sounds like we can all agree that you should always take a picture to make your fish look big... Go team.

So much fun man! Great season and great variety!

Just because people disagree with you does not make them grumpy. I full heartedly agree that fish should always be weighed and that i am at the forefront at being a bass officer when i see a picture of a bass with some indecent weight exposure. My point was there have been many guessing posts where people know the weight and ask others to guess the weight and the more experienced anglers can get pretty close. Hence, your post of the first picture was more of an anomaly on this site for the guessing game since no one was even close, including myself. But like i said, the 7 pounder picture was criminal. A 7 should never receive such a photo.

I would disagree with how this shows how deceiving the regular bass picture is. The floor pictures are horrendous. Everyone looked at the size of your shoe which was at least 12 inches and there is no humanly possible way that the fish is double the shoe size hence the lower weights which is why it is still hard to believe it was 24 inches. Perhaps your size 12 shoe is 16 inches long??? Who knows. Additionally, bass next to rod pictures on the grass are nearly impossible to predict and are criminal to use to show off sizes of big bass. The main illusion was the first picture. From this angle it looks fat, but a side shot would have greatly supplemented it. I have noticed on this site that people (especially experienced anglers) can be pretty dang close on fish weights, which makes your pictures in particular much different from the norm. I think the real culprit in all of this was the horrendous photos of the supposedly big fish on the ground.

Yes!!!! Love these types of stats!!! We need Catt and WRB to name a few to play along.

I am assuming you will be providing the overall statistics of numbers of big bass in the 7s 8s and 9 pound range. Unbelievable trip again. I look forward to these reads. Don't be afraid to get long winded on your following reports!

I think what may better define what you are talking about WRB is someone in shape, not an athlete. My grandpa ran the treadmill, did balancing drills with weights, he could handle waves on the water; he was not an athlete, he was in shape. Athletes push their physical body to the extreme. Fisherman who run and gun can be in better shape than others and can train to be able to push themselves harder than others, but they train to be in shape; not to be an athlete. An athlete's athleticism in general greatly influences their skill level and success. Now, every sport has an athlete who is less gifted physically than the competitors but still outperforms the competition, but their is always some level of physical ability that is lightyears ahead of your regular Joe Shmoe (with the exception of a knuckleball pitcher in baseball or something). This same statement cannot be applied to a fisherman. Wisdom will beat the "athletic" fisherman any day. Your physical abilities are not what make you win the tournament.

I have played and trained with athletes in "good physical condition". The "physically conditioned" fisherman are not athletes. Yes it is a sport. But athletes...come on. While sure there are some on the tour that have played sports in the past, this does not make them an athlete at the moment. I am not doubting that you have to be physically capable to endure mental exhaustion and physical fatigue of sorts in extreme weather conditions, but come on, an athlete? There is a difference. When i think of athletes, i think of training centered around pushing your physical body to it's extreme, not of Rick Clunn (although, i wouldn't mind being in his shape at his age).

If anyone has not used his jigs, you are missing out. Great price and the hooks and weedguards are solid. Are you planning on doing a Thanksgiving day sale? Either way, everyone here should at least make an experimental purchase with your jigs; it is well worth the investment.

People don't limit themselves with colors of jigs. Not sure where this assumption is coming from.

I seriously am blown away by these numbers!? That is just ridiculous. I am assuming you are catching them all on the same lake right?

That is sooooooo awesome!!!! What a fun thing to do catching big bass with the lady. Great fish.

oh...wow! Beauty! Where did you catch this thing? Vermont?

A-Jay, that is great, love the video! I think you are at the stage now where you should get your camera running and start filming these beauties being caught. It's time to make that transition, i know a lot here including me would enjoy watching them. Shimmy

the thread does not lead to any material Doug posted A-Jay. I agree here, would love to see Glenn pitch in and find that for us all. Shimmy

I always kept the small ones (under a pound) and they never got over 2 pounds. I cannot remember how big our tank was. It was approximately 1.5 X 1.5 X 3-4 feet. It was so cool to walk in and just stare at your little buddy and see him swim around. They are mean too. A few times we had more than 1 bass and there was always one that was a bully. Don't put a turtle in with them. No matter how big they are, they will snip at the fish.

I use to keep them as pets in a relatively smaller tank. It was soooooooooooo worth it! We had a small catfish, small bass, and a crappie. It was so much fun to feed them and then create hiding places for them and watch them ambush bait or chill out. We would put crawdads in there as well but they never lasted too long. The main difficult task with it all was cleaning the tanks. A poorly managed tank will kill the fish pretty quick. Also don't forget to add the nutrients to improve the oxygen levels and other stuff that maximize the water conditions to make it liveable for the bass. We had so much fun buying a dozen gold fish and hand feeding them or what not. I'm sure you'll get responses discouraging you from keeping a bass, but just ignore it. Get yourself a small bass, put it in the tank, and have fun with your new best friend. Had somebody else caught that small bass, they might have eaten it, but you're givin that little feller another chance at life by wining and dining him with easy to catch food and admiration. Warning, they may not live longer than a year...so don't forget to get a new one immediately. Good luck. Troy

a white perch, aka the nemesis

Catt, you know what would make good reading literature is you posting some of your logs! It would make for a great read. While you discuss some of your catches in the Toledo Bend thread, i would greatly enjoy reading some of your daily logs/statistics.

I recall back when Catt discussed the different water columns and how bass will live in certain water columns year round not limiting yourself to seasonal patterns. I always grew up targeting bass in less than 8 feet of water year round and only fished 8+ waters occasionally in the summer and fall. After hearing of his success and how monster bass are predominantly caught in the 8-15 foot range year round (more specific to lakes with less depth - not like lake Amistad depths), i gave it a shot and it has changed my fishing. He emphasized how another big bass population lives 15+ deep year round as well. The reality that big bass prefer certain depths year round was a big wake up call and i then started targeting depths that were less targeted for specific lakes. While this is not to say a bass that lives in 20+ waters won't come up shallow to feed here and there, it means they live deeper most of the year than other big bass that prefer shallower depths. For example, one lake i hit is hammered by fisherman hitting the 8 feet and less zone year round. I Stopped fishing the shore and points and learned about subtle structure changes (also learned from Catt and WRB) in the 8-15 foot range that other anglers failed to recognize and started killing the bigguns on that particular lake. Wanna be a better angler and get the most out of the original topic here, I suggest bookmarking any topic with Catt and WRB pitching in and you will become a better angler.