shimmy

I give up. I have officially changed my PB status to accommodate this site.

Is this the one between 8 and 9 pounds?

Thought it was made clear but maybe not. The jig with many sorts of plastic trailers will flip over on its side in the water. Put the jig with a trailer, skirt and all, in the tub and certain trailers will turn to the side. Mentioned the jig head alone because several jig heads take a lot to turn on their side. Hope this helps you out.

disagree with some statements here. The poison tail jig is actually the least stable jig in terms of resting on the bottom. For example, put the jig head, lets say a 1/4 oz jig head with either a 3/0 or 4/0 hook in water in the sink or tub and it will flip over on its side. Without the right trailer, these jigs flip over on their side. Not sure how much of a difference that makes, but i only use these jigs with floating trailers to keep it more upright and even then, i have to make more modifications to keep it up. Arkies are less likely to do this. However, in terms of hook up ratio, when i get a bite on this jig, i can probably count on one hand how many of them have thrown the jig. They don't come off. The angle and design just keep them on and the hooks bend but it just doesn't seem to cause problems. I use it on 20 pound line. Hope this helps

where did you buy those jig heads?

i'm sorry i just keep coming back to this post to get a chuckle. I have this vision of you and your friend looking at this fish as his head is out of the water right next to the dock for "10 seconds" as you say and him just swiping at it with the net for ten seconds and missing your 15 pounder. I think this is in my top three favorite reports of all time on this site. There have been a few good ones though i remember. The state record posts always hold a special spot in my heart but my favorite might be one that was posted in the southeast section last year of some bass caught in Virginia with unbelievable (almost ballsy/manly) stretches in weight. Honestly why read books when i can read here on my spare time.

i think the fish was over 14 pounds and you should get a replica and contact the dnr and then become a sponsor for Rapala.

...i get excited for a 4 pounder

i have had 2 brand new revo stx's and both lasted a year and a half to break. The first one was replaced for free by them which was not necessary but incredibly generous. The other one finally had both reel paddles fall off and just feels less smooth than my curados. However, when the revos are working, my goodness, the stx is an incredible reel, the best i have used. But, really no point in getting it if it only lasts a year or two.

great advice thus far. I have narrowed my rod choices down to a dobyns 704 or a 735 and am having a very very difficult time deciding which one to get. I mostly use 1/4 ounce to 3/8 ounce jigs. From all the great stuff i have heard about the 735, i just don't know how well it would cast my 1/4 ounce jigs (bulky jigs, not finesse). This is enough to give a man a migraine. These are truly the most difficult decisions a man can make in his life. HELP! As for the reel, i still am up for ideas. Still have around 150 to spend on the reel.

looking for a new rod and reel jignpig fishing (all purpose-light to heavier jigs--usually 3/4 is as high as i need for this) setup for $300. I know there are tons of posts similar but just wanted to hear some ideas on how to get this type of set up for 300 and get a great rod and reel. The rod preferably 7 ft at least. If you can match some prices for me, i'd love the expertise. Thanks guys, love this site!

That must have been a blast! Can't imagine what it is like to do that and then pull up a 40+ pound striper.

come on man. Don't throw that weight out there like that! Give us pictures!! Those are two huge bass. Well done. Wish i had time to hit this lake.

tis true what Jon says. But, nevertheless, i have that much more respect for this young man that he manned up and set the story straight. A 7 is still a monster out there. Congrats to him. He can stretch it and tell the truth while fishing. The best of both worlds i guess.

what you were catching were bullhead. So, change your technique.

The day i got the crap kicked out of me. last day of my fishing trip and wanted to end with the nice fish. Been killin them all week and spanking everyone else in the boat, i was on fire. Last day in Minnesota, my brother brings his wife with us. So it was me, my brother, and brother in law. From the second that boat was launched, they started killing the bass left and right. Towards the end of the night, i had caught one at 13 inches and everyone else caught at least ten. I was third in the boat out of 4th and had every right to have at least ten. I was using the same stuff, working the same speed, same tackle, and working it the same way but getting the crap kicked out of me. And then, the last half hour turned on, i hear a "weeeeee...this is fun" from the back of the boat. My brothers wife was in the process of landing a 5.8 pounder. My brother landed a 5 pounder just shortly after, and brother in law a 4.6 a few minutes later. I only caught 3 fish, with my biggest slightly over a pound and 5 northern pike (added insult to everything) and they all had around 15 each with those 3 bigger fish. Never seen anything like it before and never seen anything like it since. At the prime time of fishing i was taking all of their pictures with beautiful fish and i was catching northern pike. Through retrospect, i was proud of them and wished i had a better attitude but man, that was painful. Nothing like seeing big fish in the boat and feeling incompetent. Fish long enough and you will get spanked big time. I guess it's these humbling moments that allow us to get better as fisherman and realize there is so much more to learn and that you can ALWAYS get beaten badly. Get the net

Here is a smallmouth, was tinkering between 4.0 and 3.15 but hanging on 4 so i called it! The other bass here was basically the same thing but sticking around the 4.14 mark so i couldn't call it. So, PB smallmouth for VA here was caught at the B-Dam (i know a few people here knew where i caught it before i even mentioned it and wouldn't be surprised if they caught much bigger here). There are some big ones in here but haven't hooked into one yet. Still learning the lake. Haven't gone in a few months though.

Hey, now that your back, you still need to post a picture of your 8 and half pounder from the potomac. For those of us not catching any 8's recently, pictures seem to suffice. Hope you caught some monster Halibut.

Beaverdam can be forgiving from shore. Just put on a 3-5 inch senko or a texas rigged 6-7 inch worm. From shore, cast to the outer weed edge. I can't guarentee you'll catch big ones but you will catch several 2-3 pounders. A little mepps spinner like a #0 or #1 can be fun out there from shore as well. As stated, your chances of a 4+ are going to be best accessible from a boat. One area i rarely see shore fisherman venture off to but has a ton of fish is to the right of the launch ramp (old launch, not off hope road). So if you are facing the lake and are standing on the ramp, instead of going left, go right and fish that cove and as far down as you can (100 yards or so). A ton of 2-3 pounders cruise that area with the occasional big fish, it is worth wading in the water to fish it. Going left is terrible fishing for several hundred yards. Matter of fact, i wouldn't even shore fish to the left of the ramp. I would fish that cove on the right of the ramp or go to the dam and fish that rock ledge with a small jerkbait, small senko type bait, or carolina rig of sorts. The last point before the dam also has a small cove that has a few bass as well. I think anywhere else is a waste of time from shore on that side of the lake as a shore fisherman accessible. If you are fishing the hope road launch area, i have much better luck there shallow. I would hit the ramp and go right and fish the shore line all the way to the far right cove a few hundred yards away. The outer weed edges there have big bass and many 2-3 pound bass. The first cove with many big rocks has a ton of 1-2 pound bass. Put on a KVD 1.5 or 2.5 and catch a ton of bass. I do not have any luck with spinnerbaits out there. Used to be phenomenal bait out there but only catch a few and not that big (when fishing shallow). So, i'd fish that crankbait in addition to the baits i mentioned. I don't really start catching them till i get to the cove. Then hit the point and then the other cove. It is only a few hundred yards of fishing but i would just go back and forth here. I would not try anywhere else from shore since you are going to reduce your chances drastically. So, if i were shore fishing, try these. The people i have taken out who are terrible fisherman (only gone 1-2 times in their life) have caught over 5 in a few hours on all the spots i have mentioned. All spots are shore accessible. With this lake, your best chances of catching fish is retracing your spots over and over again. The fish are ALWAYS moving out there and rarely bunker down. Busy bees. Let me know how this works.

This is the only lake i fish. I decided 3 years ago that i would just pick one and stick with it. I was very quickly humbled in the NOVA fishing and realized if i was going to catch anything, i needed to really learn at least one lake to give me a fighting chance. Even after 3 years, that place still humbles me occasionally. If i were you. Pick one lake, and really learn it. I think what it means to learn a lake means to fail 99% of the time on the water and every time you have that 1% success, you put that pattern in your repertoire and repeat. Eventually, you have a few successful patterns. I usually stick one over 4 most times i go to Beaverdam, but i have failed way too many times in order to get there. Lake jumping around the NOVA area hoping to find the "hot lake" is just too painful. Pick one.

i thought the fact that his hand is half of the length of the fish would have been a give away on this photo. Great job with your fish. Regardless of it's lower weight, it is a beauty and worth posting! Keep em comin.

my heart goes out to you if all you are fishing is Burke. You ever consider Beaverdam? It's as nasty as Burke the first few times you try it but it gets better. Burke on the other hand, after fishing it 3 times with very few fish each time, and the pressure fishing that was there, i got bored real quick. If you want tips on fishing Burke, PM quanjig and he may give you some pointers. The lake is apparently at its best once they close the main launch ramp in the fall. But by no means do i know what's happening out there. Beaverdam, while i stunk it up the first few times i went, it was less pressure and was beautiful. That kept me coming and i have never looked back since. Other guys know Mercer and the other smaller lakes around there and hopefully they chime in for you. Northern VA is very tough to fish and the fishing only seems to get real good on the Occoquan and Potomac. They are both forgiving year round while other lakes are contingent upon the season.

just think about how much black ink he saves by doing that. Furthermore, think of how much unwasted time this man spends in his life. There is so much to be learned by this one thread. Unbelievable. Never stop learning i tell you what.

not sure i agree with much of the advice thus far. With a worm you don't always want to go painfully slow. A regular pace works great and triggers great bites. Always change speeds and see what's biting. Plus on the hook set, if you pull back immediately, that is not always the best approach. Colder water, i wait longer. Even in warm water, i lift till i feel weight and then slam em. Using 10 inch worms and slamming away the second you feel the bite will limit your catch rate. Furthermore, if your fishing 3-4 people in a boat and keep setting the hook on sunfish, you will get behind on the bass count and will pass up good spots by yanking away. Unlike a jig, the worm gets coiled on the hook set so you ruin the rest of the distance you have with the cast.

agree completely with everything. Never tell yourself your good enough! Fallin in that slippery slope a few times and got it handed to me. I will never brag again when it comes to bass fishing. This site will humble you real fast.