Addicted to Smallies

Just wondering, how many of you guys dip or chew? What's your pick in brand? If you do dip/chew, are you trying to quit? Ever have any health issues related to it? As for me, I've been dipping off and on since high school (now 42), but trying like heck to quit. Tried the patch and the gum, but nothing has stuck yet... but I keep trying.

Never thought about the gloves before... but seems like a good idea that I might try. Do any of you guys use them like Shaw describes in that video?

Oh, I forgot to mention how handy my Buff is when the insects and "no see ums" are swarming. Works great to keep the bugs off of your face and neck, too!

My Buff is the single best piece of fishing clothing I've purchased. I hate sunscreen, so it's perfect for me. At first I was worried that it would be too hot, but it's actually not hot at all, except when your nose is totally covered and your breath heats it up a bit... But if you wet it with fresh water, it's not a problem and the moisture cools the air and stops your glasses from fogging up. That and my Columbia sun protection long sleeve tee shirt and BPS lightweight zip off SPF pants, and I can fish for days without my fair Irish skin even turning pink. I'm a convert now. No more burns for me... And no more dermatologist visits, I hope. Funny, but I find that it feels COOLER when I wear the long sleeve tee and the buff than without it. Must be the evaporation effect being enhanced by the fabric.

One thing I don't quite understand... she measured 25" snout to tail-tip, and the online calculators say that would be closer to 8.5 or 9lbs, but my little scale said 7 lbs 2 oz. Guess she was just thin from the post-spawn. Any idea what she might have weighed pre-spawn, or maybe later in the summer after she had been feeding again?

Great fish! Congratulations!!! She looks a little thin behind the shoulders, so I'd say 5.5 instead of 6... earlier/later in the season, she probably would have been well above 6!

Congrats! I enjoy watching my son catch them even more than I enjoy catching them myself. Nice fish... any idea how much she weighed?

Thanks, Nitro... yes, I only wish someone was videoing me as I jumped in without thinking! Soaked a wallet, but luckily the iPhone was laying with my gear... but even if I'd soaked the phone, it would have been worth it!

Just got my all-time personal best from my local NOVA pond... see the thread linked below for a pic. Black/Blue Flake Senko on an light action rod, expecting to catch the usual 1-2lb fish. She broke the line in heavy weeds, and I jumped in and grabbed the line without even thinking and fought her the last 20 yards with my bare hands. Most exciting day of fishing I've had this year in Northern Virginia. She came in at 7 lbs, 1 oz according to my little digital scale. http://www.bassresou...ocal-nova-pond/

Just caught my all-time personal best today at my local 3 acre pond. I didn't even know fish this big were in there, but she weighed 7 lbs 1 oz. She broke the line, and I jumped in after her and grabbed the line by hand before she pulled it under, and fought her the last 20 yards bare-handed. Definitely the best fishing day of the year so far, and a great way to start the holiday weekend. Was using a black/blue flake Senko wacky rigged with a size 1 circle hook and 6# line. Was expecting to catch the usual 1-2# fish, so this was quite the surprise... makes me wonder what else may be lurking in my little ole' local pond. Just thought I'd share my excitement and wish you all the best for tight lines over the holiday weekend!

Maybe I'm too old school, but the original Rapala floating minnow (traditional or jointed) is my favorite when I want to fish on top in open water / along weedlines in open water. In heavy cover, I prefer a frog.

1st - Green pumpkin. 2nd - black with blue flake

I WISH I had a fishing man cave... my wife has relegated me to 1/4 of a garage shelf between the holiday decorations and just enough wall space in the garage for 1 rod rack!

Yellow and white spinnerbait, or a Rat-l trap for largemouth, 3" curly tail grub on a jighead for smallies.

+1 for the stabilizers. I use them on my 14' canoe when I fish solo and can stand up in it all day with no problems. Also works great with the kids so when they move about (as they always do) the canoe stays rock solid. I made my own using 3/4" and 1" PVC pipe and pool noodles (the big ones, not the think ones) and it works flawlessly... about $20 total instead of the $$$ for a retail version. Have used them for 3 seasons now and they still work just great. A lot of folks say to use aluminum, but for me the PVC works just fine because you don't actually need them to be super rigid, but rather to provide just enough tension to stop the rocking motion. Plus, the PVC has some "give" in it so when I use them on the river or creeks, they can flex around/over the rocks and other obstructions pretty well. If you want them to be more rigid, you can put a piece of metal conduit inside the PVC arms (fits perfectly) and seal off the ends with caps to make it waterproof. I've seen other folks use the styro-foam lobster pot buoys for their floats, too, but I found the "super noodles" from walmart to work better, and they're cheaper and easier to cut/mount. Will try to take some pics this weekend and post if anyone is interested.

Thanks for all the great advice so far... very helpful! Will make sure to post a report once we do the trip. May rethink the put-in / take-out spots based on some of your comments, though.

Fellow Virginia anglers, I've been a frequent reader and sometimes poster (hopefully SOME of my posts were helpful!) and now come to ask the Northern VA folks for some advice. My 9 year old son has been fishing with me for years, but now he wants to do a canoe/camp trip together once Spring is fully in gear around here. We have our own canoe, so we don't need (or want) to go with an outfitter, but rather just a Daddy/Son weekend getaway, with just the 2 of us. From what I hear, the Shenandoah is the perfect first-time trip, but I was wondering if you guys have any advice about a) other river options, or specifics on what parts of the Shenandoah are best / where we should fish/camp. Right now, we're thinking of putting in at the Rt. 50 Bridge, fishing for a day while we drift/float, staying overnight in our tent at the Watermelon Park campground, then drifting down to take out at the Rt. 7 bridge. Only about 14 miles, but should make for a good couple of easy days, and I've heard the fishing in that part of the river is good for both smallies and largemouth. (What about catfish or the ever elusive musky in that part of the river?) Any tips or advice you could give me? I want his first overnight fishing trip to be a great one, so I'm open to any/all suggestions. I grew up doing this kind of stuff, and it seems like kids today just don't get to have the same adventures that I did as a kid. Since he's interested and asking, I thought I'd get some advice from any of you guys to help make it a special trip for him. And, of course, a full trip report will be posted here afterwards.

Hit the local Northern Virginia pond in Reston today and it was a "tale of two ponds." It started off pretty slow with just a couple of small fish, but then it was like someone turned on a light switch, and I had a nice bass on just about every-other cast. Mostly hitting on a spinner-bait (white/red and red) and nothing on soft plastics. They were all about 15 yards off of the bank, just where the water starts to get shallow at about 4 feet. Then, about 30 minutes later, the switch got flipped again and nothing for the next hour, so I packed it in. I noticed the fish are VERY thin in my local pond -- not sure if it's from a problem or just a lack of minnows over the winter.

Anyone have experience with this gun? It's sold out EVERYWHERE around me, but I was thinking of getting it for the home arsenal. Seems like a great idea with the interchangeable Glock clips and the extra barrel length... I figured it would be a good home defense gun, and with the fold-able stock, it would be easy to pack in the truck when traveling. Anyone have one? The videos I've seen online suggest they're pretty accurate, despite the folding stock.

Given all of the new down/side imaging units out there now, I was wondering if anyone wanted to post any of their best shots from Northern VA lakes? I've heard that several of them have good structure, so thought it might be fun for folks to post any screen shots. I've fished all of 'em, and know the lakes pretty well, but it would always be nice to "see" what's down there as well. As for me, I haven't made the decision between H'Bird and Lowrance units yet, but plan on buying a new one this spring. When I do, I will happily post anything good that I find "down under" on this thread, if anyone is interested. Please feel free to do the same.

Gents (and ladies), is anyone fishing small farm ponds and the like yet? I have been out to my favorite 4-acre pond 3 times now and have been skunked each time... tried senkos, deep diving cranks and the ole' traditional jig/trailer, but no luck yet. Water is still chilly, but I thought maybe it had warmed up a bit. In a farm pond this time of year, do you guys fish near the deep end (dam) or the shallows, or mid-water column with a Rapala DT (appropriate depth) crank? (As an FYI for the non-largemouth guys out there, I hit the Upper Potomac near the warm water discharge earlier this week and SLAMMED the smallmouth... 4 good sized fish in about 45 minutes of fishing using a combo of grubs and small senkos.) Biggest about 4 lbs.

I'm an ultra-light addict! I usually use 6# Powerpro braid when fishing for smallmouth or largemouth and have found it to work really well. It's almost thread-like in its diameter and casts really well on my ultralight spinning gear. Never had the line break, but when I hook into a good sized fish I always adjust the drag to make sure it's dialed-in appropriately. My biggest smallmouth (6#) was caught using my ultralight rig while wade fishing and it was a 10 minute effort to land the fish, but man was it worth it. Almost felt like I was fighting a big offshore fish and it was a test of my fishing abilities (nothing fights like a muscular river smallie!) Overall, I'd put ultralight fishing for smallies at the top of my list, but I still enjoy using a heavy baitcaster an fishing the pads and slop for largemouth bass as well.

Is there anywhere on the lower Potomac (Virginia side preferred) that rents bass boats? My son (8) and I have been doing a lot of canoe fishing, but he wants to try fishing "from a real boat like the guys on TV." I've been boating my entire life and used to have a nice Nitro, but we sold it when we moved here. If not the Potomac, then what about Lake Anna? We've been to almost ALL of the Northern Virginia places that are canoe-fishable (Occoquan Res, Beaverdam, Upper Potomac, Reston Lakes, etc.) Any ideas or recommendations?

I forgot to mention, Steve Moore has a self-published book called "Wade Fishing the Upper Potomac - Chain Bridge to Harpers Ferry" that might help you out if you're really interested in some wading spots on the Upper.

KWM, I wade the upper Potomac all the time in the late spring through mid-fall. See my other post in your other thread for the best spots. As for consumption, I would not eat anything out of the Potomac, although others do. However, my "maximum tolerable pollutant load" is zero... anything above that isn't worth it to me, no matter what the government agencies may say. As for wading, I'm not trying to sound like your mom, but trust me... WEAR A LIFE JACKET when you wade the Upper. It's very easy to wade fish, but as others have said, there are a lot of deep pools and fall-offs. Even at low water times, I have stepped into numerous deep pools without even realize it... my jacket has saved me a couple of times. Also, for your reference "Upper Potomac" means above Great Falls, and "Lower Potomac" means anywhere below that, but more generally refers to the area downriver of DC. Upper = Very Good Smallmouth Fishing, Lower=Better Largemouth Fishing.