XLFISH

I am not even breaking out the scale unless I think its pushing that "Magic" number. Double digits!!!

Any movement in the water causes water molecules to collide. This causes pressure waves that act like ripples in the water. These pressure waves are detected by the lateral line. Bass prefer to hunt by sight but at night the lateral line becomes a major player. I have caught hundreds of bass at night with a jig ( w/ rattles) A spinnerbait can be awesome at night as well. Soft plastics that push alot of water like the Rage series, Lake Fork Hyper series, Zoom Dead Ringer and Brush Hog can be deadly. Boot tail or paddle tail swimbaits can shine also. I would not rely on topwater. It has its time, but has too many limitations. When the thermocline sets up, you can actually incorporate deep diving cranks into your arsenol. Dont get caught up in lunar phases. I have over 200 night trips under my belt and have caught them on all phases. The moon does help provide a silloutte for over head presentations, but anytime you can get out is a good time. Fish will transition from vegetation to wood soon if there is an abundance of it, so dont get caught up in one single pattern. Some bodies of water fish better than others at night as well. Oh hey, try swimming a jig with the lower half of a Stanley Ribbit Frog. Use a light VERY SPARINGLY. I am out of time. Good luck.

Everyone on here and every other site is going to have their favorite model of baits. I have whacked over a thousand bass on Stanley Jigs. www.fishstanley.com That color you are doin so well on with more than likely die out. I am only speaking from personal experience. I remember about ten years ago I was blasting them on orange in the fall. I went out and bought everything on the shelf that was orange. Yea...mistake. Crayfish change color. Water depth greatly effects the color you are using due to light or lack of light penetration. Water clarity odviously has an impact as well. Think about the color of trailer you were using as well.I use Brushhogs, Hyper Freaks, Beavers. Experiment a little. Yum makes an orange and gray colored trailer that looks "natural". Save your strands from the torn skirts and like someone said, wire then back on with an already existing skirt. I almost always double up on skirts for added bulk. Good luck

Dan do you have any idea what the fee and pay out is on these?

Aluma -Bass I sent you a PM on the fishingva.com site about Briery. That float trip sounds sweet. Let me know where you drop in and take out. Thanks

The 2009 citation report posted by the D.G.I.F. only shows 10 citations coming fron Gaston. A citation is 22 or 8 pounds. No ten pounders were recorded. Of course not everyone reports citations myself included, but those are not impressive numbers for a lake of that size. If you are trophy hunting I would not bank on Gaston. I know alot of people love to fish it and catch a ton of fish under five pounds but it is what it is. I am sure there are double digit fish in the lake but........

Check out fishingva.com there are quite a few people in the Richmond area that frequent the site.

I use a latin Loomis. 50 pound test wrapped around a bottle or can and a 1oz pyramid weight. If there is not a law against that, there should be. I have North Carolina on my mind. Big spinnerbaits, double skirted jigs, and just a spoon full of insanity.

I have been using the Hyper series for a little over a year. The Hyper worm and Hyper Freak have put well over 100 bass in the boat for me. I will tell you anothe lure that L.F.T. makes that is a real sleeper. The six inch ring fry. I have been using that bait for about three years. It works extremely well in harsh conditions like the dog days of summer and and late fall/winter. Red bug color in stained water and watermelon candy in clear water. Check out lake fork trophy lures online. They just came out with a segmented senko type bait. I use the Hyper worm and Hyper Freak at night alot in the summer also. That big paddle tail really puts out some pressure waves. Good question about a line of baits that is often over looked but will produce some big bass.

We were buzzing frogs and forcing a reaction strike. Fish were on beds and cruising. Due to the cold weather you may be fishing water that will be five to seven degress cooler than what I experienced. I wouldnt hesitate to at least try buzzing a frog. Especially if I were fishing behind someone. The Senko is idiot proof and always catches slot fish. We had better luck around vegetation than cypress trees but it can all change over night and its wise to have a plan B. Good luck

Hoki, I didnt have to. He did it before I got there. If you leave Jordan and go down river about about a mile there is a creek on the left that always hold bait in the winter. About four hundred yards in there is a duck blind with a deep hole in front of it.

I cant belive no one replied to this yet so I will try to help. Two years ago I fished a tournament out of Black's Camp in late March. We did well in isolated pockets with Stanley Ribbit frogs and spinnerbaits around vegetation. My brother caught an 8.2 on the frog. We pitched Texas rigged soft plastics to cypress trees and did Ok. Shaky head trick worms did fairly well. Senko type soft stick baits worked as well. No magic bullets, just standard stuff. Before I went I talked to Glen Baxley I think his name was and printed off every post I could find for the past five years on several different sites.

Cast netted shad and used palm sized chunks

Hokifisherman, we launched out of Jordon Point. The funny thing is, we never fished any water deeper than 10 feet.

With nothing else to do my brother and I went out on the James River from 1pm to 5pm and caught ten blue cats from 37 to 50 pounds. It wasnt bass fishing but it broke the boredom.

THROW THEM WEIGHTLESS...INTO THE TRASH CAN. Just messing with you playboy. I dont throw shaky rigs. Maybe that could be a "Burke Lake Go To Lure". One day you will be struggling under tough conditions (like your next outing) and say "Man I wish I had those cigarette sized baits". Maybe smallmouth will hit them.

Castaic has undegone some changes internally. There were a great company and then went down hill. My contact listened to my input on products and assured me they were trying to improve thier baits and regain thier name. Then a month ago I called him and he was reassigned and I had a new contact. The guy talked a good game but I am yet to see a box sitting on my door step with the stuff I asked for. So it appears that there is no stability in the company right now. As for the C-22, I also own several of the shad and trout. The 4" are way too small unless you are after smallmouth. I throw the six and even eight inch C-22's on a 7 and 7.5 ' rod with no problem. The hook placement makes it difficult to hook up with any consistancy. The swimming action is good though and I have not had any of them fall apart on me. I am sorry to hear about magnet coming off and the bait taring man. Knowing what I know now, I would recommend the new Tungsten 5", SPRO's BBZ-1 baits, and Strike King's King Shad baits for most anglers. They are small, easy to use, and catch fish anywhere and of all sizes. Also there is no need to purchase new gear to throw them. If you are stuck on the 4", Strike King recently came out with a King Shad Jr. and Tungsten makes a 4" .

Google hawg hunter guide service. My friend Kennon Brown owns the operation and has fished every wet spot in the area. Click on contact us and get the phone number if you are interested. Make sure its not the guide sevice in Florida. If I am not mistaken Hyco has a hot water discharge which makes it a major attraction in the winter. Anyways, Kennon can tell you what you need to know.

Are you looking for a guide or just making conversation to pass the time?

He should be able to read but not post. Thai if you are out there restringing your ultra light shoot me an email at sowbelly.hunter@yahoo.com

My brother and I have both done well swimming jigs on Toho. Use it in the same areas you would rip a lippless crank or spinnerbait. I like using the lower half of a Stanley Ribbit frog for a trailer when I am after big bites and a twin tail trailer when I am just trying to get bit.

BirdDog you seemed to miss Wayne's point that using an illegal motor to obtain game is basically poaching. You can fish there but you can not use anything over 10hp to do it. You can hunt for deer but you can not use a spotlight to do it. The size of the boat or motor does not increase your odds but regardless, the rule is 10 hp max. Personally I would not drive six hours to fish Briery if I were you. Myself and many others have gone there and been very disapointed in the past. I would hate to think of driving 12 hours round trip for a roll of the dice. I remember two years ago on a nice March day, two guys from N.Y were loading thier boat and cursing at how much of a waste of time the trip had been. The grass is not always greener at Briery.

I hear you Joe. My first thought is that if you give us an inch we will take a mile. There is a reason the jails are full. Not for using big motors of course, but for not following the rules set up in our society.I am guilty of it myself. When the posted speed limit on the highway reads 55, I do 65 or higher all day long. I stay on the trolling motor at Briery 99% of the time. People always assume the grass is greener at the other end of the lake, but when in reality that lake has so much timber that any cast has the potential to produce a fish. Personaly I dont mind the HP restriction as it keeps alot of people off the lake. It is a MAD HOUSE in the spring and I will not even go on the weekends if I can help it. You see tags from as far away as New York looking for a place to park. My brother has a big motor and the funny thing is the boat sits in the garage most of the time as we target trophy fish from a smaller craft on smaller waters. I found out a while ago that I dont need a fifty thousand dollar boat to catch a big bass. Look at the lakes in California. Trolling motor only. Yet they are sticking Goliath fish. You can catch big fish on Briery out of a John boat or you can race around the Potomac, Kerr, or Gaston and catch a limit of "keepers". Dont let boat size or HP stop you enjoying a day on the water.

Wayne maybe you should have used SPOTLIGHTING deer as an example of poaching, and compared the use of an illegal motor to clear that up for whats his name there.

New Angler, PM sent about different topic.