rivafishn

Huntrava - I don't think it is you, just been a tough fall. I hear a lot of those reports. Unfortunately, with the weather that is moving in this weekend is not going to get easier. That wind and colder air is going to make it a tough bit.

Chop - I can understand not wanting to do to much on back to back days, it can get tiring. I fished some ponds in Delaware on saturday for an upcoming tourney and then the shenandoah on sunday. I was amazed at how many fish I saw out there on sunday, just ridiculous. I managed to catch fish in both spots thought and it was good. Hoping to get a couple more trips in before it gets much colder to be able to get more of these fish that are feeding up, then we will see how it goes.

Thanks for the information! I guess fishing some of these other spots and catching fish has not been so bad a choice lately. I haven't been getting monsters, but have been consistently catching fish. Hopefully the ups and downs will settle down soon. Last time I was out it was two dinks, like 111 and 12 inches. I was fishing areas you would think would have had fish roaming around chasing bait, but no such luck. I'm looking to expand my fishing year this year and fish for longer, so we will see how it goes.

If you are struggling to get the good ones Quan I'm not sure what the rest of us will do. Haven't been on the reservoir lately, fished all over the place. Not sure when I will get out there again. How many of you fish through the winter?

Chop - glad it worked out for you to get some fish. I fished down in Hooes run and could not buy a bite. I threw plastics, cranks and spinnerbaits and only got two dinks. Hopefully I can find some better fish the next time out.

I think most people will like whatever gets them out fishing. I used to fish out of a boat until dad retired and moved south. I took one summer off and then got into fishing from a kayak. For me it is about space and ease. I don't have the room for a boat and trailer, but a kayak is easy to store for me. It is also easy to load up and go whenever and wherever I want. It is peaceful to get out on the water. There are very little restrictions in where i can fish from a kayak, streams, rivers or lakes, it all has access for a kayak.

Congrats on the PB! Sounds like a great day of fishing!

I haven't been out on the rez since the heroes on the water event. I am planning on getting out there this weekend. I spent the last few weekends on the river and out of town fishing. The smallmouth have been a blast as of late. I would like to get out and find a few rez fish though. What are water temps looking like?

Thanks for all the information guys, but unfortunately the fishing was slow for us on saturday. It didn't help that the wind kicked up right after we launched the kayak's. Everybody had a good time being on the water, but we just didn't get in to many fish. I think that front that came through friday night had a pretty good impact on the fish. Next time hopefully we will get them. I hope others were able to get in to some fish this weekend!

Thanks Guys! I definitely will let you guys know! We had some tough situations earlier in the year, hoping we can get on some fish this time.

Chop - I volunteer with the George Washington Chapter. All of their events were in northern Virginia this year. Most of the trips were on the occoquan water trail throughout the year. You can find a lot of information on their facebook page, see below. Any help that can be provided is great! Also, any vets or military personnel you know send them in that direction. We are trying to get as many out as we can and they have something like 15 kayaks to use for each event and can even get kayaks for those with various handicaps. I started volunteering last year and try and make as many events as I can, they plan to have one every month through the warmer months. https://www.facebook.com/HOWGeorgeWashingtonDCChapter?fref=ts

Thanks Quan! The plan is to head out at about 8 am. I am not sure how many we have coming this time, but there will be a bunch of kayaks at the launch saturday morning. We typically fish from about 8 am until about noon or so and then stop and have lunch and are done for the day.

I did get out for a little bit yesterday afternoon. I managed one dink. The water wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, a little murky, but not the chocolate milk I was expecting. I should not have been lazy and waited until lunch time. I talked to a guy that was coming off the water as I was going out and said he did really well and managed a couple of 4 pounders. The fishing gods were letting me know not to slack!! For those of you fishing out of fountain head, how is the fishing right around the launch, or nearby? I am going to be fishing out of there saturday with a heroes on the water group and want to try and get these people on some fish. Any advice would be appreciated!! I don't care if I catch a single one as long as they get to catch fish!

Thanks for the information Mudkart! Anybody attempting to fish the rez this weekend? Talk about being churned up! It should be chocolate milk all over the place.

The better fish I caught on saturday were with a spinnerbait on a shallow flat area. The wind of course was up and it was cloudy, pretty perfect for it. I was hoping to get out and chase some more this weekend, but that wind and rain in my kayak would be tough. We'll see what it looks like as it gets closer. Really nice fish Quan! I need to work on fishing a shaky head more, i know so many people that have a ton of success with them.

I have a subaru outback that I keep my fishing gear in almost all the time so all I have to do is throw the kayak on the top and go. I have a set-up where the rods run along the roof, so they are not in the way for whatever I have going on. I am also lucky that I have water only minutes from my house, so I can load up and be on the water in short order.

Nice job Quan! On the hogs! I did miss a couple of good ones on saturday, but such is life.

Nice fish Huntrava! I got out for a little bit on saturday morning and was able to catch some. Only had a few over 15", but I was fishing shallow for the most part. I caught all of mine on moving baits, so they were definitely active. I tried a couple of spots in deeper water, but got no hits at all with a variety of baits. PGlaze - I think they are going to move back up as the water cools to feed on shad and then will head back out for the winter. I'm not sure how shallow they will get.

Thanks for the thoughts on swimming guys. the individuals I have seen swimming this year were not the kids. I have seen a couple from crew boats down on the south end and one couple with their dogs just outside of lake ridge this past weekend. I have let them be, but was curious how others felt. I just don't want it to continue getting worse and then we have some group that is trying to reduce the access to the rez. Sounds like you are having a really good year Quan, congrats!!

Nice fish mudkart! I was out saturday and managed 8 fish for the day. I was trying new areas and strategies. I did ok until the wind kicked up and started blowing my kayak around. Also, dodging the crew boats that were running between me and the shore was a little frustrating. I did get one good 17", but that was it. Still working on it. On a side note - how does everybody feel about swimmers in the rez? I have seen more this year than before.

Marvin - Unless you have a decent amount of experience or some kind of insight from someone that does I would buy it. I don't think you can find the information that is on there pretty much anywhere else. They are not that expensive and sell them at fountainhead and lake ridge. It has provided me with a lot of information.

Quan - I think I definitely need to do that. I typically jump in hooes because it is easy. not that lake ridge isn't, at least in the morning. it is nice to come back late in those evenings and not have to worry about the gate being locked. I know some of those points and a few others that have been discussed and will have to get out there and try it out. Maybe know that summer is winding towards and end it won't be as crazy. I do have the launch pass for this year so I don't have to pay. Chop - the launch down south is for lake ridge HOA members, so not a public launch. Since I live in lake ridge I have a key to the gate and ramp.

There are some decent fish being pulled out, which is nice. I got out last saturday morning and ended up fishing shallow as I didn't want to get to far away, the wife came out kayaking with me after awhile. I ended up getting 10, nothing over about 16 inches though. I caught the 16 incher in about a foot of water, kind of funny this time of year. I'm still working on my deep water fishing, but get out to some spots whenever I can. I throw a little bit of everything on the various spots. When I am fishing deeper right now I have been using some type of soft plastic or a jig, lost a couple last time I was out due to line break, but hopefully that won't happen again. Quan - I do have the map for the rez now, but like you mentioned I can't cover a ton of water in my kayak. I typically stay near the area I launch out of. I like hooes run because it doesn't seem to get hit as hard down there. I plan on trying more deep water spots as the weekends go, and hopefully some this weekend. I don't have one over 20" this year, but want to get that changed soon.

Chop - I have Bass Pro XPS on it right now. That is going to change tonight. I don't recall having any issues with backlashes on this set-up as it is usually my setup for jigs and heavier bottom run baits. I had one case out about 25 yards and down in about 20 feet and it broke before the first eye on the rod. I am going to make sure there are no knicks in the eyes on that rod and if everything looks good with where the line is running replace the line. I am not a good deep water fisherman either, but have been working on it more this year. I hooked one in about 15 feet of water last night and lost it right at my kayak. He was probably about 15" or so, nothing big. The bites I snapped off on were in the 20 - 25 foot range. Hopefully that won't happen again and I can catch some fish in some deep water. Hopefully the cool weather will help out.

This post has been quiet for some time. There is no way nobody is hitting the occoquan! I got out last night for awhile and managed two dinks and lost a couple more. I also had an issue where I snapped the line on one of my baitcasters twice. I will be investigating that more tonight. It was frustrating because I was out fishing deep and got a couple of good bites and when I went to set the hook, pop! It was not right at the hook or near the fish either, it was closer to my rod and one was just in front of my reel. Hopefully everybody has been out catching fish!!