Nitrofreak

Fishing structure is not that hard, it just takes a little time on your favorite waters, I think back when I was a bank beater like many others here and often wishing for my first boat, I found that once I made the investment, just like many others, I was still a bank beater, I just fished from the opposite direction, then one day I got pushed out of my spot by a local tournament angler, litterally, it did not end well for either of us, then it clicked, I started to fish deeper and more open waters, no one else was so I figured what the crap, at least no one would bother me, after a few years of searching and reading books and putting together my own little pieces, I found this site, and one feller in particular tought me a ton about fishing structure, his handle here was Catt, one of the absolute best at making you do your homework and giving you hidden tips as you go along, it seems as if he knew my favorite lake as well as I did, he was forever making me think and work, light bulbs would burn bright inside my head when a hint he would drop comes to light on the water, him and fish for dollars were two of the best there ever was here at least I think so, there is a time and a place for everything, one thing remains true, fish relate to structure all the time, it's their highways and byways, it's how they find cover, it's how they get to spawning grounds in the spring, you name it, the fish use structure in some way to get to where you find them, look around the next time you pull up a nice fish and you will soon start to put together pieces of the puzzle as to why that fish was there and where it came from to get there, as for deep structure or deeper structure, when the fish are in a group on the bottom is my absolute favorite time to be on the water, drop a marker out and there are days when you can fish for hours in one spot with a mixed variety of baits like the jig, a spoon, a C-rig, just because I like fishing deep structure when this opportunity arises, does not mean that we should forget how deep is deep and how structure relates to the water depth, 10 feet is plenty deep to find continiously productive structure, spend time on the water and start looking for those flat areas now that the fish use to spawn, keep looking and you will soon see the channels and such they use to get to those flats, once spring gets here and the fish start to become active again, go to those flats you found and see if you are catching the smaller males, if you are, then get to those channels and such, the big girls will be coming soon and they are there on those ledges working their way to the flats, it could be 10 feet deep or 30 feet deep, you simply have to get out there and look. Good luck and be safe !!!

Nice job deep !!! For those who want to fish Anna, I can't stress how important it is to go slower there this time of year, take your time with her and look around, fish all of the available patters you know, even the most simple ones can be very productive, find the fish first, bait fish, then you will find the bass.

Weakness, hhhmmmm I have so many, just like papajoe, my memory is fading, faster than I want it to, words and their correct spelling are getting tougher, putting together puzzles on the water when things change is getting tougher. My greatest weakness is spending too much time in one spot, I will try everything in my tacle box to try and key in on what the fish want instead of moving to the next spot and locating the more active fish. Crank baits were a struggle for me as well, 3 things I will suggest that has helped me with cranks, this includes spinners as well, 1) find the fish first, 2) use them in the hopes of getting them hung up on something, if your afraid to loose them, then don't use them, 3) no matter what make them change direction, stop the bait, yo-yo the bait, if your fishing a rock wall bounce them off the rocks with your retrieve, if your fishing brush, make sure it makes contact with the brush, if your fishing in an open area, make sure you are in contact with the bottom, or very close to it, i'm not saying use a 25 foot bait in 15 foot of water, use the ones that are in the depth you are fishing, just cranking will get you bit, but making it change directions and contactacting the structure and cover you are fishing will help you to become productive. Good luck and be safe !!!

RW, thanx for that link !!! a freind and I were having that very " conversation " last night on facebook. Very good read !!!

They all left with the aliens, they wanted to make sure they had good seats for the event !!

I would suggest the lizards and the craws too !!! Rage rig the craw and T-rig or C-rig the lizard, I used to use Zoom lizards, but these things far out perform the Zoom.

Even when your not moving the bait, the bait is moving, the action of the appendage's as it falls through the water is awesome but when it simply sits still it looks alive.

I can't say enough about the rage tail line either, it's RW's fault !! I have used these products for just about everything you can think of since my first use of the craw, the only one I have not tried yet is the shell cracker, but that will change this year, the lobster would have to be my favorite, rage rigged, Thanx Big-O for an awesome bait line and keeping the product here in the USA. Somehow Long Mike I do not think him drawing on the table cloth with a sharpie is true either, one can only imagine the repercussions of such an action. lol !!

The surface temp has nothing to do with when I stop either, I go even if it is pretty cold out, as long as the wind does not blow I can fish the cold, the trick to fishing the winter is finding the fish first, looking for the bait fish is the first key, once you find them you will have more success, then look to see what the bass are doing, are they active at all, are they on the bottom, are they suspended, are they under the bait fish, the most active ones you will find close to the bait, the ones on the bottom may be grouped together, if you have docks, fish the deeper part of the dock, pattern the fish and use your baits accordingly instead of trying this here or that there, adjust your mind to fish extra slow if need be, if the fish are very lathargic this time of year so too must you be, not a lot of action on the water this time of year either, stealth will play a part in your success as well. Good luck and be safe !!!

I have never fished a day such as this, tell me, what is it like not to have to fight controlling the boat and actually fishing lol !! Every weekend I have had the chance to get out the wind was horrible.

I do not think of having strengths that others do not, it's almost like bragging or your one-upping someone, if you get where I am coming from, however I do have a favorite strength, that would be fishing structure, deep structure to be exact, I like fishing 30 feet or more, you hardly ever find me next to a shoreline, only when the time is right for it, even then it directly relates to structure in some form or another.

Stealth...as in no one can see them but you? LOL !!

LMAO !!!!!!

Yep, I seen it for myself LOL !!! I love that place, what I got to see of it, you showed me a bunch and there was still a ton of it left, that place has some awesome beauty and some really fantastic cover, i can't wait to get there again soon, I am looking so forward to this year of fishing, a new out look, changes in the way I see things and do things, meeting new people, spending more time on the water with family and friends. I AM FREAKING PUMPED UP BABY !!!!

Hmmm, I think anyone fishing the Potomac has a pretty good handle on that one, it is the ones who do not fish the Potomac that needs to bring their HD stuff LOL !!

We are looking at late August or sometime in September, it can not be the last weekend of the month, we have one that will not be able to make it if we schedule it then. We will start a new post on Jan 1st for discussions about any questions relating to this and other things, we want everyones input so we can make the best decisions possible. Thanx F4SD !!!

I wen't through this with my mother, I was kicked out of my family by her some time ago, 2 years after that happened, my father went to have a pace maker put in, a normal routine, but the sad part is he never made it off the table, I had no idea he was going for the surgery, no one let me know, my sister or my brother never bothered to contact me as well, my brother called me after the fact. My dad and I were once close, I found out later that my mother lied to him and told him that I shunned the family and wanted nothing to do with him, 5 years after his death, my sister calls me, she is sending her twin boys off to the military as it was their wish to do so, my family joined their family for a picnic, my mother asked me for forgiveness of what she had done, I forgave her on that day, but it was a hard pill to swallow, 2 days later she past as well, my brother and my sister both tried to get the house without having to include me, to this day we do not speak and hatred runs deep between us. However a hard pill it is to swallow, believe in what you are doing to be the best for all, including yourself, no matter the decision you make, make it with no regrets and stand up for it, if it still does not change, know in your heart you gave everything to better the situation you have, it's up to them to follow through and choose the path that lay before them, it may not be the same path you walk, but sooner or later, I can promise you this, they will cross again. Good luck and be safe !!! God bless my friend !!!

X2 Since the OP said he was shore bound as well, reaching these fish may be next to impossible if the bass are in the deeper sections and they are beyond casting distance, however, jig's such as a grass/brush jig should help him get in that tough stuff and come through it, I have had several really thick vegetation areas that I fish with Seibert Outdoor's jigs, they come through pretty good, although I am not familure with this particular area in the OP's post, I feel pretty confident the quality jigs that are out there will/should be able to perform this task. That's what these jigs do, it's what they are designed for, If they did not work as intended, I personally would be speaking to someone and give them some feedback about the performance of their product to help them make the product better. My thought is that it could be possible the OP just simply does not have the right jig for the scenario he/she is presented with.

HHHMMMMM, kinda makes you think about the erratic action you need when using your baits huh!...just sayin !!

Only 14 days left !!! It's now 7 to 5 between the Potomac and SML !! 7 for the Potomac 5 for SML 3 for the Occoquan 2 for the Chick 0 for Claytor This will be updated for the next two Monday's, the 2nd Monday is New Years Eve, we will check the voting at midnight to see who the winner is and post it here, good luck to all !!!!

This is the area at the campground you suggested correct?

Thanx for the heads up Traveler !!!

Cool, We look forward to meeting you Shimmy, you have been a big help here with your posts and I know if you are paired with someone they are bound to learn a great deal.

WOW !!!! Way to go Quanjig !!!! Really nice way putting things together on a rough day or a potentially rough day, don't worry Quan, I hope there will be more opportunities for us to get together and give it a go again, it was a blast and like I said, one trip I won't soon forget. Awesome job Quan and congrats !!!!

How many times have we been on locations that have had fish fill our screens only to come up empty handed? Why do you think that is and what have you done to try and figure that out? I know I have been on Anna so many times when this has happened and came away empty handed, there were a couple of times that the fish were breaking the surface and it keyed me into something. Wayne P. posted something way, way back that got me thinking, "Patterns" these fish were chasing fish near and on the surface so these fish were the most active and I keyed in on the most active fish by throwing a surface bait, that bait at the time was a buzz bait I had already tied on, it was not the most productive bait for large fish but it did land me a couple of fish, actually 7 to be exact, ranging in 2 to 2 1/2 lbs. This got me to thinking again, where were the bigger fish in the school? After doing this on a couple of trips, I watched my sonar as fish broke the surface all around me, the bigger fish were still under these groups of bait fish, this time I had a super fluke tied on, I had it on a keel weighted hook to get down under the group of bait fish, and wham!! I had two nice fish to show for my efforts, one four pounder and one three pounder, since then I have done quite a bit of this type of fishing when I get into situations just like this one, since then I have learned that a large flutter spoon works even better in most cases by ripping it upward as the spoon reaches the bottom of the bait fish, I have found that this causes the bait fish to scatter and the spoon falling down under the bait will trigger a strike. Since then I still do not have "Pattern" fishing down pact but I have found that if you take the time to think you can be more successful on the water taking advantage of things like this. When you choose a bait, even if it's an expencive bait, your going to find that it does not work all the time, but what you will find is that it will work when the time is right if you keep trying, fishing "Patterns" will help you choose the right bait, it's up to you to use patience and excersize that brain you have to figure out these things. Fish move slow in the winter, we all know that, bait presentations must match the bait fish and their speed, if you have ever been cold yourself, you know how hard it gets to move around, think about the bait fish in cold water, shad for example start to die in 40 degree water, their movements are so lathargic, thats why suspending jerk baits are so vital in cold weather, as long as you can get them where the bass are you will/can be successful, jigs are awesome cold water bass baits, but you really have to get them where the bass are so if they are on the bottom then you need a bottom presentation, or something they can easily access, for me, thats a jig, if they are up in the water under the bait fish or getting ready for spawn, then a slow moving bait or suspending bait, match the bait fish as close as you can, "Pattern" yourself as if you would pattern a fish, allow yourself to be open minded and willing to adapt to changes. The time you spend patterning the fish will be worth it to you in the long run, experiment, explore, ask questions, but most of all, take the time on the water to find the fish first and see what they are doing and use your baits accordingly. Good luck and be safe !!!