-Drums-

Nice work!

So, I take it from this post that you are not a "weekend angler"? If so, what does that make you?

Yeah, big props to Matt & Trevor for whackin' em on Sunday. Beat the next closest by about 3lbs! We just never could get a kicker--and believe me, we TRIED. Alabama did stick a real nice one in some wood..THUNK!...but it got off. In the end, it was 13 & change for us as well. Oh, and thanks for the crackers, Matt. :-)

You hit that one right on the head.

1995 Stratos 268V, 16'8" 1995 Evinrude 90hp 46lb. Motorguide 32-35mph GPS (I've gotten it to 40mph, but that was way high on the RPMs.)

Yet another NoVA guy. I've fished the lakes/ponds all the other NoVA folks have mentioned, but like VABasser said, I'm pretty much now focusing all of my efforts on the mighty Potomac. It really is an amazing fishery with so much to offer, and even more to learn from. I do love Occoquan Reservoir too, though. That lake is FULL of quality fish. Oh, and the Upper Potomac is an incredible smallmouth fishery.

Yep. For my typical (95% of the time) pitching/flipping, I use a 3/8oz. tungsten bullet weight--often pegged, but not all the time. For the serious stuff (punching the mats), I use a 1oz. tungsten bullet weight.

G3 - thanks for the info! Like yours, my TM doesn't do too well in any sort of heavy grass beds. I'll have to look into the push-pole deal.

How do you do in Potomac Creek? I've heard some good things and promised myself I'm going to fish it this summer. Also anyone fish Quantico Creek much? Thats another one I want to put a little time into VABasser - last year was really my first season fishing on the Potomac, as that's when I got my new (to me) boat. I mostly stayed in and around Aquia Creek, and had a bunch of pretty good days. As for Potomac Creek, I had one day in mid-spring of last year that was spectacular. We had the trolling motor on high, just going down this one stretch of bank, pitching soft plastics (beavers, craws) tight to the bank, pads (well, pad-like vegetation), and wood. We got a ton of bites--caught quite a few nice keepers, and missed a bunch too. My buddy hooked and subsequently lost a monster. As far as I can tell, we were basically "blind" sight-fishing. The water was stained, so we couldn't really see anything, but the fish were acting like spawners. I'm convinced we were pitching to beds that we just couldn't see. Good times :-)

Hey Joe, Thanks for the clarity on the jerkbaits, it's something I'll have to toy around with this year. Also, thanks a bunch for the links, I'll be sure to check them out. As for the offer to get out on the Potomac together, sounds great! Though I'm betting it's the other way around--YOU can likely teach ME some things. :-) Let's stay in touch and try to plan something once the weather starts to get nicer. ~Rich

Hey Nitro, Thanks for the great tips! I also mostly fish Aquia Creek (as well as Potomac Creek at times). I keep my boat in the outside lot at Aquia Boat Storage, there at the end of Willow Landing Rd. I've got a few questions, inline below... Thanks, ~Rich Are you talking about a hard jerkbait here, or soft plastic (e.g., fluke)? I've got a (somewhat weak) 45lb. Motorguide TM on my Stratos. What is the "hydrilla hacker" you're talking about?

Hey Dan - I took the day off on Friday and went down with a buddy of Rob's and mine. It was nice to avoid the weekend crowds. Especially at Greentop, where it gets TIGHT.

I saw that too, it was funny! I also liked how he kept pitching that spinnerbait into the crowd, trying to get someone in the audience to swat at it--to demonstrate the reaction bite concept. He's a very good, engaging public speaker. It was really cool to finally see him in person.

Jay, First, congrats on the soon-to-be arriving little one. Your life is soon going to change in ways that you can't imagine. It's all good, and it's incredible! Second, take it from me--your decision to throttle way back on the fishing trips early is a very good one. Last July, my son surprised us by deciding to make his arrival a full month early (to the day). At the time when I got the "um, honey...my water broke" phone call, I was out in the middle of Beaverdam Reservoir with Rob (flippin4it). He was right there to see me get the news (and watch all the color run out of my face). Needless to say, that was a L-O-N-G and S-L-O-W trolling motor ride back to the landing, from where I still had a 35 minute drive to get back to Fairfax. The pucker factor was high! Interestingly enough, just that morning I had been saying to my wife (and to Rob) that it was going to be my last boat fishing excursion for a while. Doh! -Rich

Interesting, I noticed this last weekend in the no-wake area of Aquia you were speaking of Wayne; in the stretch with the houses on the right (or left, if heading upstream). There, the pads are in a hurting state...brown and withered. As you might expect, we barely got bit at all in the area with the dead pads. Where the pads were greener, the bite was better.

The temporary (3-day) license is only $10. So unless you know you're gonna be fishing in MD a lot over the next year, that seems to be the best way to go. I think the annual out-of-state one is like $40 or something like that.

Dan - you're right about the largemouth fishing in the C&O canal, it can be really good. Two Sundays ago I met up with my cousin (lives in MD) and we fished the canal at Pennyfield Lock (in Potomac, MD). On my third cast I caught a nice 4lb'er, which I happened to see cruising by and pitched my senko to (sight fishing outside of the spawn - sweet). Shortly after that, we walked down to the river and spent a few hours wading for smallmouth, where we each caught several nice bass (and lost just as many). That area is a great wading spot. Anyway, note that while you don't need a MD fishing license to fish the river, you do need one to fish the canal. -Rich

Nah - you guys have already beat yourselves up too much over it. Gerkin is a good guy, and I'm sure he didn't think much of it (if at all). The dude who fished with him that day is a good friend of mine, and when he told me about the tourney he made no mention whatsoever of the "incident". It's all good, don't worry about it.

Done. Like others said, < 1 minute to do.

I have a 153H7 and love it. I also a have a Black Widow II (special edition Advantage variant, specs in between the 153H and 153HST), and really love that one. If I were buying a new Advantage, I'd go for the new generation HSTA's. You can find them on eBay for <$130 shipped.

NICE smallie! I've heard (from the same buddy Rob is referring to) that the Upper P is on absolute fire right now in terms of the smallmouth activity. I gotta get out there again!

Ditto.

:'( I cried when I read that, but a great excuse to get some new gear that might come out after ICAST! Heh, yup! Maybe one of the new green Curados. We'll see....

Nice work Mr. Mitchell! 8-) Two things: 1. While you're down there, can you try to scope out for me if there's any largies fishing to be had further north around Kitty Hawk/Kill Devil Hills? As you know, I'll be there for a week at the end of July, and I'd like to hopefully run into some bass myself. 2. When you get back, remind me tell you about my little "incident" this past Sunday with the Blue Bullet® on Aquia Creek. Summary: Huge oncoming boat wake + little Stratos bass boat (me) took it a little too fast + had forgotten to strap down the rods = Kistler+Revo in the drink, gone forever. Doh! ~Rich

I just recently bought my first bass boat, a used 17' (well, 16'8") Stratos that I'm keeping in storage at Aquia Creek. At this point, being very new to fishing the lower Potomac, I can only tell you what I've heard, and that is just to be careful and use common sense. What many folks have told me is that you can find yourself in trouble when you weren't expecting it--e.g., launch in the morning in calm, glass-like conditions; hours later after a day of spectacular fishing you find yourself many miles from where you put in, and a weather system comes in with winds blowing against the tide. That glassy water then becomes 3-4' whitecaps. I myself haven't experienced this, and I hope not to...but I want to be as prepared as I can be if/when the time comes. Like Nitro said-- --the preparation part of that might just mean equipping myself with the knowledge to make good decisions, like staying off the main river if need be.