StinkyBass

I just moved to southern Chesapeake, VA and the nearest body of water is the Northwest River. I fished it 2 weeks ago and to my surprise, it is a dark stained body of water that is wind driven, not tidal. I’m used to fishing upper peninsula water. Needless to say, I got skunked and started doing my research. Tomorrow morning I plan to throw dark colored worms (senkos, TX rigged purple culprit worms, a black buzz bait and an assortment of dark colored jigs) I weather is gonna be sunny and hot, with a high of 97 later in the day. I’m planning on fishing tight to cover and any shadows I see. Any other suggestions for me? I have a lot of learning to do when it comes to this tannic water.

Sam, we did well. Decided to fish the river and we sucked up the ramp fee at river rest and launched there. We fished main river on a buzz bait bite from 6-10:30 with overcast conditions. When the sun came out we got a few on square bills in the back of creeks as the tide reached its peak around 11:30. I caught one using a ned rig during slack tide. We were in by 2 because of a large approaching thunderstorm. A buddy of my caught a 9.7 pounder in Diascund Creek on a texas rig “something”. He wouldn’t say but the fish was healthy. Great day on the river despite some tough conditions.

Good Morning BR Nation, I need help deciding on whether or not to fish the Chickahominy River or the Lake. Its gonna be 90 saturday (6-23-18) and I'm good with either... Fishing reports havent swayed me one way or another. Im not good fishing the main river in the heat of summer. At least at Chick Lake I can focus on what I know about lakes. Any help would be much appreciated...

I had an airfreshener in the shape of a largemouth bass hanging from my rear view mirror. My wife said "it stinks" one day. That was around the time I joined the forum. (It still hangs there, though I doubt it smells anymore)

I fish with a guy who uses nothing but braid and a flouro leader. He hardly misses fish. One thing he does have going for him is patience and a good hook set ^WELL SAID. Wish I said that myself. I don't have a paddle system (i.e. Hobie setup) but I keep my paddle across my lap to make positioning adjustments as I fish. POSITIONING IS EXTREAMELY IMPORTANT. good post J Francho

Welcome to the forum! I can't tell you how much I've learned from this great group of men and women. What area are you living now? This info might help others put you onto good info to get you started! PS - my parents just moved to Nova Scotia from Virginia... Glad to have you!

^Sam is a good guy and full of information on this forum. Search on his posts for good info for your area Welcome to the forum! The James is a great place to find Bass if you like rivers

Honestly I think the bass in my area have never seen it. I did a cursory search on the forums for the "chicken rig" and didn't see anythin., thought I'd see if anyone has tried it. I try to learn (and get good at) a new presentation at least once a year (or so). Looks like it could be a good technique...could be a fail. it definitely looks like a lot of trouble to rig though.

I've been looking for "the next presentation" for my upcoming tournament. I saw some online chatter about Gary Yamamoto's "Chicken Rig". I was thinking about trying this presentation a few weeks prior to tournament day. Anyone try this presentation? It involves a Yami cut tail and some pin weights you push into the worm. Thoughts? Opinions? Retrieve techniques? Pictures? Thanks

It was jiggin but as of late in the Virginia heat (90-98 degree days) shaky head has been hands down my best bait this year!

Ahahaha Sam! I can always count on you for a straight NO BS answer! IMO I don't just walk outside with a "lightning rod" **cough** a fishing rod in my hands hoping to "one up" mother nature by catching a bass before a t-storm. According to Sam there's more at stake then getting struck by lightning!

I also fish primarily from a yak and have had the same problem. I fixed it (for the most part) doing the following. 1- FORGET WEEDLESS! It only causes missed fish. (As you clearly meantioned.) You did the right thing. REMEMBER: "If you ain't snaggin, you ain't baggin!" 2-how are you setting the hook? Are you swiping to the right or left as you would with a crankbait? when fishing with any type of "worm" hook (ie drop shot, wack rigging or weightless tx rig) i pull straight up and "cross their eyes". This method usually puts the hook in the top corner of their mouth cartilage and has greatly improved my hook set to boat ratio! 3-when you feel them coming to the top or they jump, throw your rod down and get them back in the water ASAP! As soon as they break the surface your tension goes to hell and the chances of losing her greatly increases. Hopefully you take this reply as a helpful comment and not an insult to your abilities. Fishing on a yak involves a lot of upper body movement and muscle that puts you at a disadvantage vs standing up. Hope this helps! Keep at it, by reading your post, it sounds like you're well in your way!

Welcome to the forum Justin! I live in Va Beach and fish a lot of the same holes you do. I responded to your post in the South Eastern Region part of the forum. If you got any questions, feel free to hit me up over PM and we'll swap email addresses. Good luck!

Thanks Sam and Wdy... Hey Justin, you're right, it is tough here in VA Beach! but its also summer and tough to be shore stomper. the bass go deep and stay there most of the dog days of summer. I have a theory and i've never been wrong about it. "if there is a pipe leading to a small pond, there's bass!" i had the same bad luck fishing in va beach when i moved here as you did. heres some really important things ive learned in the past 9 years. 1-skip the crank baits and every other hard bait until you find fish. like Wdycrankbait said, im really busy, so i keep a rod in my car with maybe 3 soft plastics at the most. shaky head worms, senkos and 1/4oz swim jigs. slow down, minimize tackle, and downsize bait. there is a reason i only use 1/4oz swim jigs. i also use a 7ft rod with no more than 8lb line (i dont care what people preach, mono works fine for me and i fish super clear water a lot, but the majority on here here will preach flouro. its a personal call youll have to make) 2- MOST of my soft plastics are green pumkin, black/blue fleck and maybe watermelon red or black in color. dont waste your time trying to find the latest color KVD or Ike is using, THEY DONT FISH VA BEACH . if you truely want to get to the nitty gritty of color, do so AFTER you find fish...but then you found them, so maybe youre already there 3-GO TO BAITS- 7in Roboworms in Aaron Marins Magic (its dark green on top and has a purple line down the middle) rigged shaky head (1/8th - 1/4th oz VMC Jig head hooks) BPS Stick-0's in 5-3/8in in black/blue fleck and green pumpkin (most people hate stick-o's, and prefer Yami's, but im cheap and theres 20 to a pack and they are still just as good IMO. good for starting off anyways) "THE WALMART SPECIAL" Strike King 1/4oz Swim jigs in green pumpkin. as a starter, i bite off 1/2 of a zoom super fluke paddle tail (in watermelon red color) and put the remaining 1/2 as the trailer. OR you can put on a green pumpkin strike king baby rage craw as the trailer in rocky/weedy spots. reel in slow, or pop the bottom. one of my best secrets (not anymore i guess ) 4-quick wins - Barkley Meadows near TCC Va Beach. there is a drainage canal that routinely holds 1-2 lb bass there. use a black/blue fleck weightless senko and throw under that tree...its a rough day if you cant pull at least one out of there. (driving on independence, its on the right. pull in the neighborhood and park "out of peoples way". the people are nice as long as you dont create an issue for them. the canal is public property, so you can fish there. i walk through the cul-de-sac on the left and between the houses and then to the tree on the other side of the canal. TCC Va Beach Student Center Lake - there are definitely some good fish in here. fish the back side of the building, near the pipe and under the building. if you have a TCC id, youre good, if you dont, they may ask you to leave, but since i go there, i havent had any problems with security. Bass Pro Shops in Hampton - Sam mentioned going there. while youre there, texas rig a red worm or black spinner bait and fish your way around the lake. that lake has been there since my mom was little and ive caught more than i can remember there growing up. Dont waste your time on Mt Trashmore's lake. i've wasted time that i'll never get back there. its shallow and gets too hot for good bass in the summer, and hard to not get pestered by grounds keepers who think they are security. the secret is to fish the lake next to it. there is a point where the trail leads to. usually there are a ton of people all trying to fish that spot, but ive caught a few small ones out of there. mostly too busy for me though. i know a few guys who have said they caught some nice ones, but i just dont waste my time at the point. try to walk around and fish it. BEST TIMES TO FISH - This goes for any where so this is no secret, but for shore stompers without a boat or access to lilly pads for shady bridges, the bass come shallow to feed in the early morning and in the evening. The last decent sized bass i caught was in 1 foot of water chasing baitfish. (See the pict). i am a pale skinned red head who burns when he thinks about the sun, so you wont catch me fishing local ponds in the middle of the day in the summer. (never mind that im at work). The only time i fish in 98 degree heat is on tournament day. THINK ABOUT IT, bass are the same way, its hot outside, (water temp is high) they look for shade. ie, pipes, logs, deep water, run off from a recent storm etc. if you are fishing in the heat of the day, look for where water temp will be cooler, even just 1 or 2 degrees. Good luck, i wish i had more time to say we could meet up, but im trying to wrap up my summer semester in the next 2 weeks. Hang in there, youll figure it out. PM me and i'll shoot you my email address. All the best,