Choporoz

Spent about five hours on the rez Saturday morning. Unbelievable. First time I've been skunked on there in a LONG time. Exactly ONE solid hit - zero hook-ups. I'm still upset.....lol really.....worked depths, flats, coves, drop-offs, horizontal structure, vertical structure....jigs, worms, spinners (in line and reg blades), chatterbaits, jerk baits, lipless, square-bills, deep cranks, Ikas, soft swim baits - weigtless flukes and on spinner jig heads, lizarads, buzz baits, and others I can't even recall right now. Zip Zilch Nada....

I met a guy on the lake Saturday who was fishing from a (motored) Freedom Hawk -12 and absolutely loved it. My wife did, too. She was ready to get us two. I'm not completely sold, but it was certainly intriguing.

I'm a long way from 'commitment', but I have thrown jigs a fairly high percentage of casts this year. Confidence is extremely low at this point, however, as I haven't seen/felt/noticed one certain hit yet. Sure, I could have missed 50 hits, but my enthusiasm is waning.

My wife and I tried to hunt down a MONSTER bass in a large a cove at dusk one evening.... until well after dark....when the dang beaver slapped (a second time) about 15 feet away and I nearly fell out of the boat. We so wanted to believe we were going to land a ten pound bass that night....lol

I'm up in DC area, so I am not too much help. But, I wanted to put a plug in for Hunting Run. There are folks that don't like it too much because of the preponderance of dinks. But, I like it. Sure, you'll catch your share of 1/2 pounders. But, there's big bass in there, too. I have never been skunked. And, they rent boats. Fairly cheap, at that.

Welcome, Chris. What part of the state are you in?

I recently bought a spool of 10# Yo Zuri. I spooled both my (ML) Mitchell combo, and my wifes (ML) Abu Garcia combos. I've had minimal problems and love the line. My wife, on the other hand, has had nothing but trouble. KVD conditioner has helped, but not a lot of difference, really. We tried to analyze every difference in the spools, casting, bail flipping...techniques, to no avail. I wish I could tell you what I do differently to make it 'better'.

Whew! I thought you were going to say 'fishing'. Best of luck, brother! Kick it!

Tried Cut-R for first time last weekend and got a PB, not to mention best from another lake same weekend. I only had one pkg. When last one was shot, I cut the hook-worn end off and put the business end on a swim jighead and continued to catch bass the rest of the afternoon. Never had an experience like that with a new bait. Now I have a ten pound worm binder that's going to collect dust -- I'm off to buy Cut-R's

I run into this situation every time I'm on my local rez and I have zero fish to show for it. Usually fall and spring pattern, but could be mid-summer also. Fishing in a VA reservoir; about 20 feet from rocky shore - sharp drop to 35 feet. Pretty wide, level channel (at least 40 yards wide.) There's intermittent patches of old trees structure, but not throughout. As you approach these patches, the fishfinder starts hollering. All kinds of fish from between about 6 foot off the bottom down to the bottom. Of course, I can't say for certain they're bass, but I want to believe they are I've tried: drop shots, jigs, kastmasters, swim jigs, heavily weighted wacky worms, spinners, deep diving cranks, etc. Never a bite. My best approach has been to leave and find shallower cover that I'm familiar with. Am I wasting my time continuing to work 'fish' that may not even be bass?

Faced thick pads on two bodies of water recently. Two different presentations with lots of hits on each, but both across the top. Frogs - dozen hits and zero hook-ups. Flukes skittered across the top and lots of hits and 90%+ hook-ups. I wouldn't have even tried to get under the surface at either lake. Even my most weedless presentations wouldn't have made it more than a couple feet successfully.

Interesting....I decided last weekend that I'm done with swim senko's altogether. Bought the big kit and haven't had a single bite - any color, any presentation, any waters. I'm a fan of the worms still -- but they've lost a lot of ground lately in my opinion...to the Rage Cut-R. I still use a lot of senko worms. I'd guess it's about: 10% Wacky 40% T, weightless 50% T, smallest bullet I can get away with depending on conditions

DJ, That's my line! I am not the guide you're looking for. I don't have a boat (yet - tho the OP is trying to help that situation .... and rented a jon boat at Pohick... once. I have fished from the shores of the Potomac from Wilson Bridge on down, Occoquan river, Dogue Creek and Gunston Cove and done fairly well. I salivate over the opportunity to get my own boat (one big enough to be comfortable on those waters.) There's a great guide online somewhere to fishing all those waters. I'll look and send you the link when I find it.

Knee...or hip....or ass....lol. Cigar in one hand, rod in the other and one hip on the tiller. As stated above, you just need to get out and find out what works for you. I back-troll 90% of the time. Goes slower and much better control. Besides, if I'm steering from the back, I don't want 10 or 12 foot of boat out in front between me and the strike zone before I can get a lure in there. Caveat - if my wife's in the front of the boat, I will mix it up half the time - go forward, and send her in for the first casts into the cover.

I've only been out on the Potomac once, but I guarantee I'd be at Pohick or Occoquan park. Immediately. lol......Occoquan River, Belmont Bay and Gunston Cove have a ton of allure for me. Great bass waters.

Great feedback, Tetra. Thank you.

Trick worms - 4/0 offset worm hook; weightless in shallows, pads and tops of weeds. Small weight T-rig everywhere else. I don't use them too often any more, but there are some days when a weightless trick worm kills and nothing else will. Usually in late afternoon for no apparent reason.

I fish from rented jon boats and canoes 90% of the time. Nothing can take me out of my game like a windy day. I really lose focus quickly. Do you use wind socks in small boats? Do they work? Are they worth the expense and the space? I feel like I already take way too much stuff in the boat. But, if they can make a dramatic difference in handling on a windy day, they just might be my next purchase. How far back do they drag? Do they get in the way of your fishing or get hung up on stumps, branches, etc? More trouble than they're worth?

+1

Good day on the rez yesterday. Went down from Fountainhead, which I rarely do, but glad I did. Picked up this 5.2lb in the fingers(?), which I'd never fished before. Smallest was 2.75 up until almost 3PM when I got a 2 lb'er on half a Cut-R slid onto a jig head. Probably boated about 20-25 pounds - every one on watermelon Rage Cut-R. Couldn't get a single bite on a jig; and only a couple short strikes on spinnerbaits.

I was the one who'd roll his eyes frequently whenever I'd see a certain fisherman answer "Rage" to every single question - lol....No more. I spent 6 hrs fishing each of Saturday and Sunday on three different bodies of water. Every single fish I caught was on a watermelon Cut-R. Unbelievable. One fish under 1.5...all the way up to a PB 6.83. I only had one package - first time using them. They lasted extremely well. And when they were all gone, I thought; "I haven't caught a single fish on anything else - What am I going to do now?" So, I cut off the hook-worn top of a Cut-R and slid the working portion that was left onto a swim jig head.....and proceded to go back to catching bass. Unbelievable. Now I've got a ten pound worm binder full of plastics I'll never touch after I hit TW for Rage stuff. Now...on the other hand, my wife and I did spend an hour or two in the lily pads and threw frogs - she threw Rage and I tossed an old 'Snag-Proof'. Neither one of us hooked up, but I had at least a dozen blow-ups and her toad had exactly none. I don't know which is worse...or better....lol....I either need a new frog or I'm seriously in need of some remedial lessons on how to set the hook using a frog. Any way, I'm sold....and headed over to TW

Wow!! Almost exactly what I was going to type! Two great passions that complement often, but also afford each of us to explore our hobbies independently at times. Its a perfect match for us. My wife loves going fishing with me - and she outfishes me on numerous occassions....but other days, she ends up spending half the day shooting from the boat. I'm more than happy to run down the lake so she can get a good shot at a bald eagle.... if she continues to be great with my fishing.

I must be extraordinarily clumsy....its a rare day in the boat that I don't get stuck at least once

2 thumbs up for AP Hill. Prob a dozen ponds and lakes, most with ramps. Caught my PB there today: 6.8!!! Another at 4.2. Great day

I plan to go out Sunday, also. Probably rent out of Fountainhead. Not sure if Lake Ridge renting yet. I like LR if I think I'll want to spend most of my time in/around Sandy Run since I'm trolling motor-only. Tomorrow, I'm going to head down to explore AP Hill. If anyone has any knowledge/experience there, I'd greatly appreciate it.