HistoryNerd27

My Dad and I are trying to flush out the motor on a Tracker Pro 170 we bought from Bass Pro a couple years ago. It's the Mercury 40 HP Jet model. Looking in the Mercury manual it suggests just attaching a hose to the back but also says to take off the prop (being a jet, we don't have a prop). From what I remember when we bought it, there is an adapter that you can purchase which attaches from a regular garden hose to the outboard that you are supposed to use to flush out the engine after winterizing it. Was hoping someone could provide some clarity about this to me and possibly tell me what adapter I need if thats the case. I purchased one from gander mountain that definitely did not fit. We are trying to learn more about the motor this year so we don't need to pay to have it winterized or worked on. Any info or tips are also helpful.

I felt the veritas today at gander and was considering it. Does feel very nice in my hands. Didn't realize they had dropped recently to $79. Obviously my local gander hasn't caught up with competitors yet. The only baitcasting setup I have now is with a BPS PQ, so I was hoping to try another brand just to experiment a bit. You're trying to get me in trouble with the girlfriend if I come home with 2 combos instead of 1 :P. Thanks for the tips though.

I started this post earlier but I guess I'm not allowed to mention certain brands or something. Anyways, I'm looking for a baitcasting 6'6" or 6'9" combo for under 200. I'm leaning towards the abu garcia revo s3 and *** since they are on sale. Just wanting some other suggestions before I go all in. Thanks everyone

Since I haven't seen any reports on here lately I was wondering if anyone knows the clarity, temps, etc. on Anna right now. I'm taking a day off school and work tomorrow to get a day of fishing in and want to hit the uplake region to see if we can catch a few. Hoping the weather hasn't affected the fishing much. Thanks for any info guys!

After a week of fishing lake Anna from my boat and catching nothing over 3 lbs, I decided to fish a local pond today. Ended up pulling in this 4 lb 7 oz fish on a drop shot. New personal best! Who needs those big lakes anyways

Glad to see I'm not the only one that struggled then. That makes me feel a little better hopefully the images will attach this time

Took me a while to get back to reality, but thought I would get on here and post about Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday was tough. One Fish Anna stayed true to her name and I did only catch one real small (maybe a pound) bass all day. Everything that worked Monday stopped working, so we ended up trying to find some new water and I did manage one on a shakeyhead right before we called it quits. That evening we were a bit sick of throwing for bass so we stopped under a bridge and caught a few crappie. I spotted a huge mass on my graph every time I would go under the bridge and then the nice folks at Hunter's Landing told us that it was crappie. Got to use the livewell on the boat for the first time too, so it was generally a success. Thursday we decided to get out of the Pamunkey and try the Anna branch. We managed 3, one of them almost 3 lbs so it was better than the day before but not exactly a huge success either. We spent most of the time in an inlet I felt pretty good about. Saw fish all over the graph and shad/panfish hitting the surface pretty well. Guys were catching striper in the mouth of the inlet the evening before. Even heard what I'm going to assume was a carp flopping around in the shallows. Still really couldn't figure out the bass though. We ended up catching the few we did off points with rocks and grass, completely different from Monday. Guess it just goes to show you how quickly a lake can change. The water did clear up a good bit by Thursday. Probably gained 2-3 feet of visibility. Overall it was a pretty good trip. The family caught a boatload of panfish from the dock and even about 10 catfish. I caught my first fish off a baitcaster (which actually caught all but 2 of my fish) and now of course I want to buy another one. The last day we were there the sun came out in the evening and bugs started coming out. Holy smokes I have never seen so many fish hitting the top of the water. Definitely proved that the baitballs I was seeing on the depth finder were there, which was pretty cool. Seemed like a lot of guys were doing pretty well with stripers while we were there too. Anyways, I'll try and post pictures tomorrow from my work computer if I can get them off my phone. Thanks everyone for the info. It was very helpful

Thought I would make an early report since it looks like I'm gonna get rained out all day today. We fished most of the morning yesterday and then an hour or two in the evening. Was kinda cold so we didn't get out until around 8 am. Water is pretty muddy (no surprise) and we found fish holding tight to cover. Dad pulled an almost 3 pounder off the end of a dock and I pulled a barely over 3 a few docks down. Ended up catching about 10 combined yesterday but the rest were 1 lb and under. The bigger ones came of chatterbaits, but crankbaits, jerkbaits, and worms all yielded fish too. Side note, got to use the new lowrance and I'm a bit hooked now on learning more. Can actually see bait balls, structure, points, etc. Pretty exciting for someone new to bigger lake fishing. I did find some pretty big carp cruising the shallows in the back of an inlet. Might try and fish from the dock today and see what other species I can hook into. I'll post pictures when I get back home and have better connection. We fished the pamunkey arm so I'm hoping maybe tomorrow or Thursday we can hit the Anna arm and see what's going on there.

I was hoping to fish the river this week but I figured with all the rain we've had for the past 2 weeks she would be chocolate. I'm imagining you are a good bit south of me but how was the water clarity?

Thanks for the information guys. Seems like a lot of places are requiring fees to fish anymore. I guess if the fishing is good though it would be worth it. I definitely will have to swing over there sometime and see what I can do. Too bad they only have shore access and no boat launch.

Hey guys, I was wondering if anyone around here has some knowledge about what's going on at Beaverdam Creek Reservoir. I know they re-opened in May last year and are supposed to close again sometime, but I heard that people were petitioning against it so Loudoun County was re-thinking what they're doing. Anyways, I have never fished there but my dad has before it was sold by the city. If they drained it recently I'm assuming the fish population isn't very strong, but again I don't know much more than what I've heard and the VDGIF website isn't super helpful. Just wondering if anyone had some info on it since its within an hours drive for me. Thanks!

Thanks for the report. Here I thought going to the big lake and getting away from the little ponds would save my tackle from the turtles. I'll try and post a few reports here in a couple weeks to let everyone know what I find too. Thanks again for all the info!

That's the place. I heard from a friend that it's under new management now though so I'm not actually sure what they are doing anymore. Anyways, I would definitely appreciate the report since that is the area I'm looking to fish. Good luck!

Glad to see a couple reports on Anna. My family and I are heading down there for a vacation in 2 weeks and it'll be the first time I really get to test out the Lowrance we bought over the winter. We are up-lake a good ways though, staying near Hunter's Landing. We had some pretty decent success last year fishing around that area in early May so I'm hoping to catch a few good ones. I think you guys both gave me some advice actually for that trip and it worked out really well. So, any more tips I can glean from the experts?

I do hope to learn baitcasting better someday. I actually have a 6' shimano voltaeus/caius combo that was a gift a few years ago that I've tried with several times. Ultimately I end up with birds nests I can't get out or just bad accuracy that leads me back to spinning rods. I've also gotten so used to working a rod with my right hand, it feels weird doing it the other way around. Anyways, I will learn baitcasters someday I hope. Probably when I have more time to fish with it solely until I get much more comfortable. That said, you have made a really strong case for me to start now. Thanks guys for all the responses, I think I'm going to just wait for a bit until I can make a couple hour drive to a Bass Pro and feel a few rods. I only have a gander mountain near me and right now their stock on rods is severely limited for some reason.

I didn't realize how limited the selection really is for a heavy spinning rod. Thanks everyone for their responses. I might have to just learn how to use a baitcaster.

Hi All, I only use spinning setups and I'm trying to look for a rod that can come a little bit closer to a "broomstick" for my heavier jigs and punch rigs (nothing above 3/4 oz). I've looked at the local gander mtn. and didn't find anything I really liked in the medium heavy section. They all seemed a bit too flimsy for what i want. I know that heavy rods are slim pickings when it comes to spinning rods so I was wondering if anyone knew of a good spinning rod that leans on the heavy side in the MH category. I can't do a rod over 7' long and I'm looking in the $150 or so price range. Of course I don't mind going cheaper Thanks guys

Thanks for all the responses guys. I was looking at St. Croix's website a bit earlier and thought I needed to look at them more in-depth. I'm surprised so many people like the fast/extra fast models. I had always heard moderate was better for cranking.

Hi all, I've always been more of an all-purpose kind of guy with fishing rods, but I've decided this winter I want to try and organize my rods a little so I can get more technique specific. I've got my other rods figured out but I need to buy one that is more specific for moving baits. Do any of you guys know of a spinning rod that is decent for this kind of application? Anything that is decently versatile, since I'll be throwing squarebills, rattletraps, spinners, topwaters, and probably small swimbaits with it too. I know that baitcasting setups are better for this, but I've used spinning gear for 10 years and just can't really break myself from it. So please only spinning rods. Thanks guys.

While at a local pond today I found a bass sitting 3 foot off the bank on what looked like a bed. I threw a t-rig in front of his face and he acted very much like a bass on bed, stared at it but didn't go for it. Threw on his head, he swam off then right back in. I have never heard of bass spawning in early July but he sure acted like a bass on a bed. Has anyone heard of anything like this before?

Well I gave corn a try and no luck again. I guess I might make up a creamed corn bait to try but these carp are starting to frustrate me just a little. They were really out today - I'd say there are at least 50 and this is a decently small park pond that you can easily walk all the way around. They were jumping out of the water, splashing, etc. all evening but not a single bite. I managed to talk to someone who works at the park and he says he has never seen one caught before but that they drained the lake a few years back and about 300 were in it cause no one was pulling them out. I'd like to think they are grass carp which is why I can't catch them but when I see them on the edge or jumping out of the water they look gold and not gray, which is how I've usually been able to tell the difference. I do know they have stocked grass carp in the past though. That's just me trying to find a reason I can't catch a fish Thanks for the help though. I may try and carp fish another pond or the 'Doah now as well.

Thanks for the responses. I never heard of a hair rig before but I'm anxious to try it. I would like to make some dough bait with creamed corn but since I hope to go out tomorrow morning I think I'll just stop and pick up some sweet corn and give it a shot. I'll let everyone know if I catch anything! Thanks again!

While I was bass fishing at a local pond a few weeks ago I noticed a ton of carp swimming around the shallows sunbathing. I decided since bass fishing is hitting it's usual summer funk I would try and carp fish instead. I made two different kinds of dough bait, one with strawberry jello and another with vanilla flavoring. After 3 hours of watching carp swim around my bait and no bites I finally gave up and left. Next time out I plan on trying sweet corn to see if they like that better, but I was wondering if there is any other ideas you all might have. I have never fished for carp so I am going off what I've read online mostly. I'm using a slip sinker setup as well if that helps. Thanks for any tips guys!

Hey all, I took the boat to Germantown Lake in Fauquier County today and fished for about 4 hours. This is only my second time there and the first time with a depth finder. We did slightly better than last year, but still only caught a few dinks and nothing with any size. I saw on VDGIF that there are some nice ones in there, but we were the only people on the water today besides a family that rented a jon boat so I didn't really get to ask anyone what they've had luck with. Has anyone fished here before and can offer some insight? One thing I did notice while we were there this time is there is a thick layer of vegetation that pretty much covers the bottom of the lake. I was trying to target grass on the edges until I looked down and realized I was stuck in it 20 foot from the bank, and looking at the depth finder it didn't look like it ever stopped. Made it harder to know where exactly to target and limited what I could throw. Thanks for any info.

Hey Guys I'm looking for some advice in an area I'm not familiar with at all. My father and I went out to a local pond yesterday and he ended up really hammering them on a LiveTarget Field Mouse. The last fish he caught broke his line (through a rather weird series of events) and the hook was lost but he did manage to get the mouse body back. So now that he fished it so well he is bound and determined to go buy a new one. I'd rather save him the 12 bucks if I could and just buy a replacement hook since he has the body and it's in good shape. I never saw the original hook and can't find any information online about them so I was wondering if any kind of frog replacement hook would work or I need something special. It is the 2 3/4" model MHB70T. Thanks in advance for any info.