basscody

I have the virginia tbf junior 6 man this weekend and I'm not familiar with buggs island, it appears that isolated docks have been producing, if you don't mind sharing any patterns , 0r baits I would more than appreciate it , thank you in advance

I'm interested in hearing what people have to say about a good monofilament line for poppers specifically. I've used 14 lb trilene in the past, and I'm currently using 14 lb Grand Slam. I've got to say I was really impressed with it at first , it floats fine and dosent stretch a whole lot. But after about a week it's started to break down a lot and getting a lot of memory In it. I'm all for maintaining line but I also don't want to continue to spend money on line that's breaking down after a week. So what seem so work good for poppers and lasts a little while?

I think you've hit the nail on the head to a certain degree

new to the forums. Im a young tournament fishermen out of prince george virginia, learning to balance school, work, and fishing. You can find me on one of the local rivers. as i love fishing tides and currents, and i think its easier to find fish being positioned by tides or currents. im what you would call a shallow water finatic, enjoy fishing the old whethered wood structures of the James river. Cypress trees are my bestfreind. other than fishing the tidal james, i like to wade around richmond for smallmouth ( usaully above the 14st bridge). im not much of a lake kinda guy, but thats why i joined because one day there will be a tournament that isnt on a river and ill be out of luck, and i need all the help i can get with deep/offshore structure fishing. My motto is "nothing will ever beat local knowledge" and thats what im here to gather local knowlledge from across the country, and apply it here at home. If you think you can teach me anything, then please do. after all im only a river rat

hear so much about yellow magics, might be worth checking out.

sometimes yes in the non tidal portion the james has produced huge smallies, but here im talking about the tidal portion and largemouth

i have bought 2 more since. i figured it would be a worthwhile investment since its a pattern i rely on. so far it really has paid off. i dont plan on buying more. i got a flat black, silver, and the chartruse one i was given. so far it's all ive needed here locally.

I think your right, its not nessasarilly the nature of the rico, but just that side to side motion coupled with the loudness of the rattle. i was originally using the kvd splash jr and it can deffinatly duplicate that side to side motion but it lacks the bb rattle system. i have never used one but supposedly the don iovino splash-it is extreamly similar to the rico and only $13 it would be interesting to compare the two.

Without a shadow of a doubt a topwater popping style bait is an effective presentation around all kinds of cover. My first experiences with poppers came from the classic Rebel Pop-R. I think most people will agree when i say that the Pop-R is a great bait. The Pop-R has the ability to create an unresistable disturbance in the water, as do most topwater popping baits. When i first saw the rico i was very dismissive of it. I didnt see much difference between a Pop-R and the Rico. As a matter of fact the only differences was that the Rico retails at $22.95 and the Pop-R at 4.99, and the Rico has holographic eyes , and Quality hooks. It was not until two weeks ago when i fished a the Virginia Federation Youth State Championship on the Chickahominy River did I have the oportunity to see the difference in action. The boat captain i drew was a very wise experienced river rat with 20+ years of experience on the james river and its tributaries including the chickahominy. When i met with him in the morning i told him my game plan and when i was finished he told me that he had something that he thought i would be happier with. Being a young cocky kid i opted out of his plan, but at the day one weigh in, two boats had gone to the spot my captain urged me to go to, and they where boasting 40+ plus fish a peice, on top of that they were fishing topwater all day. My boat captain looked at me and said "I told you so". so when i met with him the next morning i was humble and ready to listen. he said " do you have a topwater tied on?" i said "yeah, a Pop-R." that just wouldn't do and he handed me a beautiful Rico to tie on. First cast of the morning about a Two solid bass at the bait at the same time, one on the front hook and one on the back. I was amazed, I was able to put a limit together quickly, and uniquely to me each fish and choked it. The difference was clear. After the tournament i went to give the rico back and my boat captain told me to keep it. This is where my experimentation with the Rico began. I wanted to truly know why bass reacted to violently to the Rico. Every fish i have caught on the rico has chocked it from the front, like bass do when the kill shad. For one the Rico has a much louder dense rattle than the Pop-R. Secondly it dose not have a very deep concave face. lastly it emits a almost driping sound when fished fast, and darts in a "Z" motion. In my experience The Lobina Lures Rico outfishes the Pop-R, when fished fast, 10 to 1

if your near the belle isle area you should try the area above the 14th street bridge, very big smallies the more boulders the more fish, wading is your best bet.