GorillaBass

good advice, and to be clear, I assure you- I'm not looking for validation, I never look for validation, if I want to do something I do it- I'm just asking to know what would be ahead of me if I were to do it. If I spend that kind of money, I don't want my hull or weird creatures, ect on the boat, I didn't know freshwater would 'gunk' it up. Since this is the case, I'd rather look for a location near the ramp, plus a garage, and keep that baby clean. On a side note, Saturday I caught my PB, then I went out Sunday.. AND BEAT MY PB!!! Only bite all day but it was a beauty! I didn't have my scale, but the Saturday one was 5.5 & this one was significantly bigger- my buddy thought it was around the 6 range- unfortunately we can't confirm :-/ I love my really good scale somewhere -___- I'm a big dude- so in relation to my spectacular belly, it was a monster

yeah i'm really torn - theres a nice and bigger condo like less then 30 seconds away from this one- I would be able to keep the boat in the garage and its a bigger place, just not as convenient as keeping it in the water BUT.. this is why I come on bassresource.. to get good advice.

so ive been reading around- I get keeping a boat in the Winter might be a bad idea, but day to day through spring - fall, esp if I use it 4-5x a week? its freshwater, its not like theres going to be too weird of things growing on the hull. I dont know, some people are neurotic- some arent. I can see it not being the 'best' condition for the boat, but tons of people keep their boat in the water til winter, their boats looked fine- given, it wasn't a 'bass boat', but still, a regular cruiser/bay type of boats. idk- im new to this, maybe im wrong, thats why im here asking people.

God dang.. you guys know your stuff and thanks so much for replying. You all are right- 40k isn't high end, you're also right, I don't "need" it- we never "need", I just got off the water now and only caught 1 fish, a 4lb beauty (I weighed it, i'm not exagerrating .. only because I thought it was 5, 3.89 to be exact, sue me) and i'm on a custom built 4k jon boat, i could be in a kayak or a 100k ranger and the fishing is all the same, I can't agree more with you. But were not perfect and were human. So we like nice stuff, I am blessed that the fruits of my labor lend a hand to being able to afford some nice stuff, im not rich- but i'm very comfortable- esp for a 31yo. and I believe in living life to the fullest- it's healthy to splurge and enjoy the finer things.. plus, I might take one of you fishing freaks out sometime if you ever are up to coming by! Seriously! It is shallow, 3-5ft across the whole place, rare to see much deeper than that. Please tell me though, why wouldn't you keep it in the marina? it's locked, plus a keypad, no other way to get to the dock, please google BELMONT BAY MARINA and see the pictures, please give me good advice and your opinion, I welcome it- I trust your opinions.

Gentlemen - I recently got back into bass fishing several months ago- bought a boat off a guy built for bass fishing, couple decks, 20hp motor, some fish finders, ect, I have other posts about it and I ought to post a picture of it soon. To bigger and better though. I'm looking at a condo near the potomac river, near occoquan regional park, yeah the condo's on the right near the no wake zone sign- yeah exactly. So, being that i'd love to have a real bass boat parked in the marina and is likely to happen very soon so i can hop in there and zoom out for a few then zoom back and park it in the marina and walk to my condo has been .. well, making my daydream fishporn into a fun lifestyle possible reality. What boat though GorillaBass? So being me, I love highend ish, who doesn't want a Ranger? I do ok, I can afford it but do we 'need' a 40k bass boat? a highend boat is all the fun particularly if i'd use that machine 4-6x a week right? eventually try to get into tourneys and take a shot at it, never know right? So. I hear fiberglass and aluminum each have pro's cons, ect.. so, fiberglass I hear can freeze and give issues, aluminum no big deal- can keep it in the water throughout the winter without cracking, who wouldn't want to winter fish sometimes? um, I'd have a boat 40 yards away in the water already- yeah bro- were going fishing.. So.. advice, opinions, or just be an a-hole, idc - give it to me straight

Bro .. .that was legit. I am trying to get "better" at covering water, it's not as straight forward as it seems- at least to do it effectively. I'm trying to teach myself how to cover water effectively w/ good lures for the situation, ie 5-10ft of water, little murky, no laydowns, or little bit more visibility couple trees, some weed beds but thats it and whats the best, I try so much (topwater is my favorite, for obvious reasons) but I try everything, getting more into crankbaiting which I find extremely effective and I love swimjigs or soft plastics (I LOVE SKIPGAP HOOKS!!) and suggestions, opinions, advice to quickly cover water? do you just keep going down the shoreline? even if a spot looks kinda crappy? do you drive to different spots or just go down "semi ok" shorelines? I find myself starting up my 20hp motor on the rez and just driving to diff spots when I dont feel confident in a location for more than 50 years of shoreline.. good idea? opinions?

Man, you guys.. have a ton of knowledge I'll get there one day- thanks to everyone for giving me your opinion and advice. I have a lot to learn. I try to "think" like a fish in small ways, like- this is a good cove, good cover, id prob chill here -> if I was a fish, but outside of that, I don't have the knowledge like most of you yet to really know colors, seasons, forage- thats a lot to me right now, I did look at a condo by the potomac river that has it's own marina so i can keep a boat there and fish it everyday after work, awesome right? anglers paradise really. But there, its more grass, heavy grass, heavy cover, 4ft~ deep across the whole river/bay.. thatll add a whole new dynamic instead of the usual resevoir I fish. I read that the darker the water, then darker baits help.. blacks, blues, ect.. so what then? my white swimjig isnt as good? I went the other day and was throwing the jig (got no bites, so annoying) and was wondering how would they see or feel it, but.. I guess i'll take your guys word for it - you all seem to know A LOT more than me. is there a method to seasons and colors btw? any advice here is helpful (if it's accurate lol ) thanks guys.

yeah- I agree man, like I want to make the most out of my electronics, and it's likely why I feel like I 'need' to do that, but I'm a technical guy, in my job and life- I try not to think about it too much but try to 'swing' it in my favor. the big girls are a little deeper huh? I always felt that way, I dont see a 5lb or heavy bass chillen by the weeds on my resevoir in 2-3ft of water, all the big ones always came in the ~7-8 to like 10/15ft

well said !!! .. so, I try to "scan" an area with my two fish finders before I fish somewhere, if I can- I feel like if it looks like somethings there, even if it gives me mixed feelings then it's worth it- sometimes I go over an area and theres nothing and despite it looking like a good spot, I don't fish it. anyone else use their electronics to their favor?

Man ... i'm glad I asked, you guys know your stuff. Thanks to all who responded to me, thats really cool I can get such quality answers for such a question. I'm still a rookie, I read a lot on here but that question i've been pondering in my head for several months know. That lateral line, removing one sense so they rely on others, the light, their environment, I get it now, it's a combination of everything, a jiggling worm in their area.. they'll know. Which makes me feel so much better !! haha Now.. I got (almost) skunked 3 days in a row fishing the resevoir (I go a lot, i'm sure you guys seen me) , I caught a little guy on my crank on the way out in the marina by lake ridge, despite that? nothing ! .. god I suck, some days I slay though, WHERE DO THE 5LBERS HANG OUT AT ?!

wow.. thats crazy .. like, a worm just floats .. weird to think a bass will know it's there

I go to the Rez like 2-3x a week, I do pretty good. Sandy Run is pretty legit most the time- Trying to fish them a little deeper this time of the year- some more cranking, cause 5 last saturday during that wicked wind we had- it was annoying for sure but the bites were of the chart. Learning the deeper water, I have 2 really good fish finders that show promise, it's just a matter of getting my bait deep enough in an effective manner to trigger strikes .. that's the kicker! The Rez is the best!

say a floating worm though.. so a drop shot worm, a jig popping, they can feel that??

Sup guys .. So as I'm learning and getting better at fishing.. not tooting my horn, but much better, thanks to my research, this site, and a few good friends showing me the ropes.. or my countless hours on the resevoir trying tried and true and ...absolutely stupid stuff just to see if it works? anyway.. I try to think like a fish. I have two fishfinders, great technology. I see TONS of great structure, I see TONS of 'fish' activity below me, so naturally i'm changing my tactics a bit to try to catch those deeper fish.. try..yeah, I said try. So. My question. say... 10-20 feet+, I see great activity, likely deep suspending fish, on my way to buy a crankbait rod/reel combo as I learned.. I kinda like crankbaiting and for some reason I get great results. The question: If the water is dark, after 3+ft .. and the bait, so a worm, jig, ect doesn't rattle.. how the hell are the bass supposed to see it? Can they see even if we cant? is it different when youre in the water? how would a deep worm in low vis catch a fish? something has to make noise, vibrate, what have you in order to attract them.. Why do I ask? so my arsenal of lures can be tailored around vibration, rather worms, jigs, ect .. remember, low visibility were talking thanks for any and all advice.. you bro's help a lot.. some of you are kind of rude, but hey, w/e

dude !!! my pics are too high resolution !!! I need to compress !!! I can back it up !! It was awesome, I went today and only 2 swipes at the frog haha I guess they didnt want top water today. you guys ever fish occoquan resevoir?

Went fishing with my buddy on my old but new boat to me today, started at 6am finished at noon.. I've been DYING to catch a fish with a frog, or with a topwater for that matter, never have.. and also catch a good bass with a jig !! never have.. and catch a bass with a baitcaster, never have.. let alone my 2 new ones I just got !! WELL TODAY SIR's.. 8 Complete blowups, monster fish, amazing.. so sad they all missed !!! hookup ratio is straight crap.. but .. I stayed w/ it and low and behold, big splash, big set hook, 40lb braided, Lews Tourney MG, and a little kid spirit set the hook right in its upper lip yo !! fought hard and reeled him in. then.. shortly after I moved down a bit, saw I went over a little ridge exiting a small cove back into the main channel and thought, "hmm that looks like a small school on a ledge, let me turn around and jig it".. 10 casts, lift and drop technique... BAAAAAAAAAAM!!!! DESTROYED it on the fall, I never had it happen so flawlessly, I used to doubt the lift and drop technique but wow.. reeled him in, great fight, both were 3lber's !!!! that was on my Powell Diesel rod, and my abu garcia sx reel, 10lb mono. what a ***** day man, I am thrilled, brought my spirit back after getting skunked at the resevoir 4x in a row. absolutely... UGH----FREAKING-----MAZING. Had to share my day haha with people that understand the feeling !!! Who ever is down to fish and can make it to the resevoir hmu !! let's run that bish !!!

First of all.. thank you all for taking time to respond to me. second. d**n i did not know half of what yall just told me, so, im using way too much weight, be more patient on the descend, and keep trying everything. yes i have a fish finder, Helix 7 DI, (i wish side imaging, i want to get one with side imaging soon actually) so just a little weight and be patient, you guys know your ****.. -__-

I think that's what my bullet weights are, I double looped 2 of them so they stay high on the line, was going to texas rig a worm on the end ... good idea?

Hi gang - So, I fish my local resevoir, just bought a new jon boat from a good local guy and everything is just fine and dandy.. except. So when I was renting jon's and going out I was nailing some solid ones, 3 - 4lb's and awesome, now I got a bad ass little boat and I can hardly catch a fish, skunked the last 4x I've been out there but the resevoir is known for good bass. Long story short, my buddy mentioned for me to go a little deeper, especially since it's summer and all. So my question to your experts, (im not expert, im new to fishing after 15 years off...when I was 15 ) .. how much weight do I need for say, a texas rigged worm or soft bait to reach... 10feet? 15ft? 20ft? 30ft? .. is 2 bullet weights sufficient? I know 1 of them clearly isn't .. I have a 1oz drop shot, is that sufficient? in terms of bullet weights, opinions? advice? anything helps - im so annoyed. thanks guys, I appreciate feedback !!! happy fishing r3zrunn3n

Welcome!

Thanks for all the welcome and thanks for the information on Occaquan. I guess i'll stick to crockett park til I get accustomed to all the fishing holes around here. I'm looking into customizing a jon boat, they just built a cabelas over here in gainesville VA but all the boats have big gas motors that...well, really dont have much use for unless I go to the potomac, lake anna, and I think some parts of the occuquan? .. so I think a small jon with some customization and a solid minn kota trolling motor is my best bet?

-Hey everyone- I'm new to this, as i'm getting back into fishing. Alot of good information on this forum and thought i'd chime in and maybe make some new friends to fish with. Primarily I like to fish for bass as i've only been a few times this year. I went yesterday to Crockett Park (Germantown Lake) and cought a good size sunfish I think it was and also about a 1-2lb largemouth or smallmouth bass, wasn't really sure but it was a beauty and made my day.. lame I know but take it easy on me, i'm new to this all over again.. Trying to find out how Bull Run Marina is, it's close to my house, I see they're not staffing it? so you cant rent any boats there but is there enough places to fish off the shore? anyone been? anyone want to go? -g