NHBA Charlie

New Horizon Bass Anglers, a FUN & EDUCATION oriented fishing club, based in Northern Virginia is always looking for new members. We accept men, women and youth over age 16. With 50+ members and having been around 25 years, some of our members are getting long in the tooth. Young blood is needed in order for them to have someone to pass on their vast knowledge. No boat ownership required, no participation requirements, low fees (and even lower paybacks), lots of tournaments (24) and social outings all over the state. Meetings are held at Logan's Roadhouse on Fair Lakes Circle in Fairfax on the second Thursday of each month. Check us out at: nhbayouthfoundation.org Club is big into youth fishing, hosting two Kid's Fishing Derbies each year at Lake Fairfax in Reston, Va. Derbies draw over 300 kids and an equal number of adults. Good Fishin'...... Charlie...... www.charlietaylorfishing.com

Although all of the above are good options, I love Lake Gaston. Gaston has big fish and just about any type of structure and/or cover you would possible want. Just about any technique or lure you could think of will catch fish on this lake. It is loaded with largemouth bass, stripers, warmouth, crappie, bowfin and catfish. Any of them could hit your lure on the next cast. It is not as crowded as Anna, Smith Mtn. Lake, Buggs Island or Briery Creek. It is a large lake with lots of creeks, coves, bridges, boat docks, bluffs and stump fields. It lacks good facilities such as motels and restaurants, except on the upper end, at Bracey. Otherwise, it is always my choice for a weekend or a few days of relaxing fishing. I would say the Potomac River, but I live close to the river and fish it all the time. I really think that it is currently the best fishery in the state, Lake Gaston is a great change of pace. Good Fishin'....... Charlie....... www.charlietaylorfishing.com

Hannock: The first of the shad were caught the end of last week. The run should be in full swing this week. Good Fishin'...... Charlie....... www.charlietaylorfishing.com

Tuna: When you get to the landing, walk to the right toward the Potomac River. As you get to the river, turn right again and follow the shoreline downriver about 100 yards. There, you will find a ledge that goes all the way across the river. You can access one of the better pools from the Virginia shore. As you look across the river, you will see rocks sticking out of the water on a diagonal line, heading upriver. Each of these rocks is part of the ledge and has a school of minnows at the upper end of the rock. Smallmouth cruise up and down the Maryland shore until they come to the ledge. They then follow the ledge over to the Virginia shore, stopping at each rock to gorge on the minnows. In 17 years of guiding on the Potomac River, my clients had 10+ citation smallmouth from this ledge, particularly the pool just below the rock closest to the Virginia shore. The water at that point swirls away from shore and down a chute beside the first rock it comes to. This has created a pool below the rock where large smallmouth go to feed.. If you can get across Goose Creek, you can walk upriver along the Virginia shore until you come to the power lines (about 150 yards). At this point, a gas line that is shored up with riprap, runs across the river. Fishing Tiny Torpedos, Pop-R or Rapala floating minnow above the gas line and allowing it to float down to the riprap will get your arm jerked real good. I have had many 50 fish days on topwater on that gas line. Below the gas line, smallmouth feed on crayfish and hellgrammites on the bottom. I have found that the best lures below the gas line are small tubes or grubs in dark colors. At one point, approximately 20 yards off the Virginia shore, the gas line riprap is very sparse, creating lots more current than along the rest of the gas line. Here, I like to fish small spinnerbaits and Zoom Super Flukes. And lastly, get yourself some Bill Norman Deep Tiny N crank baits in white and crayfish colors or Bagley Killer B1 baits in crayfish and chartreuse colors and just fan cast the entire river at the mouth of Goose Creek. You will catch a bunch of smallmouth bass. They may not be the largest fish in the river but you will definitely enjoy yourself. Good fishing'........ Charlie...... www.charlietaylorfishing.com

Check out New Horizon Bass Anglers. www.nhbayouthfoundation.org Always looking for avid anglers. Experience, boat, etc. not necessary. Fun and Education oriented club.

Actually, he doesn't have a lot of time. He experiments with all kinds of materials, colors, additions, etc. and the two of us use them in club tournaments to see how they catch fish. We have been very successful with them, particularly with big blue catfish. We catch a ton of these. Bass are taking them in the Potomac River grass beds and lily pad fields. They come through vegetation very well and the fish just slam them. I watched what I thought to be a 7-8# bass hit one of his B I G ones at Lake Anna, but didn't hook up. I suspect that the hook was too small and got buried in the plastic. The fish don't have any problem hitting them. We are using the Owner Flashy Swimmer swimbait hooks in them.

Yes. That would be me. Hopefully, it has been of assistance to you.

My partner has been making his own soft plastic swimbaits for the past two years and we have been having a ball with them. We started out using four inch baits, then moved up to six inch baits and he has been making and using some outlandishly large 7-9 inch baits. Although we have not caught any bass over the six pound mark on them, we are crushing 20-40 pound blue catfish on the larger ones. He has had many hits on the huge baits, but thus far, has not been able to hook one. Lots of fish in the 3-5 pound range are taking the four inchers in clear/blue back in the Potomac River Grass Beds.

New Horizon Bass Anglers is a non-profit, Fun and Education oriented bass club located in Northern Virginia. Our home water is the Potomac River, although our tournament schedule has us fishing most major public waters in Virginia and occasionally NC and MD. We place lots of emphasis on having FUN and assisting each other in learning to catch fish. Tournament fees are low (and so are payouts). Bragging rights are uppermost. Our 2014 tournament schedule shows 21 tournaments, but only the best nine count for end of year honors. Tournaments are frequently followed by cookouts and away tournaments are highlighted by staying together in rented facilities and socializing after the tournament. The club is 23 years old and consistently has 60+ members. We accept men, women and youth (16+). Our members consistenly bring their kids along. We sponsor two Kid's Fishing Derbies each year, free to all kids, age 15 and under. We also serve as advisors to a high school fishing club and are frequently asked to provide fishing education for local Cub Scout, Boy Scout and Girl Scout groups. If you are tired of intense competition and long for days of relaxed fishing with a group of fun loving individuals, give us a try. You do not have to own a boat to join. Check us out at www.NHBAYouthFoundation.org

It is kind of difficult for a Snakehead to dive down when he hits in 6" of water. I see that you are from Florida. Perhaps the snakeheads that you fish for in Florida live in deeper water than those on the Potomac River. Here, we find these fish in less than two feet of water as they have no gills and must come to the surface to breathe every 3-4 minutes. We are fishing THICK grassbeds in very shallow water. As a matter of fact, if you stay too long on the outgoing tide, you may be there for another 3-4 hours waiting for the incoming tide to refloat the boat. NHBA Charlie.......

Over the past two weeks, I have been fishing club tournaments out of Leesylvania State Park. Each day, we ran to Chickamuxen Creek and fished topwater and Senkos for bass. Each day, we caught at least two Snakeheads in the 6-8 pound class on topwater frogs. On sunny days, we fished frogs with white bellies and on overcast days we used black frogs. In all cases, after we set the hook, the fish launched themselves out of the water at least one foot and in one cast over two feet, STRAIGHT UP. Heavy braided line and long casts are a must, but the fish are there. You can generally tell a snakehead from a bass, as a snakehead will come up and "nose" the bait where a bass will annihilate it. In addition to catching the fish daily, we also had many snakehead come up and nudge the baits without taking them. We could see these fish on the surface as they came up behind the baits.

"One Fish Anna". LOL Our club fished a social event on March 16th and 14 members had limits of keeper bass. Three more had 4 keeper fish. Most of the top 14 had well over 20 bass each. Anna is no longer a lake that does not give up fish. NHBA Charlie......

Last chance for tables at the Flea Market. Looks like either a wintry mix or rain. Should put a damper on fishing. Come on out, check out the bargains and talk fishing. John Odenkirk, DGIF Northern Virginia Fisheries Biologist on premises to answer your question. Charlie..........

Those anglers looking for Rockfish (Striped Bass) would do well to bring a supply of 3/4 oz. Rat-L-Traps in White/Red Head or Chrome/Black Back. And make sure you are using 20+# mono or braid. These fish are big and powerful. There are a number of Rockfish running around the Potomac River trailing 100+ yards of my line after spooling me. None recently, but when I was a young pup, I loved to fight 14-20# Baltimore Bluefish on 4-12# mono. Figured that if I could hook and land a 19-8# bluefish on 4# line and ultra-light, I could do the same with Rockfish. Found out quite quickly that that is not exactly true. Eventually got it through my thick head that you have to have 20+# line to tangle with these fish. NBHA Charlie

I have worked midnight shift for over 40 years. I just can't go to bed before 3:00 a.m. on a regular basis. As for a link, I don't think that John has posted any of his findings. He is a frequent speaker at our club meetings and attends all our club functions. He is free with his information, findings and beliefs. He will be appearing at the NHBA Fishing Flea Market on February 23rd at the Sterling Ruritan Club, 183 Ruritan Road, Sterling, Va. He has no problems answering any questions about any of the bodies of water he manages (All in Northern Virginia) or the species of fish therein. He headed the Regional team that studied the shortnosed sturgeon, was partially responsible for the return of the American and Hickory shad to the Potomac River and is the leader of the regional team on snakeheads. Has also appeared on TV, searching for the Nile Perch in Africa. A truly amazing guy. NHBA Charlie.........