NOVA test run

[Bigbarge50]

After my first real summer here, I am so eager for the spring made a little trip up to the Bass Pro Shops in MD and took the plunge on a fishfinder ( took a real risk and went with a lowrance mark 5x-dsi..... not a traditional "sonar".... it is a downscan imaging model)

So needless to say I am dying to test this thing out, but needless to say not when it is like 20 degrees out. 

If I go out in the next two weeks, should i leave the fishing gear home and just try the fish finder out or would there be some chance of actually catching something? 

Can not wait till spring.  Also if anyone has this model any tips would be welcome, as well as general fishfinder tips.... my first unit I can call my own. 

[Carrington]

id take gear but if its a new lake to you then id use the electronics to image parts of the lake that you find on a topo map.

[typed by ben]

dont install, return in a week when the 2011s come out, then buy on  clearance

i plan on getting a similar model.

[Bigbarge50]

really ben?  They literally just put this model out on saturday.... as in the were adding it to the display models and had only had them in the store for about 2 hours? 

Is there a newer version of this model expected to come out soon?

[Bigbarge50]

And carrington....

I would actually go to Burke first to scan the bottom and identify some of that deep structure I have spent the summer feeling out with a carolina rig.  I have been there a dozen or so times this past summer, so not all that new, but I expect the downscan to reveal all sorts of stuff I have never known about. 

I also wonder if I could find this airplane fuselage I have heard resides deep in the lake.... any confirmation of this?

I am really looking forward to getting out to some of the deeper waters in Pohick bay and seeing what I can find in 10+ feet of water..... will come in handy this summer when the water there goes to full blown bath water. 

[Carrington]

good luck, your gonna need to put in alot of time but it will be worth it when you map the bottom and find all of the hidden jems

[mudkart]

And carrington....

I would actually go to Burke first to scan the bottom and identify some of that deep structure I have spent the summer feeling out with a carolina rig. I have been there a dozen or so times this past summer, so not all that new, but I expect the downscan to reveal all sorts of stuff I have never known about.

I also wonder if I could find this airplane fuselage I have heard resides deep in the lake.... any confirmation of this?

I am really looking forward to getting out to some of the deeper waters in Pohick bay and seeing what I can find in 10+ feet of water..... will come in handy this summer when the water there goes to full blown bath water.

??????

Even at high tide, you'll have trouble finding those sort of depths in Pohick.  Also, it's pretty much one big flat.  You could try and locate some of the old wrecks w/ the downscan. Start on the shore SE of the boat rental docks. Are you in a kayak?  The only significant structure that would be 10+ feet would be near the river proper.

To give it a structure/cover workout, try your D.S. at Burke, the Occ. rez or the Occ. river.

[Bigbarge50]

Mud,

I have always launched at Pohick and made a left in the shallows.  I am interested in heading straight across to where I thought I saw some homes and a larger bay.  Then working my way down towards the river proper.  Of course I would have to avoid all the jet skiers in the summer (annoying) but think it could be well worth it.  I am most looking forward to my first spring fishing here with all those flats you mentioned.  Also looking forward to my first snakehead (which is supposed to be a can't miss there right?)

I totally agree about the occ. river.  I have only been out of fountainhead twice last summer (which was dumb because I really liked it) and will be scanning up a storm there, just not familiar enough with it to know where I have felt a hump here or a bump there to scan. 

I will definitely spending a lot of time on Burke..... I know lots of people hate it, and I can see easily why, but it is so close and you can fish at night, so huge pluses there.  People seem to occasionally pull a monster out of there, so maybe getting skunked 2,3, or 4 times is worth finding a 9lber. 

[mudkart]

What you see across from the Pohick launch is Ft. Belvoir and Accotink bay. The largest snakehead I've seen was caught in Pohick last spring, i think soccplayer posted a pic of it here on BR. I've caught mine elsewhere however. Think shallow.

Fountainhead is on the Occoquan reservoir and is closed for the season. You could access the rez from Lakeridge marina this time of year (we did in Jan of last year, but call first) , but it's likely frozen.

Access the Occoquan river from this ramp, but it too is likely iced in (the ramp), though the river may be ice free due to current.http://www.nvrpa.org/park/occoquan/content/boating_fees

There are some big bass in Burke. But they have seen every lure ever made, twice. Patience and time on the water there are key.

[Bigbarge50]

Thanks Mud the is a really helpful post.  My trolling motor never allowed me to get down to "the dam" i had heard people talk about on here on the reservoir.... which I never thought of it before you posted it, but would make sense that above the dam is the reservoir but bellow it is the river.... Just checked out out with satellite on google maps.... the river looks a little tight with all those docks.  In a smaller boat do you get rocked a lot with a lot of wake?   

If you have any tips on how to gain patience for those burke monsters, will happily take that too. 

[intheweeds]

Bigbarge50, I feel your pain on the Burke thing. I have spent a lot of time there with not much to show for it, but I love fishing there. I will be back there as soon as the ice is gone. I wish I could give you some tips on the Burke monsters but I don't have any. LOL. My buddy has caught some nice ones from there and one was a citation. I believe most of them came by way of crank bait. Good luck out there.

[mudkart]

Thanks Mud the is a really helpful post. My trolling motor never allowed me to get down to "the dam" i had heard people talk about on here on the reservoir.... which I never thought of it before you posted it, but would make sense that above the dam is the reservoir but bellow it is the river.... Just checked out out with satellite on google maps.... the river looks a little tight with all those docks. In a smaller boat do you get rocked a lot with a lot of wake?

If you have any tips on how to gain patience for those burke monsters, will happily take that too.

Do not go near the real dam on the rez.  Two guys got hung up on it two years ago, I think.  Falling 80 ft. to a watery death is certainly possible.  What you are hearing about is ryan's dam, "up" from the Foutainhead launch, and it's the remains of an old hydroelectric dam.  You can still see some of it on the shore (and w/ Google maps).  It is within range of a TM, but I'd need to know more about the TM, boat , battery, etc.

[Dan:]

Thanks Mud the is a really helpful post. My trolling motor never allowed me to get down to "the dam" i had heard people talk about on here on the reservoir.... which I never thought of it before you posted it, but would make sense that above the dam is the reservoir but bellow it is the river.... Just checked out out with satellite on google maps.... the river looks a little tight with all those docks. In a smaller boat do you get rocked a lot with a lot of wake?

If you have any tips on how to gain patience for those burke monsters, will happily take that too.

All of the Occoquan River is no-wake from the dam out to the opening of Belmont Bay.

[Bigbarge50]

Dan, as always, your the man.  Will definitely add this to my spring hit list.  Your dicks got any good deals going on now?  As much as I do not need them, always on the look out for more soft plastics.  Heck I'll go for anything good on sale..haha. 

Mud...  I run a 10.5 ft zodiac (seamax actually, candian version of a zodiac) with a 12v marine battery and a 55lb thrust minn kota I got from Dan's dicks.  I could get a gas engine and hook it up, but I live in an apartment in arlington (hence the inflatable)  so not really practical.  Thanks for the tips about going around the "dam"... not quite ready to fish the lakes in the clouds yet.  The old dam good structure that holds fish?   

[Dan:]

Anything that is on clearance (ends with .97 cents) is an extra 50% off. I picked up a load of Rapalas (select items are on clearance like clackin raps and some DTs) and some Rage Tail stuff (space monkeys specifically)

[Bigbarge50]

Sounds like i better go stock up on rage claws and chunks. 

I am going to embarrass myself here.  I am a 31 year old man fishing since i could stand.  I own maybe over a dozen different rapalas, some of which i bought myself when i was like 12 years old.  I even own the rapala weedless spoon (which was nowhere remotely close to weedless)

I have never caught a single thing on a rapala.  Not a on a minnow.  Not on a shad rap.  Not on that stupid spoon.  Nada.  Zilch.  Zero.  I can say I threw a rapala once last year at burke.... and after about 20 minutes said to myself, why am I even doing this. 

Is this the time now i go buy clearance rapalas and use this new downscan to break the streak?

[Dan:]

Two things about the Rage Tails:

1. We barely have any in stock. That should change soon as we have been getting a lot of baits coming in our recent shipments to get ready for the spring fishing season.

2. The only ones that seem to be on clearance are the space monkeys. They are good baits, but I wish the other stuff was on clearance also.

I would grab some of the clackin raps (lipless crankbaits) and some DTs in various running depths. The lipless baits are good in lots of places and the cranks will probably be a good option for fish on those deep spots you find with the downscan. They are usually pricey but if you grab the ones that are on clearance the are well worth it.

[typed by ben]

sorry bigbarge, didnt realize you were running the DSi. hastily skimmed over that.

that is a really nice model. fishfinder tech is going through the roof. i just bought a box full of working mark 5xs for $150... several years old but still.

to treat myself, i recently upgraded to an eagle fishfinder 480 combo GPS and fishfinder. $230 shipped from BPS

all due respect to andy williams, THIS is the most wonderful time of the year... clearance fishing equipment!

[KWM]

I'm new to the forum, and new to NOVA.  Can anyone tell me some places to fish around Reston?  I already know about Burke, but is there anywhere else that is worth fishing?

P.S- I'm know that you guys get this alot, just help a fellow Fisherman, not asking for secret spots, because I'm a bank fisher.

[basscrusher]

In Reston there are lakes Audubon and Thoreau, you're supposed to be an association member, but as long as you don't litter or harass people, nobody checks. Thoreau usually stinks, but docks on audubon hold fish. These are both off of south lakes drive.

Close to Reston is Lake Fairfax. winter gets crowded (when not frozen) due to trout stocking (elbow to elbow fishing, not fun) but I know people who do OK for bass in spring when fish are shallow. None of these are great lakes, but I used to catch alot of fish out of Audubon when I lived in Reston.

A little north of Reston (toward rte 7) are lake Anne and some other lakes I've never fished. I know a guy that used to fish lake anne, he seemed to do OK. There are several other neighborhood lakes near there, look up Lake Anne on Google maps and go from there.

[KWM]

I guy at work said that Beaverdam lake was good.  Is he right or wrong?

[Dan:]

Beaverdam can be good if you know what you are doing (I do not). It is relatively deep and requires knowledge of the underwater structure.

Bank fishing Beaverdam is a waste of time in my opinion. There isn't a ton of fishable shoreline. You're more likely to catch lyme disease from the zillions of ticks than you are to catch many fish.

[BassShephard]

Bank fishing Beaverdam is a waste of time in my opinion. There isn't a ton of fishable shoreline. You're more likely to catch lyme disease from the zillions of ticks than you are to catch many fish.

lol I know the feeling from some ponds around here.

I'm interested in how the fish finder works out, I want to get one for my small boat but I never used one so haven't got a clue what I should get.

[Bigbarge50]

Dan where is exactly is beaverdam?  is it in the town of beaverdam? 

[Dan:]

It's in Loudoun County. Look Northwest of Dulles Airport on a map.

Also, check this: http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/waterbodies/?type=1