G-Man Fishing

Just to try something different, my fishing buddy and I hit up the Occoquan Reservoir from Lake Ridge park in Woodbridge. We were able to rent a jon boat with less hassle than at Fountainhead where you have to carry the battery/motor up and down the steps.The boathouse opens at 6am too so you can hit the lake at the prime bite time. Immediately, my buddy caught a nice 3 pounder right off the bat. We also hit a small cove that was loaded up with bass. My count was 4 bass with the biggest only about 13-14″. Meanwhile, my fishing partner got about 4+ with one monster 5-6 pounder that put up a long hard fight. The other noteworthy thing from this day was witnessing a guy in a bassboat catch about a dozen bass in about 30 minutes. He was casting a crankbait towards the shore and landing it about 15 ft from shore. Then just reeling in bass after bass after bass. He said they were hanging around the 10 ft depth. Amazing the consistency and control to get the crank in just the right depth to trigger that many strikes.

It was a great day for Fountainhead fishing. The day started cloudy and was partly cloudy most of the day. When we arrived, we found that there was a BASS tournament going on. It was a great spring day pattern kind of day with lots of bass in the shallows in spawn or post spawn mode. My total was 3 for the day. All around 15″ and fat. Two caught on a plastic lizard in weed beds early in the morning. The other was on a husky jerk in a wooded cove early afternoon. There were at least 3-4 shallow spawning bass I tried to sight fish but they weren’t interested in anything I was throwing. Kind of frustrating to be able to see big bass cruising shallows and not trigger a bite. When we came in for the day, the weigh-in was going on. I thought my 3 was a good day, but learned that one fella caught about 25. The largest bag we saw was about 17 lbs for a 6 fish limit.

The weather cooled down but it was sunny so I went to Fountainhead Park at the Occoquan Reservoir today. It was really windy and waves were lapping at the shore. So I hiked down to one of the coves where the water was calmer. Got two LMB for the day. One was about 12-13″ and the other was about 14-15″ and heavy with a big belly full of eggs. At one point I saw a huge one follow my bait only to head back to the depths. Too bad. That one would have been a good fight. If you decide to go to Fountainhead and fish the wooded shore be careful. The wooded areas are really steep and covered in leaves. On little slip and you’ll be swimming. Looking forward to more fishing fun soon!

What a winter! After the weather we’ve had in VA, its no wonder how pumped I was to get 80 degree weather this weekend so I made a quick trip to Burke. To be honest, I wasn’t too confident in today’s game plan. I know the fish are still prespawn and probably not in the shallows yet. Regardless, I used the same Texas rigged lizard that was already set up on my rod from my last trip to Occoquan (ok, either lazy or too anxious to wet a line). I worked the dam area and patiently worked the bait into some weed beds. And I emphasize PATIENTLY. Well, it paid off. Got the first Bass of 2010.

It’s been a fairly warm November. I’ve made a few trips recently and have found that the fish are still biting. One trip to Fountainhead park at the Occoquan Reservoir yielded a nice 15″ bass. Caught that one in the submerged timber at about 10 ft depth on a Texas rigged plastic lizard. A couple of weeks later, I caught a 12″ bass at the pond in the Franklin Farm neighborhood of Herndon. So, to summarize, even though it’s November, the fishing is still somewhat productive; not exactly Spring-time productive but at least the fish will still bite.

The lake is still busy as the weather continues to remain fairly warm. A couple of conditions to note. First, the water levels are very low nowadays. That means there are many weedy shoreline areas that a bank angler can now access. Just find a spot and get beyond the brush so you can cast. Be careful as the newly exposed shoreline can be muddy and/or slippery. The second condition to note is that the water is now very clear. On sunny days, this makes the fishing very challenging. As an example, I walked over to the head waters of the lake on a sunny afternoon. With my polarizing sunglasses I was able to see a few smallish bass parked in the shallows. I then casted a shad colored 5 inch paddle tailed soft plastic bait past them and worked it closer slowly. The two bass darted toward the bait, examined it, and then swam off. How’s that for a rejection? I guess if I can see them that clearly, they can see whatever bait I’m throwing clearly too. Later on, I switched to a Yamamoto double tail grub on a Texas rig with a small bullet weight. I wanted something a little smaller with a lot of natural action that I could still work slowly through water with a slight current. I finally got a bite and reeled in a small 10″ bass. Although it was a small bass, I was just happy to get a bite. I do know that there are big bass in the shallows this time of the year however. My last trip to Burke was a week prior and I was able to spot a LMB in the 3 lb + range roaming the shallows. I wasn’t able to trigger a bite that time either. So… anybody have a proven pattern for clear water Fall fishing at Burke?

Its the summer doldrums again at Burke Lake. Even though the weather has been hot hot hot, my partner and I made it early and on a cloudy day. It seemed to be an excellent day for fishing so we rented a boat at the marina and then worked the weeded shoreline with spinner baits and soft plastics. Much to our disappointment, we had literally no bites whatsoever. We later drove over to a part of the shoreline with some steeper drop offs. My partner was throwing a Rapala DT-10 in the shad color at the shore while I worked a carolina rig. Its great to have a fishing buddy to work as a team with when out on the lake. Working a variety of representations means that we can find the right pattern for the day much faster than going it solo. Before we knew it, a decent sized channel catfish struck the crank bait. It isn’t the first time a catfish has taken an artificial bait and it shows that there are many ways to catch a ‘Cat’. Later on, I caught a 12″ largemouth on the carolina rig. The sun soon came out and we had to pack it in. I’ve now learned that during these hot months, you have to work baits deeper. The carolina rig was working around the 8-12′ depth. Look for places that have drop offs near the shore that provide cooler water. Having a fish finder to track the profile of the lake bottom was crucial. The last thing you want to do is roam all around the lake randomly when your time out on the water is limited.

Ok, been out and about fishing various ponds and lakes in Northern Virginia this month. I’m kind of in a rut. My production during each outing has been decent. Managed at least one catch every time. The problem has been that all the LMB I’ve caught fall into the similar size range: 12″-14″. On average, 1-2 pounds. I’ve been at Burke, Audubon, Newport, the little ponds off of Fox Mill in Herndon, a hidden pond in Sterling, and the Claude Moore ponds in Sterling. My pattern has been pretty similar each time. Work the Texas-rigged plastic worm around targeted fish holding spots. Best times of day have been around dusk or later in the day. The one noteworthy catch I’d like to share occurred today at Claude Moore pond in Sterling. The park actually has two ponds. Both are rather small and shoreline fishing is the only option. There’s plenty of structure to cast to and the ponds are full of sunfish. I caught two small bass during the day and witnessed another fella pulling in a pretty decent sized bass. I found a secluded spot with some submerged timber. The area seemed rather shallow so I casted as far as I could. A few casts later something large took my bait. I fought and fought it and when I finally landed it I realized it was a 4 pound channel catfish. Thats right! A channel catfish went after my plastic worm. It measured 21 inches and my guess was its weight was around 3 or 4 pounds. I’m not into keeping my catch these days so I let it go. Even though the pounds are small, there’s some good fishing at Claude Moore. I read online that the pounds have been restored and that fishing has improved due to the maintenance on the ponds. Its certainly a fun time and a decent little fishery!

The weather was great today so I made a trip to Burke Lake. We’re in the middle of a deep recession and its obvious that people are cutting back on other forms of recreation and instead spending their recreation time fishing. I commend people for that since I think enjoying outdoors is a great and affordable way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Much of the shoreline near the parking areas were crowded with anglers as a result. I saw one angler pull in a decent channel catfish. I, however, decided to hike around the lake and work selected spots without spending too much time on any particular place. I figured that if there are fish I would get bites pretty quickly. I was right. The best spots I found were weeded areas near shorelines with a somewhat steeper drop off. I caught two LMB in total; both of which were in the 1-2 lb range. It was very efficient fishing given that most of my time was spent hiking around the lake with just a few casts here and there. I didn’t spend more than 10 minutes at any particular spot. The places where I caught fish I didn’t spend more than 5 minutes or so. That says to me that the pattern I used was the right one for that day. It was more a matter of finding the right spots while on foot- not always easy given that the shoreline is pretty wooded with few clearings near the ideal fish holding areas. See the videos below for the fishing action.

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This was my first fishing trip in Northern Virginia in a year! The evening was a really pleasant one right after the thunderstorms rolled through. Currently, I’m operating on a limited set of tackle since I’m sort of transitioning back to Virginia and haven’t moved the bulk of my things down yet. I opened up the mini travel-sized tackle box to find just panfish sized jigs, some spinner baits, and other random stuff. My soft plastic selection was kind of limited. So instead of using a plastic worm, I texas rigged a Yamamato double tail grub. Had a few bites from small bass and then caught a feisty 14″ bass that was parked underneath one of the docked boats. It was quite a fighter and even fought like crazy while I was trying to get him unhooked. The sun soon set and unfortunately I had to wrap it up. I’m sure I’ll be back again soon- hopefully with the complete set of tackle! Also hoping to make some trips to the usual NoVa spots. Burke, Occoquan, Brittle, Frederick, Potomac River, here I come!