G-Man Fishing

Hey Everyone! Just wanted to introduce the new Facebook group “Northern Virginia Fishing” I understand fishing is oftentimes a solitary quiet pursuit but I’ve always loved hanging with buds and spending an early Saturday morning catching fish, talking fishing, and basically taking my mind off of the usual daily grind. So the motivation behind this Facebook group is that there are probably some of you out there interested in sharing and collaborating with other anglers. We can share info on conditions, locations, facilities, events, meet ups, photos and host an online ‘Braggin’ Board.’ Everybody welcome: kids, old timers, beginners, pros, salt water anglers, freshwater anglers, etc. So if this appeals to you, go to Facebook and search “Northern Virginia Fishing” Join up and show me your fish! Or click here

Everybody has a confidence bait. That is, that one lure that you can rely on when nothing else is working. The suspending Rapala jerkbait has become my confidence bait. Everybody should have a bait that you know catches fish so you can go to it in a crunch. I love the suspending hard jerkbait since it can be worked slow or fast. It can be run steady or in a jigging motion. I can also control its depth pretty well by keeping the rod tip either high or low. I use this bait as a search bait since I can cover a lot of water. If I want to focus in on an area I can still do that by pinpointing a spot and then work the bait slowly and precisely. The one drawback is that it isn’t weedless and therefore you can end up in some bad hang-ups. I’ve been able to more or less reduce the number of hang-ups by paying more attention to the depth its running. When I get it into the shallows, I keep the rod tip higher to prevent it from getting stuck on bottom structure.

Using the jerkbait with fireline helps me feel the action of the bait given the lack of any stretch in the line. I can feel any bumps against rocks or stumps and helps me locate structure. I can also react to bites quickly since the strikes are transmitted to the rod immediately using fireline. I also like the versatility of the suspending jerkbait since I’ve caught largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, all kinds of panfish, and walleye using it. Everybody should find their own confidence bait. I’ll always experiment with different baits but I understand each may have its own learning curve and my fishing time is limited. So let me know what your confidence bait is and why. I’d love to get some ideas on new techniques to try.

This here is the beginning of my fishing blog topic. What I intend to do here is document where, when, what, and how for every catch and every trip for this year and beyond. There are a lot of fishing opportunities in the Northern Virginia and greater Washington DC area so I will share my experiences in detail here.One of the things I have learned about fishing in this area is that it can be really tough but also rewarding. I rediscovered my childhood hobby after a 20 some year hiatus. Fishing has been a great way for me to unwind after the stressful workweek. I find that having an indoors office desk job prevents me from enjoying the outdoors and so fishing has been a way to get outside on the weekends.For those looking for places to fish in Virginia, I would recommend checking out the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries website at http://www.dgif.state.va.us/fishing/Another resource is the book “Lake Fishing in Virginia” by Bob Gooch. It provides info on the fish species supported by each Virginia lake, maps of the lakes (including depth contour lines), location of boat ramps, facilities, habitat, and fish management activities. I particulary like that the book points out where the man-made fish attractors are located in the lakes I fish. It gives me an idea of where to target my fishing. Most publicly accessible fishing lakes in Virginia are represented in this book.

Its now officially Spring which is a special time for fishing in this area. So please check back soon for the latest fishing report!