Blog

Many fishermen take line for granted. Considering it’s one of the most important links in getting that fish lured, hooked, and landed this is a major mistake. So we’re going to focus in on this critical component and talk about weight, techniques, and types. Personally, I use Gamma’s Copolymer, Gamma Edge Fluorocarbon, and Power Pro lines on an everyday basis.

Line Size

The size of your line is a critical factor in your ability to lure a fish to eat your bait. Line size can also make a considerable difference in how your bait works and how deep it will run. For example, 17lb

The Potomac Pro Teams Division, presented by Sanderson Marine held their 6th tournament on Sunday, July 27th.

This was the finale’ of a back-to-back weekend double header following yesterday’s tournament.

The weekend concept has been very popular on the Oneida Pro Teams trail for years now, but proved to be considerably less popular on the Potomac. Blame it on gas prices, NASCAR, or whatever but participation was down for this event. 2009 will see all single day weekend events.

Those not on hand today missed a few exciting events. First of all, it seems like U.S. Angler’s Choice tournaments on the Potomac are gaining notoriety for weighing in big bass. That’s not too surprising given the level of competition on our trail. Secondly, anyone watching TV at home Sunday probably saw the “sever thunderstorm warning” icon on the bottom of the screen. Those of us on hand at Smallwood State Park were able to witness it first hand around

July 26 was the 5th qualifying tournament of the Potomac Pro Teams Division out of Smallwood State Park and presented by Sanderson Marine. Twenty four teams were on hand for the first of 2 weekend tournaments in this division.

The weather was favorable throughout the day with morning clouds giving way to sunny skies and hot temperatures. We were able to launch at safe light…about 6:45 ahead of another large tournament.

Each team was offered a bottle of livewell additive at morning registration to put in their water to help reduce the chance of loosing fish during the heat. In addition, each team was asked to tag their largest bass before they put it into the weigh-in bag so it would be identified quickly. This helps to get the fish back in the water quickly and keeps the weigh-in line moving. Captain Karl and I found it odd that the other popular tournament had no oxygenated tanks and did not use the available weigh-in station at the Park. They had 31 boats and

July 25 was the 4th Friday tournament this season in the TGIF Division. Beautiful weather greeted the 18 teams entered in this event and remained for most of the day.

Just because the weather is good doesn’t necessarily mean the fishing is.

The Wellwood Club in Charlestown, MD hosted this event along with Hooked-on-the-Bay, Sarge’s Bait and Tackle, and Intercoastal Marine in Baltimore.

Mike Piccolo and Charles Steiner teamed up to finish in 5th place today with a limit of 5 bass weighing 13.04 pounds. They received a 1-year subscription to Boat US.

Bruce Freeman and Randy Knopp wound up the day in 4th place and took lunker honors with a nice 4.38 largemouth. They received a plaque, 2 Optimum swimbaits courtesy of Karl’s Bassin’ Adventures and $180. Their limit weighed 14.11 pounds. Nice job!

John Hart and Ed Pribish only had 4 fish today but 3 of them were well above average. Their key to success was finding an area with

The weather was hot, the fishing was not is how many teams might sum up the 5th Chesapeake Pro Teams qualifying tournament out of Anchor Marine. 45 of the top teams in the area were on hand on a very hot and humid day trying to tease 5 big bass in hopes of winning this tournament.

Only 16 teams were able to produce limits at weigh-in on what was an overall very tough day. Only one fish over 5 pounds was caught and that’s an oddity as well for this time of year.

Current AOY leaders Alan Hench and Ryan Park had another great finish as they claimed the #5 spot today with 5 largemouth bass weighing 15.45 pounds. They pocketed $410 in prize money today and continued their stellar season . Finishing right behind them in 4th place were Chris Price and Bob Austin. Their limit weighed 15.96 pounds and earned them checks totaling $520. They are right on the heels of Alan and Ryan in the AOY race.

The 3rd place finishers today were George Short and Gary Bailey with

I had the opportunity to spend some time fishing the new bait from Sebile called the Stick Shad.  This bait is a cross between a “walk the dog” top water, and a sub-surface bait.  The bait has been known as a great bait for Redfish and Speckled trout, but freshwater use has been non-existent to say the least.  At first I wasn’t sure how the Stick Shad was going fit into my River Smallmouth arsenal. That concern was quickly forgotten, when I took it out of the pack and made a cast.

Initially, I fished the Stick Shad on 14lb Gamma Copolymer green line spooled on a Citica 200 Reel mounted on a Shimano Cumara 6’8” MH Rod.  I immediately caught fish in an area that I had just fished with a Spinnerbait, Topwater Popper and a Small Crankbait.  I then switched it to a  lighter Cumara rod (6’8” Med) and a Citica 100, spooled with Gamma Edge Flourocarbon line (10 lb).  My results where much better with the lighter

Nothing is more satisfying than the excitement and fun that fishing brings.  But even more important are the relationships that get built along the way, especially when bonds are created with the younger generation.  That's what makes this story so touching.  A boy with a love for fishing and a love for life, now finds himself fighting to hang on.

There are many ways to help by getting involved:

• Purchase Raffle Tickets to win the "Fish with a Pro" - Join BASS Elite Series Pro Angler Rick Ash, and other BASS and FLW touring pros on August 16, 2008, on the Upper Chesapeake Bay, for a Benefit Bass Tournament for Ron Phillips. $10 per chance. 7 chances for $50.  18 chances for $100.  Drawing date Aug. 1st.  Tournament Aug 16th.
• Purchase Raffle Tickets to win Nascar Tickets for Dover Race/Meet and Greet.  $10 per chance. 5 chances for $40. 10 chances for $70.  Drawing date August 16, 2008.  Winners

Performing routine boat maintenance on your boat means you’ll get a longer lifespan out of it. We want you to be on the water every chance you get and not sidelined by something that could have been prevented. I have developed my own simple maintenance regiment that takes minimal effort and makes boat ownership a lot more manageable. When thinking about boat maintenance always remember the six P's: Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance!

Taking Care of the Hull

Taking care of the hull is something that can be done at the beginning and end of the season. When you pull out your boat for the season or are winterizing it, put on a few coats of quality marine wax, I prefer the 3M High Performance. Consider using a sealant. I use Pro-Tec clear coat sealant/polish it helps keep scum lines to a minimum. During the season, if you are having trouble getting rid of scum lines stop scrubbing. Instead of breaking your back scrubbing try Starbrite EZ-On EZ-OFF to make

The 4th Chesapeake Pro Teams qualifying tournament was held out of Anchor Marine on June 29th. The weather was hot but otherwise perfect. It was sunny with a light breeze at times and a bit of overcast occasionally.  This was the pivotal tournament of the year as Susquehanna Fishing Tackle in Lancaster, PA would be on hand at weigh-in to present the AOY mid-year leaders with a special award. It appeared to be a two-team race, but with the U.S. Angler’s Choice unique scoring format almost anything could happen.  47 teams were entered in this event, all anticipating the right bites to earn them the victory.

Danny Vass and Tom Turner locked down the 5th position today with a fine limit of largemouth that weighed 16.05 pounds. They caught one of 28 total limits in this tournament and collected $440. Nice job!  Sean Higgins and Andrew Wiley captured 4th place with 16.44 pounds of bass to pocket

Welcome Aboard! The fishing on the Upper Bay/Susquehanna Flats just continues to get HOTTER! Everyday, with the grass growing & some really good thick/matted-up grass beds forming the summer pattern is off to a good start. Our best pattern has been targeting the thickest grass beds we can find. We are using the Poppin Furbit Frog (Black) color to call the Big Lunkers up out of these grass beds. The Black color is working for us all day long.

Swimbaits are just incredible; we are using the new Optimum Baits Double Diamond soft swimbait. For this technique we are rigging it with a weighted hook & Fishing it much like we do with a spinnerbait in the grass, just ticking the top of the grass as it swims thru these grass beds. The tail on these swimbaits has an action that the bass just cannot resist. Our most productive colors have been the Hitch, Pearl Shad, Sunfish and Chartreuse Shad. We are also using the Double Diamond to fish the edge of the grass which has proved to