For the Week Ending Sunday, Oct. 22, 2017

Friday, Oct. 20 (from Ron)...Launched at 1530, with the water a murky mess. It was a bit low, as well, and the grass was making for difficult peddling. Was not expecting much action, but the lack of boats and crowds was very nice. The weather was near perfect. After trying spinnerbaits and topwater, to no avail, I switched to a SwimSenko, and my first cast to the base of a cypress tree got a nice one at 5-8 and 22.75 inches (good enough for a length citation). Went on to land two dink bass and a 1-8. 'Twas good to be back in freshwater. Will have to check/calibrate my scale, because my PB was a 23-inch bass that weighed in at 6-1 last year or the summer before. This one was definitely fatter.

Friday, Oct. 20 (from Jim)...Got on the water about 10 o'clock. Water appeared to be going out slightly all day, with just enough wind to put a healthy ripple on top and push the boat along when headed south. Water temp at launch was 66 and had climbed to 70 in the sun by the time I headed to the ramp this afternoon. The water at and above the bridge was slightly stained. Tried the fly rod around the bridge with no luck. Caught all five of my bass and a striper on crankbaits. The best bass weighed in at 4-6 and 1-7 but also had one that measured 12.75 inches, one that weighed 14 ozs., plus a dink. Also lost two good fish right beside the boat. The "big girl" stayed down and went under the boat when she got close. I even was beginning to think it wasn't a bass until I scooped her into the net. Before leaving the marina today, Jim ran across our mutual friend, Doc, who shared some excitement he had getting home last Sunday while towing his boat down 58/I-264/64. Seems he was darned near home when his truck suddenly bogged down and would hardly go. He happened to look in the rearview mirror and saw smoke and flames coming from the trailer. Had a tough time getting it off the road. Bottom line: His tire was all chewed up (with cord and wire coming out of it). Once he got it stopped and off the road, the flames went out, and the smoke disappeared. Had to get the State boys and VDOT to come help him out with all the traffic. He finally got the tire replaced and got home. Happy to hear you made it back OK, Doc.

Saturday, Oct. 21 (from Wayne)...While prefishing yesterday for the Virginia Bass Chapter Federation 2017 Fall Classic on Chickahominy River, Wayne scored a 9-5. As of this evening (Day 1 of the two-day competition), he stands in 3rd place, only ounces out of 2nd place. The entire field is hoping the fog that delayed today's start stays away tomorrow morning. Anglers were held for two hours this morning, waiting for the fog to lift. Sunday, Oct. 22 Update...Had a phone call from Wayne, letting me know he finished the tournament in 2nd place on the boater's side, and Al Napier finished 5th on the co-angler's side, giving both of them a check. Photo at right is of Wayne (left) and his co-angler, Al, holding Wayne's Day 1 catch. Well done to both!

Saturday, Oct. 21 (from Ken)...Was pleasantly surprised to arrive at West Neck this morning and not find the parking lot overrun with rigs. Got on the water around 9:30 and fished Pocaty 'til 2:30, catching only three bass and one pickerel. The bass included a 1-1, 1-7 and a dink. Didn't weigh the pickerel. Caught everything on a white tandem-bladed spinnerbait. The morning started on a somewhat sour note. As I unlocked the door to my storage shed, I could hear something running inside. Seems that for some hitherto unknown reason, the auto side of my bilge pump decided to kick on, even though no water was present, between Wednesday when I cleaned the boat and this morning. Have no idea exactly how long it had been running in dry mode, but it was long enough to have done a number on the motor. Stopped the noise, which sounded a lot like someone scraping their fingernails on an old blackboard, by removing the hot wire for the pump on my starting battery. Talked to Wayne about the problem and will be getting things fixed this next week.

Saturday, Oct. 21 (from Ron)...Did the Munden Point-to-Milldam trip this morning. Was a pleasure to be back in Milldam, but the fishing wasn't so good, and the water was very murky/dirty. Caught five bass, with only one worth the scale at 1-8. Also caught an 11.5-inch white perch and a 10-inch crappie--perfect for tacos. Also got a 21-inch chain pickerel on the XTS. SwimSenko, XTS, and beetlespin were the effective lures.

Sunday, Oct. 22 (from Doc)...It was a day with some bass, as well as some stripers. Caught three bass, including a dink, plus one at 1-8 and another at 1-14. Also bagged four stripers over 16 inches in length. They tipped the scales at 1-8, two at 1-9, and one at 1-10. Productive lures today were a topwater walker, a homemade swimbait, and a shallow crankbait.