Tackleing!

Got to talking to Jeff McGovern on his post about setting up tackle boxes, cleaning reels, putting on new line. "Tackleing" is a sport in itself! How many tackle boxes do you need? What size tackle box/worm bag should you take kayak fishing, how many styles/colors of lures do you need? How many rods/reels? What pound test line? Braid, mono, flurorocarbon? What rods/reels? What else besides rods/reels and tackle boxes should you have on your kayak (besides PFD and cooler). Anchor and what style? It sets the mind to wondering; the anticipation of going on a fishing trip, the options seem endless. See how "Tackleing" can become a sport in itself? Compare it to becoming a child again with the anticipation of Christmas morning arriving; what will Santa bring? I guess that's why I've fell in love with fishing again. What will I need on this trip to outsmart the fish, have a "good" day by catching a lot of fish? It's also ensuring you have the family set up for success. What rod/reel combo can they use successfully without worrying about backlash, line breaking, etc. Also set them up with enough tackle so you don't spend your day on the water passing out hooks and lures (not that I mind); but to see the smile on their face when they catch THEIR fish on the lure THEY chose and rigged out of their own tackle box!

Went to BPS in Nashville with Pam. She and I both spent almost an hour going thru the sale bins to see what treasures we could find. Count it a blessing when the wife has as much fun searching as you do! We came across some odd color beavers (or creature baits). Found some white salty beavers in 3" that had fallen out of bags, so we re-bagged them and got a great deal. Seems like white and green pumpkin in whatever are always good go-to baits. Got some pink/orange beavers that may work in muddy water. Got some other baits that you can break this off, break in half, to turn a worm into a grub, smaller wild colored plastics to jig or put on a spinner harness. Again, the imagination gets started and you can play around with options. For .99 a bag, it seems worth the risk! Problem now is the worm bag is full, almost have to sit on it like a piece of full luggage, to get it zipped closed. Now if you don't take if fishing, you can't try out all the options you were thinking about. So now we're back to the question, "how many tackle boxes/bags do you need to take with you?! If nothing else, the bag being so full, it can now double as a throwable PFD!!! Ain't fishing/ tackleing fun!

Tubes

Been watching some fishing shows. Saw KVD using tubes, jerking them pretty hard stating it is immitating a bait fish. Never thought of them in this way. Always thought of them as a crawdad imitation. Sold me so I bought a few packs today in white, gray/silver, and baby bass colors to see what I can do with them. Going to see Katie this weekend so won't be able to fish, will try them out next week. Anybody got any tube stories to share? I used green pumpkin tubes on the James last year and had pretty good luck. Others in my group were using fat baby craws and beavers, so I tried the tube. It was one of those days that you could fish with coke cans and catch fish, had a great time with the family!

Emmrod Spinning Rod

Got my new Emmrod saltwater spinning rod from Jeff's Tackle Box (http://www.jeffstacklebox.com/) today. It's a spinning rod that's roughly 2'6" in overall length. It has as spring coil system on the rod and a short cork handle with reel seat. Jeff recommended the 7 coil rod tip with short handle for my fishing needs. Saltwater is just part of the name, equally at home in freshwater. Check out Jeff's site (link above) for more info, videos, as well as spincasting & baitcaster models. I put a Shimano Sahara spinning reel on mine with 10lb mono. Tested it out at Tommy's pond this afternoon with great success! This little thing will cast as far as my 6'6" rods! I'll be going to the river tomorrow and see how it works out of the kayak on the smallies. This thing is a blast and brings another whole aspect to fishing! It's all about the fun!

If interested in an Emmrod, I highly recommend Jeff's site. Fantastic service, will answer any of your questions in great detail, and make recommendations for your particular fishing needs. Jeff is a field tester for Emmrod and many of his ideas have led to new components and models!

James River this weekend!

I'm gonna check the river in the morning. If all goes well, planning on going Saturday. Spent this afternoon going over the kayak and going thru old tackleboxes. Found lures in them that I had on my list to buy, so glad I went scavaging! Still planning on getting a couple of inline spinners tommorrow, just in case, since they produced in the pond. You never have enough lures; it's an obsession.....no, a passion. Didn't have to prompt Pam to go, she called since she's out of town, to ensure I was already planning to go. What a Woman!

Tommy's pond

River still up and muddy so I went down to Tommy's pond this afternoon around 5pm to wet a line, wanted to try a couple new baits I'd purchased. Tried the Sebile Magic Swimmer in soft body; man what action! No bites, but it was interesting to just see that lure swim in the water! Also tried a couple other swim baits, no luck, thinking it's too early in the season for swim baits. Tried a senko, baby brush hog, again no luck. You always hear "match the hatch". Bugs were starting some small swarms, did have some mosquitoes land on my leg, so I got to thinking of inline spinners like a rooster tail or Mepps. That did it! No size but I did catch 4-1lb or less largemouth. Didn't have high expectations when I went, again only to try out some new lures, but the inline spinners did the trick. Will get a few more this week for early season fishing. Used them as a kid for brim and lost interest when I wanted to catch larger fish. Will try some larger sizes and see what happens. The inline spinner today had a yellow polka dot body with black dots, silver "crimped" blade (picture in your mind that "as seen on TV" hair crimper and how it would make hair zig-zag, that's what the blade looked like) with a small red bead on the wire harness at the swivel.

Smallmouth river fishing in Central VA.

My hope is this blog will become a place to post info on river smallmouth fishing for those in Central VA.
What are your "go to" baits for Spring river fishing; Senkos, Craws, Spinnerbaits, Jigs?
Do you fish from a boat or bank? If boat, what do you use; jon/jet, jon/prop, jon/trolling, kayak, etc.

My family is a fan of Native Kayaks. We have (2) 12' Manta Rays outfitted for fishing; (2) flush mount rod holders, Scotty rod holder, anchor trolley.  I use a 14.5 Ultimate that I've personalized for fishing; anchor trolley, Scotty rod holder, front skirt to keep class II's from coming in over the bow, 3 rod plastic rod holder mounted to rear stabilizer bar, retractable clothesline reel to keep anchor rope organized. The seats in both style yaks are extremely comfortable. You can spend a day on the river very comfortably.
Check out Appomattox River Company for all of your kayak needs in Central VA. Good deals on numerous brand name yaks.

Hopefully the river will be down this coming weekend and will have cleared up from all the rain. Mid 70's, can't wait!