New to NOVA!!! 2024

jaystu11 reply :

hey guys-

my name is jay, im new to NOVA, and am a novice fisherman. mostly i love to just get outdoors, hook into some fish, and enjoy some company. im originally from upstate NY, so i dont know much about the area. im looking for some friends and new neighbors!! i love to do all sorts of fishing. i have ranged from trout fishing in the finger lakes, out of local streams, to bass fishing in ponds, lakes, canals, and catfishing and carp fishing in rivers and canals. wide base of fish, but i still havent gone oceanic yet .

anyways, since i have my car up here, i dont have a hitch, and my boat is currently sitting at my parents house in another state! anyone who would be willing to share a seat in a boat, i would gladly pay for gas and some extra, as well as the company!! (i assume food or beer can be considered payment hehe). anyways, i know its getting colder now, but i was told bass are still prime now in the river and tributaries. PM me or post here if you are interested!!

i hope to hear back from some of you, and feel free to send me a friend request with a little bio about yourself! btw, i currently am living in sterling and am opening up a chiropractic practice!!!

Thai reply :

Welcome to the area and congrats on opening up your own practice! Although I don't have a boat you'll quickly learn that the guys here are very friendly and always willing to help with advice or lend an open seat! Stick around and ask whatever questions you have about the area, I'm sure one of us NOVA natives will gladly share their our pennies.

Again welcome Jay and looking forward to meeting you one of these days!

jaystu11 reply :

thanks thai! its great to hear that fisherman here are friendly to new residents. so i did some basic searches, but i only found a couple of places that werent the potomac locally.

1. beaverdam creek reservoir- this one i hear has some nice bass in it, has been protected overall mainly because of lack of public access, and doesnt allow gas motors. i have heard mixed answers about a boat launch.

2. goose creek- havent heard too much about this one, and i only know that it is a tributary into the potomac. im not sure how access is with this little stream either.

if you guys could give me a couple of pointers, i could be on my way to posting some pics soon . since i dont have my boat up here, i would be open to the idea of fishing from shore, i just need some directions to some access. im not looking to steal anyones honey hole, im just basically looking for an area i can fish, especially if someone wants to give me "the tour".

thanks again guys. im excited about living in NOVA!

LoudounFisher reply :

I like Beaverdam Reservoir, helps that its only about 10 minutes away. There is still a whole lot of it I haven't fished, but I've been getting out there in my kayak on average once per week. The only thing limiting me has been crappy weather and excessive wind.

The VA DGIF website site says it has a small smallmouth population but they are of good size. I've caught a total of five fish there of any species, the most recent being today's 3.3lb smallmouth. Seems I got pretty lucky with this one. I'd really like to pull out some white perch and crappie to help control that population.

I've fished Goose Creek occasionally but probably won't bother anymore. I've fished upstream from Rt7 and from Kephart Landing to the Potomac. All sunfish except for a smallmouth at the mouth of the creek. The creek is pretty shallow. Only near the river did it drop to 8-12 feet. There is sort of a hole where it meets the river. The river there is 6-8ft. On the day I got these depths the river was crystal clear all the way to the bottom, but the creek was really muddy.

Edit= Adding pics now that I can post links.

steveb1 reply :

I've been out to Beaver Creek several times in my canoe and caught a few bass. One of my favorite places because it is so peacefull and beautiful due to the limited access.

You can also try Occoquan Resevoir at Fountainhead park. They have canoe and jonboat rentals there.

Dan: reply :

Fountainhead is no longer renting jon boats, not sure about canoes. They'll start up again next year.

Welcome, Jay! I'm sure us NOVA guys will do our best to get you familiarized with some of the local hotspots. I'm not a boater but I regularly fish with quite a few of the guys on this forum.

Welcome to the area!

steveb1 reply :

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Fountainhead is no longer renting jon boats, not sure about canoes. They'll start up again next year.

Wow, they must have just stopped this week. I rented one last weekend. $11 for the whole day. Brought my own electric trolling motor.

Dan: reply :

Last I checked the park was supposed to close on the 8th. I had heard the ramp was going to be closed to rentals recently.

jaystu11 reply :

hey guys

thanks for all the kind words. i will definitely hold you to it

i would LOVE to get out sometime before christmas time...so if anyone has any plans in the near future to spend a day on the water, or just out with a pole and some bait, im definitely down.

just to give you guys a taste of what im used to...it seems that most of the water around here is mostly smaller fish and fewer of them to begin with...but where i went to grad school, fishing was a #1 hobby of all of the small towners there. these kinds of days were regular.

the 3rd one was interesting...i had never caught a northern before...and then we just starting hooking into them while fishing lilly pads for bass. pike seemed to be a LOT more aggressive in hitting the lures than bass would, and fought about the same. strong but fragile fish. nasty teeth too.

the last one was a 18lb carp we pulled out of the canal. these things are ridiculous. they fight like large cats, and are nuts when you are trying to reel them in on an ultra-light with 4 lb test like we were. they almost snapped our line multiple times. these fish are a regular out of the canal...we pulled out multiple 20+ lbers out of there! they have an annual carp derby up there in NY...haha.

Dan: reply :

Jay, do you keep lots of bass or just the smaller ones like the ones posted? Not many of us around here keep them. That's a nice Northern. I've only ever caught one but I wouldn't mind catching more.

shimmy reply :

Dan, don't say that. You don't mean it. Catching northern while fishing for bass is one of the saddest things to happen in a boat. Not only does it take twice as long to get the stupid thing in, half of the time it brakes your line and it costs you a pretty penny. I have had mornings where i fish with 20 pound test and from 7 till 2 in the afternoon, lose 6 jigs to northern. It is expensive and if your trying to catch bass, they just won't let it happen. Oh, and the times they don't snap you off, you have to retie. They are a nightmare.

Jay, good to see you. I'm guessing however on this sight, posting fish that you keep is probably the wrong idea. I have not seen too many that keep em. And to be honest, i doubt many guys here will take you in their boat to some good spots if they know your the type that would end up keeping them in the future. Just food for thought. With that said, this is an incredible forum and it has great competition. We will be getting some pretty nasty tournaments going come spring time that will be a blast.

Thai reply :

Yeah fishing for keeps is a little taboo on this site, most of us here practice catch and release for bass, keep all the crappie and perch allowed but please throw the greenies and bronzebacks back! lol

And Shimmy im sure where you're from catching a northern is nothing to brag about but here in NOVA if you catch a northern or a musky it's deff something to brag and look forward to! I can only hope I can catch one of the big girls out of Burke or Fountainhead one of these days!

jaystu11 reply :

hey guys...haha first off about the keepers. i dont keep ANY fish...i happened to be fishing with a buddy (he only managed one bass that day) and he kept them all. he ate em all, so at least he didnt waste em. i am a C+R FISHERMAN ONLY. i fish for the fight and the excitement of hooking into a biggun one in a while!! also, the bass were the only ones kept...the pike and carp were released safely to be caught another day.

haha pike are a special...i suppose you could say. shimmy is VERY correct about northerns. they tend to beat out bass to topwaters, and reeling them in takes significantly longer. also because of their teeth, they tend to shred line and lure alike, making them a costly catch. however, they can get VERY nice in size, and can also put up an aerobatic fight...worthy fish, and special trophies if you land one large enough.

anyways, i hope that no one took offense at the sight of 5 bass sitting on a picnic bench. like i mentioned before, i am not one to keep fish (mainly because i dont eat any of the species i like to fish for), but also because i, like most of you, like to preserve the waters i love to fish. i want the future generations to have fishing holes like we do. ill keep in mind that crappie and perch are good to keep, especially since they probably limit the bass population in most waters.

anyways...again i hope this doesnt deter any of you from asking me on a boat or to a local hole. i didnt mean for people to get the wrong idea. the bass were just a show...to let you guys know how great the fishing spots were from back home.

Slip Gun reply :

Welcome Nice to have more nova folks on. Its a good group around here. p.s. Thai I got some new stuff off TW we need to go out this weekend bad!

Thai reply :

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Welcome Nice to have more nova folks on. Its a good group around here. p.s. Thai I got some new stuff off TW we need to go out this weekend bad!

I actually held off on the Fuego....

I havent decided where im going as far as rod and app

Slip Gun reply :

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Welcome Nice to have more nova folks on. Its a good group around here. p.s. Thai I got some new stuff off TW we need to go out this weekend bad!

I actually held off on the Fuego....

I havent decided where im going as far as rod and app

I couldn't resist. I got it, some buzz and spinners. I cant wait to hit the water! *course I have no rod really for the reel yet... details*

jaystu11 reply :

updates:

so ive been putting in some leg work...since no one seems to want to share any locations. i have checked out beaverdam creek reservoir, lake fairfax, and of course a couple parts of the potomac. i have found some access points from shore...but i still think fishing from boat is probably better at this point, as fish seem to be isolated and slow this late in the year.

i plan on checking out some spots a bit further from home after this wknd...and also planning a wknd trip or something to find some suitable trout streams.

can anyone PLEASE send me some info on fishing holes...pond, lake, reservoir, river, whatever...i REALLY just need a nice place i can have some quiet and throw my line in the water.

Thai reply :

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/

also use google earth and look for ponds near you.

Most of us wont show a person a "good" spot until we've met them.

Hope that helps for now Jay

soccplayer07 reply :

i do well at huntsman lake and lake mercer. pm me if you want any more info. good luck.

Thai reply :

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i do well at huntsman lake and lake mercer. pm me if you want any more info. good luck.

Aren't you at work? Have you gotten a chance to go out so far this week?

soccplayer07 reply :

nope. its tough for me to get out during the week with it getting dark so d**n early now.

Thai reply :

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nope. its tough for me to get out during the week with it getting dark so d**n early now.

yeah that what we figured...theres always the weekends bro

LHC - Bank Robber reply :

If you want to fish the potomac (from the bank) riverside park is a pretty good spot, but the bite is dying down.

NewAngler reply :

apparently there are a couple trout streams in stafford, but are only good a few weeks after they stock. and the stocking plan cant be found for this particular creek i speak of, the Chopowamsic. Its on base, so you have to get a Quantico license, but it's $10 and I think last for a year.

Good luck. And Thai is right, no one will just give up their honey hole. I had to give Thai and Dan? $200 for them to show me one of their "okay" spots.. its rough around here, jerks.

Thai reply :

ahahah you dick

soccplayer07 reply :

Dan told me for free (Thai was mad though)!!!

Thai reply :

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Dan told me for free (Thai was mad though)!!!

Not anymore though, Aaron made it up to me by agreeing to fish this weekend with Dan and myself

;)

NewAngler reply :

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Dan told me for free (Thai was mad though)!!!

Not anymore though, Aaron made it up to me by agreeing to fish this weekend with Dan and myself

;)

you guys weren't lying about treating the Stafford fellow like a red headed step child!

soccplayer07 reply :

haha

jaystu11 reply :

haha im not looking to snag anyones honey hole. i prefer fishing with friends. like i said before, i joined this forum to find friends to fish WITH. if i wanted to find sweet holes, i would do the legwork myself (which i have already begun).

therefore, AGAIN, the offer is open, if anyone wants to do some fishing (even though the bite is dying down), i would love to go. we dont have go to "your" spot, we can simply run the river, or wade, or find a nice bank somewhere...anything. basically i love fishing. id love to meet some of you guys since you seem like a very close, tight knit (even though you are pretty exclusive), but id still like to hang out with some of you guys and get some of your input and experience. like i said, im relatively new to fishing.

for the trout creeks, ive done some research on that, and although its fun, the stocked streams just dont have the fish im looking for. i dont care for farm-raised rainbows...they bite everything, dont put a big fight, and arent really natural to those types of environments. im looking for natives or browns, but i dont see too many streams around NOVA that are listed to holding these species. it looks like ill have to run to WV or even NC to get nice trout fishing i suppose.

btw- if you want to fish, PM me...i think some people are scared of posting on the boards.

Dan: reply :

for what it's worth, i believe there are some decent native trout streams if you are willing to hike through the GW&J forest.

jay, i'm sure we'll set something up soon. thai and I fish a lot but it's usually fairly random and unplanned. We'll try to get you out with us one of these days. what is your typical schedule like?

quanjig reply :

Jay, keep the faith. It took me a while to be a poster and not just a lurker. Fortunatly, I knew some of the members without realizing it. Having grown up in the Northern Virginia area for all of my 45 years, You just kinda figure stuff out. Not to say people didn't help me out imensly along the way. Putting forth an effort will go a long way with everyone, in otherwords, keep fishing, keep posting!!

soccplayer07 reply :

and the godfather speaks...

jaystu11 reply :

dan- thanks for the optimism haha. i have a pretty loose schedule right now, and i know fishing is a bit slow. but anyone who wants to go out and get some fishing in, im down. so if you have a slot, no one to fish with, im down.

quan- haha yeah i figured that was part of it. you guys seem real tight. i dont wanna barge my way into your crew, id like you guys to be accepting of a guy like me who just loves to spend entire days out in the boat or with his line in the water. hopefully this post will keep up responses, and ill build some relationships.

NewAngler reply :

Jay, I've fished with these guys a couple times, and they still skip over my number when looking for a fishing buddy (ahem Thai) so don't loose faith.

I've just decided to try fly fishing after a couple months of bashing wife for it. Hiking that trails sounds pretty good. I'm into the whole hiking and fishing deal, think it would be pretty cool.

Bottom line, I'm down. but work 9-5 monday through friday. Fishing is sporadic, and too far between.

Thai reply :

OH NO YOU DIDN'T!

AHAHA i've tried in the past, it's hard to just up and sneake out when you live 45mintues away and have a family...

Our trips are for the most part random and spontaneous so it's just easier for us "true NOVA" folks to meet up, nothing against you red headed step children

NewAngler reply :

Haha. Its cool. I realize I'm kind of like the princess of the group. Can't just get up and go fishing, it has to be planned, I need to set up "meetings" up north. Its cool.

Also, I hold no value, hold no secret spots or techniques, no boat... I just leech off other people knowledge and spots. Summed up: I'm a leeching princess.

Thai reply :

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Haha. Its cool. I realize I'm kind of like the princess of the group. Can't just get up and go fishing, it has to be planned, I need to set up "meetings" up north. Its cool.
Also, I hold no value, hold no secret spots or techniques, no boat... I just leech off other people knowledge and spots. Summed up: I'm a leeching princess.

LOL Im pretty sure leeches are great at catching fish though!

jaystu11 reply :

newangler-

how is the fly fishing trial going? ive always wanted to get into it...especially since i like trout fishing...but never did.

haha and its ok...i feel the same way when i ask around for a seat in a boat, or some fishing location. i dont have anything to offer since im brand new the to area and my boat is in another state lol. but thatll all change soon...muahaha

NewAngler reply :

Right... They are.

Which further solidifies the similarities between a leech and myself.. I just javnt have the stage to display my showcase fellas. And the only one that hurts is YOU.

shimmy reply :

it takes a real man to call himself a "leeching princess". And Thai is right Josh, bass love leeches. However, i have never seen a princess catch a largemouth bass. I have seen them swim with fish and kiss a frog but none were fishermen. I'm not trying to be mean, but maybe that's why you may be overlooked? Just an observation.

soccplayer07 reply :

guys, in all seriousness...never feel bad asking to tag along. i just got my boat last year and was in the same situation as you. I almost always post here before I head out if i have an open seat or two. look forward to fishing with you guys.

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