Team9nine

My opinion/observation is they just seem to stop feeding and kind of shut down. The few more active fish will still be up shallow, often on windy banks, but the rest I think just pull out and hunker down. But since most ponds are shallow, and water temps stay somewhat consistent, it seems like they “recover” rather quickly as long as they’re not getting bombarded with front after front and continually deteriorating conditions.

Instability - but the great thing about most ponds is their shallower water. Things can stabilize really quickly, so a day or two can make a big difference, and different ponds react differently to weather. Don’t give up...keep checking them out.

Just picked up a "new to me" rod from @Pantera61 off the Flea Market. Was looking for a longer jig/worm rod for those times when making longer casts, as my current 6'6" outfit seemed to be lacking at much over 40'-45' or further. Got the B. Hite Evergreen Combat Stick, 7'3" MHvy (RCSC-73MH). Took the new rod out to the lake this afternoon for a trial run and happy to report, the rod did exactly what I was hoping for. Yet another brutal front came through yesterday. A buddy at the ramp taking out when I was launching said they only caught 2 all day, and that I should have been there yesterday - lol. Fortunately, I was able to pick off 13 in just over 4 hours, so I'm calling it a success. Here's a couple...

Small wakebait - Mann’s Baby 1- or similar. Slow and steady retrieve.

Zman Finesse WormZ rigged a variety of ways has been the best overall throughout the year, barely nudging out the Finesse TRD/half ZinkerZ. ROY award is a tie between Dark Sleeper and a couple finesse/micro jigs.

I’ve done a lot of my own testing on hooks I use and there is some interesting stuff to be learned by it. Not many people probably have any idea just how many pounds of pressure it takes to bend out certain hooks, hook styles, or even differences based on hooking location/penetration...but again, the way most people set and rely on their drags these days takes some of that off the table.

This ^^ Historically, line-to-line connecting knots have always been weaker than line-to-bait knots. For the majority of anglers who use modern reels and properly adjusted drags, this is rarely a problem...until you become snagged. At that point in time, the argument for why the strongest knot might matter (FG) becomes apparent. For about any other time - meh.

If you’ve been around bass fishing media enough, you’ll realize sooner or later that every bait falls at about 1 ft per second in water, and so it really doesn’t matter. It’s like the universal constant of bass fishing. Any bait/manufacturer that states a ROF other than 1:1 is just doing it to sell more baits (note sarcasm). On a slightly more serious note, if you let every cast hit bottom, you’ll always know exactly where your bait started from (depth). If you want to fish it shallower, don’t let it hit bottom ? With enough time on the water, a lot of this becomes second nature. For those just starting out, always count down every cast. You’ll quickly become familiar with all your baits.

Maxxum utilizes ‘pulse width modulation’ to extend run time and battery life if you want to look it up.

Another vote for the Maxxum. Longer shaft is usually a big plus on walleye type boats, plus better battery life with the variable speed, along with infinite speed settings and higher thrust (nice to have when you do finally have to use it).

And admittedly, I haven’t had to deal with any 5-7 pound brown fish anytime recently. Not sure if my opinion/technique would change or not if I had access to that type of quality fishery. Guessing no since I regularly tackle big cats and buffalo with my existing setups without issue. Hard to say.

I’m similar but opposite. I never back off the drag, but as soon as I know it’s a better quality fish, I finger flip the AR switch on...

My main finesse setup is 14# braid to 6# or 8# leader using FG and no issues. I even use 3-5# braid to 4# leader with FG on my crappie setups. No difference to my knowledge. “Crazy Alberto” seemed to be the more common name early on before it got real popular, and I think over time people have just shortened it to “Alberto” out of convenience. Variations of number of wraps up or down has always been common with this knot. This goes well with something I’ve mentioned before, that being with the great drag systems and people setting them properly (low), the connection knot should never really come into play, and any decent knot will work. For the few like me who lock drags down tighter and backreel, knot selection plays a much more important role...but we’re the vast minority these days ?

So many variations in ponds that it can be difficult to make any absolute statements. IMO, most ponds don’t go through typical “fall transition” simply because they rarely ever truly thermocline (often too shallow). They also don’t have the space or fishery population to be really amenable to such things. They do go through typical environmental changes though, such as any untreated weed growth will start dying off as the water cools and the daylight shortens. This will force juvenile fish more toward the bank in many cases, and the bass will frequently roam just outside these shallows. If your weedline is still intact as you mention, a finesse jig should be a key bait right now. It has been one of my best baits on the ponds I fish that are similarly ringed. For further outside the weedline, more open hooked baits like Ned or other jig-worm style baits has been productive. Small swimbsits have also been good, especially on cloudy/breezy days when controlling finesse plastics can be more difficult. Personally, I’m not a big fan of a lot of traditional bass baits for ponds. They have their days (and again, unique pond differences will make them play in some waters), but don’t seem to be nearly as consistent.

I’d say your scale is closer to right than wrong in this case. Always measure fish with mouth closed for a proper measurement. At that length, just a 1” difference makes a big deal as to possible weight as you’ve seen with the calculators. At 24.5”, that bass is typically right around the 9 lb. mark. At 25.5”, a little over 10 lb. is more the norm. You could always reweigh something else on that scale of known exact weight (go to grocery and get/weigh a bag of potatoes, apples, etc, on their produce scale) to confirm accuracy. Still a great fish either way. Congrats!

TackleKraft out of Texas???

“Way back” when I threw them, we had good cover and good water color, and you could make some nice catches running shallow water all day with aggressive baits. Eventually, others figured out the bites, the fish saw a lot of spinnerbaits thrown their way, and the bite suffered from the pressure. I moved on to other presentations guys hadn’t figured out yet and the fish hadn’t seen, and never went back to spinnerbaits. No idea how they’d fare on my waters now, but it would be fun to throw them for a day just to see.

As stated, depends on weather/wind a lot (not so much for size, but as to whether I’ll even throw it or not at those depths), but 3/32nd is as heavy as I go. That said, I’ve got friends that throw what I would consider ridiculously heavy heads and still catch fish, so it might not matter in the big scheme of things if you’re simply looking for feel and control at those depths.

Do as I say, not as I do ? Spinnerbaits should have at least a small space in every bassers arsenal. That said, I think it’s been about 15 years since I last threw one and caught a bass. Maybe this fall I will pull one out and tie it on just for old times’ sake. I caught a lot of fish on them way back when I used to throw them.

Picked off this 5.5 pound bass this afternoon on the finesse outfit. Totally engulfed the worm, but was barely hooked. So glad it didn't jump, otherwise I probably would have lost it. Stayed down and bulldogged the entire time, making me think I might have hooked the rare catfish you sometimes stumble across in these little lakes. Finally backreeled her in like a charm

I’m so glad I don’t own or fish with Senkos... Not sure how you get any sleep worrying about these little details. What about wrapped bread ties with their protective wire coating? Or maybe tiny dental rubber bands? ?

At that depth, studies show high mortality for lake trout regardless, 40-60% unless surface waters are in the 40s or cooler...and guys making release mechanisms are using small downrigger balls or homemade 6-8 lb weight release devices.

Ed Chambers with Zoom Baits is credited with creating and naming the color "green pumpkin" about circa 1989. Seemed to really start catching on around the late 1990s - early 2000s, but has grown incrementally since until just a few years ago, at one point accounting for half their production and sales.

So much better uses of my time than trying to make my baits smell like Maxwell House, but as they say, it’s only weird if it doesn’t work ? Good luck with the experiment. You’re in good company

One could argue it applies to those seeking forum message board advice, also ?