shaw24

Well my favorite creek has finally come down enough to fish in. I really wasn't expecting much but got a nice suprise! I caught about 4 dinks in about mid thigh water that was moving pretty quick. Then I caught a decent 1.5 lber that had a belly full of something (first pic) then I got the biggest smallie I have ever caught. He hit like a ton of bricks and for the first couple minutes of the fight never surfaced or did any acrobatics, which I thought was strange. So as I'm reeling him in and he's ripping line out I thought to myself "if this is a d**n carp I'm gonna be ticked!". Finally he surfaced and I breathed a sigh of relief. It was a good 6 or 7 minute fight but seemed forever - it was awesome!!! Of course I didnt bring the scale along but guessing him somewhere around 3 lbs and close to 18-20". I was on a high for the whole night!

Well that sucks!!!! I loved going to that store...they have a very nice fishing section. Have they even been open 2 years yet? Thats also where I would go when my wife was shopping at the mall!

Good to hear a report from a fellow hoosier! I'm ready to hit the creek for some smallmouth (as soon as I get some waders!). Also looking forward to catching some LM this year. Dadto4 we still need to hook up and do some fishing this summer...do you know any good ponds to fish in our area?

These both look really good...I like the look of the ultralight and price! I am looking to spend the least amount of money bc when it warms up here there is no need for waders. But also want something that is durable just dont want to spend big bucks.

Can anyone suggest a good pair of felt sole boots for around $50?

Alright thanks for all the good advice. I will probably go with the pair from BPS with the stockings and buy my own boots...definitely felt! Probably end up costing more than I wanted to spend but hey I think we can all say that about fishing gear!!

I have been looking at that pair...they look good for the price. What is the reason someone would want felt over lug?

I am in the market for some chest-high waders. I don't know the first thing about waders : I will mostly be fishing a medium sized creek in midwest Indiana. Can anyone offer any advice on a good set of waders...looking to spend under $100.

Sounds like my experience last Saturday. Went ice fishing with a buddy for bluegill using waxworms. Except we caught about 50 or so and kept em all....actually he let me keep them all My freezer should be stocked for a little while anyway. They did taste good that night too.

What is a good pole to buy to go along with my Pfluger President spinning reel I got for Xmas? I'm looking in the $50 or so range. I do a lot of smallmouth creek fishing and hopefully a lot more largemouth fishing this summer. Thanks for the advice.

Now I'm hungry I like to eat bluegill and crappie. Like everyone else said dip them in eggwash and coat in breadcrumbs or flour and fry em up nice and golden brown. I just cooked some crappie up in some store bought mix and deepfried in some used oil that was in the fryer...tasted like mud! I don't know if my oil was bad or what but I'm sticking to the skillet for now.

Haha yea Tony those little suckers do seem to stay alive forever. I usually stab them in the head before I fillet them bc I kinda feel bad cutting them up still alive. :-/

That thing is huge!!!! When it gets warmer we still need to get together and do some fishing.

Hey John, I have fished Sugar Sreek a LOT this summer. I started out fly fishing for smallies and recently have been using a light rod/reel. There are a ton of smallies in that creek but most of them are pretty small. However there are a lot of decent sized ones in there too and some big ones. I have caught a couple really nice 2lbers and let me tell it was a really fun fight! It made catching all the dinks worth it! I usually use a 2" curly tail grub or a rooster tail but I have heard that 3 or 4 inch live minnows work good too on a bobber in a hole. I caught my latest 2 lber on a road runner....which I lost that day and haven't found another one yet :'( We will have to get together sometime and swap techniques

I have used bee moths once and seemed to work well. They seemed to stay on the hook waaay longer than crickets. Pittsboro is just down the road from me....I'm in New Ross.

We had pretty good bluegill fishing the other night using crickets...thanks for the suggestion.

What size bluegills are good for bait? And what size hook do you use...how do you hook them?

Whats the best way to take a catfish off the hook? I don' like catching them b/c i dont wanna get stabbed. So I dont fish for them ever but the pond I fish get stocked with them all the time.

What is the best bait for bluegill, crappie and other panfish? I have a flyrod too and I have heard a foam spider drives them crazy. I'm a big picture person too so if you can throw in a pic off BPS site that would be nice too. Thanks

Thanks, this is exactly what I was wanting to know. I have had NO luck from the bank...not even a bite.

Makes Sense!

I just wanted some advice on how to fish this pond I go to. It's a local fishing club pond that has a lot of fish in it. I know there are LMB and hybrid stripers in there. It is a small pond...maybe around 5 acres. It was an old quary I believe. The water is crystal clear and it has a lot of cat tails and some other weed that is really tall all around the bank. Around the entire pond it starts out really shallow for 15 or so yards then drops off somewhat deep. Around 25 ft I think. I have been fishing from the shore without ANY luck. I think my casts are not getting out far enough from the shallow part. They also stock a ton of catfish in this pond....does that affect the bass? I do have access to a small v-boat with a depthfinder on it whenever I wanna use it....I think I would have much better lucky getting into the deeper stuff. What do you think?? :-/ :-/

Awesome..thanks for the advice.

Nobody has advice for me??? I would like to have a section of land inside and the rest water...can this be done with any tank? Should I buy new or used...there are a ton for sale on craigslist pretty cheap.

Thanks....I just figured there would be a lot of ppl here that had aquariums and could give me some pointers.