rocknfish9001

This pond is probably actually less than 1/2 an acre. Its shaped like a rectangle. Its about a good cast wide on one shorline, and less than a cast wide on the other.

I doubt they bother bass. Once we were in a little lake that had a beaver lodge on the one side. We pulled out little jon boat on it and we stood on and fished off of it, and even managed a couple of fish. Those bass dont really care. But you might want to get some traps or something since they will strip a pond of weeds and really tear it up. Had a problem with muskrats a while back, a snapping turtle solved that problem.

There is a pond my neighbor has in hi backyard. We put about 8 bass in it, one walleye, a ton of bluegill and more minnows almost once a week, it has an 8 lb flathead and a 26 inch pike. The biggest bass is one i put in there a tad over 5 lbs. the smallest i also put in there came out of a nearby creek (also in his yard) , probably about 5 inches. We might fish it once a week or less. How much time would you spend on this pond trying to catch a fish, it is less than 1 acre, probably close to 1/2 an acre. That fish was 5 lbs. exactly when i put it in, it has almost been a year. They eat good in there, once we put 3lb. fish in there that grew almost a pound in about 6 months.

Does anybody know anything about these clubs? I live in eau claire, MI and these are the closest ones to me. Whats the proper way of joining one of these, do i just show up and ask to be a member? What kind of costs do i have to cover?

USE CRAYFISH!!! I was casting jigs, spinners, cranks, and plastics without even a bite. I was shorefishing in the st. joe river. I saw some shad cruising along the bottom looking for crayfish, at least thats what it looked like. I wanted to catch one of these shad because they were gizzard shad that looked like a good couple pounds. I roll over some rocks and get a small crayfish. First cast (weightless) my line takes off- bam! 2 lb. smallie. I tossed out there again, it sank for about a second or two, line takes off screaming, 21 lb. carp. What a fight on 6 lb. test! Anyways, we couldnt find any more crawdads, but i have been a believer ever since.

I always shudder when taking this certain person in the boat with me. He always acts like he controls the boat, and asks, lets go over there, there arent any fish here, havent we been here long enough? He scares the $&!+ out of me when he casts. The boat shakes, sometimes lures snap off, and about a dozen times he casts and grabs my 100$ rod on his backswing, and just lets it rip. I let loose and hes like all, well you should have moved it when i was casting, or why is it my fault? grrrr............ Or people that dont listen to a single word you say. Example, im catching tons, they are catching noting, with the same lure. They dont pay attention to how i explain the retrieve. Or they dont tie good knots and break their 15 lb test line constantly. Also, people who have 15 lb. test line and when they hook a 13" bass, they have their drag so loose they play it for a minute or more and get it up to the boat and gently get it right next to the boat, give it a minute to run if its still livley, make sure its dead tired before they get it in their hand. Then if it shakes, they drop it in the boat. This all comes from that one person. I LOVE i mean LOVE fishing by myself, parents wont let me. Partners make me fish too fast too, nobody likes to fish as slow as me.

Which depthfinder should i get either the bottomlinetournament 480 max, or pinpoint 7820. I can get them both at cabelas for the same price.

The rain kills it instantly, at least most of it. On windy days, itll get pushed to one side of the lake too. I have it all over my favorite pond, and somedays ill catch 15 fish or more. The fish almost like it because of the shade and all.

Well i tried some power fising (unsuccessfully) and i use a transom mount motor. HUGE pain. It was windy every time i tried it, so it really didnt help. The wind was just right where i almost needed an anchor to fish some lures. Anyways, a bow mount would be much better since you will be pulling the boat, not pushing it, and the whole foot pedal is just another plus. On a calm day, however, my transom mount preforms just fine.

me and LBH are in the same boat. Even a state record, i would rush it to bj's (our local and biggest tackle shop with a certified scale) and weigh that hog. I know everybody wants to release a state record, and im sure some of you actually would. But if you were like me, you would look at a 12 lb. fish and just shudder at the thought of actually putting it back. Its old, about to die, and ESPECIALLY if its released, everybody in the county would be on your lake. If you caught a record and tried to get it certified after being released, it probably wont happen. I want a record with my name on it.

ZERO!! i would love to, its just that NOBODY fishes like me in my area. There are several types of anglers here. There are the powerboaters/pontoon boaters that live on the lake and get in everybodys way. They cruise water randomly with a spincaster or cheap spinning rod, and are armed with about 2 cranks, a minnow bait, 2 or 3 bags of plastics, a rattle trap, an inline spinner, and hooks that dont go with any of these lures. Next are the "real anglers" They get out on the best lakes at 4 in the morning to get out before the powerboaters. They have aluminum boats and know where some fish are, but EVERY SINGLE ONE of these people only will whip out a bobber and worms and catch sunnies. I ask about bass, they say oh, lots of little ones along the lily pads, caught a real big one the other day- 13 inches!! Now there are the "pros" the guys with 20 ft. bass boats and 250 hp engines. They have EVERYTHING and seem to catch NOTHING!! They catch a couple keeper bass and they say something like "oh yea, thats a real big one. Caught him on a spinnerbait. That comes to show you how good this lake can be." And because of those fish they fish that area with every lure and refuse to move because there are "fish in the area" Now there are the "masters" the guys that really do catch fish and know what to use. These are the guys that i want to get in a boat with. Heres the catch- they own a smaller 25 year old bass boat with a motor that only sometimes starts, and get on the lake a few times a year. Maybe 5 times. They complain about gas prices, their trailer's got bad tires, its a hassle to launch, too many power boats, and its impossible to coax them onto the water. This upcoming year, i AM joining a bass club, and will hope to improve tremendously. There are 2 in my area, and they have some talented anglers. But these are club anglers, and never wanted anything to do with me since i was only a local angler.

well, i have to thank everybody for the advice i have been given. Anyways, any suggestions AT ALL are welcome. A little more info on the lake: baitfish- mostly bluegill, sunnies, and perch. Just maybe a shiner every now and then. IM sure crayfish are aplenty with the sandy/gravel bottom. gamefish- largemouth bass, norhtern pike, and walleye. Crappies might fall under this category too. primary weed growth- some sorth of broad leaf hydrilla. Very thick is some spots, and non existant in others. there are NO lily pads. :'( depth- all shorelines are shallo, one is very shallow, and another is a little less so, the rest of the lake leaves me clueless. (remember, do fish finder!) I dont know if this helps, but the name is indian lake, in southwest michigan, cass county, kind of in the middle between dowagiac, sister lakes, and eau claire.

jomatty- the gradual shoreline is all sand. There is a deeper drop out a ways. Once you get past that, it comes back up and it is shallow and weedy. That makes the trench i am talking about. The trench is all sand. I have no idea what 85% or more of the lake looks like under the surface there are no lake maps, and i dont have any electronics. All of what i know about it is what i can tell by fishing it and looking at it from the surface.

All great suggestions, but here is my reply- Sam- I am using a 7' medium action spinning rod with 8 lb. vanish. The rig i was talking about (3/0, 5" worm) was a senko, and the only lure i got bit on. Other then that i was using a 5" curly tail worm, red shad, with an 1/8th oz. slider head, and a 4" robo worm with a pegged 1/16th oz. sinker and a 1/0 hook. finesse isnt working Avid- sounds good, but there are no shorline overhangs and stuff like that. It is a fairly developed lake, and the shoreline is about 6" deep, and gets down to about 3' in around 50 yards. Very gradual. What about weedy shallows off of shore? like i said, far away from shore, out from the trench it is about 3' and weedy. IN my favorite lakes, my most (and biggest fish) come off of silver rapalas fished in a simaler manner, not as slow, and i use around a size 9. The Duke- The docks- maybe, but they are shallow and weedy (to weedy to get anything lighter that 1/2 oz. in) and snaggy (too snaggy to get a 1/2 oz. jig out.) The other end is a little deeper by the docks (3'?) and sandy with occasional (and sparse) weeds. Also there are no lily pads in the lake. There is one shallow seciton with a bullrush type weed that i didnt get to, because i was fishing to opposite shoreline, and i only had a trolling motor and 1 battery, didnt want to gamble.

Last 3 times i have been out, i have not caught a fish. I have used my tubes, senkos, and t-rigs everywhere with no sucess. I get bites every now and then, but i cant get a hook in. I tried spinnerbaits, flukes, and even tried a crankbait, and theat means i have no idea what to do, i never use cranks. I took my partner out yesterday and he caught 4 bass while i still caught none. Although his bass were tiny, 10-12", i was wondering if im missing them bacause im using a 3/0 hook on a 5" worm and he has a tube with an open hook. Should i try topwaters? The shoreline of this lake is shallow for quite a ways out and has some snaggy weeds. How about a minnow bait? Keep in mind the water is probably just at or under 80 degrees or so. The lake has a big trench where the shore is on one side, and it is about 3' deep with weeds on the other side, and the trench has a sand bottom. If you want any more info on the lake, just ask. HELP ME!!!

I do have a "backyard" pond that i go to whenever i cant get the boat out, but this year some guy has been irragating it and i cant buya bite to save my life. This time last year, i would get 10 or more fish an outing. Now im lucky to get 2 or more. In the spring, however, i will have days i can boat several 4 pound fish and got around a 20 lb. limit once.

Self explanitory. Is there just one body of water you have mastered and go to every week?

I have to stand on top of the seats in order to pitch properly

I was kind of curious which will offer better stability equiped with a deck. I would imagine the john boat would since they are closer to the water, but a v has a better desing. I have used modified v hull boats, and i personally think a deep v is the most comfortable, but the hardest to fish all presentations in. Using topwaters, jerkbaits, and the like is kind of tough since you cant snap your rod downward as easily. Also, flipping and pitching is harder as well. I stand on top of the seats in my v and have no stability problems, but i am hesitent putting a deck in because im not sure what that much weigh that high in the boat would do. Im only around 5'6" 125 lbs, so i dont offset too much weight.

Although i do believe the smaller bodies offer bigger fish, i do like to get on big lakes a lot since it offers a challenge.

The first 3 things i will throw 1. 3-4" tube with 1/18th oz. insider 2. 5" senko style bait wacky rigged 3. Brightly colored tandem spinnerbait, one gold and one silver blade What kind of bottom type is there? Are shakey worms a possibility? Also, if no fish are biting, target any cover and twitch a small floating rapala minnow, i mean like a 3" long minnow, it will always catch fish, and i have even caught fish close to 3 lbs. on it. And if they are very inactive. Ill always get a bite slow twitching a mr. wiggly.

Im just curious, which boat do you think offers more, a john boat, or something along the lines of a 12-14 ft. aluminum v-hull. I have a 12' aluminum mini v, and a 10' john. I prefer the 12' just because it is more stable due to its size, and it sits higher and is more comfortable. But is a larger john boat more stable, comfortable, or just more convinient in any way? So basically, would you rather have a tricked out 14' v hull, or a 14' john boat, and why.

rockvilleMDangler- that pond is plenty big and deep enough. I fish a 4-5 acre pond that maxes out around 6 feet that holds some real lunkers. Also, my neighbor stocked his pond, which is actually less than 2 acres, and about 5-6 feet deep. There are about 10 bass and tons of 'gills in there. Along with a pike, flathead, and a walleye. They all survived winter. An i live in michigan, so are winters are pretty cold.

What works in my weedy pond this time of year is to target ANY open areas with a zoom super fluke weightless, and worked near the surface. Also a big producer, which will work well in the deeper weeds, get a hula grub and rig it with a 1/16 oz. weighted hook. this is light enough so it wont fall into the muck and weeds, but it will sit on top of them.

Heck yea! Thats how i broke one of my rods, an agressive smallie at night.