stealthcaster

Mainly, I'm referring to purposely submerging structure (like a tree, or some rocks maybe, etc.) to create something like a small artificial reef that wouldn't disturb the ecosystem. I was thinking about possibly making a fish hang out at a nearby pond and casting a few texas rigged soft plastics on it weeks later. I literally just thought of this a few minutes ago. It happens all the time in salt water fishing, so... any thoughts? has anyone ever done this?

To be honest I think I'd toss out one of those floating "Hardnose" Snakes by Manns. They go through the thickest of cover with ease and yield hard strikes from big bass. Most likely, there are a lot of lures that would work (worms, lizards frogs, plastic minnows, etc). I'd focus on making long casts in an attempt to go completely over the fish so you don't scare them off. Then wait a good minute or 2 before you begin your retrieve and you should be ok.

My guess is that a good amount of fish in that area are preparing to spawn and thus, have rearranged their priority lists temporarily (feeding is not currently at the top of the list). Is the water very clear? I tend to find more skittish bass in clear water.

I'm 100% sold on the Berkeley Braid knot for braid-to-lure. In my own experience, the palomar breaks slightly before this knot (and yes I know how to properly tighten the palomar), and I believe the BBK won knot wars recently. http://www.bigchipnet.com/bcnv2/beginner/knots/default.asp?file=braid&cat=knots For braid to monofilament or fluorocarbon, I'd recommend Alberto's knot. http://www.stripersonline.com/Pages/Articles/article_arby_albertos_knot.shtml This one is basically a modified albright knot, very strong when tied and tightened properly.

Less friction between your thumb and the spool = more control Not to mention, dry line can really burn your thumb if you're casting something with some weight to it (if you aren't careful that is).

It really does depend on the reel, as mentioned above. It also depends on the rod. Imo, for soft plastics you would Ideally want a relatively lightweight, sensitive, 7' or 6'6" medium (or med/heavy) fast action rod, with just enough play to put a slight bend in the rod when casting a weightless worm. As far as reels go, I am also an Abu Garcia fan. I have owned many garcia reels. I recently purchased a Revo S after using my friends Revo SX for one day. Three days ago I bought a 6'6" med/fast action st. croix avid casting rod for it. With that setup I can cast a weightless Texas rigged 7.5" culprit 25 yards or so, effortlessly. I couldn't have done that with my 5500 c3 (also a garcia). It's good to have a reel capable of casting such light tackle, because when it comes to soft plastics you won't be able to cast as hard as you can with something like a crankbait. Keep steady pressure on your spool and be gentle, you'll get it with practice.

x2.

I also agree, or you could go with a suspending swimbait.

I've put in some long hours with different poppers, spooks (zara spook jr and zara puppy), and spinnerbaits (I have 1 with twin gold willow blads and 1 with a single silver colorado). Absolutely no luck. I often bring 2 rods also, so that if I miss one on a worm I can be quick to toss a spinnerbait or crankbait close to where he struck. I'm sure they'd hit these lures eventually under the right circumstances but they never seem to do as well as soft plastics. I do have 1 buzzbait. I'll give it a try sometime soon.

Hey that sounds good bassin finatic, thanks. how do glow in the dark lures work at night??

Thanks for the feedback! Spotaholic, I have actually NEVER fished a jig. What's a super chunk? Most people I know will put half a lizard or a berkley Gulp grub on the back of their jigs. I'll try to pick some up dark ones next time I'm near walmart. Any good ones you'd recommend? Also, the night fishing recommendation sounds great. I'm guessing it might take some patience (and big black worms) to catch fish at night in a pond this murky. Should I fish as slow as possible? Thanks!

This is going to be very helpful for me, I'll get some o-rings tomorrow. For the record, the most fish I've landed with a single senko worm so far is 4 (2 wacky rigged, then 2 texas rigged).

soft plastics, topwater

Ok that is a good idea. I have some heavier egg weights I could use to get a worm to the far side of the pond (I don't think I could ever cast a worm the entire length of the pond but it's close). Just an hour ago I was fishing a weightless 10" culprit, red shad, right around point E. A bass that looked about 3 lbs or so popped right beside it, coming halfway out of the water. He didn't take the worm though > Are there any specific murky water lures you guys would recommend?

I have only used a drop shot a handful of times and I really like it, especially on windy days. I like to Keep the worm 18-24 inches from the weight, just over the vegetation on the bottom. I'll lightly jig the worm a few times taking care not to move the sinker, then give it a harder jig/pull after a while to move the sinker and start over.

Hey guys. There's a pond a few miles from my house that's about as murky as coffee with cream. Here's a pic, taken from google earth: From point A to point B there is a bulkhead. Years ago this lot was prepared for a house to be built, but it never happened. I've caught a number of bass from this pond over the years, but not a large number. So far I've only had luck with dark colored soft plastics (worms and lizards), fished texas, wacky, drop shot, etc. I've caught them at points A, B, C, and D on the pic, pulsing wacky worms or bouncing weightless lizards as close to the thick cover as possible. I recently cleared out the trees near point D so that I can cast and reach point E. There are a lot of submerged trees there and I feel that it may be the best spot. Sadly the rest of the pond is inaccessible from shore. The biggest bass I've caught from the pond is only about 2.5 lbs or so, but I've seen one that was close to 4. I've also heard stories about some bigger (5-8 lbs) bass being caught there. Since catching fish in this pond is at least moderately challenging, I'm going to work on it for the next few months and see just how big they get in there. Right now I'm thinking about ordering some large black worms (I have red shad also) and put the hours in until I get that big strike. ANY IDEAS??? :-/ : D is the northernmost point in the pond and A is the westernmost. The pond does not get fished very often. I fish it more than anyone.

I fish nothing but ponds, because I have no immediate access to a lake. I'm a soft plastics man, texas or wacky rigged. I've had luck on crankbaits, spinners, and some topwater as well. Fishing ponds is fun imo since you can learn to deal with a variety of different conditions. I also like the challenge of being quiet/sneaky when approaching the bank, thinking about your presentation.

what did you catch that was 30lbs?

$$$ is my guess if they did indeed wait. Wow, if that is true, that is terrible. They should have intervened sooner. It's the bass population that matters most, not the punishment of the individual committing the crime.

I've caught 51 bass this season thus far (the first being in late february, and the last being yesterday), fishing in various ponds nearby (this is my only option unless I wish to drive 3-4 hours) about 3-6 days a week. The biggest fish so far this season was just over 4 pounds. Almost all of the bass where between 1 and 2 (there are only 2 ponds that hold big bass where I live, and they are not easy to get to, so I only go when I'm feeling ambitious). I've been fishing mainly soft plastics, and lately I've been getting strikes on crankbaits and poppers. This was my first season using a low profile baitcasting reel. I recently purchased an abu garcia revo S and am thoroughly enjoying the ability to cast a weightless worm nearly 30 yards without ever having to worry about line twist (sometimes I simply can't stand spinning reels when fishing ultra-light tackle) This was also my first season rigging worms wacky. I'm in love with it already. I've had good luck using Senkos, Dingers, and Gulp sinking minnows wacky rigged. Mainly dark colors as most of the ponds I fish are either stained or murky.

Bow Movement

Biggest fish I've landed (If you don't count a monster sting ray) is an 18 lb king mackerel on a live menhaden just 5-10 miles or so short of the gulf stream off NC. Biggest bass landed was about 7.5 pounds. I casted a live minnow from a bridge toward a 2 pounder I had seen. Then this monster came out of nowhere haha I have hooked into large unknown fish countless times. I also used to work on a charter fishing boat that ran trips offshore for bottom fishing, and witnessed many instances where individuals hooked up with large unknown fish that ended up breaking them off. In most cases I think that it was a big grouper offshore or a very large sting ray inshore (or an occasional shark). The largest fish I've ever SEEN is a probably a 35 ft basking shark that swam right under the boat.

Behind a tree is great. If you can't get behind a tree, move slow, keep low, and wear camo or soft colors. Try not to make the presence of your rod obvious by standing back a few feet.

For big bass, I like 10" worms 8-9" lizards suspending swimbaits that immitate bluegill good sized suspending jerkbaits med-large crankbaits spinnerbaits This is just from my personal experience but I hope it helps.

7lb largemouth on #8 Ande (clear mono). Live bull minnow.