phisher_d

I have learned so much from these forums. My sincere thanks go out to everyone who contributes and helps make me a better fisherman every day

Posts like that are what make this site the best. Awesome job Chris

Awesome post Chris, your knowledge never ceases to amaze me

Ditto. I just like getting away from everything and catching fish.

Welcome to the forum I think one of the main advantages to drop-shotting is that it keeps your bait in the strike zone for longer than other presentations (as long as you want really) Also it gives the fish something that they may not have seen before

bass86 I have had a similar problem in a pond I fish up in southern ontario (the bass aren't 15 pounds up here, maybe 4 or 5 pounds). The pond is heavily pressured and those fish are smart. I see them all the time just cruising the shallows. When I cast to them they just swim off like you said. The only time I have ever caught one is in spring when they were around their nests. I wasnt even fishing for bass. I casted a pretty big pike spinner and I guess it just annoyed her enough that she decided to eat it. That bass went just over 19 inches and almost 5 lbs.. released.

Yeah, the pond is seriously overpopulated. It's a private pond and the owner hardly ever fishes it. The only real fishing pressure it gets is from me.

I would try drop-shotting. I don't know why but it seems to work in the lakes where I can't seem to get many bites. Also, if the fish are really picky, you could try a finesse presentation. Lighter line and smaller lures could be the ticket.

Done it!! The amazing thing was that the bass actually tasted good! :o I don't usually like the taste of bass, but they were small and the water was cold, so they turned out allright. Thanks for the responses everyone.

15 pound bass... That's huge!! :o I'm leaning towards the carp idea too. That would explain why they aren't taking any of your bass presentations. I fish a pond thats very shallow and has a lot of monster carp in it. Them things can look an awful like a world record bass underwater. If they are carp, I would try doughballs (like RW said) or corn. I've heard of people fly fishing for them too. that would be one heck of a fish to bring in on a fly rod though

Awesome This site's getting better and better! Congrats LBH, Chris, and RW ;D ;D

In a situation like that, i would tie on a spinnerbait that "matches the hatch". Find out what the main forage fish is and imitate it in size and color. When the bass are feeding on the schools of baitfish, they like to just hang around and pick off the stragglers that are injured or get separatd from the school somehow. They'll chase down healthy ones if they have to, but they're lazy, and an injured minnow has a special appeal to them. You can use this to your advantage with a spinnerbait. The first key is to locate baitfish. Once you have done that, you want to cast your bait out and retrieve it at (or a little below) the level that the baitfish are suspending (usually near the surface). Start your retrieve, and then partway through it, stop reeling and let the bait helicopter down to the hungry bass below. Watch your line for any irregular movement and be ready to set the hook. Slack-line bites aren't easy to detect, so if anything feels odd set the hook just in case. If you don't get bit on the fall, reel 'er back in and start again. If the baitfish aren't in schools, topwaters should work... poppers, spooks, buzzbaits etc. Hope this helps ps: Strike king makes some spinnerbaits designed to look like injured baitfish... Never used them, just a thought.

Lately ive been fishing a small, shallow pond in southern ontario. THe fishing there is great, but almost everything ive caught has been really small You can cast a spinnerbait anywhere in the pond and catch an eight-incher every time. I know there are big fish in there (the biggest I've caught was close to 5lbs) but i hardly ever catch them. I know that usually the solution would be to go bigger and slower, but whenever I do that I don't get any bites at all. I think since the pond is so small the fish get spooked by the really large baits. Is there anything else I can do to make my lures appeal to the big ones more? So far all of my big fish from there have been caught on jigs w/out trailers. The pond is about three acres with lots of islands and windy creeks. It's real shallow and the deepest hole is about 8 feet or so. There's really no structure in the pond but it has very shady parts and in the summer most of it's covered with thick, floating vegetation. Where do you think the lunkers would be hiding at different times of the year? Thanks in advance

I don't keep bass because I dont think they taste very good. Fun to fish for though I'd much rather be eatin a Pike, Walleye, or a perch I fish up north where there isn't much pressure so people keeping fish for the pan isn't a problem

What about the Legend Xcalibur series? my friend has the 17-foot one of those and he and his family do a lot of fishing and skiing. The back bench folds into a rear casting deck and the front deck has removable cushions and backrests. Good storage and livewells. Check them out at www.legendboats.com

5.5 pound Canadian largemouth bass ;D (they don't grow real big up north) caught on a stanley tandem willow/colorado spinnerbait w/ homemade chartreuse/blue skirt

I just started baitcasting this season and after about a million backlashes and some help from www.bassresource.com ;D ;D ;D, i've finally learned how to flip with some accuracy. My question is: What is flipping best suited for? When would I use it over say a pitch or a regular cast? Any help is apreciated

I agree that most good hooks take a long time to rust away in fresh water, but that doesn't mean that nwgabassmaster's method won't work. When a fish is gut hooked, the hook is almost always imbedded in the soft fleshy skin near the back of the throat. when a fish is hooked like this, it can rid itself of the hook in much the same way that the human body gets rid of a splinter. Scar tissue builds up around the hook and raises it to the surface and from there it will eventually break free and leav the fish unharmed. A fish witha hook in its throat can usually survive and eat without any problems until the hook rusts away (if it's cheap) or comes free as i described. I don't mean to challenge anyones theories, just adding my opinion.