Bluebasser86

5 years at Cabela's in KC until I turned 21 and became an LEO (2002-2007). It was my full time gig for the first 3 years, then I went to part time while I was working in construction for the last 2.

I fish a 5" BS on a 7' 2" MH/F Shimano Sellus with a H20 Mettle. Whole setup cost me less than $90 out the door and has been great for fishing that bait for smallmouth. I throw it on 15-17 pound Pline and can launch it a mile.

I have the Optimus LTE casting reel and like it very well. I also did a review on mine. http://www.bassresource.com/fishing_lures/dch5-lte-review.html

A 6' 10" MH/F should be just fine if you're talking baits like spooks or buzzbaits. I like a MH/M for squarebills since I'm usually pulling them through cover, gives a little more power to move a big fish away from the stuff. Plus, I don't fish a bait smaller than a 1.5 on casting gear so the MH works perfect.

I'm not a complicated fisherman

I'd go new every time as long as it fit my needs.

Braid for flipping grass, c-rigs, and frogs. fluorocarbon for jigs and Trigs anywhere other than grass. Braid with a fluoro leader on spinning gear. mono or copoly for most everything else.

Contemplating a WC trip this Thursday myself.

Anyone thinking about trying for the wipers at Olathe, don't. I went out there yesterday and it's up about 2' (but you can tell it's down at least a foot from where it crested at), and super muddy (white bait disappears at 6" or less). Hopefully we get some warmer, drier weather or the wiper bite at Olathe might be over before it really started

They will go over dams and swim a long ways up rivers and streams, especially this time of year. If where you're fishing is connected to a body of water with stripers, it's possible that's how they're getting in there.

If they are eating topwater where you're at, I imagine they'll still eat them. For me they've been most effective in water less than 10' deep with 1-5 being optimal range but guys are calling them up from 20+ at Table Rock. It's a noisy bait with a lot of drawing power. I've been ignoring guys telling me to get one for over a year now. Finally gave in this fall and wish I'd listened to them a lot sooner. The strikes are vicious every time it seems, regardless of the size of the fish. This is the best strike I've caught on film, and it wasn't even a big one.

Most of them you just push the power button and it will reset to zero.

Tie a rope to a bucket and drag that to slow down your troll. Drill holes in the bottom to make recovery easier when you want to pull it back in.

You can put it straight on the spool but I would suggest filling your spool at least half way with cheap mono and then adding your fluoro just to save money. I usually only run 50 yards or less of fluoro.

Jerkbaits have been the best option for me the past couple weeks.

Get the 130. Bigger disturbance and profile draws the violent strikes. Plus the 130 cast a mile so you can really cover water since it's not a numbers bait most days.

I'm not sure if BPS does it the same way Cabela's does but at Cabela's it was custodial that took care of the tanks (feeding the fish and cleaning them). Only thing they hired anyone for was the filtration and pumps. None of them had a clue what they were doing and it showed when all the less hardy fish (walleye, pike, SMB, trout) either died off or were eaten. Now the biggest tank in the KC store has all 3 of the big species of catfish, gar, drum, carp, bluegill/sunfish, and a few bass. So basically it's like a typical Kansas lake. One of them even got herself bit hand feeding the biggest blue cat in the tank, which was nearing 100 pounds, and almost pulled into the tank.

Any idea how deep the pond is? Assuming your depthfinder will be a regular finder and not SI, if the pond isn't very deep you won't see much because the cone of the depthfinder won't be very wide and therefore won't show you too much other than depth changes. That can still be really helpful though as your fish will most likely head to the deepest water in the pond during the coldest months (usually near the dam). With water temps in the 55-60 degree range, they'll still most likely be in shallower cover until the water drops below 50. Ponds are unique in that the fish have a pretty limited amount of water to work with, so you may still find them all over regardless of where they should be.

You say your fish was caught during the spawn? Looking at it, and from your description, I'm going to guess you caught a female that had already dropped her eggs (hence the thin belly). The smaller 1 and 2 pound fish you were catching were most likely the more aggressive males that were guarding nest or fry. In my opinion, you have a pond with a variety of sizes of fish (not stunted), I would suggest leaving it as it is unless you're going to have a fisheries biologist come out and sample the fish and water for you and tell you exactly what you need to do. I've seen too many times a good pond was ruined and even killed off completely in an attempt to make it a great pond.

No, A-rig. She could have done just as good a job with the net as I did. I stopped using it after that first one and just unhooked them over the water. Yes it is.

Welcome!

Turns out, putting too many fish in a tank and feeding them poorly is bad for them, who knew?

I like it in the 12 pound test for finesse jigs and T rigs. It's pretty stiff but the abrasion resistance and strength have been good. Once you get heavier than that, managing it becomes a big hassle.

This is what I was going to suggest. Any time I can get away with using spinning gear in your situation, I will.

DISH, WFN, and DVR are my best friends when it comes to catching fishing shows. WFN is an extra $4 a month for me, but it's the only channel I watch unless I'm watching football or baseball, so it's worth it.