Texfisherman

Lots of great advice here, and I utilized all of it (and caught a monster bass)! I love the medium-heavy rods now and couldn't imagine going back to medium. The only thing I didn't do was the packaging tape around the mono. I wish I had done it though, because that tape would push that knot down, more evenly with the surface. Right now, when I cast, the line is rubbing against the double-uni knot and it's reducing my casting distance greatly. It still works fantastically, but I'm gonna re-tie my spools, this time using the tape.

I've been having a lot of luck lately on the water, even with this intense heat. Zoom Trick Worm (Color- Watermelon Candy) has been my absolute go-to bait lately. Wacky-Rigged, with a 1/8-1/4 oz. nail weight. I'll cast out, let it sink, give the rod 2-3 little pops and let it sit for a few seconds. Reel in the slack, pop 2-3 times and let sit. Rinse and repeat. They hit it at night and in the mornings. For some reason that color is driving them crazy. Also at night, I've been throwing black 1/2 ounce spinnerbaits with a single gold Colorado Blade and usually pull in some pretty big bass. Anyways, just wanted to share what's been working for me lately.

As Summer kicks in, I find soft plastics to work better and better. If you're in a boat, I would work a t-rigged or wacky-rigged worm at those rocks. Cast right up on the edge of the rocks and slowly work the worm back to the boat. Take your time and give it a nice, slow presentation. I love the picture of that rock line. Working slow-moving baits may make all the difference in this heat, even if you're shore fishing. Just my thoughts.

Thank you, everyone!

Here's a pic. Hope I do this right.

To all of the people that take the time to post replies, thank you for your efforts. I had been losing a lot of 6+ pounders recently and posted about it here, looking for help. Within no time, the problem was recognized and i had the info that I needed on everything from Medium-Heavy action rods to Double-Uni Knots. Last weekend, utilizing all of the info that was shared by the posters, I caught a 7 1/2 pound largemouth with ease.

I grew up fishing golf course ponds and most of them had between 1-3 fountains in them. I almost always have luck throwing plastic worms around fountains. They usually hit right at the fountain, or at the 'dripline', where the water drops actually hit the water. I consider any style of moving water really good, whether it's a fountain, waterfall, etc. Just be careful on using anything with an exposed hook. There is usually some kind of water or power line beneath the surface, that heads right to the fountain. I lose many lures that way, so stick with soft plastics and bury the tip of your hook, or go weedless.

Thank you, Senko_77. I will be trying the double-uni knot with a strip of packaging tape. Maybe next time I'll get to post a pic of one of those monsters on this site.

Black 1/2 ounce spinnerbaits, with a single colorado blade does wonders along weedlines. Try throwing a T-Rigged Zoom 'Ole Monster, (Junebug or another dark color). Also, Wacky-Rigging Zoom Trick Worms has always been the most productive for me at night. Put a 1/4 oz nail weight in the head of the worm and you're good to go. Stick with dark colors.

Outstanding. Thanks, everyone!

Thanks for the prompt replies. Any suggestions on a good heavy-action spinning rod/reel for working braided line? I tried working with braided 30-pound recently and it kept slipping on the spool as if it weren't actually attached.

So we're on a lake that has tons of monster bass in it. This lake has lily pads extending out atleast 20 feet from the shoreline, all the way around the lake. We were working the edge line of the lily pads with 1/2 oz. spinnerbaits, wacky-rigged worms on weedless hooks, and t-rigged worms. Every time we hooked into a monster bass, it immediately headed to the lily pads and wrapped around one of them. We would keep heavy tension on the line as we moved the boat in on the location. But by the time we had dug around the lily pad where the bass was, the bass had magically disappeared. Any advice on preventing this? We lost 3 big bass in one day due to this exact situation. Other info: 10 pound mono test, spinning rod and reel, medium-action rod, can't think of anything else. ^^ If it's possible to keep using the 10 pound test and still address this situation, I would prefer it. Thanks

Hey, Roadwarrior. Thanks for quick reply. I'll check out all of the videos you have posted here.

Hey, everyone. I'm trying to find any websites that have fishing videos that focus heavily on working the rod itself with different lures. I always see the focus being on the angler while he talks, or the water where they're cast out at. Any websites that put the focus on how the rod is being worked? Thanks

That is a monster bass!!

Thanks, everyone! I think, looking at her girth, she was already spawned out.

I've spent the better part of my life working ponds. For me, soft plastics are hugely successful. If there are a lot of other fisherman there, then the fishing pressure may be high and the bass need to see something they haven't seen before. I highly recommend a Zoom Shakey Head Worm on an Owner Shakey Head Hook, 1/4 oz. For daytime, I have success on Watermelon Red, Watermelon Candy and any pumpkin color. Nighttime fishing can really land you biggin's and highly recommend the Junebug color. Shakey Head Worms are floating worms and the Shakey Head hook is designed to stand that worm vertically, with that little tail wiggling around. It drives bass crazy. But, as said before, the easiest way to determine the color of the bait, is actually match the color of the baitfish that are in the pond. If that doesn't work, try a wacky-rigged Zoom Trick Worm with a 1/8 oz-1/4 oz nail weight buried in the head of the worm. If there is a lot of vegetation in the pond, the Wacky Rig is the way to go. Make sure your hook is a weedless hook and you'll have no probs. Should go about a 3/0 on the hook, I'm guessing. I work both setups the same way. I cast out, immediately reel in some of the slack and let it hit bottom on a semi-tight line (they hit it while it's falling sometimes). I slowly lift the rod to about the 11 o'clock position, give the rod a little twitch and wait a second. If I don't feel any hits, I lower my rod, reel in my slack, and keep working the same way. When you do feel a tap/hit on your line, lower your rod to where it's straight out in front of you (parallel to the ground), carefully reel in your slack, and lift up on your rod tip just enough to see if your line feels heavier than it normally does. If it does, drop your rod tip a bit and set the hook hard!!! Also, for pond fishing, make sure your fishing line is 10-pound test or less. Best of luck and don't give up!!!

Good Morning, everyone. I recently caught a very large bass and immediately went to my digital weight scale to weigh her. It was zeroed out properly but kept giving me different readings. Then, it read that my bass was a little over 6 pounds. My friend and I knew better and he pulled out his non-digital scale and she weighed in at over 8 pounds. My question here is what do all of you use for your weight scale? I need something trustworthy and reliable. Thanks everyone!

One more picture of the same bass

I was experimenting around and threw a wacky-rigged 7.5" Culprit Black/Red Ribbon Tail worm, with a 1/8 ounce nail weight in the head of the worm. My line was Trilene 10 pound test (monofilament) and my knot was the Trilene knot. I was worried with the 10 pound test, but I loosened the drag and let her run around while keeping tension and then, when she got close to the boat, I dipped the tip of my rod in the water to prevent her from jumping, though she still jumped a bit. I'm ready to hit the lake again, lol! Thanks for the comments, everyone!!

I've been fishing on and off for 22 years and finally caught my 1st lunker yesterday. She weighed in at 8lbs, 4 ozs. Just wanted to share it with all of you. Never give up on catching that monster! (hope I'm posting this in the right place,lol)

Welcome!!!

A lot of great tips here. Something I've learned from fishing the same pond on a regular basis, is that bass learn what you are throwing at them. The first 4 times we hit our pond, a shaky head hook w/ a Zoom shaky head plastic worm landed us several bass. After that, we couldn't get a single bite, so we changed colors from Junebug (really good at night-time) to Watermelon Red and all of a sudden, they were pounding it again. After that, they stopped hitting shaky heads all together, so we switched up to wacky-rigged and T-rigged and they started pounding again. Now, the 'fishing pressure' on this pond is so bad, we are having to get creative. Last night I caught a bass by doing a weightless Texas-rigged plastic 7.5" worm, with a rattle in its tail and 2 red beads above its head. I even had to change the way I worked the bait. So, keeping in mind everything everyone else has stated, don't hesitate to change up your rig. It may make the difference between a day of no bites or a day of landing a bunch of bass. Good luck!

Great article! I've grown up fishing different golf course ponds and I can tell you, they hold some big bass! I try to dress atleast respectable-looking and try to keep the noise down when I hook into one (very hard for me to do, lol!). I was fortunate enough to have recently found a great 'honey hole' on a golf course pond. After about the third time of fishing there, the dreaded maintenance golf cart pulled up to us. To our surprise, he said it was ok for us to fish there, but really it is supposed to be for the residents of that neighborhood only. He told us as long as we throw the bass back and don't litter, nobody will say anything to us. I go as far as picking up other peoples' litter... why? Because we have pulled out several 4 and 4.5 pounders out of this pond. My friend also pulled out a lunker in this same pond. So, if they do eventually kick you off, keep looking and trying. Keep the place clean and practice C.P.R. (Catch, Picture, Release). Good luck!

Some of my pet peeves are: - Having my knot unravel after biting off the excess line. (improved clinch knot) - A cluttered boat while we're fishing. - Litter! Please... if you're fishing on somebody's property, leave it cleaner than the way you found it. I've been fishing an amazing golf course pond lately, and people see me catching bass, so they start fishing it. Now this place is beginning to get cluttered with empty plastic bags, fishing line laying along the shore and empty drink bottles. Pretty soon I imagine they are going to cease all fishing there, just so the place will stay clean.