John J.

In order to catch the fish now I have to break through 5" of ice lol! ;D Like I said if this was MY pond bass and small bluegill and small catfish would be the only fish in the pond. The pond is a great ecosystem, we put fertilizer in there (increase the algae growth), checked the pH it is fine, it naturally has bugs, crayfish and small fish in there (from the feeder creek) and grass grown when we seeded the pond (where the water flooded the grass) to replenish the oxygen. This summer I am going to catch some crappie and eat them. My dad read that crappie and all were not good for a pond! but yet he wanted to stock them any way...There isn't a lot of crappie, but still those crappie will spawn and more and more crappie will emerge. I just hope the catfish will keep the panfish population managed. If not, I will manage the population myself. Any bass I catch this summer at the pond I will release but take note of the size to determine how fast they are growing. Crappie or Bluegill, I will keep to eat. My dad said he stocked the pond with full grown crappie to give us something to fish for now, instead of waiting a few years on the bass. But even still I know the crappie will take over! Every year we will restock the fathead minnows, that will give them more to eat. Another plus to it is we feed the fish during the summer with those protein rich fish pellets. So instead of eating minnows they will at least eat the pellets... I can see the pond to be productive in the future. It is a perfect ecosystem! I would just like to have a more variety of cover to hide in and make it feel more like "home" to them. Even though dad doesn't want the pond looking "trashy" with a whole bunch of junk. So instead of cutting down trees and leaving them on the bank extending into the water. I will just make a few pallet covers (which I've done) and maybe sink a few trees in the dam or deeper parts. The shallow area is REALLY CLEAR. I think they will spawn (personally) about 10 feet from the shallow cove in 3-4 foot of water. Basically where I am thinking about sinking my first pallet. I will draw (on MS Paint) a basic rough sketch of the pond and show you all the depths, locations and physical aspects of the pond...and I will post it tomorrow. From there you guys can give me a more "in depth" look of the pond (no pun intended). God bless 8-)

Excellent! I figured you could at least buy her a new bass boat ;D ;D or a diamond ring.... you probably wanna ring my neck right now huh?

April 19th and I will be 18 too! Just thought I'd share... ;D

I had no part in ordering the fish...that was Dad! All I did was put them in... If it were up to me I would have gone out and caught some nice size bass (1-3 pounds) and THEN stocked the smaller bass and then added the panfish but I would have had the panfish to be about the same size as the bass... Hopefully with all the minnows in the pond the panfish will leave the bass alone and go after the minnows...just in case I am going out this summer to our local lake and catching a few bass (1-2 pounds, etc.) and stocking the pond once more...There's already a few bass in the pond that are about that size, and there's a few catfish which are about 12" in length. When the guy stocked the pond he told us what to do, but I still feel there's more to it...

I've got some questions.... First to set the scene, we built an acre and a half pond on our property which is constantly fed by a creek (which is fed by underground springs; so there's constantly cold water running). We stocked it over the summer last year with bass (1-3" fingerlings), crappie (hand sized), bluegill (hand sized; redear and hybrid), albino catfish (2-4 inches) and 15 pounds of fat head minnows. The questions I have are: #1.) How long (years, months, days, etc.) will it take for the BASS in the pond to reach a catchable size? (6-12") #2.) How big would they be this spring? Will they be able to spawn? #3.) Is it possible for all the crappie and bluegill to eat the small bass? #4.) Over the summer last year I remember that the water temp (Yes, I went swimming lol) on the surface was about 80 degrees and then the temperature 3" below that was cold (maybe 60s). Would it be possible for the constant cold water to make the fish sluggish? or will they move up towards the surface for the warm water? #5.) There's a small "inlet" basically at one end of the pond, where the depth is REALLY shallow! And there's plenty of grass around it. Will they (bass and other fish) spawn in those grasses? or will they move out deeper a little? (the deepest part of the pond is 7') #6.) Right now it's winter (I am sure we could all see that) and the pond is pretty much frozen and the water is cold...if the pond isn't but 7' deep at the dam, where would be the best place to fish? There's no structure in the pond yet, the bottom is irregular though because is was made with a backhoe. My guesses where either... A.) At the dam B.) The little cove where the creek runs in C.) The shallow flats where they chase the smaller fish (because there's tons of little fish up near the bank) or D.) In the middle of the pond on the gradual slope in 4-5 foot of water. Thanks! 8-)

There's a pond that my parent's friends own, and they've pretty much named their pond after me because that's where I fish a lot. The biggest bass I caught out of that pond was back in 1998 I believe, I caught a 3 pound 10 ounce largemouth on a beetle-spin. He was sitting up by the bank not 2 feet away from me and I cast the beetle-spin out and worked it back to the bank where he anhiliated it! I got soaken wet that day! It was the best! Now I've beat that record at the Potomac in our club when I caught a 4 pounder on a BOOYAH! spinnerbait. One day I will break that record again! We've got our own pond now and I've just made some cover for the fish in it (we stocked it back in the summer) and I will sink it this spring or when it warms up. God bless 8-)

OWIE! He certainly got lucky! That is certainly a grim reminder the next time he goes fishing! At least he didn't get a lure stuck in his eye with trebel hooks!!! Any item at high speeds is dangerous! Especially one that is small and pretty heavy! Thank god he lived! 8-)

I've found an article on the site about making crankbaits, etc. http://bassresource.com/fishing/crankbait_making.html Thanks though!

LOL! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D.... need...to catch.....breath...... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D.... *faints* :-/

20"? wow... We got mainly ice...it rained and hailed all last night...we've got maybe an inch or so of ICE! Needless to say.... [move]THERE'S NO SCHOOL AGAIN! [/move] 8-) I don't know the degrees, but it is really chilly! We are expecting gusts of wind up to 20-30 mph today! Rough week!! >

I get skunked quite a bit, but I also have my glorious times too!! I really need to learn more about working texas and carolina rigged plastics. Wacky riggin or weightless rigging I am good at, but texas and carolina and drop shotting, I haven't had much practice at it. I am mainly a hard bait fisherman. I am excellent at the spinner-bait. With my baitcaster and a 1/4-1/2 ounce spinner-bait (BOOYAH! Baby!) I can catch some bass and side cast that bad boy anywhere I want it to go. Matter of fact I was fishing on Lake Anna with one of my fishing buddies and we were 20-30 yards off the bank and there was a bush on the bank and it had a hole in it, I figured maybe there was something hiding up in there. Let me tell ya I put that spinner-bait where some people would have trouble putting a worm in! ;D Getting skunked is a part of fishing! You don't catch em all the time...other wise it'd be called bass catching rather than bass fishing!

Ditto here! Just in case you do leave here and take a while to come back: Best wishes and god bless! 8-)

Write her a poem (love; women love that sensitive crap) and take her to a place that she loves, if you can't think of anything she would like, ask her... You: "Honey if you had to pick the most expensive and outrageous place to go or do where I could spend my entire pay check and be bored, where would it be?" ;D JK! You (seriously): "Honey, where would be a place I could take you to where you and I could enjoy ourselves and enjoy our time together? I really want to make you happy" Her: "SPA!" ;D 8-)

Like they were saying, just print off these articles and keep them for your own reference! Personally I would still stick with the idea of making merchandise for Bass Resource (which is already done) but make more items such as mugs, hats, towels, etc. That would probably sell! Another neat idea would be Auto Stickers or magnets or even decals or stuff like that. God bless

Works too ;D I will try it at school in one of the computers in the library lol! 8-) Who knows it will be me??? : :-X :-?

Welcome ABOARD! Good to meet you! can't wait to talk fishing and wet some lines!

Along with what Clipper said about being careful on the Lake while it is frozen, my pond is frozen and has 5" of ice in some areas but some areas (near the dam) has not even an inch thick. Word of caution (which I am sure you are already aware) be sure to not go out alone and watch your step on that ice! Especially when carrying heavy items that increase your weight! That is a good brush pile...I took a few wooden pallets and screwed and nailed them together and then screwed and nailed a bunch of limbs, branches and stuff on the top and left the bottom untouched. That way it sits right and has the brush stuff on top. I will post pictures tomorrow of my progress. Try adding some pallets and screw them together and do like I did, that way the fish can hide up in the holes of the pallet (especially if you screw a few together) and they can also hide around the brush and everything. Good luck and hopefully your brush pile will be successful! (Same with mine lol! )

Thanks Big M . The only thing is I am brand new to this so I don't know what you are talking about as far as the type of wood (balsa wood or any other), knives, etc. :-? I just started out...or at least planning on starting out... :-/ I have no idea what materials to use for the lip, etc. Let me break this down easy... #1.) What would YOU (anyone) recommend I use? #2.) What materials all do I use? (Explain please; including where to get it and how to use it, price, etc.) Thanks 8-)

Hey all, I am interested in carving my own lures besides buying them. How would I get started? and instead of buying tools, equipment, etc. is there a way I can use items at home to make wooden lures, such as dowel rods, a knife, etc.? I've got a knife I can use to carve, and accessories such as screw eyes, etc. And what wood is best? I heard about Bass Wood but I don't know how to get it or where...can oak, popular, maple or any other type of wood work? And if so is it best to use blocks or dowel rods? And another thing what kind of paint would work? something that is waterproof, etc. Thanks for any info! 8-)

Hey everyone, I was just curious what courses could I take (major or minor) in college to better understand bass and increase my ability to catch them? I was thinking about minoring in Marketing and majoring in something which helps me out with bass fishing. I can use that field to get a job in either fish marketing, fish biology or something else... What would you guys reccommend? :-?

Good luck ben! Our representative is Stephen Carr here in Va. See ya there, me and the team are going to sponsor him!

check out www.barlowstackle.com or www.lurecomponents.com

Ditto here.... My pond is 7 foot deep at max, it is an acre and a half, it has a mud bottom, it has some gravel at the shallow end along with some grass. We stocked it with bass, crappie, bluegill and minnows. I've tried throwing worms, crappie jigs, beetle-spins, bass-jigs, spinner-baits, etc. Nothing! The pond is fed by a creek which is fed by a underground spring. So there is constantly cold water into the pond. I guess they are all at the dam of the pond. I will stock it this spring/summer with some pallets and anything else I can find. God bless 8-)

We had permission from a local who had access to the dike 1 and let us fish out of there. I think it was a one time opportunity...I don't know... But we do have articles in magazines, and we are known. We have a sportsman's show this weekend at the Fredericksburg Expo Center. I will be there tomorrow. We are sociable, Mr. Bill Deeds (boat captain for our club) came yesterday during our meeting and showed us how to make spinner-baits from scratch, so that was neat! I want to get me a mold, melting pot and spinner-bait components because I am excellent with spinner-baits. The spinner-bait is my fav. along with soft plastics. I am thinking about taking Marine Biology in college and hopefully that will help my fishing. I've got three A's and 1 B so far, it is a new semester so I know I have straight 100s now. This club has less members than it had a few years ago, which is why I am trying to encourage new members who would like to join a bass club in Va, to join here, because after all we are well known and we do eat, sleep and dream fishing! 8-) ;D Stephen Carr, our Vice President of the club is having a tournament down in Alabama on the 14th-18th. We are heading down there to support him, it is for the Jr. Classic. God bless 8-)

;D ;D ;D ;D omg! I gotta tell my folks this one!