vabass1

I have always wondered what happens to soft plastics when eaten, too.

beetle spin

I use the bitsy jig also. Had a lot of luck, but nothing over 5 lbs. A couple of 3 lbers but that is it.

Yeah, it was caught in Japan.

cold, wet, almost winter

Congrats

I also fish golf course ponds. I normally catch lots a dinks, and one day I went out using a larger jig than normal and hooked a 3-4 lber. If you are using the same bait every time you go to that pond, and catching dinks on it, I would recommend changing to something larger.