OmegaDPW

In my main pond, it's the deepest part of the water- which is only about 8 feet.

It's one of those deals where I don't want to ruin a good thing. In fact, I don't think he even knows how often I'm out there. Better to keep it that way. It's a great pond and only 6 miles from my house. I'd hate to lose the place.

It probably was 100 years ago. I've been fishing it for about 20 years. The owners of the property put a mobile home out there and do family reunions about twice a year. With the odd exception, I'm the only one fishing it. We've pulled a 9 pound bass out of it back in November and I got a 3lb crappie a week ago or so. It's about a 10 acre pond but only 1/3 of it is fishable from the bank. It's a nice place to sneak off to every Saturday for a couple of hours. Especially when the fish are biting. I have been known to catch a skunk there, though. Nothing is guaranteed I guess. 😉

Everything I fish is cheap. My favorite combo- and the one I use 99% of the time- is a 6ft Medium Ugly Stik with a Bill Dance Zebco made reel. Bought the reel 20 years ago on Ebay for Crappie fishing and liked it so much I bought two more. I mainly just throw finesse grubs, Beetle Spins and small swimbaits so it works perfect for me. I've got other rods for worms and frogs.

I know this thread is useless without pictures, but I had a great day today on my favorite pond and didn't want to stop to take pics. Started at 0700 in a light rain and I almost convinced myself not to go. It rained for about an hour and then quit. I was fishing a Creme Tri Tail grub (yes, the thing at Wal Mart for about $2 a pack of 25) black body and chartreuse tail on a small jig head with a #7 split shot about 6 inches up the line (10 lb braid-Medium Ugly Stik rod). After a couple of hours, I had two LMB (one a tad over 3.5 lbs), four Crappie all over a pound and two Bluegill. Missed a very big LMB that bent the thin wire hook on the jig head. I normally never keep fish to eat but today would have been a nice seafood platter. I kinda wish I had. Thanks for listening. My family is not as excited about today as I am, but I figured you all would appreciate it. 😉

Started fishing with 10lb braid the other day (no leader) and I've always been a fan of the split shot rig. Went fishing yesterday with size 7 and size 5 split shots on my spinning reel set-ups and lost 3 split shots on different casts. They were pinched down as hard as I could get them with a pair of pliers. This has never happened with the same set-ups and using mono. Any idea? The first time it happened, I thought it was just a fluke and it wasn't crimped tight enough. The rest were tightly crimped and still came off somehow. Thanks!

Had a great day today at my favorite little pond. Had only caught one crappie since October (but the bass bit all winter) so I wasn't expecting much. Caught 7 crappie and 4 bass in a couple of hours. All the crappie were much bigger than normal and I think this one would be my PB ever. Out of the 11 fish, ten bit on a Beetle Spin grub without the spinner. The biggest bass of the day (3.5 lbs) hit a red lizard on the first cast of the day. Another fish hit it on the second cast but ripped the tail off and I never got a bite with the missing tail after that.

Now that's worth the tangled mess.

I've used a black sharpie on a chartreuse tail on a black lizard. It doesn't cover all the color but did make it look more "even" with the body. I caught a bass the next day so I guess my fish didn't mind the scent (if there was any left). Give it a shot. Do it a day or so before fishing and let it air out.

I would be happy to send you a few in different colors to try out. Pm me your address if you'd like.

You should be fine. 40 years ago I was told to throw darker lures in muddy water and lighter colors in clear. I've always stuck with that (keeps it simple) and it usually has some merit. It's really one of those things we probably overthink- when it all depends on what the fish want that day. I've never fished for pike, but from what I've read here and seen on YouTube, they'll bite anything. Good luck! Let us know how it all turns out.

White works well for me when I visit a clear lake/pond. I rarely catch anything with white in my favorite muddy colored pond. Black and darker colors work well there. How's the water clarity where you're going to fish? You're good with weightless and T-rig. I also fish some of my smaller ones on jig heads if I need to cast further and not too worried about hanging up.

I like them because I feel that I can fish them a good bit faster than the stick baits and Trick Worms that I also throw. My preference is actually lizards, though, with the curly tail- only because I bought a TON of different colored lizards when some on-line shop closed years ago. I probably have 700+. Possibly even more. Hope my kids and future grandkids like to throw lizards.

I have been basically a mono guy for 40 years. With a few exceptions, I've been fishing the same ponds for 20 of those years. One of my favorites is full of downed trees, weeds and is normally chocolate milk colored. I usually fish light line and finesse baits. I'm all about the "catch" and fish for anything- bass, bluegill or crappie. This pond was always a thorn in my side because the bass are big but I'd lose numerous lures trying to catch 'em. A buddy gave me a small spool of spiderwire and I tried that and it planted the seed. The line frayed easily and wasn't great but I was finally able to bend some small hooks and retrieve a stuck lure. That was the turning point. Now, I'm trying some different brands of 10lb braid to see what I like. So, I'm not using a leader and tying the braid directly to the hook. I have not noticed any difference in fish being line shy and have gotten two large bass this week on a weightless KVD Ocho 5. Also, caught some panfish on Beetle Spins, etc. This pond is only fished by a handful of people and the fish aren't pressured at all. Do you think that's the reason I'm still having luck with braided line? Maybe it's the chocolate milk color of the pond? I was always told it stood out like a rope in the fish's eyes and needed a leader. Same with catching the smaller fish- I'm assuming they don't care or they're just reacting to the fast moving spinner and hunger/aggression beats seeing the line. Any thoughts? It sure is nice not losing these spinners like in years past...

6 inches of rain a couple of days ago here. The normal chocolate milk color in my favorite pond was pure mud this morning. No bites on the bass worms, so swapped over to the tiniest Beetle Spin about 3 feet under a weighted bobber. One juvenile bluegill that wasn't worth a picture. At least I wasn't skunked after 2.5 hours. Heading out of town tomorrow for work. Found a park 3 miles from the hotel that allows fishing. Website says bluegill and catfish are in there. Hope the luck changes next week. 👍

Craziest fishing story? I was fishing a farm pond full of cattle and donkeys. The cattle stayed away but the donkey were more curious and hung around. I cast a line and spooked one of them and it charged me. It took a couple of seconds to realize that the stupid donkey was running full blast at me and my only option was to jump off the dam I was standing on. Luckily, the owner's dogs were out there too- and one of them realized that the donkey was charging me. It went nuts and turned the donkey around right at the dam or the donkey would have come crashing down on top of me in the water. My family was all out there. They thought (and still do) it was the funniest thing that has ever happened. I disagree and stay far away from horses, mules, donkeys, bulls, etc. now. 😉

Not a collector of lures, but that's some great stuff. I would think the ducks would be desirable just on uniqueness alone. They're pretty cool.

That's exactly what I was thinking too. If you just want to catch fish (like I do most days) I'd be throwing a Beetle Spin every cast. 1/4oz ones for the bass and the 1/32 for the panfish. 😃

Years ago, the wife and kids wanted kayaks. I was on the fence and bought a cheap one used. I basically hate it- but it's not because it was cheap and used- I also hate the much nicer fishing kayak that my wife got. She loves it. So, when we all go as a family, we bring three kayaks and I either fish from the bank or go look for nature trails to walk. Everybody is happy that way.

Favorite lure of all time. I like the 1/4 oz black split tail for bass and the tiny black grub for everything else. They're just so fun and easy to fish.

I've been fishing mine (black) on 4lb test and about 3 feet under a weighted bobber to get exceptional casting distance from the bank. I also just like catching "fish" so bluegill, crappie and bass are always on the menu with this set-up.

Good job! When it rains here, all I get is muddier water than normal for days. 😐

Never heard of it. Looks really nice. It's about 3 hours South of me. May have to check it out one day when I have time to camp overnight.

That's interesting. I have only fished tubes a couple of times in my life, so never really pay them much attention, but since you mention it- I never see tubes at Wal Mart.

Agree with this. My favorite pond is always muddy water. I've fished it for 20 years and have never seen the underwater weeds that are 2 feet off shore. All winter long, I basically fished a stickbait weightless- sometimes wacky and other times rigged weedless- and had the most success I've ever had in cold water. I rarely throw hardbaits, but the only other fish I've caught have been on Beetle Spins, so the blade vibration does seem to help in that kind of water.