Drew03cmc

I'll have to try that!

Hey, I'm stumped. We just finally broke the ice and water is still in the mid to upper 30s, maybe 40. I fish a 1 acre pond, 5 acre pond and 7 acre lake near home and I can't buy a bite. The depths might get to 12 feet maximum, lots of shallow structure, one has a fountain. I've heard to toss jerkbaits, but from shore, I have less than zero confidence. I have Yozuri 3DB suspending minnows, Pointer 78s and Lightning Pointers. I'm unsure if a jig would work for me as the bottoms are mucky, mud, leaves, moss, etc. Lipless baits will come into play when water breaks 45 or 48 for me, as will spinnerbaits and chatterbaits, but right now, I am open to suggestions. One pond in particular, I have great success in spring and summer with weightless Trick Worms, Fin-Eke Worms and BBB Trick Sticks, but again, early season fishing is kind of new for me. Any suggestions, I'm all ears. Thanks guys.

I have the Magnum and I have no complaints.

Fluoro is for leaders in my mind. I hate it as a mainline.

Whatever reel is in my hand. It may be a 6.3 Mettle, 6.5 Piscifun or Ardent (same Haibo reel), 7.1 Lew's, 7.1 Fuego CT, 7.3 Piscifun (same Haibo as above), or 8.1 Fuego CT...no rhyme or reason.

I often toss weightless Trick Worms on a 6'6" M casting rod with 8lb copolymer on a smooth, lightweight reel.

Pink Trick Worms are amazing. I also have pink Bass Pro Fin Eke worms in my assortment. The pink worms have caught me more fish in the last 12 months than almost anything else.

I have 78s, but I guess I need to try the 65 in winter. Our ponds are so mucky that jigs are hard to use.

I fish a handful of ponds from 1 to 10 acres outside of Kansas City. Water temps are around 35 degrees and I'm jonesing for a bite. I've tried a Ned rig, slow rolled a chatterbait, but can't get bit. I'm wondering what your approach would be. Most of these have a max depth of about 12 feet. I'm considering taking a wacky rig setup and tossing some Senkos or Trick Worms, Finesse Worms, etc. Maybe crawl a jig, but the bottoms are weedy still. Any ideas please?

6" Triple Trout and 7" Slammer are my 2 exceptions to the rule. In fact, I have a 7" TT I'd part with @ratherbfishin1 if you're interested. They get chewed and a big crankbait rod will sling them. This weighs around 2.2oz and swims like a dream. It has new #1 Owners on it. The TT line of baits is my go to when I'm slinging bigger baits. I don't like glides much and don't toss the bigger softies.

If you're reliant on technology to do it for you, you'll never learn. Tape your spool and go skip baits. Casts don't often need to be longer than 60 feet or so, so practice, practice, practice. Get out there and make it happen. I learned by accident.

I have yet to catch anything on them, but the one time I've slung them (damned ice) I love the action and they skip forever. Great for creeks in the 3/8 and 1/2oz sizes. I can't wait to grab a few more for use this summer. Anyone who thinks 1/2oz is too big for a small creek hasn't weighed their spinnerbait and trailer, jig and pig, chatterbait and trailer or their 1/8oz head and 3.5" craw. All are at or in excess of 1/2oz, easily.

It's clear.

I skip with a Mettle, Ardent Apex Tourney, Piscifun SAEX (same Haibo model as the tourney) and an Ardent Apex Magnum. You can skip all weights. Hudd gills skip very well, as do Dark Sleepers. I have some Jackall baits I bought due to their uniqueness and ability to skip in creeks and shoreline structure.

12# Hybrid

I have never really tossed chatterbaits, so that's number one. Number two is probably to improve my frog fishing.

I've been using a cheapie 6'6" M Sojourn with 8# Hybrid. It does well for me.

6.8:1 Lew's LFS, covers both bases.

Honestly, for creek smallies, I'm using my 6'6" MH H2O Ethos casting rod with 12# Hybrid. I don't fish small baits, actually, I'm fishing baits from 1/4oz buzzbaits, Plopper 75 and spinnerbaits up to a Jackall Deraball (7/8oz). I don't see the need for tossing the tiny stuff. That's just how I do things, but to each their own.

Big Bite Trick Sticks are great, as are the BPS Stik-O. I've caught fish on a Super Spot and on Red Eye Shad as well as a Vibration-X Jr. Honestly, they all do the same things. The hooks and paint was nicer on the MB, but they all work.

7:1 is the most versatile to me. My reels range from 6.3 to 7.5 depending on company and model.

Jackall makes killer baits. I can't wait for warmer water to try a Kaera as well as my Pad Crashers, Teckels and toad baits. I am sorry, I am having a hard time with this. You get cut by braid (the right tool for the job) so you want to use a rubber band to set hooks on a frog at distance. If using mono, go to, at the least a H power rod. I, personally, use 50# braid on a 7'3" H power Ethos HD, even in clear water. It just makes more sense to me. I also toss soft swim baits like the 5" weedless Rising Son on a 6/0 Beast 1/4oz hook on this combo.

At those Academies I have purchased 15 bags of Zoom for $.48-.98ea, Owner hooks for 1.98, RatLTraps for 1.98, 2 6'6" MH Mettle rod and reel combos for $19.98ea. I'm waiting for a good deal on a 6'6" M Ethos or better... @Russ E go to Scheels. I got 2 bags of Noisy Flappers for 1.99ea. They have lots of Crazy Flappers and Easy Shiners on sale too.

That is no lie. I'm going to go try a weightless Trick Worm next time my local water is ice free. I toss jerkbaits, but have zero confidence in them and often dredge bottom, even with a Pointer 78SP. I'll be using my M spin rod for the Trick Worm. Any color suggestions guys?

They seem extremely gimmicky. I'll pass.