the reel ess

It does seem that pond bass react better to critter baits like a mouse, rat, duck, frog, etc. I guess it's shallow and they can see the surface better. Being shallow, a pond can't hold as much forage fish, so they'll take what they can get. at least that's my theory and it does seem to work out that way. When I primarily fished a larger lake, any time I decided to check a bass's stomach contents it would always be threadfin shad only.

Actually, I've asked 7 people if I may fish their ponds and have only been flatly turned down once and that was because the lady's daughter and son in law use the place as a stay-cation home. She told me she would have been cool with it otherwise. I only fish three of those places now because most ponds are not that great. If neglected, they usually turn into a pool of stunted minnows. Or they think of their fish as pets and don't want any taken out, which leads to the same dink issues. I have noticed that, the older the owner is, the more likely they'll want you to fish their pond. They like to come down and talk with somebody and like the idea of the security of another set of eyes on their property and someone actively managing the fishery. If they like to eat fish, set up a basket and put your catch in it. Or if you eat fish, clean them and give the owner half. Try to come to some arrangement that benefits the owner. One more idea. Do you have a local fish hatchery? We do and it has a managed pond on it. The DNR manager uses people doing community service to mow the grass and do a few chores when he can get them. You could offer to help out once in a while in exchange for fishing permission. If you can't come to an arrangement, don't do the chores.

I dunno, I put out fraser firs for years off the end of my dad's dock in about 8' of water at a lake and a lot of them are still there. I haven't placed any in about 6 years. The needles do go away, but that's mostly an attractant for minnows for crappie. Bass won't "get in" those trees until they're sticks. At least that's my experience. Catfish will stay around them too because of the constant attraction of minnows. As for the crappie, they're seasonal (spring spawn & fall) unless you sink them in very deep water. If you use them, tie them with the trunk in a cinder block or concrete, standing up. I'd still prefer the pipe method for bass because you'll get hung up less on it and they will never rot. I'd place them at different depths in different sizes and shapes. You might also make some rock piles at a couple strategic spots and maybe a logjam or two. You'll learn where they all are and you'll be able to eliminate areas with no cover or structure. I'm envious. It looks like by the time I can afford to do this, I'll be too old to enjoy the fishing.

I started a thread the other day about the Zoom Swimmin' Super Fluke about the durability issue. Someone suggested I try Z Man Elaztech Swimbaits. I bought some 6" Swimmerz and man, do they look good! I'm excited to throw them. But it was apparent as soon as I opened them I don't have a swimbait hook this big. If you're using these, give me your specific hook and size, please. Thanks.

This is true. Confidence comes through success. There are a lot of baits I thought were gimmicky or designed to catch fishermen until I used them successfully. We don't crave failure, so if a bait doesn't work three times...to the bottom of the box it goes, making room for the productive stuff. I know a tourney guy who has zero confidence in spinnerbaits.

They still sell the Shyster around here in mom and pop stores. The blade is not concaved, but wavy like corrugated tin. If it didn't start spinning your cast was wasted. But it was deadly on schooling white and largemouth bass with the occasional crappie and bream.

I haven't bought one since I discovered War Eagle.

I have one and caught a 5 pounder on it in a pond not known for big fish so I left it alone. I was on the fence before.

This one has always been a head scratcher for me. I was catfishing in the rain. I tossed out a small section of hot dog weiner and stepped back under some shelter to wait. I saw my rod bend and went to set the hook. I could feel a short fight, then it changed to a little dead weight drag. I reeled up a dead catfish head, hooked in the mouth. I could understand if it was freshly killed, that a turtle had bitten it off, but it was dead a while. It was nasty with glazed over eyes. The only thing I can imagine was a turtle was munching on a dead cat and I dropped a nice fresh Oscar Meyer in his face. I told my parents because I was a kid and they declined to believe my story. I asked them why I would make up such a stupid lie. My dad and I caught the same bass. Not consecutively, but at the same time. It bit my worm, swam right over and bit his and we both reeled it up. Only time I've caught less than one bass, but more than zero. I think we threw it back because it was such a rare occurrence. Back then we didn't throw much back. My dad had the idea that if you didn't eat it, you didn't really catch it. Old bucket brigadier. I miss him badly.

I'm using the size 40. I've caught quite a few more fish than I thought I would on this bait. I thought they would roll around laughing at it, but it really works! I was using it at a place that is overrun with stunted bass. I had hoped it would cull the babies and it helped, but it did get a lot of bites, even from smallish fish. I did not experience any fouling with the hooks and the body. I almost sunk a hook deep in my thumb though. It even cast a lot better than bigger swimbaits I've used. I've been using a 6-6 M rod for it with 15# mono. It does load the rod quite a bit but the combo seems to do a good job. At least a 7' MH with some tip would probably do a better job. I, too, am using a clip.

4" black with blue flake. It also tells you the hook type and size to use with it so you don't have to figure that out. I usually use a 3/16 oz bullet weight with a black bead between the weight and hook. I bought some in watermelon/candy flake color once and never got a bite so I packed them away in my "reserve box". I also bought a pack of Crazy Legs variety and didn't get any bites. Those have another appendage on them that seems to mess up the action and looks like a lobster to me. Even if you pinch them off it's not the same bait. It could be coincidental tjhat these others didn't produce for me, but the combo of black/blue original seems to really be the ticket for me. It's a confidence thing. And fish really will hold them a long time, giving you time to even make a mistake and still catch them. Big fish like them too.

Yes. Among all the lures, topwaters' color schemes matter the least. If not how could you explain the white frog? I think that is to allow the angler to see it.

My first was a white Mr. Twister brand white curly tail grub on an 1/8 oz. jighead. I wore the crappie out on it one day with my dad and his friend. All they had were poles and minnows. They bought the local tackle shop out on the way home. For bass it was probably a Rebel Deep Wee R. When I got a second combo it became the T rigged 6" worm. It always looked like the nerd of the tackle section, not to be taken seriously, like it was wearing a propeller beanie. But my older cousin wore me out at his little pond using one.

My first fav was the Zoom Super Speed Craw.I couldn't find them anymore in stores so I bought some Berkley Powerbait Chigger Craws and never looked back. Fish will hold these things until next week even if they feel you on the other end. They'll fight ya' for 'em.

My buddy uses a BPS crappie sized bubble gum crank over grass in a shallow lake. He'll just reel it down a few cranks and stop it and let it float up a bit. He has caught a few big gals on this method. I would think a smaller crank with less of an aggressive bill might work well. Like maybe the Bomber A.

In addition to the replies above, you can use a lipless crank in a lake like that with good results. Rat L Trap makes a floating model as well.

If you watch much of Bama Bass's Youtube channel you'll see a lot of that. He does a great job of editing videos and I think possibly even owns a trophy fishery. Either way, he has access to some very large bass. There are some videos of some other YT fishing video personalities going fishing with him to get a new PB. He has his own website with lures for sale. He specializes in frogs, swimbaits, topwaters and very large bass.

You can go but the whole store or you can "get by" with 2 baits for 3/4 of the year: 3/8 oz white 3/8 ox chartreuse I'd go with double willow leaf baits because they offer the drag to go slower. I even use these in the winter. Here's a secret for your 3rd bait: http://www.wareaglelures.com/g05-gold-shiner.html It's my favorite and has been tied on since early spring. It's a bit pricey, but considering it has basically replaced all others, not a bad deal. It flat catches fish. I ordered two more: One for my buddy and a spare for me.

I have had a fish carry around a Chigger Craw while I worked out a backlash. When I finally got it out the fish was buried in a laydown and I had paddle over to the tree and dig it out. I've caught quite a few fish on these that i probably shouldn't have. Big bass will sometimes bite and just sit still. So you don't know they're there until you pull and they bull back. The fact that they don't spit it out tells me a lot.

I recall a pro giving a talk at the local sportsman classic right after the wacky thing broke onto the scene. He talked about how easily a Senko is destroyed and he mentioned getting McDonald's drink straws because they are larger diameter than most straws, cutting them down and using them as a sleeve for the worm. I tried it and it works. My wife grabbed a lifetime supply of them one time she was in McD's and I still have some. I also took a worm with me to the hardware store and bought some heat shrink tube the right diameter to do the same. It works better and is flexible! It's some tough stuff and if you try, you can get a hook barely in and out of it without filling the gap of the hook with plastic.

My dad because he passed away unexpectedly on Mothers Day morning. He got me started fishing for bream, crappie and bass as early as I could stand still and hold a rod-earlier than I can even remember. My desire to fish surpassed his by the time I was 10 or 11. I would beg him to take me on the weekends and we would spend the week at the local lake when he was on vacations. I honestly don't know who I would be without fishing as a pastime or without my parents as role models. I miss him more than I ever thought I would. I got him to go once last summer to a really good pond and he caught a few before he got tired and sat on my tailgate talking to the landowner who is a family friend. I knew that would likely be the last time we ever fished together. Now I wish I had taken pictures.

Top: Topwaters like Spook, popper or buzzbait or a hollow body frog if it's a weedy place Middle: spinnerbait or lipless crank Bottom: T rigged worm/craw or crankbait These options give you access to the entire range of water depth. You can tweak them as you need with other lures, but when you think about covering the entire range of possibilities, you get a better idea of the type lures you need in each. If you only have 3 lures in your box, there might be days when you catch nothing. I fish from a kayak in smaller ponds/lakes. The deepest place I fish has maybe 25' of water at the dam. The shallowest, I could probably stand in.

Every time I ever cleaned a bass and decided to cut the gut open, it was full of shad, minnows or shiners. The minnows could have been any species of fish. I have caught a fish with a crawfish claw hanging out his backside. I hope you feel better soon.

As a famous fisherman once said, If they ain't concerned with the first 100' of your visible line, they won't care about the last 3'. That said, I've been trying leaders all this year and i can't tell a difference. I haven't caught any bigger than 3.5 lbs., but I can't imagine a leader is the cause of that. That's probably because of where I've fished most of the time.

I'm using that one. But, yeah, the screw in hooks should help, and I have some!