chestnut

Thanks for all the responses!

It's all private and C&R is only a request. I've got 2 votes now for the ice chest and aerator so I'll investigate that. Whopper-Stopper, your post raises another question I've had. I too, have sometimes been releasing fish a 100 or so feet from where I'm fishing -- if I'm concentrating on one spot and I've wondered how long it takes that fish to get back to where I caught him. Physically, he's able to do it in a few seconds, but I wonder if they do that.

Thanks, I'll check out the fish basket AND a battery-operated aerator. The former sounds like a lot less trouble but probably has the disadvantage of still allowing the fish to dump pheromones into the water (although they might not in a basket). Still, they would only be in one part of the pond, away from their buddies. One thing I've noticed about these ponds is that spinner-baits don't seem very effective. I'm wondering if they see too many of these. They see a lot of worms, though, and still go for those, so, dunno.

So, then, what's the answer? And when you say they won't live long in the bucket, like how long are we talking? (Maybe I'll just have to experiment to find out. BTW, all the fish I've caught so far have been below 2 lbs. -- and often are 1/2 pound or below.) I guess I could take 2 buckets, and switch the fish back and forth every X minutes. LOL

The ponds I fish are so small (some are less than 1/3 acre) that I am concerned about the fish I catch and release making the other fish "lure shy" for the rest of my fishing session. Yesterday, I caught a 2 lber after 3 minutes of fishing and got no bites at all for the next 2 hours after that. So, I've been thinking about taking a plastic bucket with me and putting all fish I keep in there until I leave and then releasing them. But, I've heard some people talk against this practice. Questions: 1) Is it reasonable to believe that catching and releasing a fish will make the remaining fish less likely to bite? 2) Will putting fish in a bucket for a couple of hours harm them?

Hey FatBoy, have you tried your C-rig yet? I decided to try one today in a pond that's about 200 feet across. I used a 1/2 ounce pre-assembled rig and an 18 inch leader. I was really doubtful about feeling a fish -- especially out at 100 feet, but after several casts I felt a bite. I tried to set the hook, failed, got another bite, tried to set the hook and failed, got another bite and when I tried to set the hook, it felt a little "different". So, I reeled in and found an 8 inch catfish on my hook!! So, I'm satisfied about being to feel a strike through the weight!!!

That music gave me a headache!! It was interesting the way the fish always turn back after taking a spinnerbait. Also interesting to see them spit them out, sometimes.

Fatboy, I thought distance might be the reason. Good point about the presentation. Fortunately I can get to the center of the ponds I fish with a T-rig and a 3/16 oz bullet weight.

What's the advantage of a C-rig over a T-rig in this situation? Also, doesn't the C-rig reduce the ability to feel the fish on the worm (something we beginners already have trouble with)?

Thanks! Sometimes (all the time?) I just charge right past stickies without seeing them. I really like this technique because I'm antsy when I get out to the pond and slow worming is hard for me to discipline myself to do. Plus on these ponds, letting a worm fall all the way to the bottom and then pulling it through the weeds is going to lead to a weed encrusted bait very quickly. I'm off to read about Senkos!

I'm new to artificial worms. They had just been "invented" when I quit fishing, as a young adult. Anyway, I've gotten the impression from reading and watching other anglers at the small ponds I fish, that you slowly retrieve the worm across the bottom, or -- if in a boat -- merely drop the worm down and jiggle it a little, then retrieve and try again a little distance away. Yesterday, however, a guy showed up and caught 2 bass in 15 minutes (about what I normally get in a 2 or 3 hour session). He was using an artificial worm (nothing special, he showed me it was a brown colored Yamamoto of the type I think are called "senkos", with no weight, and using a 4/0 hook. He was very active and covered a lot of surface by casting out about 30 or 40 feet and then retrieving pretty rapidly by raising his rod tip, lowering it and reeling up the slack, and then raising his rod tip again. I suspect the worm was being pulled almost to the surface and then allowed to sink to the top of the weed bed (only 2 or 3 feet) over and over. So, is this a known worming technique? Does it have a name to distinguish it from the slower type of fishing worms that I see others use? I certainly like the fact that it keeps you busy, like casting and retrieving a spinner bait, and I know it works!

A belated thanks to KU, from me too! (Hey, I actually used the search function. ;-)) I *had* been taking my battery-powered drill with me to solve this little problem but now I can put that away and just take a plastic bag!! ;D

Thanks, good info.

Thanks, well there are at least two bass in there! I caught one, about 3/4 pound, last night. I've also twice had one on my line that looked like about two pounds. From what you're saying Sly9879, they're not too bright, which is good! I'll take the suggestion of using a different lure each day as that will allow me to work through my collection. I like hearing that you caught the same bass 15 times in one year as it may come to that here. I like this pond because no one else fishes it. Also, I'm using it to learn techniques and lures on. BTW, I did catch the bass last night by standing at a "V" where I could cast along the bank.

I'm just getting back into bass fishing after a 40 year hiatus. There's a pond about 2 minutes from my house, about 1 or 2 acres in size that I would like to fish every afternoon. My question is, by doing this will I make the bass in there so aware of my presence that they'll stop striking lures? How smart are they? How good are their memories? Other questions along the same lines: Does it make sense to cast the same type lure over and over in basically the same place -- or do you have to keep moving around the shore? Does a bass that sees a lure go by once realize that he's being tricked when he sees it again or is he too stupid to think that way and will strike it eventually, if you put it right in front of him? Alternatively, are the fish moving around and by casting in the same place you're actually "bringing" the lure to different fish?