smr_hga

Um... This is confusing. My pond has TOO MUCH vegetation not too little. It sounds like you guys are talking about a pond with a small amount of cover... "Some people want a lake that looks like a pool with no vegetation" "Catching is going to be tough until the fish acclimate to the lack of cover and acidity from the die off"

You may be right on. The pond is literally right behind houses and pesticides are often sprayed. That is why i don't eat from there.

Yesterday i went fishing at my neighborhood pond for the first time in a couple weeks. The first thing i noticed was that there was vegetation stacked all along the bank. It turned out that all over the pond there was a crazy amount of vegetation that extended out for about 15ft. What could have caused this and where are the grass carp when you need them? All day i managed to only land one fish on a 1/8oz silver kastmaster spoon. I tried other lures such as a jig, a rat-l-trap, and a frog but got no action. Why is this happening and how do i adapt?

a 3 foot snapping turtle...

I justed tested my new combo in my backyard with 15lb mono and a 1/4oz jig. I must say, this is the most impressive reel i've ever seen. I was slinging 50yds with no backlash, birds nests or any other problems. I've found the right settings and can't wait to try it on the water and catch my first fish with a baitcaster

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I just picked up that Abu Garcia combo i mentioned and will give it a test run tomorrow. The combo is more suited for the lures and line i use so i should have much better results.

That is the conclusion i've come to. I've spotted a nice abu garcia BASS combo that i should hopefully get soon.

If anyone is into inshore saltwater fishing i'd reccomend Zoffinger.

I like zoffinger. He does saltwater fishing though but is still really cool to watch.

I agree. I have been losing a good amount of fish lately and i think this is part of the reason. The bigger the hook(s) the bigger the hookset (i.e Frog).

Well then... There was some useful stuff in there but i dont think backlash is my problem. I mean, literally every cast is a complete dud. I dunno what to do. I think I'll just stick to spinning reels since they actually work. :|

I recently purchased my first baitcasting combo. It is a 6'6" tsunami rod and the reel is a round profile 3.8:1 gear ratio. It is a saltwater combo but i figured i should be able to use it for some bass fishing. The line it was spooled with was too heavy so i replaced it with 15lb mono. The problem is that even with my heaviest lures my casts just flop literally right down in front of me. Obviously my first thought was that it was set wrong. There is a slider on the left side of the rod that when turned down, makes the reel make a weird noise when reeling. So i left it up and the reel sounded normal. I set the star drag accordingly and the tension knob but it made no difference. So in terms of settings my reel seemed fine except for the weird slider that is seemingly useless. Other than that i have no idea what could be wrong.

Sorry guys, the weather was rather cold the past couple months and i haven't done much fishing. When i have, its been with no bluegill caught. I guess this has turned more into a thread for other people to share their big bluegill experiences. I did however just buy a mini chatterbait and i will hopefully catch some big bluegill with that.

I have caught some bigger ones on crankbaits myself. Cool to find someone who has a bigger bluegill PB than me lol. I will also record the girth of my bluegill if i dont have a scale so we can get an estimated weight.

My neighborhood pond has monster bluegill. The biggest i've caught there was 12in (anyone know some good scales? I am looking for one). From now on i will hunt for even bigger ones. I figured i would post my results here. They seem to love bladed baits like spinners and small spinnerbaits. I really feel like there are some true giants in there... I will add more as i fish more...

Do you know if plugs will hold up? I'm definetly a lure fisherman although i will use live bait if i catch a small fish there. I've seen people on youtube catch gar on poppers and stuff. Is that a good method?

Ok i just got back from the new spot. I was about 5 casts in when some old lady came and said that i could not fish there despite the fact that i have been told by multiple people it is a fishing spot. Also the only thing the signs said were no swimming. I ended up leaving, but the funniest part was that as soon as she told me no fishing i caught a bluegill XD. Anyway im going to try a new spot soon that has LMB, bluegill, channel catfish, and gar. Any advice on gar from the 1-5lb range? I've heard i should use plugs so i will fish a popper there.

Do you know any good recipes?

I have tried everything and nothing works. I may be using too heavy line (8lb mono). It has been almost a year of chasing them and no luck so far. They come and eat the corn but nothing on a hook...

I am trying out a new fishing spot soon hoping for some new species besides the normal bluegill, bass, and uncatchable grass carp trio in the neighborhood pond. What species could i find here in the freshwater of florida? I think i'll try a multi species lure such as a spinner. I should also mention it is only about 2 acres so something like crappie probably aren't there. So what species should i look out for and what lures should i try?

Nope i'm stuck on land entirely. Good idea though...

Popper. Dropshot is too mainstream.

My picture is on my phone but it was 24" caught on a tiny beetle bou marabou jig from the bank. Luckily i was with my friend that day and he had a scale. It was 7lbs 2oz.

I'd say i have step 1 down fairly well XD

I should also mention that i don't have a boat. About 99% of tournaments i find are on the water and not next to it.