NYWayfarer

Is there anything hanging over the pond? Tree limbs, bushes, etc? I fish a similar pond and have found Bass congregate around a bush that is growing out half into the water. They also gather near the shade of a overhanging tree limb. They are there even at this time of year when the tree is bare of leaves. The shade alone seems to attact them.

I wear regular Crocs most of the time but if I am dealing with slippery boat ramps I wear the Crocs Swiftwater Fisherman Sandal instead. The bottoms on those are better equipped to deal with that issue.

Depends on the time of year to me. For bank fishing right now when it's still chilly at night I like to go out early to late afternoon when the sun has had a chance to warm up the water. In the dog days of summer I will go out early morning before it gets to hot. when I am out on a boat or canoe I go anytime as I can find where the fish are hiding.

Bank first fishing I usually wear some old $19 Champion memory foam sneakers that I don't mind getting muddy. When I am on a boat or canoe it's Crocs for me: They cover enough of my foot to avoid a burn. Slip on and off easy. They float. I don't worry if they get wet when I launch. They clean up easy. Best of all they are comfortable. No Flip flops for me. I have seen to many accidents with people wearing them to chance hurting myself. I am a notorious toe stubber.

If you are near a Field and Stream store the have an exclusive rod and reel, the Lew's Carbon Fire. The rod is new for 2017 and looks great with Winn grips. $49.99 Spinning reel and $79.99 Rod buy the reel get the rod 50% off offer good until 4/22/17 I bought the reel last year and love it. It was my first Lew's.

This pic should be in the fishing meme thread with the caption: "Bought pro qualifier reel...Now he backlashes like a pro."

I hated Fluorocarbon when I first tried it as well. It seemed to jump off the spool and knots would break easy. I have since converted and become a believer for my finesse fishing. I am almost exclusively fluorocarbon on my spinning gear. I solved my issues by: 1) Not filling my spools more than 3 quarters full. 2) Upping the lb test I was using (8lb minimum) 3) Wetting my knots and pulling them slowly to tighten. 4) Recently started using line conditioner. KVD brand and Reel Snot.

I was hoping M.O.A.B. in this thread stood for the Mother Of All Baits...

Nice to see the bright colors don't scare away the fish. Great catch!

I cut Yum Sharpshooters, Warning shots and Kill Shots in half using the back half as trailers. Yum baits are cheap and come in big quantity packs so it's not a waste to me to get creative with them

KVD line and lure conditioner reel snot java line conditioner yum crawfish scent trout magnets in various colors yum dingers 3" pumpkin pepper and green pumpkin pepper 4" morning dawn and tin foil yum pulse watermelon red trout magnets were bogo for 1/2 price and the Yum were $2 each with 5 or more last but not least is the Kastking 10L dry bag formy canoe fishing

Yum Pulse

I use straight 8lb fluorocarbon no braid on a size 2500 reel. I use that reel for drop shot and Ned rigs.

I am not engineering genius by any means but the spool has two sides. The pins apply some resistance to the spool to slow down the spin. What difference does it make what side of the spool the pins are touching to slow it down?

DVT is spot on with advice here. Don't overfill your spool and use some line conditioner. I use reel snot and have dramatically reduced the instances of line getting under the spool.

This sums up nicely why I would say the Ned rig is not great for kids. When I was teaching my son to fish it was a full time job. No fishing for me as I was busy getting tangles undone, snagged lines free and retying lost rigs. The Ned rig would have been a nightmare with the exposed hook. A great rig for kids is a suspended jig. A Trout magnet or ball head jig with a Gulp Minnow or curly tail grub under a float. Have them cast out and slowly reel it in, stopping every foot or so and letting the bait drift back under the float then reel again. This gives more for the kid to do and keep them interested and less chance of snagging. Best of all it works and kids love to see that float disappear. Its like a real life video game to them.

I work for a not for profit organization. Our goal is to keep disabled and developmentally disabled individuals in the community rather than going into nursing homes or institutions. I worked in big business for many years. Made companies lots of money and felt empty inside. Then I got laid off. That was when I took a look at my life and decided my next job had to be different. I help people now and its a great feeling.

Exactly! I have friends that invite me all the time on their boats to troll for Lake Trout and Salmon. Big fish, exciting fight, great to eat but most boring fishing imaginable. Take that from someone who loves finesse fishing for Bass and it means that much more.

I bought a small softsided plano tackle bag. It fits up to 4 plano utility boxes inside or 1 box and 4 gulp jar baits in an included tackle rack. some extra pockets hold my pliers, nippers, wacky rig tool, hook-eze and tape measure. I limit myself to this bag with 2 boxes and several bags of soft plastics inside. I fill it with baits and terminal tackle based on the fishing I am doing that day, bank fishing small ponds or canoeing a large lake or river.

Oldie but goodie thread here. If someone is on a dock don't go near it. Float over to the next one. Unwritten rule of courtesy. Same rule can be used for so many other things. Like walking your dog. If you want to let your dog pee on other peoples mailboxes its Ok as long as they are not sitting on their porch staring at you doing it.

St Croix premier ml/f for 2500 size reel is perfect for Ned rig and some drop shot action

I use O-rings now but in a pinch I have used electrical tape and even the unused rubber bands my son got when he had his braces. Anything to preserve an expensive Senko. Yum Dingers are cheap enough and durable enough that I usually skip the O-rings on them.

No. But you should start to apply pressure before your lure hits the water. The spool has so many holes in it that it spins at warp speed. If you apply thumb pressure too late it will quickly get away from you.

I have an upcoming trip in July to a resort in the PA area that has free use of their canoes and kayaks. This will be my first use of a kayak to see if I like it for fishing. I have a local lake that I can rent a kayak on if need be. To me this is the best way to know if that is something I would be interested in purchasing before I leap in headfirst and regret a large purchase I am never going to use.

Congrats! A great teacher learns as much from his or her students as her or she teaches them. You sound like a great teacher. Keep up the great work. We need more like you.