NCbassraider

I have a "pet" 6lb LMB in my retention pond that I can hand feed minnows. I've seen her attack other fish after several dominant displays like tail slaps and opening her mouth wide to show off her size.

They are territorial and will tail slap when they are annoyed and not feeding. I've seen it many times in a small retention pond next to my lake that I stock. Sometimes if you keeping running a bait in the area after a tail slap they will try to eat it just because they've been angered enough.

The rod is probably ok, not great but switch out your trebles with Gamakatsu hooks and use braid. A medium rod with flouro or mono is too much stretch and you're not pinning them properly.

And I'm still right and you're still embarrassing yourself with every post. You've got a post count of 12 here and half of them are about me. Stalk on and go ahead and take the last word, clearly that's your thing. Fishing obviously isn't.

I certainly have no problem if you eat your catch as long as you or anyone else do so legally. That's your prerogative. I personally do not eat fresh water fish but respect your decision to do so. LMB are certainly not endangered and as long as a life is not wasted, I'm don't care. My point was that it is infuriating to see uneducated anglers mishandle fish then release them. It's disrespectful to the species and mother nature.

I'm continually amazed at how few people carry a scale.

Your off to quite a start here. Let it go already.

That's great. Can you give me the winning powerball numbers while you're at it?

You are giving examples of accidents that can occur while fishing that are not always in our control. Mishandling a fish is something that we can all control. Further, I would rather someone fillet and eat a bass than lay it on the ground. At least it's not a wasted death. Look, you are obviously young and I'm not going to try to debate you because when I was young I thought I had all the answers too. I think you and the OP will make a better effort after reading these comments whether or not you care to admit it. If not, that's your prerogative. Karma is a ***** though. Keep that in mind.

This 6 pounder isn't my PB but I caught it about 30 seconds after my Ned-rig-hating friend declared that Ned doesn't produce big fish. He was at BPS the next day buying Ned rig tackle.

This sentence is all I needed to read. It proves everything else you wrote is disrespectful to the species and ecosystem in general. Nobody is going overboard about anything. We are just simply stating that harming the fish can easily be avoided. A 6-7 year old fish is a beating incredible odds just by living that long. Keeping it healthy ensures it can return to grow bigger and also to reproduce. A fish like that is strong and smart and those are the genes we all want reproducing. If you've ever caught a fish that was in the advanced stages of skin infections, you would agree it's probably a rough way for a fish to die.

You don't know it's fine and my guess is it will probably die. A fish hooked through cartilage is in no danger of dying. Laying it on marine carpet or even worse, dirt will kill them. Just because it swam off doesn't mean it is fine. It will most likely develop infections and die a slow, suffering death. There is a reason MLF now penalizes Pro Anglers for any fish that touches marine carpeting or any part of the anglers body besides their hand. It's bad for the fish. Just learn and move forward.

They are not meant to touch anything but water. They have a protective coating on their body that keeps them safe from bacterial infection. Handling them with dry hands or placing them on any dry surface diminishes their chances of survival exponentially. This is why MLF gives penalties for a fish that touches marine carpeting. An absorbent material like a paper towel is like a death sentence. If you have to lay them down use a silicone net. Always wet your hand before touching them.

The Ned rig is a perfect example. It is a winner in deep, dark water and barely wiggles.

Like the OP, I am in NC. Its has been very hot until just 2 days ago when daytime temps just dropped into the 70's so water temps are still close to 80 as of today but dropping fast with these cool nights. They are not quite chasing yet so it is still senkos, jigs, etc. here. The coming days should see them start moving more and cranking season will be under way.

I've fallen in love with the bankroll jig, or structure jig this summer. It gets through summer grass but stands the bait straight up on the bottom like a neg rig so it can be worked slow in warm water and still get through grass. Caught a lot of fish this summer on it when nothing else worked.

It's 4 max, probably a little less. Doesn't have the mouth or eyes of a 5+. Those who have caught a bunch over 5 know what I'm talking about. More importantly, keep it off the grass and give it a chance to grow bigger. It's probably over 6 years old. It would be a shame if it was killed my mishandling.

The LM looks like it still has a hoot in it's mouth. Seriously, a paper towel is one of the worst things you can put a fish on if you are planning on releasing

They will do that. They grow up to 30 lbs and eat half they're body weight in fish each day. Do the math on that. If you get a family of them in there they will clean out a pond fast. They only come in well after dark and leave before sun up so you have to be out at night to see them. They usually return to the river system or lake they came from before dawn.

Update?

Try to get at least 1/3 of the pond as deep as you can. The most important thing will be aeration. Since it is a new pond, put line aerators on the bottom. They are not very expensive and will be the most effective, and you will not see them working. As you dig it out, save all the rocks you can. Use them to line the edges of the pond for support and also build rock piles in open water. They provide perfect cover for bait fish, much better than PVC fish structures , which I have found to be marginal at best. DO NOT put fertilizer in your pond. I don't know why people recommend this but you will have nothing but algae. Do not fertilize your lawn anywhere near your pond. Do not have a camp fire anywhere near the pond. Do not mow grass clippings into the pond. These things will all help algae grow. Aeration will help keep algae away. Also, google "beneficial bacteria". It will help you water greatly as your pond gets older. Christmas trees are a bad idea in small ponds. Everything organic you put in your pond will decompose and as it does, release ammonia and nitrates which feed surface algae growth. Decomposition also depletes oxygen from the water. If you have to use wood, use cedar but strip all the green off first. Rock, PVC and even tire piles are better options. Spend money on aeration in some form. At least a fountain that will provide an area of oxygenated water for the fish if levels get low or the pond turns over. It will save your fish.

I own an 8 acre pond and get asked almost daily for permission to fish it. Unfortunately the answer is always no. The main reason is that it is located on my business property and my insurance policy will not allow it. Unfortunately, that is the world we live in. If someone gets hurt or dies on my property the personal injury lawyers will line up and clean me out and my Insurance will not cover any of it. To be honest, I don't want anyone else besides my friends and family out there anyway. We worked very hard to be able to afford this property and don't want a bunch of extra pressure on the fish from strangers. I always treat those that ask with the utmost respect since the did the right thing. Sadly many just ignore the Posted signs and sneak on. Those people get the Game Warden, who I have on speed dial. He likes crappie fishing and I like fast response time;)

All the time. Any bait with bluegill coloration does well here.

I've got massive blue gill in my lake. That's a 5" jerkbait this guy tries to eat. They attack all the bass baits. I've been told to get them out to protect the bass population but I find it hard to cull a fish that has lived this long.

The Rapala for about $1 at BPS does the job just fine.