DitchPanda

So I've always read that there is a good bite for channel cats right after the ice comes off when they feed on winter kill shad. I'm not much of a cat fisherman so I've never experienced it. I do have a pair of ponds close to my house that have good populations of shad and catfish. What areas should I target? How long after ice out does this bite stay good?

That's not fair ...my water temps are hovering right around ice still!

Anybody use these? How you rigging them?

Haha this cracks me up and hits close to home. When I started dating my girlfriend years ago she had never really fished and wanted me to teach her. I recall several times when she looked at me and said how do I know when he has the bait? I'd turn around to see the rod getting pulled straight down but she had no way to interpret what was going on

Check out Nichols on tackle warehouse. They make fantastic baits..they run true,have great colors and are compact compared to big brands like war eagle and booyah. Price is a little higher at $9 but they are also more durable in my experience. Nichols has become my favorite brand the past few years and I'm a spinner bait freak.

TRD on a Ned head or weightless senko

Ain't nothing wrong with that. I've caught 5 bass since ice out...all of them combined wouldn't equal that one in size.

I use the Big Bite Baits 4in creature....almost identical to a baby brush hog.5 bucks for 25.

Honestly in stained water the only color jerk bait I have luck on is bone. Maybe @Bluebasser86 will chime in with some advice....I've seen him throw some interesting jerk bait colors.

That looks like alot more then 5-8 inches clarity to me. Ned and jerk bait should work well in that clarity. I also wouldn't hesitate to throw a spinner bait or even a swim jig with a subtle trailer at that temp.

Trailer on a jig is a must 100% of the time for me. Spinnerbaits its situational...usually in dirty water ill use one. Normally just a white or chartreuse zoom split tail.

Chartreuse or chartreuse white with double gold Colorado's. Shad pattern skirt with double silver or metal flake willow leaf blades.

Went thru a spell when I used them alot...then I switched to quality brands. I'm not going back.

Is the water clarity always like that? 5-8 inches is pretty dirty. I'm not sure the metabolism is the issue...our ice went out Wednesday...I went out Friday caught 2 bass and lost one on the Ned. Water temps in the area are still high 30s from what I've heard. We've had 50s during the day and 20s overnight.

53 is plenty warm and at that temp there should be some moving shallow. Sounds to me like water clarity is the issue...Ned and jerkbaits aren't in my experience very productive in dirty water. I'd target that area of rip rap with a square bill and it target laydowns with a Colorado blade spinner bait and a black blue jig with a chunk trailer.

Yeah I think that's a Texas thing...but I moved from Texas when I was 17...and I didn't drink beer when I was underage because that would be wrong and illegal?

I prefer a fairly narrow bait..baby brush hog...lizard...senko.

I'm not sure what that means...soooooo...thank you?!

I usually fish a Texas rig in grass...or a swim jig

Gonna throw some ribeyes and asparagus on the grill. During the grilling and dinner ill be enjoying a couple shiner bocks !

Went out to a set of local ponds today and all the ice is out. Was typical of super cold water ice out fishing...slow going was the word. Did manage a nice trout and a couple dink bass..also had a few others hooked that I lost. I threw all kinds of stuff...finesse worm,line thru,flashy swimmer paddle tail,flipping tube,jerk bait...all my bites came on a Ned green pumpkin trd(no shock there). May not have been a barn burner but felt good to shake the rust off.

Thank you for sharing and I to am sorry for your losses. Keep fishing man...its amazing the calming and healing powers mother nature can have.

I feel like swim jigs produce better for me in clear water or high pressure...like if I'm fishing over a spot that guys just pounded on. Fortunately I have several small ponds and lakes around that have clean water that do get fished enough for the swim jig to pay off. I also have other ponds that almost always have color to them where a spinner bait or bladed jig always seem to produce better. I will also add that spinnerbaits and bladed jigs always seem to work better for me in colder water then a swim jig. They shine when a lipless does and about that time when the lipless bite drops off for me so does the spinner and chatter bite...that's when I switch to swim jig.

That's the thing about life man if you are fortunate enough to survive you will have the unfortunate task of burying your loved ones. I've lost family...grandparents and distant relatives mostly. But we've had some heartbreakers as well. I lost a buddy at 21 to a drunk driving accident....was riding in the back of a pickup on a gravel road...driver was drunk lost control and flipped...he was thrown several hundred feet and died on impact they said. Two years later when I was 23 had a buddy staying with a cousin who apparently owed some drug dealers...they come looking for the cousin...Alonzo opens the door and says he's not here so they shoot him in the head and run off. They were never caught. Those hit hard. My girlfriend lost her dad at 18...3 months after she graduated. That one was also very tough. By far the hardest one tho was what happened with my girlfriends twin sister. Her and her guy had tried several times to get pregnant but it always ended in miscarriage. Well one time it seemed to be going well...then about 6 or so months in she started having problems. Long story short she carried Grayson but he was born prematurely and his lungs weren't strong enough for this world. He made it about 6 hours on a ventilator until the horrible decision had to be made...poor little guy never had a chance. To say it was devastating wouldn't do it justice. That was 5 years ago last month and typing this now still brings tears to my eyes. Sorry for the long windedness there. But you are right...these things change us..hopefully for the better as they tend to make us grateful and appreciate the things we still have. Life will never be the same but all you can do is try. Honor the memories of those we have lost and keep digging down for the strength to allow ourselves to move on with courage and grace.

Excellent...ill pick some up thanks for the info fellas!