DitchPanda

I get in a rut sometimes of fishing my local pond just because its close and convenient. Also it usually produces at least a few...don't think I've been skunked since March or April. That said its still good experience different bodies of water and stretch your legs so to speak. A few weeks back I got a good report from a buddy about a pond 30ish minutes from my door. My local was tough so I went to that other pond and had a good morning. Since then I've changed my approach on my local pond..and have had a couple very productive mornings.

I almost always swim it and keep it off bottom..minimizes the weed contact.

Hope we can still be friends..bad taste in music aside I do have redeeming qualities.

My buddies all hate U2 but I love them...can't really explain it.

I have a vast collection of rods and reels...without counting I'd guess 15 casting and 6-7spinning and that's just bass stuff. To be fair I don't buy high end stuff I buy budget to mid range stuff and alot of the time I don't even pay full price. My most expensive combo is around $300. I fish alot so I use the majority of my stuff.

Time of year dependant because of water temp. Cold water (ice out and late fall) I usually start with a jerk bait or lipless and switch to a jig or Ned. Warming water(spring prespawn to early summer)usually buzz bait or spinnerbait\swim jig and again go Ned or jig. Hot water(dog days until early fall) ill start with a popper or swim jig\chatterbait\spinnerbait and switch to wacky worm\ Texas rig or Ned. Some years I throw crankbaits alot in hot weather but my ponds are so shallow I can't even fish them very effectively... So instead I've been throwing a 1\4oz red eye on heavy line and doing on.

Junebug and redbug

Oh god...how did I leave out dark side? Great pick man

So my thought process behind this is when it comes to music most people want to have something unique they love. Everybody likes discovering a new band that nobody knows and turning your friends and family on to them. Also I'm guilty of have those more obscure bands I love that my buddies just don't get. But when I look back over my favorite albums I've got alot of unique stuff, lesser known stuff and of course that stuff that gets over referenced, over played and over analyzed for greatness. But alas some albums or even bands are just that good. So wether you refer to it as cliches or maybe guilty pleasures what are some albums that get a ton of praise that you just can't help but love. For me ill say: Peter Gabriel So, U2 Joshua Tree and the Beatles white album, revolver, rubber soul and Sgt peppers. All these albums are in every major top 100 list of all time albums and they are in the lexicon of pop culture. Also they happen to be fantastic and I love them. What about you?

I've always heard that he's great with fans..very funny and personable.

So I'm sure this has been asked on here a million times but I'm asking anyway. When you get bass...namely largemouth...bunched up and straight sharking shad pods what do you reach for? Maybe like a top 3 go to baits? I've had a tough time lately when they are corraling shad.

Ah yes I forgot that one. Still think I made my point...dudes a stud! When he won the elite at the Delaware river that was chaos. It was like a movie...local dude on a very tough fishery coming thru and beating everybody down.

He has always been one of my favorites. He gets a bad rep because he's over the top and in your face...but if you listen he's also very knowledgeable and easy to learn from. People that mistake his craziness for lack of ability are dead wrong. He's won over $3million in his career...has several minor league and top level wins..a classic win and an AOY trophy. Top that with baits he's designed for Berkley and missile plus his signature rods and reels from Abu Garcia...dudes no joke.

Fishing is just inconsistent this time of year. Got out yesterday for 2 hours caught 10 largemouth a white bass and a drum. Went back out today same conditions same areas...caught 2. Also I haven't found a good evening bite all summer its been all morning stuff. But I had a buddy out crappie fishing Tuesday evening said he saw bass pushing shad against the shore and busting on them almost constantly for over an hour. What have you been throwing?

Yep it can be challenging for size up here. Last year by this time I had 3 bass north of 6lbs...one was actually around 7. Also has several others around 5. My best bass this year is just under 4.5 and we just had a big fish kill in a local pond I usually catch big one in during fall. Oh well still beats work. Could also do what you said and turn to life ruining drugs.

Got out around 630 for about 2 hrs. Caught one on the first cast and it got me wondering if the first cast curse was real. Well the next cast I caught another one and 3 cast later a third. Fished til 830 alternating between a small popper, Ned rig and a 1\4oz red eye. Ended up with 10 largemouth biggest was just over 2lbs a drum and a nice white bass.

Thats strange...usually bigger baits walk much easier in my opinion . I tried my 80 last weekend and it was a breeze to walk. I also threw a rebel P 71 and it was also easy to walk.

No...that's a super spook with a smashed face

So a few weeks ago I asked for large popper suggestions and ended up picking up 4: 2 rebel P71s, a R2S bubble walker and a size 80 Berkley bullet pop. Now my next question- when do you throw a large one instead of a small one? Which size do.you generally prefer?

So my local pond has large populations of shad and various sunfish-bluegills, green sunfish, hybrids. Can always seem to catch bass that are crawfish eaters using a Texas rig or jig. But my confusion comes in as to when to switch from bluegill to shad baits. My experience is bass target bluegills prespawn into summer but generally when do you see the transition from gills to shad. I know you should match what they are feeding on but what if you dont see what they are eating?Wondering when I should change up my swimjig and squarebill colors. Is it a water temp thing? Length of day thing?

I don't have a ton of on the water interaction except with other fisherman that I know personally. I will say this site is filled with generous knowledgeable people.

Top pic is Acapulco gold bottom pic is either afghani kush or Thai stick.

One of my best buddies that I've known for 20 years is actually friends with Troy...guess they have known each other since middle school. Troy lives about 40 miles north of me. Pretty cool. Also the SD largemouth record was broken last year but the previous record was caught 15 minutes from my house.

Just heard that a small pond I fish that's run by the county just had a big algae bloom and it wiped the fish out. Bummer to as I've caught several 6s and an 8 out of it in the past 3 years.

Well I received the rest of my order...all is well.