lynxcat

Temperature changes and heavy rain in Texas made yesterday tough at my local pond. Caught one on a swim jig and had a couple small hits but that’s it. Typically catch 8-12 in the same amount of time so it was disappointing. Today, I’ve got a few different looks tied on: - Chartreuse Craw Red Eye Shad Lipless - Jackhammer Golden Shiner with a Glacier Rage Menace - Ned rig...TRD in Perch on a lightweight Owner Blockhead (weedless EWG for Ned rigs) I’ll start with the reaction baits and but the Ned is my ultimate fallback option.

Anything Zoom, Big Bite, or Yum pretty much knocks it out in the budget category!

Great website...but let’s not act like it’s charity.

I use 1/4 the most followed by 3/8. I own maybe one 1/2 jig. I can cast a 1/4 plenty far and it doesn’t get caught up in the muck as bad.

Fogy, caffeine Shad, ned rig, neko...those basically have me covered. I’ll occasionally throw a jig if I target larger fish that aren’t hitting reaction.

One nuance is spinning vs casting. Quality reel matters more on spinning than casting if you are going to use light line and drag needs to be smooth.

Bought on Prime Day for $17. Already received it - happy customer!

Braid + FC leader...basically always.

I have the owner EWG and I’ll probably never go back to a regular ned head.

No idea but I think my local ponds are packed full. Tons of dinks but I recently caught a 6lb and 4.5lb in back to back days. I see very few bluegill and hundreds of thousands of baitfish, so maybe that adjusts the numbers.

Googan’s are annoying but they have a recipe that works across social media platforms. They grind out building a fan base and post consistently on an almost daily basis. Nonetheless, they are building interest in fishing and I’m thankful for it. There are definitely more educational channels but they are too informative and stale to capture the attention of younger audiences. If someone loves the hobby, then they will eventually “graduate” from the Googans.

I exclusively fish neighborhood ponds and I do think there is behavior differences that still take place. However, it’s not as dramatic as bigger bodies of water where fish can move from deep holding / ledges to shallow creeks, etc. The variation in ponds is much more subtle typically so there could be movement but it’s limited by the space and available structure. Right now, I’m seeing a lot of baitfish activity. Chatterbait has become my absolute go-to bait and it’s targeting the bigger fish which is great. Finesse works but I’ve caught way too many small fish. I’ll save that for the winter when the reaction bite slows. I’m going to try the Caffeine Shad today along with a Fogy.

That’s an expensive order!

Yes, recently started fishing them. Owner blockheads are my favorite but I also have used Lifted and the Zman branded EWG (more weedless style head than blockhead). I haven’t had the bend out issues with the EWG variants. I also like the Pro versions of the ned heads which are a bit stouter. The original zman neds rarely get used anymore albeit I have a number of them.

I recently started fishing the Fogy from SO and it’s awesome. One thing that has stood out to me is how dramatically different the action is between the Fogy and Chatterbait. The CB is a constant, consistent, and immediate light thump and the bait runs more “true to line” (not necessarily a straight line but less hunting). The Fogy (and I’m thinking this has to do with being a football head and the shape of the blade) has a completely different action. It thumps much harder and it hunts in every which direction on the retrieve. I find a lot more randomness on the retrieve with the Fogy. The thump is less consistent as the bait dances throughout the retrieve. I’ve only used a 1/4 oz version so far and I’m intrigued on whether this evolves any with heavier weights. These are different enough that I am starting to view them as unique offerings versus being more interchangeable.

I have never changed out trebles but I also rarely fish cranks, lipless, or jerkbaits. I pond fish 99.9% of the time and they often have too much grass for these to be feasible. I catch bass up to 5lbs but 2-3lbs is more normal. It hasn’t been an issue for me. The only hooks I’ve bent out with any consistency were Ned heads...that’s on me being too aggressive with light wire.

I just bought a bunch of Siebert products based on the recommendations from this forum. I’ve had a ton of success with them so far; namely, the Fogy. I’ve been through a 1/4 ounce in Alimony with a gold blade. It’s terrific in the ponds I fish here in Texas. I’ve threw the mini swim jig in Bluegill today and caught three nice LMBs on it. I’ve got an assortment of 10 or so for my initial order and excited to try the rest!