Biglittle8

My dream retirement! About 10 more years! I fish mainly ponds in our neighborhood, all within probably 2 miles from my home. I am lucky, as there is almost zero pressure from other anglers. I try to rotate every couple days to give the ponds a rest. If I wanted to fish a boat, Sutton is on the way home from work about 5 miles. I just tote the boat to work. Also have Shearon-Harris and Jordan lake about 2 hrs. Away.

I'm just across the Cape Fear and Brunswick rivers south of Wilmington.

As some of you may have heard, we had a tornado here in N.C. last night. 3 fatalities and lots of damage. It was about 20 miles from my house. So, we had mild temperatures (66 degrees this a.m.) we have been getting the wet(not frozen) end of this storm and it has filled our ponds to capacity. I knew of a pond that produces nice fish, (both numbers and size) when it's flooded. The fish all hold up in one area of the pond especially if there is a good wind driving food items toward it. I had no luck for about 30 minutes but then hit this big girl in about 3 ft of water! I hardly felt her hit my lure. But, once she figured out the con, she put up a great fight! I have caught several fish in the 7lb range, but she was the best yet at 7lbs 8ozs. It looks like Pre-spawn is starting here.

I always seem to complicate things! ?

The bite has been picking up a little the last few days here in Wilmington, N.C. There are a lot of small to medium size ponds in the golf course community I live in that I fish almost daily. I have been able to catch good quality fish most of the winter using Traps and jerkbaits. I went to the smallest pond in our " Chain" and couldn't get a hit to save my life. So I decided to check my pack and see what else I had to throw. I found a 3/16 oz "Biffle Head" and rigged it with a purple stick dipped in JJ's. I fished it in a drop,shake,crawl and lift fashion. About 2 minutes into my second cast, I had a nice fish on the line. I fought it for about 10 seconds and never got it to the surface before losing it. Frustrating, But it was fun! (Always check your drag setting PRIOR to casting) I did however land Two smaller fish and remembered just how fun and effective the Biffle head is if you want to fish slow. Anyone else use the Biffle on a regular basis? How do you fish it?

I also add sugar to my chili ... it's supposed to cut down the acidity?? Chili and smoked meats are the only dishes I make that don't have microwave directions.

What a perfect memory to keep of your Grandpa! How did we ever get by without the Plano 3700? ?

Rattle-trap, texas rigged bass assassin's 7" worm. Chatter bait with chunk Jr. Dipped of course.

I have had great luck with Zoom trick worms...texas style. Color: Red with Black core.

JJ's... don't spill it. My garage smells like a pizza parlor. Garlic galore.

+1 on the smoker! It's the only thing I can cook with. Beef tenderloin and a small Boston butt.

How much is the insurance policy on all that treasure? ? I hear BPS is looking for a new supplier!

Nice fish! Congrats!

On hot summer days, I sometimes use my regular texas rigged worm but add a 1/8 oz split shot about 2 ft up from my rig. I use it to drift creek beds and channels that have steep drop offs that are fairly close to the shoreline. It gives the bait a different look when falling or working it like a drop shot. The most success seems to come when not lifting the bait up too far before letting it fall back to the bottom.

I like the"Adapt or Die" strategy myself! ?

+1 on that. 6 fish today, all in close. I actually watched two hit my bait! Low 40's here. Rattle-trap , fast and relatively shallow. 3 were 3+lbs. I did catch one on a drop shot with an 1/8 oz weight with a Roboworm dipped in JJ's.

That's why they call it an ADDICTION ? Been there done that! I was fishing at Lime lake in NY when I was a kid, first cast with a jointed Pikie Creek chub hauled in a load of weeds and was shaking my line on the surface of the water about 10ft out and a very large musky nailed it! I lost that fish right at the shore, I had no net. To me that incident epitomizes the excitement of fishing! I fished all weekend without another bite... But, I knew something could happen on ANY cast!

I just like to fish. I don't mind catching either. When it comes to "Catching" some days are diamonds...some days are coal but at least I'm able to be tossing bait!

Going home! ☹️

Rattle-Trap is one of my favorite lures, I've caught a lot of bass ripping that through weed beds and along the banks. That lure moving fast, provokes some of the most vicious strikes I've ever had.

Roger that! I catch a lot of fish in the winter ripping a Rattle-Trap through the water at a pretty good speed with my rod tip controlling the depth to keep it just above the weeds.

I usually use a locator lure, a lipless like a Rattle trap or square bill crank bait to find where they are hanging out. You can cover a lot of water in a short amount of time. Then adjust my technic to work those areas. +1 on Bassman's wind comment, I found that mature bass have learned to exploit the wind to conserve energy and let the prey come to them.

Thanks for all the input! I guess the consensus is they work in more situations than not.

I fish a lake with a lot of sunken timber so I get hung up a bit . Wondering if anyone uses a lure retriever. If so, does it work well? What brand? I just ordered an H2O brand. Has anyone used that brand retriever before? Thanks!