Blue Raider Bob

I was actually looking for this same sharpener but I guess they are no longer available.

Looks like you lip grabbed a Walleye! Our LM don't grow teeth like ya'lls in Texas. Sure that was a bass??

What is your go to sharpener when on the water? For instance, Ned rigging in current around rocks get me a lot of hangups. When pulling free, often it results in dull hooks. For me personally, I can't seem to get my hook sharp enough again and often just change jigs rather than chance losing the big one.

Katie, that beast could eat all 58 bass I caught yesterday....actually it may have. She is huge! It looks so peaceful in that grass. When you laid her back in the water, did you take a moment to absorb and enjoy your blessings? What a paradise on earth! Pat that is interesting and let me share a pond observation from yesterday. I am usually in the house before dark, but I went fishing yesterday, got home late for supper, did some farm work, then went to the pond as it was getting dark. One thing I noticed was the bass became MUCH more active after the sun set. I could see several blow-ups in the algae after the dock lights came on, where as while it was still daylight, the LM were quite. Wanted to stay longer but the skeeters became active as well!

Somebody robbed a bank! Either that or you are seriously much loved!!!!! Happy Birthday!

Got a break in the hot weather and I haven't fished in three weeks so I headed for the Cumberland yesterday. Weather was drizzly and overcast with light winds. I could not have prayed for better conditions. The little ones were eating like sharks as usual but the big ones were scarce, (as usual). Used the same soft plastic all day and caught 58 in six hours. Changed jig hook several times but really used the same trailer for all 58, (plus several that came unbuttoned). Didn't break off once. Could have caught lots more but I was off the water before 4:00 so I could get home in time for momma's homemade kische. Our spring bought chicks are laying so we had the big brown eggs and garden tomatoes. The Cumberland is a great place to get your confidence back after some less than pleasing trips numbers wise. Is has six pounders I'm told, although I have never witnessed one. My PB is 4-7, but it has scads of little Spots and Smallies, and is just a beautiful river. I seriously cropped my picture to remove as much of Sasquatch as I could but it left very little fish!

Finding a new pond must have been a thrill. Nothing like the excitement of fishing new waters. Glad you got to take a kid fishing. That is something they will never forget.

Observations for 8-22 Included one teenage Racoon that now lives at the Harpeth River, (that make eight in the last two months), a couple of late born fawns, and a whole lot of brand new BG fry. We all know that BG spawn several times a year but it is important to me to witness the knowledge imparted from others. I can see daily the different spawn classes of BG from my dock when I tap on my bug zapper, and the nightly catch falls to the surface. The small BG are quick to use this food source and all sizes are present. After a few moments the larger BG make an appearance and the frenzy usually brings on an explosion dockside. The little BG are quick to regroup and continue to use the mana from heaven. While all this was occurring yesterday, I noticed lots and lots of little bitty fry. Always encouraging to me to witness new generations. I'm also very curious as to when this will end. Is the the last spawn, or will this continue into the fall? Hope to have these answers. It is amazing to me the animal, and plant life this "artificial oasis" has attracted. So many creatures call this former pasture home.

Love that #1 you got to fish with your dad! And #2 He guided you while you got to fish! Believe me, he had more fun than you did. Forever memories right there! I can remember my dad holding on to Willow tree branches and telling me just where to drop my cricket. Sure, I was giggling, but his smile stretch from ear to ear!

Yep! Works for me when all else fails. Sometimes it seems to me we tend to get away from the lures that once worked for us in favor of the latest trend, (which I'm not knocking because I'm guilty as well), but the lures we used as kids, and the lures our dad's used were used for a reason.....they worked! In an earlier thread I described how I tried to convince my high school fishing buddy, who was visiting, to use my modern, up to date, fishing lures and techniques while he was content to use the Mister Twister curly tails we used when we were kids. I was much too "sophisticated" to use something so dated in the 21st century, so I nursed my Neds along while he unhooked Bass after Bass! Just a reminder to myself to not take our passion so seriously and remember why we do what we do. For me it's the sheer joy of being on the water.

I love it when I loose track of my catches. Doesn't happen often but there's always hope.

Beautiful Picture! My dad made this. Nothing stirs my heart more than a steam engine and memories of dad.

Thank you so much for sharing! I could stare at these pictures for hours and just day-dream.....actually that is just what I am going to do! I am dreaming of Maine, Alewife fattened Bass, and sausage and taters! Wish I had some of your lilypads. Mine are no-shows. What are the plants with the purple flowers? Katie, Charlie Daniels always said that "Tennessee was God's Country". I'm beginning to thing his view was a bit narrower than It should be. I'm going to expand it as far as Maine!

Shot of what? Don't take a shot of anything stronger that iced tea and go to BPS with a credit card! Not a good mixture! You might leave there with a new boat!

Super funny Spankey but now the visual will remain with me all day! Glad you didn't get stuck so bad it ruined your day.?

You are spot on with this! I tried it yesterday and ended up going home after five hours even though I fish under an umbrella. The heat and humidity were oppressive......that and the fact that I couldn't hardly catch anything except for a few dinks and one really fat Blue Cat. Either she was full of eggs or she wiped out an entire Shad year class! Wish I could spend summers on Katie's bogs and winters on the Tennessee river.

What type of rod/reel combo are you comfortable with? Most use either an open faced spinning reel, or a baitcasting reel. For the beginner, I would recommend the spinning reel. It is a little more user friendly. The lures you mentioned will all catch fish in the right setting but to start out, I would use something a little less aggressive. Try a Mister Twister 2 to 3" curlytail on an 1/16 to 1/8 oz. Ball jighead. Everything in the water will show interest. I prefer to slow things down and work a jig close to the bottom but for a beginner, this may result in lots of hangups and spoil the fun. Welcome to the site and prepare for lots of help. As far as a rod/reel combo, it depends on your budget. Mitchell makes a cheap spinning combo called the Avocet for under forty dollars if you just need something to get started, but don't let the price fool you. It is a really good combo for under forty. I own six. If you want something better then these guys and girls can give lots of great advice. Good Luck!

My pond is completely surrounded by plant life and I have lots of dragonflies. We used to call them (Snakedoctors) back in the swamp. Don't know why but that's what they were referred too. Love to watch them and I have several different species. The ones that sit with their wings straight out are Dragonflies, and the ones that sit with their wings straight back are Damselflies. They are very territorial. They select a piece of the waterside and patrol back and forth, frequently clashing with interlopers. All part of the pond magic! Just ordered twelve more water lilies for a total of 18!

Thanks again for making me think and not giving in to stocking grass carp. I have ordered 5 Lotus and six water lilies. This is not much but its a start. I just need to reduce nutrient load to reduce algae.

No way Alex! If you were a bass living near Katie, your butt would be in the canoe! And BR would be viewing your pictures! You'd be a lot safer living near me!

With zero measures from me I would be concerned about eutrophication and algae growth. I run an air pump to diffuse the air and increase oxygen and microbe availability. Assuming zero measures means this would conclude. Therefore, I would also assume that the pond would follow a natural path towards eventual eutrophication stages resulting in shallow water bog land, then wetlands. I am comfortable that this process would take decades to achieve owing to the depth I was able to realize. I am at eight feet at the deepest point with a great deal between four and five. I lost a large LM (about 17"), and a dozen or so BG so far in this warm spell, but the fish still seem to be active. The little ones readily use the feed pellets and bugs from my zapper, and the LM still worry the devil out of them. We have gotten a break in the weather which has dropped the water temp a couple degrees and the air pump runs constantly. Molly showed up last evening after a four day absence. Strange how I have become so attached to this animal that I worry about it when she not around. I forgot to mention that I am getting a secchi disk reading of 24" so water clarity/ quality is good.

There is a thick muck base atop the plastic in most areas except in the middle. I moved my air pump to the dock yesterday now that it has power. While doing so, my dumba$$ dropped the air pump in the water, so I had to go get it. The water is only a little more than three feet around the dock so it wasn't a problem but it confirmed that there is only a slight muck buildup away from the banks. Also, the water was very, very warm. The banks are lawn with a 12" thick boundary of weeds, grasses, and water plants, so I do not get a silt ingress. What I do get is an accumulating layer of dead algae every year that settles. The liner is well covered and camouflaged with dirt, muck, and algae. I moved dirt over the edges when the pond was built and the plant life has secured the dirt banks.

Thank you for the info. I am researching aquatic plants that reduce nutrient and algae in farm ponds. My pond is not a natural pond. It is a plastic lined pond but it has accumulated several inches of much in many areas. Also I have many plastic half drums that I can plant. Appreciate you getting my brain working again because I really did not want to go back to Grass Carp. I have had good luck in the past with water lilies but they did not come back after I removed to thin.

In the four years of the dock, (it was built in April of the following year), the ceiling has weathered and also been the home of Eastern Phoebe's every year, and countless mud wasps. I liked it better new but we all age. I can scrape the nests away but it is still dirty. The wood is Canadian Spruce from Way North Guys neck of the woods.