PondHoppinPete

Good question. Based on your 6lber and The Reel Ess, I'm not sure if this is a male anymore. I figured it was because I saw it alone near one of the nets I described guarding a bunch of fry. I've seen similar sizes to this one near other nets with fry. No scale on me, but I'm guessing 4lb?

Described the cover terribly, here's what it looks like

I fish a pond with very little cover. However there are these 6 nets scattered around the pond that I always see fish spawn next to. These fish tend to be the biggest compared to other males that have beds with no cover around them (only the edge of the pond as a "wall"). In your experience, if there were limited ideal spawning grounds, do the biggest male bass get the best ones first? Edit: to clarify, these are not just regular nets. They are hard nets made of mesh in the form of rectangles (not sure why they're there)

The changing weather / transition could definitely be a factor. Next time I go out I will also be trying out new lures. Currently experimenting with speed worms and curly tail worms slowing dragging it along the bottom

Good points being made. I fish local ponds and they're filled with trash (from both fisherman and others in the park). It's a good idea to stuff grocery store bags in your tackle bag and try to fill up at least one bag (which wouldn't be very difficult to do in a lot of these ponds haha) Also what are everyone's thoughts on pond scum or weeds? Sometimes in really grassy ponds I see a lot of dried out weeds and muck on the edges of the pond. Is it better to throw it back into the water or does it not matter?

Good insight. When you start doing the math, multiple catches a day times 3-4 trips a week can really add up in a smaller body of water for sure. Going to give the place a break for now and keep this in mind the next time I go out. Im new to fishing and this place was productive the first day I fished it so I maybe also got carried away with trying to better pattern the body of water and figuring things out

Better question yet then - Assuming you could fish your favorite lake or pond several times a week. Would you limit the amount of times you fish a productive spot? Are we talking the same fish or a new school? I didn't think they would leave entirely, thought they just get lockjaw in that spot

In your experience is there such a thing as over fishing a spot to the point its not longer productive? I fish a local pond with little fishing pressure (most of the pressure comes on Saturday and Sunday) and there's this fountain that was really productive. You could throw a wacky rig and it was an instant bite on the landing. It's no longer that productive (I assume the summer weather also is playing a part). Assuming there's little fishing pressure in a certain spot, how much is too much when fishing your favorite spot? I use to fish the spot 3-4x a week during the pre-spawn / spawn.

Will most soft plastics as a follow up work then?

Thanks for the tips Mike! Been trying to figure out what's best with these things, it's easy to second guess yourself and just going back to using lures you're comfortable with

Slimy in a good way? Sometimes in my pond it's difficult to drag a Texas rig down on the bottom. Always wondered if applying some sort of lubricant would help it slide through better

Thanks for sharing what you've been doing so far. That is the general approach I've been trying to do but it's easy to second guess yourself. When fan casting, do you go from one clock position to the next or do repeat casts in the same direction before slightly changing direction? I've heard somewhere about burning a bait multiple times past the same fish will sometimes result in a bite.

Yea same here! I rely too much in the wacky rig. Bought a couple of swimming worms and paddle tail swimbaits. I don't really have a lot of confidence when throwing them out there tho because slow presentations make the most sense to me intuitively but i know you can catch some big ones as a power fisherman. It's good to be versatile, so hopping I pick up on it quick. My issues so far has been figuring out where to burn these baits and how long to stay at the same spot until it's time to move on

Noted, thanks papajoe. Do you see burning a paddle tail or speed worm the same way? Will burning it multiple times past a bass also trigger an aggressive bite?

How have you been working the speed worm lately? Recently picked a bag in grn pumpkin and Junebug but no bites yet. Do you burn it, slow retrieve, twitch or kill it? And do you do it in open water? For reference, I'm fishing them in ponds in 80-90 degree weather

Thanks for the recommendations and very much noted on the cover tip you gave me. It's common to be told to fish the weed lines but I wasn't sure how much drawing power top waters have. Will more top waters that make a loud wake (ie buzzbait) have more drawing power (distance wise) then something like walking frog or pop r?

My first rod I bought a couple of months ago was a 6'6 Medium action Ugly Stix Gx2. It has a fiber glass tip that's about 5-6 inches and due to an accident, only about 2 inches of the fiber glass tip is left. I haven't used it since but figured eventually I could find a purpose for it. Any suggestions? The action is Medium but being an Ugly Stix, its not that sensitive to begin with. Now I imagine its going to be even less so if I the next rod guide as the tip. Someone suggested using it as cat fishing rod but I currently don't fish for catfish. Any lures you would use on what I now imagine to be a medium-heavy rod for bass fishing? Currently I fish weightless senkos, T rigged creatures, wacky rig, and some top waters. But would accept any excuse to try out new lures with my "new" rod

+1 on anything that gets rid of your human scent. Studies have been done on how well fish can smell and its amazing how sensitive they are to smells that we don't even notice! Would suggest anglers to look up studies because they list common attractant smells, neutral smells, and negative smells. Sunscreen was listed as a repellent, so try to wash it off your hands after applying it!

Nice, sounds like a good plan. I have 2 short medium light rods I bought at Walmart for under $10. Will make good use of these this week!

Thanks BankC, I'll try to pattern these ponds. I like the mindset you have, same thing I've been telling myself everytime I try out new lures and completely skunk out that day

Thank you for sharing your insight. The concept of patterning makes more sense to me now. I've definitely been junk fishing, ie just throwing whatever feels right to me. Is it possible to pattern big ponds? I haven't gotten out to lakes yet (no boat) but i still want to build skills that will transfer over to lake fishing

I haven't ventured out into lakes yet, so currently just fishing ponds. Most of them are open (little to no cover) water that have up to 8-10ft of depth. Each pond has some water foundations though. Can't seem to figure out the forage at these ponds yet, how do you tell if you don't see them near the surface? Been wanting to try out both of those! But instead of a traditional Ned rig, the weedless version called the tiny child rig

Hi everyone, as summer is approaching down here in the South, as a new fisherman, I've been considering how I should change things up. I was curious to hear what you guys change up when the temperature starts rising, whether it be lure selection, time of day, water depth, etc. What do you do most in the spring that you stop doing in the summer? Anything new you guys are wanting to try this summer? So far I know fishing during the heat means fishing in the morning and sunset are good times. The top water bite will start to pick up(I plan on buying different top waters to try out, any recommendations?) I know bass reach their metabolic peak around 85 degrees, so I was thinking of using fast moving lures to catch em while we remain under 85 degrees. And thinking of switching to slower moving baits when they feel sluggish from over heating. Am I on the right track?

Thanks for your input J.Bass, 18lb test tho huh? Are you a big believer in line weight vs the action of the lure? I've heard lighter line in lures like wacky rig are better because it "falls more naturally" and that heavier line impedes the action a bit. Never really tested it out myself tho

Wanted to learn how to skip lures (specifically wacky rig) under docks. Watched a video and he suggested practicing with 6-8lb line. Top comment mentioned that skipping with light line will lose a lot of fish. Why would skipping with light line be a problem? Ive caught plenty with 8lb test on a wacky and Ive only ever snapped my line off 3 times. I currently use 8lb trilene big game mono, so I was planning on keeping that rigged up when I practice. Will this be a mistake?