69tr6r

Hi everyone I had a question maybe you can answer for me. I was shore fishing a local lake and I kept seeing a school of some type of fish rolling on the surface of the water about 100 feet from shore. I couldn't make out what kind of fish they were, and they were too far for me to cast to, even though I tried and came close a few times, I did not get any hits. I've only seen bass and bluegill in this lake, and if I had to guess I would say they were bass. If they were bass, is it common for them to roll the surface in schools like they were feeding? I mean, you could see their back coming out of the water, and it was a pretty large group, maybe 10-20 fish. Thanks.

Not sure on the depth of the pond, but it is stocked with trout, so it should be relatively deep. It's probably about 3 acres, just a guess. I think you are right about the water distorting the size of the fish because they definitely looked very long and thin. So they were probably closer to 20" than 24", still a great size fish for the area. I did try a Berkley Gulp nightcrawler, but I guess if the fish were aware of us they wouldn't hit it anyway. I'm looking forward to going back to try again with some of this new info, thanks!

Hey Red Bear, I would guess that the primary baitfish is bluegill. I'll have to check if that's ok in my state (CT). What size hook and how do I hook them? Your explanation about rounding up smaller fish and working together makes sense. They were definitely swimming together and going back and forth between entering the lagoon as a group, and then swimming out of it, also as a group. I have not seen any crawfish in this pond, but it doesn't mean that they aren't in there. Great tips guys, keep them coming!

Thanks for the quick response Nate. This is a very small body of water too, so you are right about the schooling. I definitely think we were spotted. It was just strange the way they were swimming, like they had intentions, maybe they were backing bait up into the lagoon, but we didn't see any strikes. But that could be because they were aware of us watching them and were spooked. I'm going to try something different, like you said. I really wanna catch one of these monsters!

Hey everyone, I took my oldest son (10) out with me this weekend to a local pond. We usually catch a few small bass there, but nothing big and not big numbers of fish either, but it's a quick and easy hit. So my son was fishing off of a peninsula and I was closer to shore. He asks me what the fish are called with a black stripe. So I tell him it's a largemouth bass. He says he sees one that is this big (hold his hands about 2 feet apart). So I think he's seeing things of course, but when I take a walk over to him, sure enough, there are not one, but 4 largemouth bass swimming in a school, if you can call it that. Each bass was well over 20 inches, I would say closer to 24. I was shocked, I had never even seen a bass that large, never mind 4 of them swimming together. The water is very clear, and they were in about 2 feet of water, so seeing them was very easy, no mistaking it. They were just cruising in and out of this little lagoon where I also spotted a ton of empty nests. Needless to say, we threw everything at them and they didn't even look twice at any of our lures. So my questions are, do bass that large swim in schools often, or was this a rare sighting? What do you think they were doing? How can I catch them? We saw them around 4 in the afternoon and then went back to the pond at dusk and tried the same area and got nothing. Tried again the next morning around 9, still nothing. Thanks in advance.

I wonder if it would work for ice fishing too. Just have to make sure it's in the spot you want before the first freeze. Drill the hole right where the trolling motor goes!

I figure it has to be an upgrade to the mid 80's Berkley Graphite that I'm still using. One thing I did notice is that the top 3 guides seem to be about the same size diameter, then they start to get larger the closer you get to the reel. They seem kind of small, except for the one at the very tip. I did keep the receipt and packaging in case I need to make a return. Hope to test it out this weekend.

Just picked up a 6'6" M spinning rod at Wallyworld. Looks like a nice rod, especially for the price. The price tag said $19, but when the cashier rang it up it came to $36 and change. She had a manager-type put the item through as $19. Can't wait to try it out!

Hey fellow CT'ers, checking in here. I live in Shelton and fish the ponds mentioned by Basshunter. The one on Nell's Rock Rd. is called Hope Lake. There is another pond in that system that is called Silent Waters. It's off of Rt. 108 and is tucked in the woods, but there is a walking trail around it. The shore fishing is tough there because there's not much open area to cast. I took a canoe in there and didn't get a bite for the first hour, then landed about a 4lb LM. Biggest of the year for me.

Tried a new to me little pond last night for the first time. This place looks like it would be great for bass. The water level was raised about 3 feet in the last few years, so there are trees submerged around the entire perimeter, as well as dead wood and laydowns everywhere. Well I fished this place for 45 minutes without a bite and thought it might be empty. Then, wham! Caught my biggest LMB of the year, probably around 4lbs (remember this is CT!). This fish was fat too! I didn't have another bite all night. Now I'm starting to wonder if that fish is the only one in there, and if it might have been transplanted by someone.