Brandon Dozier

This time of year is really tough for shallow ponds. I fish 'em too so I know what you are going through. More-so this time of year, the bass won't feed much unless its really early morning or right before dark. Most of the feeding will be done during those times but also at night. Summer in these ponds is very similar to winter. During the hottest times the bass become very lethargic. You may catch a few but they will likely be really small juveniles. Slow presentations will work best here. Jigs worked really slow, worms will do really well and trick worms. I always have luck with topwater in the evenings. Hope this helps!

I was pretty upset when I made this post, but these responses made me LOL. Thanks.

So I was at my local Wal-mart looking for some new flouro. I had a spool of another flouro that I was using for leaders (I can't seem to think of the name) and it's highly recommended on this forum. It worked awsome, had very few breaks. Well, all Wal-Mart had was Berkley Vanish. Now, I read a post the other day saying that it was pretty bad line, but I just didn't believe it. Turns out, it is. I went fishing tonight at a pond I frequent. I fished for about an hour and a half. The bite was really on. I fished jigs (learning them) and did quite well until...*bite* "That's a fish!" *hookset* *SNAP*. Line broke. One jig down. Threw on another. Flipped it out, no bite. When I reeled it in and picked it up out of the water...*sploosh*. Leader and jig both fell into the water. Well, i'm out of jigs, let me try some wacky senkos. So I did. Caught one. Caught two. Caught thr....nope, knot broke. Caught th....nope, again the knot snapped. *Scratching my head* "What is going on?". Tried a different knot, same result. Tried another, same result. Now, i've tied a lot of knots and had many break off so I worked on how to make them better. I found out a few tricks and haven't had break offs in quite a while. So, I think it is safe to say that Berkley Vanish is junk. Knots wouldn't tighten correctly, and when they did if I gave it a tug a lot of times it would just break. Never had this issue before using this stuff. Anyway, needed to vent. I'm pretty upset that a potential great night of fishing turned into a nightmare that cost me about $20.00 in an hour and a half. Be warned.

I was fishing a lake in VA with a friend of mine a few weeks ago. I'd imagine it was spawning or just post-spawn. Caught him shallow on a dock in about 3 FOW. We thought it was a state record bass, but, turns out it was a 9 lb bowfin. HUGE fish. We've caught them before on accident but nothing this size. Only one pound shy of our citation (sp?) requirements. One hell of a fight.

Oh okay. Thanks for the reply. I'm a die hard t-rig guy so it's alien to me to hook them anywhere other than in the side of the mouth or the stomach.

I've always heard people talk about jigs. Seen them fish jigs. Catch fish on jigs. Never had any real success (due to not knowing how to fish them). Well, thanks to Glenn and some others on this forum I went out this afternoon and caught some nice bass on a black/blue jig! I do have one question though. After hooking up, and landing, I noticed that all the fish I hooked were hooked in the top of the mouth, right between the eyes. I am curious why, what I did wrong, and how this affects the bass (brain damage?). They all seemed to swim away just fine but the water is muddy so I couldn't follow them for more than a foot or two. Thanks!

LoopDad2 - You got lucky since you didn't use one. You would have been mad if you lost that huge fish!

I also have a 14' jon that I toted on my Tacoma for awhile. It only has a 4' bed so i'm sure you will be good. I'd recommend leaving your tailgate up (depending on where your tie-downs are) and using two straps front-to-back crossways. Worked great for me. I did get pulled over once but the Law in VA is no more than 2' passed the end of the bed. Make sure you flag it though!

I'm also going to recommend starting with braid if that's what you plan on fishing with. Braid doesn't backlash as easy for me and it's also a lot easier to get them out unless they are reeeeeally nasty. To avoid that, start with more breaks on and tighten down your level-wind a bit. I personally fish with my level wind off, 3-4 brakes and use the magnets to fine-tune for distance. Once you get a feel for when to thumb the spool, you can start backing off of level-wind and brakes, progressively. Hope this helps! Edit: fixed typo's

Looking for somebody in the greater Hampton Roads area who is planning to fish Sunday 10/28. I'd like to go as a Help Out or tag-along if anybody is interested. I'm 24, live in Chesapeake, have all my own tackle and gear. I will cover some of the expenses. I was planning to fish outa my jon but my dad asked to go if i was fishing, but i'd prefer not to take him. I live and work with him, don't want to take him fishing too (he's very bull-headed and moody) so i don't want to just leave with the boat after telling him i'm not going. I know it's selfish, don't need a lecture. If anybody is interested just let me know. Either PM me on here or e-mail me. Thanks!

Try these worm colors. 1. Green pumpkin / black flake 2. Watermerlon Magic 3. Junebug 4. Firetiger

Texas rigging (and worm fishing in general) is usually better fished weightless. The longer the fall, the longer the fish has to react to it. If it's windy or there is current, that's when you'd want to weight it. I prefer 1/8th or 3/16th myself. The power of the Senko really shows in Wacky rigging though. If you are going to Texas rig there are far better choices for worms than a Senko because it won't have the correct action. You want a Senko to fall slowly and have the most realistic action, both in which the Wacky rig will give you.

Although not always possible, a sweeping sideways hookset is a good way of avoiding hooking a fish in the eye. But don't feel too bad if you do wind up hooking them in the eye. They still eat!

Buy cheaper stick baits.

You should check out Zoom U-tale speed worms. Working so well in ponds for me. Toss it up under some cover, if they don't hit on the fall then just slooooowly swim it away. You'll get a bite eventually. Green pumpkin, watermelon red and junebug are my colors of choice, but i'm in VA so it may be different for you. Hope this helps!

I cut my thumb off and still waited an hour before the doc took me back. Then waited 30 more minutes for him to come back to the room and *****. Another 15 while he got supplies. Finally, decided he had no idea what he was doing so he just put a bandage on and called a plastic surgeon. I had insurance (thank God) but still got reamed. The hospital charged me just as much for the ER visit as the surgeon did to save my thumb.

People really lose rods and reels? I mean, ive dropped one into the water but I just threw on a treble and pulled it up. And that was with a fish still on the line. Maybe they only have one rod? Shoot, i'd dive in before I just left $150.00 in the water.

Like these other fellas, I also use braid. I use 50# which is 12 lb mono eq. You can cast further, you have better feel and you get better hook-ups. All around really good line. I use Power Pro but there are some other lines that have come out that might be better, not sure. Hope this helps!

Sounds like a sales ploy to sell an inferior product?