GORDO

I should be completely fine! You could throw whatever for bass and get away with it. There was a pond back in Tennessee that we would fish for bass then cats at night.

DANG IT! lol its all good, I should be able to figure everything out. Im just going to call a local guide and see what he says about it.

I grew up in south east Tennessee on Watts Bar Reservoir. I could hit a golf ball the lake from my living room! Here, no one fishes for catfish! Its the same cool water species you listed lol bassin is just more fun to me. Although camping(or hanging out) on the bank with a cold beer waiting for that rod to bend over is always a great time as well. I have to drive 2 hours to my honey hole on the Snake River to even catch cats here. Luckily I have weekends off and nothing but time!

I ended up buying a PENN 330 gti for the reel and im most likely gonna buy a 12' ugly stik in H.

@Fish Chris Any input on the subject?

Sculpin or a goby of some sort!

For worms the regular eagle claw bait holder hooks are perfect. You will have to sharpen those hooks though. I started using the gamakatsu octopus hooks this year, I think I have the size 2 or 3 and I like those a little more. Just a lot more expensive. For the blue gill, depending on how big it is throw 1 hook under its spine through its back. Just not too far down or you will kill it quick. I only use treble hooks for the livers and watch the pole, last thing you need is a catfish with a treble hook in its guts! If you are gonna use livers I would recommend putting the liver inside a pantyhose(idk if thats how you spell it) and then putting a single hook through that. It will let you cast the hell out of it and stay on the hook. Ive literally never caught a catfish on a bobber, is it possible? sure. is it the best set up? IMO no. Clip a little light to the end of her rod and throw it out like the rest of everyones. Have her watch the pole or you can keep an eye on it too. My girlfriend comes fishing with me all the time and im blessed to have someone that loves to fish. Its funny, she outfishes almost all of my friends!

Im not an expert but I do catfish a lot, with more catching than fishing. With that being said, I have only fished a few ponds for them but I would imagine it would be the same. Definitely fish in the evening through the night. Channel cats dont have big mouths, small cut fish is the best thing I have ever used especially bluegill. Chicken liver is messy and doesnt cast well but is definitely a great catfish bait. Also, dont look past night crawlers(my 2nd fav) and stay away from stink bait! I would also use the lightest weight you can get away with, on the rivers I fish I have to use 6oz of lead to even get the bait to stay in 1 spot. In a pond a simple split shot/egg sinker should work. I like to carolina rig(weight,bead, swivel, leader, hook). As for line, you should be more than fine with 8-12lb in your pond. Just play the fish and enjoy the fight if its a nice one. Personally I use braid any/every time I can 30lb is about the same as 8lb diameter... the advantage is obvious. I use a MH and H casting rod, my plastics and jig rod. Unless youre planing on catching a 60lb+ that should be more than enough rod. If you feel like there could be giant flatheads in the pond catch a bluegill, you can do the bobber thing but I NEVER have luck like that. Tie on a 3-5 oz weight, slit the top of the fishes tail so its bleeding, and send it to the deepest hole in the pond. It wont be able to swim with the weight on it and it will be in the giants face bleeding and looking all tasty! I caught my pb flathead of 51lbs with the exact method above with the bluegill on 30lb braid on a MH spining rod.

btw your username is perfect lol but I wouldnt feel bad about that! I mean maybe you convinced her learn a new technique! She obviously knew what she was doing, cant help it that the bass preferred whatever you were throwing. Good thing she didnt catch the 6lber, probably would have ended up on a skillet! Because taking the glock out of my holster and letting a round loose into the air is frowned upon. Although im sure it would have been a little more effective LOL im sure this was fun to watch unfold

LOL my buddy reeled up and cast at them hoping to snag their line, were all using 3-6 oz weights to keep the bait down in the current. I didnt have a problem with them till they pulled up on my lines! Im not fishing the smallie spot 30 yards down the bank, fish away! If there are people fishing off of a dock, dont even get close to their territory, its common sense. I can fire up the boat and head anywhere on the lake. They are stuck to select spots on the bank on their own dock. Dont be an idiot and think about the other people on the water. Its like their parents just let them run the house hold as kids so they grow up and think they own everything and they are the only person who matters. Okay, im off my soap box!

and by "too far" I mean I could easily hit their boat but thats just uncalled for!

Oh man my blood is boiling just thinking about what Im about to type! I was camping with 3 friends on the Snake River here in Washington LAST SUMMER. We have 2 poles each set out for catfish. The spot is well known for big cats and nice smallies so we make trips there often. Anyways, Im sitting there enjoying the sun for the 2nd day when I see a boat coming towards us fishing the bank. Its cool, plenty of room to fish the smallies. Here is where the story turns. They see us, back off the bank where are are literally sitting, and PROCEED TO ANCHOR ON TOP OF OUR LINES!!! As you could imagine, we were not happy. I yelled and said "hey, cant you see we are fishing here!? Go somewhere else!" I was met with a response of "and..." For some reason, that response rubbed me the wrong way. I yelled again "you have a boat and 500 miles of river, were camping here, get the hell out of here" The 2 men and 1 woman turned their head and proceeded to cast over out lines. This was my tipping point, as it was 2 in the afternoon the catfish bite had slowed down regardless and we figured "if were not catching anything, neither are they" I picked up baseball size rocks and proceeded to throw them where they were casting/where our lines are (not at their boat thats too far). After 20 rocks the guy turns and throws his hand up like IM in the wrong. I yelled again to GTFO this time he listened and pulled up his anchor and took off. I COULDNT MAKE THIS UP, 2 WEEKS AGO THE SAME 3 PEOPLE DID THE SAME EXACT THING IN THE SAME SPOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! The same scenario above unfolded AGAIN but this time I was IRATE and demanded the guys come fight us while I was throwing rocks(not at their boat thats just too far) and cursing at them. This is by far the worst thing I have ever experienced while fishing.

Ive caught several 5+ LMB and SMB on the Pop-R. For the squarebill, I swear by gizzard shad color in the 1.5, If youre in a boat/on a dock give the 3xd a try! As for the senko, they are legendary for a reason. If you can afford the GYCB, do it. When they rip, turn it into a NED rig and keep on catching!

gizzard shad for life. I dont even have shad in the waters I fish but the bass mostly eat crappie. Its a win-win no matter where you are. When I use FireTiger, the Pike seem to like it more than the bass

X2, all time favorite! Motor oil is my fav color.

mine is the exact opposite, they wont eat the 5xd but absolutely LOVE the 3xd (my favorite). Also the Rapala dt10 is my 2nd favorite!

Im dying laughing right now at the mental image of this! I have caught a duck on a medium diver, vicious little guys they are. Once I got the duck in my hands it calmed down 100% and let me get the hooks out and take a picture with it. Too bad the phone was lost to the river bed the next week!

LOL I thought I was the only one who did this!

Ive lost 1 and it was a discontinued local minor league baseball team. Best lookin hat I have ever owned, Columbia river is an unforgiving place!

my mistake, Berkley makes them! my favorite worm since i was old enough to know what a texas rig was! Zoom makes the U-Tale worm, same difference. Try out any color that you believe willc atch fish and your life will be changed LOL

Thank you for your service. Glad you now see why we all love fishing! Killing a fish happens, it sucks but it does. With your mind state of handling the bass you will have a low mortality rate. Just do what you can!

Your best option is to get a cheap depth finder and use the navionics app for your phone. Use the combination of the 2 and you will be just fine.

If you want to know anything about the biology of whatever is in your waters just run some research. Google is your best friend

Washington State, Idaho, Oregon, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Georgia. In all states I can say the Zoom Power Worm has caught in them all

I will literally stick my rod tip in the water and keep reeling to keep pressure on the hooks. Sometimes you hook them in the skin between their lips and their nose(if that makes sense) and will rip that with your hook set. Not much you can do when that happens sadly. Best advise I can give you is set your drag to when you set hook it will give just a little, especially on your jig rod to stop ripping their mouth allowing the hook to be thrown a little easier. I have all of my rods drag set like this and I haven't lost a fish from it throwing the hooks this year at all. *knock on wood*