Cheri

Saw this rod the other night, but don't see reviews yet. Has anyone made the purchase?

Now I have a very clear target for motivation! This beauty caught with an 8ft med heavy "Finesse Electric Shock" rod, no reel, and a long arm scoop net. ?

Update: Wildlife and Fisheries came out this morning. They arrived 30 minutes early and my mom/boyfriend let them start without me. Got there to see the last 5 minutes of what was apparently a very quick process in my 2.5 acre pond. Maybe because I'm still a little bitter about missing everything, but there's not much to say. Apparently they saw multiple sizes of bass, one around 8lbs. They saw plenty bream and some golden shiners likely brought in by birds or other wildlife. Food sources appeared plentiful. They weren't worried about the suspended algae, murky water, or top water algae in some spots. Nothing much recommended except harvesting all bream we catch, and even supported harvesting bass of different sizes. The water is super low, and we've only been able to catch the 10-12", many times can't even draw a bite despite multiple presentations. Inquired about aeration, and said it wouldn't hurt anything. Inquired about apparent beaver/otter slip and slides, and they did acknowledge that we could set our own traps since it's private property versus paying a licensed trapper. Takeaway from the process...nothing wrong, you suck at fishing.

I'm super excited that my 15 year old son is finally interested in fishing our family pond which my dad dug out and stocked around 1983. I think it's about 2.5 acres. At some point over 15 years ago, we had to drain and restock. Me, my mom, my sister, my brother, and my nephew were fishing it occasionally. Over the last couple years, the water level dropped but it didn't really elevate to anyone being concerned. This summer, we all have been going out to fish much more frequently. We all noticed the water had continued to be low and visually found an area on the levee that beavers (or other) have damaged on one side which is possibly where water is draining out to a descending slope down to a bayou on adjacent property. (We are going to get a contractor out soon for an estimate on repair.) Around that same weekend, I discovered several LMB that seemed to be sitting on very shallow beds with dorsal fins showing one evening. Along with an apparent algae bloom, I decided to contact wildlife and fisheries to see what resources or advisement they provided. I talked to a guy by phone today for about 5 minutes. I told him that i was interested in learning more about pond maintenance, including things like: 1. Are oxygen levels sufficient? 2. Would the algae bloom be considered a negative symptom? 3. How to determine fish population? Because...There seems to be differing opinions on what fish we should harvest and which we should release, both for the LMB and the bream. I'm going to meet the guy during my lunch break tomorrow. I got a little worried when he started talking about shocking the pond. I had a mini heart attack and told him that we were not interested in any fish kills, only recommendations on what we can do to keep a healthy and balanced fishing ecosystem. Posted photos of recent big catches on another thread, but we have mostly been catching 10-12 inch bass. Family members who fish bream can catch 6-8 inch bream fairly regularly. I'd like to catch more 3-8 lb bass. Thoughts? Feedback on what I should ask this guy tomorrow? Anything I should be wary about?

Here was his PB from June 23 using topwater near downed tree. Here's one a couple weeks later on a wacky worm. We didn't own a scale but measured against oar prior to release. It was 22 inches long.

Thanks guys. We fish from bank sometimes but not too many clearings for casting. Got a john boat recently and can use it if my son or nephew aren't there. Have kayaks for tomorrow morning. Today, fished a whopper plopper. I liked it and didn't get stuck. Drew action even though it was hot as hades. Caught 2 between 4:30-5:30pm. I see what you mean about the Texas Rig with the closed hook. I had gotten lazy and was mainly using the wacky thing because the bass hit on it, but the open hook snags on e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. We set up a second pole with a swim jig (brush guard) and trailer for tomorrow morning.

I'm fishing in our pond with a ton of fallen branches and several large downed trees. Great for the fish but not so great for my pocketbook. Hard to not get hung up often and have to cut line. I know this is likely due to my general inexperience and low casting skills, but I have a 15 year old angler who gets tied up, also, but not as often as me. Is this just part of fishing? I don't want to fish top water constantly. Any suggestions?

This exact thing is happening at my pond. I saw it yesterday evening. I saw 3-4. Two of the 4, I saw up close. Exactly as others described, so shallow their dorsal and backs and tail fins all showing. In our pond, they are definitely large mouth bass. (I find it odd that so many respondents focus on that aspect of the story.) Our pond is very low right now. It's always been pretty mirky (can only see bait under water within first 12 inches) except for undisturbed areas right on the edge. We think possibly due to weather patterns they could be spawning late? I guess I shouldn't worry about the beds being so shallow? The bass we catch seem to be healthy and thriving. Edited to add: the bass were very difficult to distract with topwaters or plastics thrown within 2 feet. I even accidentally dropped an oar in my aluminum boat while investigating 10 feet away, and he/she sat still. It wasn't until I literally pulled one within inches or cast literally on top of them when they'd thrash and scatter, only to return within 20 minutes or less.