HotDogAngler

The ned rig is something actually I have never tried. Will try to learn it and see how it goes.

TBH I don't think it can be any more pressured than it is now, and there aren't more than 8-10 spots to fish on this pond, cause of the fences. And thanks

So I have fished since I was around 6, when I saw my dad catch a bass in a nearby lake. For 16 summers, I have fished that lake, and never got a bass, and I genuinely believed bass fishing was impossible for me. But I didn't get mad or negative, I just shelved my desire to catch bass for more important things. This summer, I tried a new pond again pretty close to home, and lo and behold, I got my first bass by accident on a hot dog chunk meant for bluegill. Now I catch them on senkos etc mainly. Of the 40 or so times I fished this summer, I was skunked exactly 3 times at this pond, which is pressured btw. The key for me was to quickly get a confidence bait: a bait that you KNOW you can catch something with even on crappy days. That bait for me was soft plastics, because they work in ALL conditions. Then, if you get nothing with your confidence bait after an hour or two, you wont waste more time because you know the action is bad that day. So try a new place, worth a shot right?

Update! Just caught my new PB using a 5 inch Watermelon Seed Yum Dinger! Casting out to deeper water definitely made the bite slower, but yielded bigger fish.

Hello all. In relation to a thread I recently posted, I have a nearby pond that I fish 90% of my fishing days at, because it is close by. I have a feel for the pattern in the summer, but want to fish more efficiently and thus would like some advice given my observations of the pond structure. Basically a breakdown of the pond. A Picture of the North side of the Pond on a clear day. Map of the Pond (The Gapstow Bridge is the North side of the pond for future reference) Basic Info: 1. Size: 3-4 Acres 2. Depth: 1-10 ft 3. Location: NYC, Central Park South 4. Fishing Pressure: High Because much of the Pond is fenced off or just inaccessible, there are only 4 realistic regions to fish from, noted in the map above. Breakdown by Location Area 1 Basic Info: 1. Depth within casting distance is around 4-10 feet, probably the deepest area of the pond 2. Facing the north side, water plants directly to the left around 20 yards away along the shoreline. 3. A tree overhangs on the right 10 yards away 4. shoreline is rocks mostly 5. Have caught bass near the plants with stickbaits, never near the tree 6. The opposite side is just out of casting distance (by around 15 yards) but has similar water plants 7. Biggest bass caught in this area: 3 lbs Area 2 Basic Info: 1. Depth within casting distance is around 1-6 feet, deepest in the middle 2. no plants, just shoreline made up of shrubs and rocks 3. There is a drain that at the very southern tip of the pond in the area, where a lot of matting builds up (have caught some dinks there with weighted stickbaits) 4. Biggest bass caught in this area: 1.5 lbs Area 3 Basic Info: 1. Depth within casting distance is around 2-10 feet, deepest where 2 meets 3. 2. Facing west, plants to the right side, otherwise no visible structure. 3. A LOT of turtles camping around here. 4. Some carp cruise around here as well. 5. Biggest bass caught in this area: 5.4 lbs, where 2 intersects 3 in the deep area (picture is below) Area 4 Basic Info: 1. Depth within casting distance is around 1 to 3 feet. 2. Water plants dot the shore, making retrieve a bit tricky. 3. Many ducks here because shallow. 4. Carp cruise here as well. 5. Biggest bass caught in this area: 1 lb I generally found Area 3 to the be the most productive in the summer, but now that Fall and eventually Spring will come around, I need a little help deciphering this pond! Sorry for the wall of text, and appreciate any help as always! My largest bass from this pond pic (Area 3)...

Hi all. I have started fishing for LMB this summer, and have had good success fishing a nearby pond in NYC, despite the fishing pressure. But recently in the last week, there have been many rainstorms, and the water has become very muddy. This is a manmade pond so there isn't really separation of clear and muddy water. I mainly caught bass previously on stickbaits and lizards (SLOW presentations) and had little success on fast baits. Now, given the cooler temps, I have tried more crankbaits and spinnerbaits and chatterbaits, but haven't even gotten a bite. My logic is that the fish need louder/more visual presentations given the dirty water, but I can't seem to hookup anything. Any advice is appreciated!

thanks! I think bigger worms is a good idea. Time to justify spending more $ .

But fishing is the show!

many do not know, but it's convenient and fun!

ikr, seems weird, but works for me, at least when the turtles don't freak out for it.

I wacky rig a whole dog on a 4/0 hook and let it sink naturally, then retrieve after a bit.

5 pounds on the scale, which is on the lip gripper you see in the pic (that is the fish btw). That actually sounds like a good idea. Will check it out. Thanks! I just use a skinned chicken hot dog cause they are cheap and hold up better, $1.89 per 8 pack.

Hi all, pretty new member here. Had a question for you all. I started bass fishing this summer and just caught my 50th bass last week! I initially started using hot dogs as bait, which would catch bass once every roughly 90 min, in the 2-5 pound range, but the number of turtles getting snagged was unbearable, so I switched to soft plastics, starting with Yum dingers/lizards, and occsionally crankbaits/spinnerbaits. My issue is when I switch to soft plastics, I catch more fish per hour (1.5 per hour instead of .6 an hour), but they are generally small (1 pound or less). I like that I catch more fish, but I would like to catch bigger ones as well with soft plastics. Am I doing something wrong? Some info. 1. I flip/pitch 4-5 inch Yum dingers all over near what little cover there is (water plants). I almost never throw the senko to open water...seems unproductive. 2. The pond is in NYC, and it takes 20 min to walk around it, so not that big. 3. I have tried crankbaits and spinnerbaits, but I haven't gotten anything, besides a giant bluegill. I have issues with getting them snagged, because there are many underwater branches etc. 4. I notice bigger bass look at my senko and always avoid it, they don't even bite and spit it out. 5. I don't think I'm fishing the senko wrong but am open to suggestions, I have caught 2-3 pounders up in Montauk's lakes/ponds. 6. The water is VERY green. I use Junebug, watermelon red flake, green pumpkin colors. Any feedback is appreciated!

8-14 pound test. Not sure where the weight is, I threw a 3/8 ounce spinner and a 1.5 KVD crankbait and felt secure...

Thanks! And yes, by senko I meant worms, mine being Yum Dingers on 3/0 hooks when texas rigged and 2/0 when wacky, figured Gamakatsu was a good brand. My rod reel setup is just some 6-6 travel rod I got on Amazon, which from the feel is medium/heavy action, bends most at the tip. The line is currently 12 pound Stren which I found in the house. As you can see I try to make do with what I have, but am open to recommendations (price ideas in OP).

Wow that is a mouthful of awesome info! Just got my first bass on a texas rigged lizard near some plants! I just skimmed it and will read more closely. Just wanted to post my PB that I caught in Central Park a week ago (5 pounds even). Another question, since you answer so well, I made a chart of bass I have caught this summer since I started, and I catch around 1 bass every 80-90 minutes of water time (from the shore always). Is this normal for starting out? I think the pond is pretty pressured too being in the middle of NYC. I also almost always fish from 7:30 AM-12:30 PM, and the peak time when I catch bass is around 8-10:30, not sure if that is random or not, I'm guessing due to sun coming up more.

Hi all. I started bass fishing this summer and love it! Am more of a weekend warrior and fish most of the time in NYC's Central Park Pond. My first bass caught was in July 2018, by accident. I was fishing for bluegill and got a bird's nest so while trying to fix it, my hot dog piece at the end sank to the bottom of the pond 10 feet in front of me. After fixing it a 2 minutes later, I reeled in, and it was weirdly heavy, turned out to be my first bass!!! Got hooked ever since. Mostly I fish with a hot dog, and soft plastics, the techniques are quite similar. Really want to learn to get good at soft plastics before moving on to faster baits. My question is, I have 50$ to spend at Cabelas, and I have a good set of soft plastics, but I really am confused by the plethora of hardbaits out there. Could someone guide me to what a beginner should get (maybe there is a guide somewhere, but I can't find it). Ideally not too expensive either, I would prefer baits being average 2-6$ each. Water conditions at where I fish are as follows from what I observe. 1. Shallow, no more than 4-6 feet deep most areas and up to around 15 at deepest points. 2. Greenish water, visibility around 2 feet. If it's after rain, brown water, visibility around 1 foot. 3. Very little cover, some water plants. Thanks!