jiggerpole

OK, one of my neighbors caught a huge bass. He was so excited he, just didn't know what to do. My dad was on his pier fishing and offered to weigh it for him. His digital scales said 9lb.15oz. Wow! Nice bass! My dad pulls out a polaroid camera and takes a picture, then he say's to my neighbor, why don't you put the bass in this barrel to keep it alive and go home and get your camera and we can get some really good photo's of your catch. This is where it all went wrong. He was holding his prize catch and just flung it back into the lake. He then ran to his house to get his camera and only when he got back did he realize just what he had done. Unbelievable. He just sat down and shook his head saying, that was a really big bass I just thew away!!!!!!!!!!! My dad is still laughing.

What you described is a good spot year around in my opinion. Especially if there are other features like a stump or two, hard bottom on most of it and maybe even some rocks. Bass will move up to feed on baitfish, crayfish, ect, and then move back to deeper water which is near by. Other bass which move up and down the channel using it as a highway, will also find this to be a stopping point to rest, feed and generally hang out. It could be used as a staging area for both prespawn and post. Unfortunately bass are not always in a feeding mood and it doesn't matter what you throw at them, they just want bite. Slowing down and finesse fishing the edge or the end of it may pick up a few. If a brush top is close by in deeper water or even in the shallow they may be held up right in it. Then you may have to litterally hit them on the nose to get them to bite. With out spooking them of course. Sometimes I hurt myself trying to over think stuff, so I just fish.

One particular lake that I know of has a strick policy of killing every spotted bass they catch. No exceptions. "They manage it for trophy largemouths". When you put a shock barge in this lake it will blow your mind at the huge spots that didn't get caught. I have the same policy on a lake that I manage but when I got a 7.5 lb. spot out of it, I couldn't kill that fish so I tagged and released it. That will make a fine trophy for someone if she gets caught. I love to catch big spots. There very hard fighting fish. I had one break my favorite rod. Biologist will put slot limits on lakes all the time, but I think they fail to emphasize that the bass under the size limit should go to the frying pan in some cases. Also in alot of these same lakes the spots are prevailent. Nothing wrong with spots. Just too many!

Hellbenderman. I will try to answer your question. A bloom is the foundation of the food chain and is a good thing to have for any lake in my opinion. However if the bloom becomes too dense it can restrict sunlight to the point that it will literally kill itself. The dying bloom (decay) then is what can deplete the oxygen in a lake possibly causing a fish kill. Especially in hot weather where oxygen depletion due to a thermacline is already present. It is important to understand how adding fertilizer to a pond or lake can effect it and how to monitor the visibility of a bloom for best results. All lakes are different and should be treated as individual lakes. Many things can vary from one lake to the next such as the rain runoff, streams or creeks that feed it, wind or lack of it, depth, silt, weeds and the list goes on. This is a short answer and I hope it helps. The more you read on the subject and the more you play around with lakes, the puzzle becomes more clear. I must admit it can sometimes be confusing and biologist will have different opinions on the same subject sometimes. I am a self taught student of the fisheries management deal but I have had some great results so far, but with help from a good friend or two that are biologist. It is great that I can come hear and get a response from guys like Bob Lusk. Good Luck.

Thanks Bob for your answer. I believe you are dead on with that answer. It just makes sense that any sudden change to a fish's environment will cause them to react accordingly. I thought also that with the darkened water, the temperature would raise somewhat, also contributing to the bite shut down.

I have noticed it takes about 3 to 5 days for a good bloom to be noticed on most of the nine lakes I fertilize. I use water soluable 10-52-4. Now the question I have is this. On the "third day" the fish bite will shut down. (Very Noticable) Then it will gradually pick back up in the next three to four days. What is your opinion as to the cause of this Shut Down. I have several theories, but would like to here from some professionals. Thanks in advance.

Spend more time on your equipment fine tuning and organizing.

"Too Many" of any fish is a bad thing when your speaking of a small impoundment. Some management of the resources will be necessary in order to get the best fishing. The carry capacity can peak and the fish will then be stunted for lack of food. In a good lake, all the fish will look healthy. Grass carp [White Armor] are used to control weeds in many small lakes. The weeds or lack of weeds has little to do with growing fish. The fertility and water quality are much more important factors. Weeds can actually rob the lake of needed nutrients for the algea/planton bloom. Cover helps concentrate fish and makes it easier to find them. Too many weeds can actually choke a lake and cause bass to be stunted due to the inability to forage on the baitfish. This can really be a problem with Millfoil & Hydrilla. Especially in small lakes. Alot of info on bass biology and management is on this site. Putting all the pieces of the puzzle together can definitly put you on more fish.

Very nice slide show. What software are you using to get the transitions. I like those.

They are still just a bass. A friend of mine has a stocked pond that has huge bass in it and some are even trained to eat from the fish feeder. Me and a friend fished it one day and caught 41 bass in about 4 hours with the biggest being 6.5lb. We released all and when we told him what a day we had he was very surprised and said that several people had recently fished it and had only caught a few. That they just wasn't biting good. Most were caught deep on worms in "August". It was cloudy with rain off and on. When the clouds were overhead we used a light green color and when the sun came out we had to go to a dark green. That was all we could catch them on. Oh, and I live on a 45 acre lake that is well managed. When we use the shock barge it is unbelievable the amount of fish we shock up. On some days when fishing it, you would almost swear that there is not a fish in that lake!!!!

Ok, way back when my son was about two or three I had him bream fishing from the bank. He slipped in the water and when I jumped in to get him my wife grabbed the pole and did a perfect hook set right in the end of my nose. With tears in my eyes I pulled it out with a pair of pliers. It stung, but Ive been hurt much worse. But never have I had sooo many tears. My eyes would not stop watering.

Mark Zona was saying that KVD had alot of company / spectators but mentioned that no other competitor was their. So I assume he had it to himself the first day. I wish I could have been there.

Alot more tournaments are held out of Lacoosa, Paradise Point, Okomo and several others than Beeswax. So why do you not here about these places??? Kevin had the whole place to himself the first day and then on day two at least six other competitors joined him. I think this is wrong. What I do like is that Kevin out fished the other competitors that were trying to wiggle him out of this location right under there noses. He is the man!!!

Nikki's has two locations in Birmingham close to the BJCC and they have great food. Google it!

Spots and largemouth do hang out in the same area together. Largemouth are typically more of a territorial type while spots tend to stay in schools more often. But both can act about the same in any lake. Spots will spawn earlier (cooler water) than a largemouth and have a tendency to spawn deeper then largemouths. Spots are more aggressive and will out compete largemouths for food and can cause overcrowding conditions. Especially in smaller lakes. If food is readily available, the largemouth will easily outgrow a spot, but pound for pound a spot will tear up your tackle. It's been shown that by keeping spots for the table and having a selective harvest program for largemouths, it can improve overall fishing for boths species. Both will get bigger because of the more available food and lack of compitition.

It's best to ask a biologist to take a look at it. If you want to do a study then it would take some effort on your part. You would have to catch every possible bass the same relative size and fin clip them all. You would have to catch alot depending on the size of the lake, to clip, because your going to have to release them all and catch them again later for a comparison. (Growth Rate - lenth - ect.) Just a few bass will not do. Or you could try tagging them, with the weight, lenth, ect. and write the tag number down on a chart with the info. of each bass, then compair year to year.

This is not exactly a pond but a small lake senario. 1. The Lake is 45 acres. 2. The bass caught were considered stunted. 3. 9,000 Plus bass were caught and removed. (Killed). Not a good ideal to put fish into another lake or pond because you could create problems. 4. The average weight of the bass were 8 to 10 ounces. 5. Threadfin shad were introduce at less than the recomended rate but were full grown and ready to spawn when stocked. Aprox; 10,000. ( The spawn worked great) 6. One year later the average weight of bass increased to 20 to 24 ounces. (Fat as footballs) The spotted bass under 2lb. are still being killed and all largemouths are released for the moment. Fertilization plan is in effect and fish habitats are being sunk all the time. (Management Works) Here is a pic of what a healthy bass should look like.

I have sunk soooo many brush piles I caint remember where they all are. If you find one of them, then you found it. (Fish It) that is why they are there. (To hold Fish) Some will be better than others and some get moved by stormy weather and I never see them again. The big problem I have sometimes is which one to fish, which one to fish. I caint find my own fish because their not mine. ( No really if it's a public lake, then it's public and it's first come first serve.) I wish everyone would sink some fish habitat so I wont have to. It's hard work. I spent all day Saturday sinking hardwood trees in a small lake. I sink em deep, shallow, in creek channels, on points and some go where they want. Now get out there and sink me some stuff to fish!!! Thanks, in advance.

Down South alot of tournaments have a rule. No Jiggerpole Fishing. (That counts me and my 20 foot pole with 8 inches of line out.)

Fish Cris, I think I might have had to accidently break all the tips off his rods.

I noticed you hurt your arm catching all those bass. (Hurts Sooo Good)

I'm one of those weirdos that fishes with a 27 foot long telescopic pole and only eight inches of 130 lb. high shock mono, a stainless snap, with a broke back creek chub hooked to it. One of the best lures I have is an old leather shoe tounge with three treable hooks run through it. Seriously!!!!! Jiggerpole.

If you spend some time in this location you will notice some spots are where the fish feed the most. Try sitting still and waiting for the bait fish to move to you. I have alot of luck with a 1/4 ounce hopskin spoon, and zara spooks, or small crankbaits. If there are some bigger fish in the school they will be underneath all the action.

Try a Vampire Rapala. Get one that is 1 1/4 inch and a 2 inch one. Try it on 4 lb. test line with a Minnie spin ultralite. The small one will catch bream and bass while the two inch one will catch more bass. ( All Sizes ) I've caught them up to 5 pounds and my dad caught an 8 pounder. Yes on 4 pound test line!. Throw it and let it sit still. ( Count to 6 ) Twitch it and wind it in slow keeping it under the water on your retreve. Retreve it steady, with your rod tip down and no jerking as it effects the action of the lure. Let the lure do the work. Good luck.

I would do a little research on management practices for ponds and small lakes. I live on a 45 acre lake that for 30 years was just fished and zero management. After a little begging I was put in charge of trying to manage it . The hardest thing I had to do was convience people to harvest bass. Over three years we harvested 9,000 bass and restocked treadfin and fertilized on schedule. We are now in the first year of a great turnaround. One 7.5lb. spot, several in the 2 to 4 range. ( Most of the bass we took were spots and we are still harvesting them) (Largemouths are now on C/R) Bigger bream. Two days ago a 3.4 Bluegill was caught. The largemouth are looking fat as footballs. I'm happy and so are they. Give It a try!