moloch16

You'll be telling that story to your grandkids Awesome fish, grats!

From what I've read it's rare for bass to go deeper than 20 or 30 feet. The exception being crystal clear lakes. You'll just have to fish it and see. Remember bass look for these things.... o Food o Oxygen o Comfort o Cover Find the food and you'll find the bass. Fish need to breathe, they prefer water around 77 degrees, and they want to feel protected by some structure. It's hard to say where the bass will end up, there are so many variables. I fished a quarry when I was growing up and it ended up the bass were at the deep end where it dropped from 2' to who knows what. I've read of lakes where bass ignore the deep water and stay in the 90 degree shallows the entire summer, presumably because there's where the food is.

North Carolina publishes a document about pond management, a very good source of information: http://www.wildlife.state.nc.us/pg03_Fishing/images/PONDMAN5.PDF According to the document a balanced population is "Bluegills 6 inches and larger. Bass average from 1 to 2 pounds, although smaller and larger sizes also caught." Looks like you might need to harvest some smaller bass, and take a look at your bluegill population.

I've started calling my fish finder a 'structure finder'. I use it to find depth and structure and just assume the fish are there. BTW I have a FishMark 320. This is my first unit and I've used it twice. So far I can't tell if the blobs are fish are something else. I don't think this has to do with the unit, it's my lack of experience.

I set the alarm an hour earlier this morning and hit a pond on the way to work. Started with a Pop-R and they were liking it. Several swipes but no hook-ups. Finally got a taker and it turned out to be a nice 3-4 lb. That brightened my day! Decided to explore a bit and walked around the pond trying different spots without much luck. Went back around to the beginning and tried the Pop-R again but they weren't interested anymore. Stuck on a wacky Senko and after a few casts caught another 2lb. This is my first Senko fish! Overall a REALLY good way to start my day

Gotta give old Bill a break though, he's been fishing for quite a while and getting up there in age. If I was him I'd kick back on my private pits as well. No need to go thrash about a 1,000,000 acre reservoir when you've already proven you can do that

I found this article: http://www.bassresource.com/fish/plasticworms.html www.google.com is your friend 8-)

I would hire a guide to show me around a bit.

I bought a float tube once but never used. After investigating I determined that you really need to go with a partner. Going alone is just asking for trouble. Read some horror stories about people drowning while float tubing alone. Wind can also be a major problem (blow you clear across the lake).

In general, the less weight you can get by with, the better the bait will present to the bass. The amount of weight depends on your lure, and what you are doing with the lure. For example, flippin standing timber with a Senko requires no weight. The as the bait sinks down slowly the bass will go nuts. If you're flippin the bait at some weeds you may need a heavy sinker to bust through the weeds. If you want to work your bait along the bottom, you need weight to 'feel' the bottom. Yesterday I wanted to fish with a small sinker but the wind made me switch to a heavy to get the bait down on the bottom before the wind blew me 20 yards from the hole

A really good fish finder should be your top priority. Do you have a Dick's Sporting goods near by? They have a FishMark 320 on sale for $130. This is a great unit for the price. You should by the best fish finder you can afford, so if you can afford better by all means do it. I would suggest you hire a guide on the lake(s) you fish. He will show you the best fishing spots and will most likely swamp you with information on that particular lake while you fish with him for the day. After that you should be all set!

That's the way it's done! Watch your line, when it moves to the side reel up the slack and set the hook! You want slack in the line so that your worm drops with a natural grace. Not too much though, just enough.

Take along a couple of boys ages 6 - 10.

Man I need a pond like that! I'm taking my 6yo whenever I go fishing but we aren't catching very many, and he soon gets bored. He's currently learning how to cast a baitcaster though ;D

Crayfish colored crank bait. Bass over rocks are usually feeding on crayfish that live in the crevices. Make sure the bait dives deep enough to bounce on the rocks. After a good bounce stop your retrieve briefly. Bass will tear it up.

Rather than pay $35 - $45 for a Cabela's bracket you can make your own fairly cheaply out of some scrap wood. You could also bolt the transducer to the wood rather than messing with the suction cup. I haven't had to do this but often think about how to build one 8-)

I agree leaving the hook in is the best approach. Eventually it will rust away.

Look around for a used one, you can save a lot of money that way (does your town have a craigslist?). Buy the battery new, that's the most important part don't want to skimp there

For the money you'd spend on that I'd suggest you get an Eagle Cuda 168 Protable. If you can save up another $50 I think you'd be even happier with an Eagle FishMark 320 Portable I have this finder and it is very nice - I use it on rental boats. When it comes to fish finders you want to get the best resolution (in pixels) you can afford. The difference between the Smartcast RF35 and the FishMark 320 will be night and day.

It's all about perspective. I'm sure some people find jabbing a needle sharp hook into a fish and fighting it to near exhaustion unethical.

Nope. Dog was caught at a farm pond, on the back swing of my cast. Just happen to run by while I was casting. I fought him all the way to the barn where the farmer helped me lip'em for a quick catch and release. Luckily my old hooks weren't too sharp and never made it past the barb Ducks were caught while pond fishing for bream as a kid. They would mill around waiting for a handout and occasionally would grab your bait before it sank!

So, what unexpected things have you caught while fishing? Caught a dog on a shallow diving crankbait (frog pattern) Caught a few ducks in my time. They prefer worms or dough balls. Fight like mad before breaking off, usually just over the tree line.

In general I don't like killing animals, and I especially don't like cleaning animals to eat However keeping some bass is not a big deal. Bass reproduce readily enough. In fact taking some of the smaller ones is a good idea in most waters. Killing a lunker just doesn't make sense though, for obvious reasons.

I've only killed one bass in my life and that's because I forgot my pliers. Couldn't get the trebles out no matter what. I was young and really didn't expect to catch a bass, and when I did, I didn't know how to get those trebles out :'(

Perfect fishing weather! Fish are less spooky, you have more options. Plus you can leave the Gatorade and sun screen at home