Never Even Knew This One Was In There

[paul.]

it's funny how you can have an almost intimate relationship with a small lake or pond and think you know a lot about it only to find out you really have no idea. i have managed this particular body of water for ages. i have told the story several times about how it was wiped out by floods in 2 consecutive years and i had to start all over last year. i have really tried to get busy and make up for lost time this year by managing with a triple threat forage strategy of bluegill, shiners, and supplemental feeding. i thought i had a pretty good handle on what the biggest fish in there were. i know there is one "pet" fish (i call the bass on the supplemental program pets because that's how they act) that weighs over 7. i know there is one "wild" fish in there that also weighs over 7 which is easily recognizeable by a mark on its side. and then there are plenty of 4's and 5's that i have stocked in there from the river. some of these have become "pets", some have remained wild.

well, earler this spring, i caught a glimpse of a special fish - one i had never seen before and had no previous knowlege of. the only thing i could figure was that she was a survivor of the floods. i think i finally caught her tonight. right before the bottom fell out and it started pouring down rain, she decided to eat. definitely a "wild" fish. (she was quite chubby, but not nearly as fat as the pets.) she fell for a swimbait, which is something i've gone back to throwing since i've seen all the monster swimbait catches on here.

released after the pic. if all goes well, this fish will probably be a double digit next year. as it was, she was just a shade under 9. there was not a mark on her and not a scar in her mouth. obvious she had not gotten caught in a long, long time. amazing how a nice fish like this can fly under the radar and not even be seen for years in a 2 acre pond. i have always thought that there are a few fish that die of old age without ever having a hook in them. hopefully, this one will get another one of my hooks in her about 3 or 4 years down the road.

[Bluebasser86]

Very pretty fish! Looks like you fell in, must have really been pouring!

[paul.]

yeah, it was raining hard to say the least. you can actually see the rain falling in the pic as it was captured by the flash. pretty cool.

[ClackerBuzz]

awesome post. it how i feel about most fisheries...there is a smart ole' lunker lurking in the shadows that nobody has caught in ages.

[00 mod]

Wow Paul! You have been catching the monsters this year! Congrats!

jeff

[shimmy]

That is just awesome. Great informative post and says a lot about underestimating any body of water. If you didn't even know that gal was in there and it was only 2 acres, seems like we could generalize this to a much larger scale. Great info. And, great catch.

[unionman]

Beautiful fish.

[Gotfishyfingers?]

Nice job!!

[South FLA]

Bertha LIVES!

[jignfule]

Never know about a pond. My son pulled in a 9 lb + out of a pond that we rearly pull a 3 pounder out of. He leased her, taught him well.