Pond Fishing Setups

[CeeJay]

Oh and if you do go ultra-light, try to get a reel with an extra spool.  Ideally one would have three, one spooled with 2lb test, the others 4 and then 6.

My personal best largemouth was just over 5 pounds and was caught on 4 lb line.  My personal best fish of any species was a 20 pound carp caught on an inline spinner with 6lb line.

Fun stuff

 

Edit- sorry the PB carp was caught on corn, it was a grass carp that hit my inline

[Fishing&Tennis]

Oh and if you do go ultra-light, try to get a reel with an extra spool. Ideally one would have three, one spooled with 2lb test, the others 4 and then 6.

My personal best largemouth was just over 5 pounds and was caught on 4 lb line. My personal best fish of any species was a 20 pound carp caught on an inline spinner with 6lb line.

Fun stuff

Thanks a bunch ceejay.

I've always been a light line fisherman myself for offshore fishing. It is just so much more fun. Of course within reason.

My sHimano Saros 1000 is currently spooled with 10lb braid. Can I just add a 6lb leader or fish straight braid?

[greentrout]

When I pond fish, I use a medium/fast 6'6'' medium rod.  I want a rod I can easily throw 1/4 oz. spinnerbaits and ultra shallow cranks. I like it for weightless trick worms, too using 10 lb. line on my baitcaster. Sometimes down to 3/16 & 1/8 oz. spinnerbaits. I can throw those kind of lures on the medium rod -- difficult on med/heavy. I use mono.

 

Old school basser...

 

 

[CeeJay]

Thanks a bunch ceejay.

I've always been a light line fisherman myself for offshore fishing. It is just so much more fun. Of course within reason.

My sHimano Saros 1000 is currently spooled with 10lb braid. Can I just add a 6lb leader or fish straight braid?

 

No problem.  Yeah light tackle angling is tons of fun and very exciting.

 

Unfortunately I'm not experienced with using braid.  I've always been a mono angler

I'm sure someone else will chime in on that though.

[Ben Eipert]

ML Spinning rod and a MH Baitcaster. 6lb Fluoro on spin and 14 fluoro on bc

[Fishing&Tennis]

ML Spinning rod and a MH Baitcaster. 6lb Fluoro on spin and 14 fluoro on bc

Hi I have a 6'6" Fenwick HMG m/F and a 7'6" Fenwixk ML/F. What I'd Rly like is a 7 footer. Unfortunately don't have one Which one of these two rods would you use to wacky worm, shakyhead, with 6Lb Flurocarbon?

[Brett Strohl]

No problem.  Yeah light tackle angling is tons of fun and very exciting.

 

Unfortunately I'm not experienced with using braid.  I've always been a mono angler

I'm sure someone else will chime in on that though.

 

I imagine, unless you are in to the more technical aspects of the spot, mono vs. braid just depends on what you want.  I've been fishing 30 lb braid for the last year and it's hard to imagine ever going back.  The main difference for me is I don't have to fight backlash anymore (which makes me angry enough to not even want to fish to begin with), but when you do get tangled up the line is more difficult to untangle b/c it is so small.  Plus I can cast quite a long distance on very strong line.

 

On one hand I am losing out on the excitement of really fighting a fish, but on the other hand I don't ever have to worry about leaving a hook or lure in a fish's mouth b/c the line snapped (which is personally more important to me).  Plus I absolutely hate losing lures and hooks, not only b/c of the cost of the lures, but b/c I don't like the idea of polluting fishing spots with that stuff.  

 

(I can't really cast light lures with my setup so I actually wouldn't mind having an ultra lite setup for panfish, but that is probably a project for when I'm done with school.) 

 

I haven't been posting here long, but I can tell there is a real concern between balancing the "sporting" aspect of fishing between catching as many fish as efficiently as possible.  Everything that makes fishing easier also seems to make it less sporting and more mechanical or machine-like, so I imagine striking that balance between the artistry of sport vs efficiency is just going to come down to personal preference. 

[CeeJay]

I imagine, unless you are in to the more technical aspects of the spot, mono vs. braid just depends on what you want.  I've been fishing 30 lb braid for the last year and it's hard to imagine ever going back.  The main difference for me is I don't have to fight backlash anymore (which makes me angry enough to not even want to fish to begin with), but when you do get tangled up the line is more difficult to untangle b/c it is so small.  Plus I can cast quite a long distance on very strong line.

 

On one hand I am losing out on the excitement of really fighting a fish, but on the other hand I don't ever have to worry about leaving a hook or lure in a fish's mouth b/c the line snapped (which is personally more important to me).  Plus I absolutely hate losing lures and hooks, not only b/c of the cost of the lures, but b/c I don't like the idea of polluting fishing spots with that stuff.  

 

(I can't really cast light lures with my setup so I actually wouldn't mind having an ultra lite setup for panfish, but that is probably a project for when I'm done with school.) 

 

I haven't been posting here long, but I can tell there is a real concern between balancing the "sporting" aspect of fishing between catching as many fish as efficiently as possible.  Everything that makes fishing easier also seems to make it less sporting and more mechanical or machine-like, so I imagine striking that balance between the artistry of sport vs efficiency is just going to come down to personal preference. 

 

When it comes to the sporting aspect of angling vs everything else...I always get confused   There has been a history of antagonism between various "groups" of anglers for quite some time. 

-I consider catching a fish on an imitation of it's natural forage to be the ultimate challenge.  Yet that goes directly against bait fisherman.

-I consider catch and release to fit best with my personal philosophy of life.  But that goes against anglers who perfectly legally catch their own dinner.

-I believe that fishing with overpowering heavy tackle and the fish having little chance to escape to be "unfair" to the fish.  But that's how the tournament pros make their living, and that's fine.

 

In the end, it's all down to personal preference as you said.  And it's a shame that there are so many divisions...we are all anglers who love catching fish.

Whatever brings enjoyment to the angler (and is legal, of course) is all good by me

[Fishing&Tennis]

When it comes to the sporting aspect of angling vs everything else...I always get confused There has been a history of antagonism between various "groups" of anglers for quite some time.

-I consider catching a fish on an imitation of it's natural forage to be the ultimate challenge. Yet that goes directly against bait fisherman.

-I consider catch and release to fit best with my personal philosophy of life. But that goes against anglers who perfectly legally catch their own dinner.

-I believe that fishing with overpowering heavy tackle and the fish having little chance to escape to be "unfair" to the fish. But that's how the tournament pros make their living, and that's fine.

In the end, it's all down to personal preference as you said. And it's a shame that there are so many divisions...we are all anglers who love catching fish.

Whatever brings enjoyment to the angler (and is legal, of course) is all good by me

I feel the same way.

I guess I'm just used to fighting fish that give hell like an AJ, grouper, yellowfin tuna hell even red snapper on a light setup. I know I can't possibly get that out of a bass. But I feel using even 7lb Fluro and a M/F spinning rod I'm already whopping them. Out of the 30 (+/-)some bass I've landed over the past few weekends, I've fished I've landed 99% of them in less than ten seconds. Still fun but I'd like a little bit more of a challenge. The first time I went bass fishing I caught a 6 lb bass on 5lb test that was awesome. My drag was singing.

Regarding catch and release. I believe in a small pond you should definitely catch and release to sustain the ecosystem. In a larger lake or saltwater keeping a reasonable amount of fish occasionally makes perfect sense.

[Fishing&Tennis]

Also I understand why UL would not work for many situations i.e. Ponds with lots of wood rock etc.

But there Rly is nothing abrasive in the pond(s) I fish. At least not that I know of.

[KayakBasser]

7 foot medhvy baitcaster 7:1,14 pound mono, square billed Crank bait (kvd2.5)

7 foot medhvy 7.2:1 (curado I) 15pound invisx, Texas rigged rage craw.

[CeeJay]

Also I understand why UL would not work for many situations i.e. Ponds with lots of wood rock etc.

But there Rly is nothing abrasive in the pond(s) I fish. At least not that I know of.

 

Yep, definitely important to check the thin line for abrasions now and then.  Of all the fish I've lost on UL back in the day, I'm very sure most were do to me not checking my line for rough spots above the lure before casting.  But even 2 lb test is surprisingly tough considering how thin it is.

Wood snags are rarely a problem when you rig weedless on UL.  The lighter soft plastics will slide right over and under (usually).

 

By the way soft plastics are fantastic UL lures.  As are small spinnerbaits which will deflect off of most types of structure.  Inlines are great for more open water but I have lost a few to heavy snags.  Topwater plugs and fly-poppers are as fun as it gets.

Good quality drag on the reel, and lots of weedless hooks/lures are also key

[J Francho]

Can't get to the middle of the pond? Fish for the ones you can get to. I watched everyone catch nothing the other evening at the pond, bombing their baits toward the middle. Meanwhile, I caught a couple dozen nice fish on a popper, casting parallel to shore, between everyone. They all wanted know what magic bait I was using. Wasn't the bait.

[Ben Eipert]

Hi I have a 6'6" Fenwick HMG m/F and a 7'6" Fenwixk ML/F. What I'd Rly like is a 7 footer. Unfortunately don't have one Which one of these two rods would you use to wacky worm, shakyhead, with 6Lb Flurocarbon?

I would put 6 or 8 on the 7'6 and use it for shakey and wacky worms, the 6'6 would be good with a little heavier line like 8 or 10 for a wackyy worm or even a texas rig. I have a 7'6 rod and I use it for all my finesse baits. 

[via]

When I go to a pond, I always bring my finesse rods due to the crazy pressure here in southern California. I have a 6'6 ml spinning rod for drop shot and a 6'8 medium baitcast for small crankbaitbait or spybait.

[Abuss55]

I do a lot of trout fishing here in MO and i like to use 7' UL rods, there are plenty of manufacturers out there, FW actually makes some good rods along with White River and St. Croix. I use a 7' UL guide series rod from Gander Mountain with 6lb blue mono on a Pfluger president reel I couldn't agree with you more, using UL gear just makes everything that much more of a challenge! Also If you are willing to try it, using fly fishing gear can be an absolute blast for bass on a small to medium sized pond, that has allowed me to have some of the most fun fishing I have ever had. I also am a big fan of throwing spinners, some of my favorite to throw are Joes Flys, they make larger sizes that are great for trout and I have caught some 3 lbs bass on them in a multitude of colors. Happy fishing and good luck!