A monster in here and I've had a couple of those days!

[MichaelCopeland]

There's a monster bass in the smaller pond here by my house. Unfortunately I've had a couple of those days where nothing went quite right. To start things off I went to the smaller pond yesterday morning and was out there for about 3 hours. There's a spot out there, the furthest section I can get to from the bank without a paddle boat or a kayak. In this spot there are 3 trees side by side. I believe they are cypress trees. I know there's big bass in this area because I hear them blow up on whatever is moving around on the surface of the water that's all up in the tree areas I can't get to. I cast as far as I can along the edges of the one tree that's closest to me and get nothing. I've thrown chatter baits, buzzbaits, hollow body and poppin' frogs, spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits, wacky rigged senkos and centipedes and Texas rigged senkos and ol' monsters. Nothing has drawn it or them out. After almost losing my newest chatter bait in the tree, thank You Lord I got it out easier than I expected to, I started to work the rest of the pond I can get to from the bank. Got around to where the pump for the pond is, still with my new 1/2oz Project Z breaking bream chatter bait tied on, and cast across the pipeline that runs underneath to and from the pump. Caught a little dink and let him go quick, no pics. Made a few more casts to the left of where the pump is and about the fourth cast had that all familiar bump. This time it was alot harder of a bump than normal so I set the hook and immediately it pulled a slight bit of drag. So I starting reeling fast keeping tension on the line, a tad more drag come off and then my line went limp. I was disappointed and excited all at the same time, because I knew it was a monster but I missed her. Reeled my bait in as fast as I could and threw back out there, kept throwing all around the area that happened in and couldn't get the bite back. I know it wasn't a snag because if it was I would've gotten snagged again as I came back through the same area or at least the surrounding area in case I had moved it. Didn't happen. The pond is only 5' deep give or take a little so if it was a snag I definitely would've have got in it again. Went home disappointed but confident I would catch her one of these days. Today after work I went back out there. This time I wanted to mix things up a little to see if I could catch her. Tried a 7/16oz white pearl/snow white shad Booyah buzzbait with a bait fish Zoom super fluke trailer. Covered a good bit on the water in the area by the pump on both sides of it and a little furthrr down both directions, still nothing. Tried a T rigged Senko and worked the area slower to see if that would work. Nothing doing. Tied on a fire tiger colored diving crankbait, not sure the brand, and began working the same areas. Finally, in a spot to the right of the pump, a little further away, got a bite. Set the hook and had him, just a dink, got him all the way to the bank and was about to pull him out when he flopped real hard and was off the hook. Just wanting to catch something, I threw it back out in the general area and immediately got another bite, another dink, set the hook harder this time hoping to avoid another miss. Again got him all the way to the bank and was about to pull him out when the same thing happened. Flopped hard and was off the hook. Now I'm really ticked at the hooks on that diving crankbait. Gonna replace em with some Mustad hooks from work. The color works but those hooks don't! Immediately I cut it off and tied on an orange belly craw SK Red Eye Shad and worked all the areas like before. Nothing doing again. I said the heck with it and tied on my 3/8oz white Z-Man chatter bait except I took off the white EZSkirt and put the breaking bream EZSkirt on for a different weight and slightly different look(Really loving these EZSkirts, I can switch em around and I think that's pretty cool). Zoom bait fish super fluke trailer. Worked those areas again. Still nothing doing. By this I'm getting hungry and my girlfriend had already texted me that supper was ready. So I decided to give one last effort on the other side of the pond near the entrance/exit. There's a picket fence that borders someone's yard and goes out into the pond about a foot. Can't get through there to fish it easily but I've cast kind of around it before and caught a keeper size before. So I cast around it and I'm burning it back when that super hard bump hits it again and like yesterday, a slight bit of drag come off as I set the hook. This time I felt the weight again, it tried to run so I reeled in some as I pulled back to get her coming my way and again the line went limp as she was gone. Reeled it in quickly and fired it back out there, nothing. Not a snag or anything. Kept casting all around that area, because I'd already made up my mind if she bumps it that hard again I'm gonna cross her eyes twice when I set that hook. Sure enough in a different spot not far from the initial strike, she hits it hard again, I dropped my rod tip, reeled the little slack and swung for the cheap seats. The weight of this fish is so much it literally jerked the rod out of my hands when I set the hook. I felt like an idiot. Grabbed my rod back up, but by that time she was gone again. Frustrated, I put that rod down and grabbed my spinning rod with the trusty Ol' Monster T rigged weightless and cast over on the other side of the fence again. Slowly reeling it in like always got that strike, set the hook, felt the weight, it was heavy, but not as heavy as the one I was after. Starting reeling it in and suddenly the line went limp again. Ok time to go home and eat! There's a monster bass in this pond and I'm not gonna stop til I catch her. Just been having a couple of those off days with today being my worst hook setting day since I started bass fishing back around the end of March of this year. Sorry this was so long and hope I didn't bore anyone too bad...lol! Just wanted to tell this story. ?

[Catt]

Like an ole hound dog, stay on the trail ?

[MichaelCopeland]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

Like an ole hound dog, stay on the trail ?

I plan on it. This post may get deleted. Made some correction and added more content before I realized it posted twice. The other one has the corrections and added content. I'm not gonna stop til I catch her though. ?

[12poundbass]

Hire A-Jay....he's the resident Hawg Snatched.

[MichaelCopeland]

13 hours ago, 12poundbass said:

Hire A-Jay....he's the resident Hawg Snatched.

If I could afford to hire A-Jay, I'd be able to afford a kayak...lol. He's way up there in Michigan and I'm down here in central Louisiana. He is the Hawg Meister right now, though. If I had a kayak I would be able to get anywhere on any body of water pretty much. I'll get her eventually, I just know I will. ?

[lonnie g]

cant hit a home run if you are not swinging. heck that's part of the fun, out witting them. you might try downsizing on the bait, like a pop r. and mayby work it more like a bug on the water. not quite as much noise and yet  still vibrating the water. best of luck! 

[N Florida Mike]

Sounds like your real close to that hawg. Ive had hook setting slumps before. I had one recently and realized I had bought some cheap hooks. They were twice as heavy and just wouldnt penerate their mouth and hold. Went and got me some lighter  Gamakatsus and its back on again. 

[MichaelCopeland]

1 hour ago, N Florida Mike said:

Sounds like your real close to that hawg. Ive had hook setting slumps before. I had one recently and realized I had bought some cheap hooks. They were twice as heavy and just wouldnt penerate their mouth and hold. Went and got me some lighter  Gamakatsus and its back on again. 

I've got some Gammies. The problem was mainly hook sets with the chatter baits(Z-Man). Either I didn't give enough time for her to really get it in her mouth good or just didn't have enough power in my swing for the homerun. I've got 2 new chatter baits from Siebert Outdoors now. Haven't had any luck yet with them or the Z-Man ones for that matter as the fast paced bite has not been on around here lately. This summerlike weather we've been having has slowed them back down. Possibly even more so than actual summer did. I did finally catch a couple dinks this evening and one last evening. The one last evening was with a Texas rigged junebug Zoom Trick Worm and two this evening was with a wacky rigged green pumpkin chartreuse tail 5" Yum Dinger on a 3/O H2O Express Super Lock EWG offset hook. Just ready for some cooler weather and some more active big uns. At least I got my hook set kinda back anyways.

[Catt]

@MichaelCopeland keep chunking  ?

[MichaelCopeland]

28 minutes ago, Catt said:

@MichaelCopeland keep chunking  ?

Yes sir! Most definitely! Not giving up, just going back to the drawing board so to speak. Started out getting bass on slower presentations then that slacked off and started getting em with faster ones. Now that has slacked off too. Just gonna have to try new things I haven't tried before or ones I haven't given enough chance. I'm thinking I've pressured this pond pretty good by myself. I've seen other people there too, just not as often as I'm there. Unless they are there at the times I'm not. This is a Google map shot of the smaller pond. The majority of it is bank accessible with the exception of most of the tree area at the top right corner down to where there is a wooden fence on the right. You may be able to see it. It extends about 2' or so into the pond, from there up to the trees isn't accessible for me, but everything else is. How would you fish it @Catt?