Freshwater Pond - Page 2

MASSfisher0311 · #16 06-14-2008, 11:29 AM

Wow Strawman thanks for all that good info.....I'm gonna try everything you just told me....

It seems like the freshwater fish get bigger than the saltwater fish out here....

Anyways I'm gonna pick up some soft plastics like the ones you mentiones plus some Sluggos and Fin-S fish and give them a try....if I learn to fish them now for bass I bet I'll be able to murder(not literally) the Stripers with them when I get home.

I'll let ya know how it goes.....hopefully I fish for an hour or two before work but right now it's time to hit the rack (I work the night shift).

And this is my 500th post......I was destined to break the 500 mark back in September but then I grew a set and joined the Marine Corps.

StrawMan · #17 06-14-2008, 11:41 AM

No problem, what I wrote is how I fish. Early spring when the water is cool topwater lures work great. Now that it's hot and the spawn is over, the big ones are off their spawn beds and STARVING! That's here in MA though. I use Gary Yamamoto soft plastics but I saw a guy pull a 5lb 14oz largemouth, and 1/2 hour later a 6lb 8oz largemouth out with a "Wave Worm" from wal-mart. He used the black with blue flecks. Supposedly he got one just under 5lbs before I showed up but nobody saw that one. Two of us saw his 5lb 14oz, I weighed it on my new digital. He actually has the lock grip from Rapala and left it on to weigh the fish until I told him "No cheating!" The big girl, 6 1/2 lbs, EVERYONE saw that one. I told him to lie about where he caught it, but I could hear him from the other side of the pond yelling "SIX AND A HALF POUNDS!" So....needless to say there wasn't much standing room to fish there the next night when everyone and their mother showed up. Of course two nights later it was empty again :) Good luck and don't tell anyone anything!! Unless that's a Marine only private pond. And hand grenades don't count as bait...

MASSfisher0311 · #18 06-17-2008, 11:19 AM

Well I fished this morning from about 0200 until ten minutes ago.......Caught a bunch of catfish using that stink bait crap and as soon as the sun was ready to come up I tried to score a bass but had no luck. The only exciting thing (other than the catfish) was a bass slammed a popper I threw out but being the idiot that I am I instantly went to set the hook.....I got too excited and forgot your supposed to wait a second or two before setting the hook on a top water plug. I made the same mistake last year with a striper on the same exact plug I was using today (Rapala Skitter Pop). All I know was my heart almost exploded when the fish hit.....unfortunately the bass hit the popper after one "pop" so I don't exactly know what type of retrieve will trigger them to hit....I think I just got lucky and casted right over his head

Anyways these aren't as big as those giants Bill_Monteith has been posting but they beat catching nothing....

BradleyBelanger · #19 06-17-2008, 05:14 PM

THose aRE ge\reat size channels from a pond.I bet old grandaddy cat is down there waiting for you to get him.

Try some big bream or crappie or large mouth bass heads and fillets for the big cats in that pond.

Great to see you having good luck.I bet those are some great fillets from them pond fish if you are eating them.make sure you get all the red meat off and it will be as good as almost any other fish in the pond.
Great post and pics.

Keep on

MASSfisher0311 · #20 06-17-2008, 07:41 PM

Thanks Bill.....I think I'm gonna go out at dusk for some bass then fish the night for cats again. Would chunked bluegill be just as good as bass?

I haven't kept any to eat yet but I think I'm gonna soon. We aren't allowed to have any cooking appliances in our government barracks (only microwaves) but we have some grills outside....I bet grilled cat fish would taste great.

*Also Bill. those cat's were caught in relatively shallow water near weeds......do you think the big cats would be more towards the deeper middle of the pond? Thanks

cheech43 · #21 06-17-2008, 08:02 PM

Nice pics man. I hear cat fish is good eatin although I haven't had it myself. I know this belongs in a different spot but give this recipe a shot, it looks easy enough

GRILLED CATFISH Use catfish fillets and melt 1 stick butter and mince 1 clove of garlic. Add 1/4 cup olive oil and juice of 1 lemon. Baste fillets with this mixture. Then sprinkle with: 1 tsp. white pepper 1 tsp. lemon pepper 1 tsp. Creole seasoning Grill fish on each side until done

MASSfisher0311 · #22 06-17-2008, 08:11 PM

Thanks Cheech.....that post is perfect here I was just looking for a recipe....that one sounds great. They serve catfish at the chow hall every once in a while and it's actually not bad. (They probably catch the fish from the pond out back to save money for the government)

samIam · #23 06-17-2008, 11:19 PM

Brian,you got me beat by a long way.How do you like that photo,I had a bite,set the hook and caught this 4 incher,I dont think he was the one that bit,you can see the bait,one of them wrong place,wromg time deals for the little channel....sam

BradleyBelanger · #24 06-18-2008, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brian21johansen

Thanks Bill.....I think I'm gonna go out at dusk for some bass then fish the night for cats again. Would chunked bluegill be just as good as bass?

I haven't kept any to eat yet but I think I'm gonna soon. We aren't allowed to have any cooking appliances in our government barracks (only microwaves) but we have some grills outside....I bet grilled cat fish would taste great.

*Also Bill. those cat's were caught in relatively shallow water near weeds......do you think the big cats would be more towards the deeper middle of the pond? Thanks

Yes Blue gill is great bait try a head hooked thru the eyes with a 6/0 cirle hook

Grilled fish of just about any kind is great,and not bad for you either.

Well the big cats will be all over the pond,but during hot days deep water is more than likely where they will be.Put out some cut bait in both deep and shallow,then fish where they are hitting best.But a old big piece of bait out in the deep water and left allow might produce a monster cat from your water.

Good luck~! Keep on Fishing for Peace

MASSfisher0311 · #25 06-18-2008, 01:46 AM

Thanks Bill..............I went out tonight for a little while and then the military police made us leave.

I knew we weren't supposed to be there at dark but I wanted to see how long I could get away with it. Is cat fishing good during the day? I heard it was better at night but I've seen cats caught during the day as well.

Still no bass today....they were hitting everywhere on the top of the water but they didn't seem to like my poppers.....startin to get frustrating

BradleyBelanger · #26 06-18-2008, 03:16 AM

They bite almost as good in the day time.

Try a jug with a wire leader and a live bream at dark and check in the AM.

MASSfisher0311 · #27 06-21-2008, 07:55 AM

Fished yesterday right when the sun was going down. The only luck I had was when I saw a turtle swimming in the water and I was bouncing a Texas rigged worm right in front of him trying to catch him. He was chasing it and all of a sudden a small bass comes swimming up and hits the worm. It was kind of shocking. Anyways I'm heading back out in a little while to catch the rising sun.....instead of a Texas rig I'm gonna try a Carolina rig. The only difference between the two rigs is one keeps the worm on the bottom and the other keeps it suspended.....hopefully I can finally land a decent bass. I'm gonna try for some more cats before the sun comes up as well....will check in when I get back.

Here's the picture............I'm giggling like a little school girl because the fish is so small.....I kinda felt like an idiot taking a picture of such a small fish....but I don't care.

StrawMan · #28 06-21-2008, 11:01 AM

Hey Brian bass can be frustrating, just like stripers. That pond you fish, I checked the website and it says catch and release only so I wouldn't keep anything...

MASSfisher0311 · #29 06-21-2008, 12:30 PM

I haven't kept anything yet but all around the pond are signs saying that you can keep fish. Two bass @ 12 inches each 3 cat fish @ 12 inches each and bluegill is no size limit and a maximum of I think 10 fish. Either the site you got the info from is not up to date or the signs around the pond are not up to date. The way I'm going I don't think I'll be keeping anything anyways...haven't caught crap yet....

A couple of questions though:

I'm always seeing tons of bubbles come up randomly around different parts of the pond.....fish or just air pockets?

Also what the hell is up with little fish following my lures back in? I've had fish about 5 inches long follow plugs back in that were just as big as they were....annoying little b****rds.

I had no luck this morning i might go back tomorrow A.M. I think I'm gonna hit the saltwater tonight....one good thing is that I work the night shift which perfectly fits in with my fishing schedule: sleep all day fish all night.

-Brian

StrawMan · #30 06-21-2008, 01:57 PM

Little fish are "followers", they can actually help you. If a bigger fish looks the follower can work almost like a teaser. If they follow it's usually when you reel fast, if you slow down you may be productive. Little followers do not deter the big fish from biting. The website I looked at was the one you posted. I see the bubbles alot in the ponds near me. I have theories but I don't know what causes it. Theory one: Musk Rats underwater exhaling, Theory two: Turtles exhaling, Theory three: Underwater animal/fish/turtle or something feeding off the bottom and opening up air pockets. I usually cast at them, but haven't noticed anything special as far as catching fish goes.