N80
Super Member
I have a shallow muddy pond that is actually pretty good sized at 8 acres or so. It has had no care, gets full of pond weed and kind of stagnates in the the summer.
But, I have a jon boat and have been doing some fishing lately. I used to pond fish a lot as a kid but haven't done any in years. All my tackle is cheap, small and some of the rod/reels are 'micro'. Of course that's all I need for catching bream and 1 1/2 pound bass which is mostly what we have. A 1 1/2 pound largemouth is a lot of fun to catch on a micro rod and reel with 2 or 4 pound test line.
Anyway, Friday I was geeting hits from some bigger stuff and the line on these little rigs was breaking instantly. So I called my Dad to come fishing and I went off to Walmart and got a bigger, but still cheap and small bait casting reel and some spinner bait bigger than the tiny beetle spins we use.
We'd been fishing an hour when I hook a big fish. As soon as he took off I told Dad we were not going to get him in the boat. Sure enough he jumped and spit the lure back at me. We were both stunned. Biggest largemouth I've ever hooked. I've seen bigger ones that other people have caught but never when or where I was fishing.
So, after the excitement died down we went back to fishing and about 30 minutes later I hooked another big one. I reared back to set the hook good and it came loose. As soon as it did, he hit it again! I reeled in a bit, drag flying and he surfaced and came off again. So I'm just reeling in the lure and he hits it again! This time he's hooked and I'm trying to keep the line from breaking but also trying to keep him out of the weeds and stuff. After quite a fit Dad pins him against the side of the boat with the net and we both haul him in.
I have no idea how much he (she) weighed. But it was big and fat like a female and was 24 inches long. We had a tape but no scales....and no camera. We marvelled over the fish a few minutes and put it back. (We already had some small bass and bream in the cooler and we prefer the smaller ones to eat.)
So there's a fish story for you. Probably no big deal for you serious bass fishermen but for me it was tons of fun, extremely exciting and the biggest bass I ever caught. And I had NO idea there were fish that big in that muddy shallow pond. For me, that was as good as an 8 point buck or a 20 pound gobbler.
Went back Sunday and caught a few small bass, a few nice bream and one 3 pound bass. But no lunkers. Put them all back.
In any case, even the small bass are fun to catch and just knowing there is a chance to catch a big one makes this low rent fishing a lot of fun. Inspires me to take some steps toward some better pond management as well.
But, I have a jon boat and have been doing some fishing lately. I used to pond fish a lot as a kid but haven't done any in years. All my tackle is cheap, small and some of the rod/reels are 'micro'. Of course that's all I need for catching bream and 1 1/2 pound bass which is mostly what we have. A 1 1/2 pound largemouth is a lot of fun to catch on a micro rod and reel with 2 or 4 pound test line.
Anyway, Friday I was geeting hits from some bigger stuff and the line on these little rigs was breaking instantly. So I called my Dad to come fishing and I went off to Walmart and got a bigger, but still cheap and small bait casting reel and some spinner bait bigger than the tiny beetle spins we use.
We'd been fishing an hour when I hook a big fish. As soon as he took off I told Dad we were not going to get him in the boat. Sure enough he jumped and spit the lure back at me. We were both stunned. Biggest largemouth I've ever hooked. I've seen bigger ones that other people have caught but never when or where I was fishing.
So, after the excitement died down we went back to fishing and about 30 minutes later I hooked another big one. I reared back to set the hook good and it came loose. As soon as it did, he hit it again! I reeled in a bit, drag flying and he surfaced and came off again. So I'm just reeling in the lure and he hits it again! This time he's hooked and I'm trying to keep the line from breaking but also trying to keep him out of the weeds and stuff. After quite a fit Dad pins him against the side of the boat with the net and we both haul him in.
I have no idea how much he (she) weighed. But it was big and fat like a female and was 24 inches long. We had a tape but no scales....and no camera. We marvelled over the fish a few minutes and put it back. (We already had some small bass and bream in the cooler and we prefer the smaller ones to eat.)
So there's a fish story for you. Probably no big deal for you serious bass fishermen but for me it was tons of fun, extremely exciting and the biggest bass I ever caught. And I had NO idea there were fish that big in that muddy shallow pond. For me, that was as good as an 8 point buck or a 20 pound gobbler.
Went back Sunday and caught a few small bass, a few nice bream and one 3 pound bass. But no lunkers. Put them all back.
In any case, even the small bass are fun to catch and just knowing there is a chance to catch a big one makes this low rent fishing a lot of fun. Inspires me to take some steps toward some better pond management as well.
