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Goonie,
This report is for you, buddy.
The where is not important. The who, what, when and how are though.
Friday night. On a pond somewhere west of where I live (look up my AKA handle if you wanna know where that is). I(who) spent some time putting a few miles in the boots. I threw all manner of baits. Lipless, jerks, jika rigs, flukes, you name it, I probably threw it. I had little success. A couple of dink bass was all I had for my efforts. As the night drew nearer (I started just before dusk), I started contemplating my big baits. One in particular(what) I bought specifically for dark nights; the moon was waxing cresent(when). It's a 7" bait that is all black, perfect for dark nights in clear water. I fan cast around the tight shoreline, with difficult brush nearby. Slow rolling the bait, as slow as I could retrieve it while still getting action on it(how). Each cast was a different count down for depth. This bait seems to sink about 1/2' per second. I finally settled in on a 12 count, as I had snagged up on a 15 count only a few casts before. 20# Sunline fluoro will get you out of most snags...
About 15 casts in, I got SLAMMED! Then it was just weight. At first I thought "is this a stick?", Nah, it seems to be moving. "Hmmm...maybe it's someone's 50# mono with 10 pounds of weight, and glob of powerbait on it?". As it got in closer, the deep bend in my swimbait rod told me the true story. Yep, my best 'eye in a pond to date. Got it in to the bank, and was greeted with a big toothy smile, and a 2/0 treble hook hanging perfectly from the corner of it's mouth.
I didn't get a weight or measurement as I was rushing to release this fish. This fish was easily bigger than my previous best pond 'eye. Conservatively, I'd say it was 26-28" and was in the 7 pound range.
Anyway, local water is heating up, boys. Don't be scared to throw those big baits. Never know, you just might be surprised by what is hungry that night.
I also strongly encourage you (from a former big fish killer) to release those bigguns, especially from our ponds, as they just can't handle the harvest pressure like the bigger lakes that are more geared toward put and take.
Cheers, ATK
This report is for you, buddy.
The where is not important. The who, what, when and how are though.
Friday night. On a pond somewhere west of where I live (look up my AKA handle if you wanna know where that is). I(who) spent some time putting a few miles in the boots. I threw all manner of baits. Lipless, jerks, jika rigs, flukes, you name it, I probably threw it. I had little success. A couple of dink bass was all I had for my efforts. As the night drew nearer (I started just before dusk), I started contemplating my big baits. One in particular(what) I bought specifically for dark nights; the moon was waxing cresent(when). It's a 7" bait that is all black, perfect for dark nights in clear water. I fan cast around the tight shoreline, with difficult brush nearby. Slow rolling the bait, as slow as I could retrieve it while still getting action on it(how). Each cast was a different count down for depth. This bait seems to sink about 1/2' per second. I finally settled in on a 12 count, as I had snagged up on a 15 count only a few casts before. 20# Sunline fluoro will get you out of most snags...
About 15 casts in, I got SLAMMED! Then it was just weight. At first I thought "is this a stick?", Nah, it seems to be moving. "Hmmm...maybe it's someone's 50# mono with 10 pounds of weight, and glob of powerbait on it?". As it got in closer, the deep bend in my swimbait rod told me the true story. Yep, my best 'eye in a pond to date. Got it in to the bank, and was greeted with a big toothy smile, and a 2/0 treble hook hanging perfectly from the corner of it's mouth.
I didn't get a weight or measurement as I was rushing to release this fish. This fish was easily bigger than my previous best pond 'eye. Conservatively, I'd say it was 26-28" and was in the 7 pound range.
Anyway, local water is heating up, boys. Don't be scared to throw those big baits. Never know, you just might be surprised by what is hungry that night.
I also strongly encourage you (from a former big fish killer) to release those bigguns, especially from our ponds, as they just can't handle the harvest pressure like the bigger lakes that are more geared toward put and take.
Cheers, ATK
