Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations OK, this is wierd...

I was fishing late yesterday in my big pond, when I landed this 1.5 lb LMB. Much to my suprise, he already had something stuck in his throat - can you guess what this is?



The next question is: Why did he hit my lure with this thing stuck in his throat since he had no chance of swallowing it? Reflex?

Gator

I think it's a mouse. At one bait store I used to frequent, the guy at the counter insisted that the best live bait was a live mouse.

He said you tie the line around the mouse like a belt with the hook on the top.

He claimed only the biggest bass would hit the thing.

He sensed my slight disbelief and was about to go out the shed behind the store and try to find me a mouse. I had to talk him down.

I think this bass would use whatever else it was going to eat to pack that mouse further down the gullet.

Gator -- I clearly remember a similar story when I was a kid. My dad and I were fishing a North Dakota lake that had both trout and bass. He was using his fly rod with a mosquito dry fly. He caught a 3-lb largemouth bass that had a live crayfish in its mouth. That made quite an impression on a 10 year old kid. What in the world made that bass come up and take that little fly.

Alligator, I once got a LMB to hit a shovel.

Sunil,

You got it - that bait shop guy must have really been serious. It is a mouse. It was about half swallowed when I landed him, but by the time we got the camera he had worked him down a bit more. It was quite a surprise. I didn’t expect fur when I first looked and must have done a double take.

Dave - funny, my 3 boys were there yesterday and were whooping and hollering when they saw this too.

Gator

How did that Bass get out of the pond and find that field mouse? Or did the mouse just commit suicide? Weird, I never thought a fish would eat a mouse. I guess if its near the bank its food, sounds like a Bass is more like a shark then I think.

When my pond was first stocked, every time I'd mow around it mice would jump out of the way into the water. Some would swim for quite a long distance before coming back to shore. I looked forward to the day my bass would be big enough to eat a mouse doing this while I watched.

Now that the bass are plenty big enough, I never see mice while mowing the pond edge. It's like they've mysteriously disappeared!

My buddy and I had a strip pit a few years back that we could fish that had a small boat on the property, one time when we went to turn the boat right side up a couple of very large mice jumped out into the water and started to swim out, they didnt make it more than 15 feet out, the first one to go went a huge splash and the second one was taken on the second attempt, I think the first fish was big enough to take it but tried, the second fish that went after the second mouse had to be atleast a 5 pounder as it almost cleared the water. We scrambled back to the truck to see if we had any mouse impersonators, my buddy had one and caught one fish on the third cast, about a 3lb then got it hung up and lost it. We caught a couple other smaller fish on hula poppers then they quit the surface bait so we went to the pig and jigs a caught a few more smaller fish. I havent seen anything like it since, its was a blast!

When fishing in Canada we often see mice scared from shore jump into the water. When we see it we just watch to see the carnage that soon takes place. Its a wild site to see a mouse become a snack for some larger fish. Many times in Canada it is either a Muskey or a Norther Pike that hits them.

The best I saw was a big pike or Muskey take down a full grown Blue Heron who was fishing on the shore. I heard a wild squaking and racket and then looked over to see the heron being pulled under water to never be seen again.

I guess when your a fish sometimes you just in the mood for Turf and take it any way you can!!!

I have seen quite a few baby ducks get popped out of the water. I have seen on three occasions when doing gut checks on bass baby turtles. My buddy joked that we needed to invent the turtle crank bait.

On bass with full bellys and still biting lures, that just goes to show how they are oppurtunistic. Also tied so strongly to environmental conditions if the weather is right they will bite to spite being full.

Does anyone ship mice to Central Ohio?

Gator

Gator, you could always trap your own.

http://www.biconet.com/traps/tincat.html

Yes Shorty - that will work we need to ship some mice up to Theo.

Gator

Theo rests assured:
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Theo's pond after dusk

Brettski,

Too Funny!

Gator

Brettski, you sir obviously have way too much time on yer hands......where do you come up with this stuff?.......LOL.

Its just pure-Ski logic. :p

LMB are the ultimate predator and will eat anything that doesn’t eat them first. I once knock a morning dove down into a bass heavy farm pond on opening day. While it was flopping on top of the water and I was trying to figure a way to retrieve it without a dog it suddenly disappeared in a swirl! I’ve often wondered how big he must have been.

Bass Pro has a bass fly-fishing lure combo kit that has a "mouse-looking fly" in it. After I tried it, I bought 3 more of the lures.

I actually have a mouse lure -- grey plastic topwater lure and yes I've caught a few fish on it.

:)

LOL! Leave it to george. That is a great picture! He has tried it all!

I have 3 plugs that are mouse plugs and many flys like that as well. they work great if you make them scurry ( type of movement ) across the water and stop them every so often. When they stop they get nailed!!

Has any one heard of a comedy skit about MOBY the Big Mouth Bass? It was on cable several years ago, a guy from Barnard Mo. tells of a very large Bass in Dugans Quary Pond that eats ducks. Any way it was very funny and I have it on a tape someone taped off of cable and I would love to find it on dvd.

That's them George!