I got a phone call from my nephew this evening asking if he and a buddy could fish the pond. Here’s the results, all caught on Stubby Steve’s.
This is the largest RBT caught so far, they had a blast. They learned 2 things tonight. 1) sharp hooks hook and hold fish better than dull ones and 2) if you’re using dull hooks, any slack given to the fish will result in them coming off (like when they jump 3’ into the air coming at you like a missle shot from a submarine ). This RBT is 17.5" long and weighed 2.98#
Two other RBT's were landed and removed for a meal for them; one 17" 2.52# and one 16.5" 2.21# Those trout were stocked in last October and weighed right around 1# each. It seems that the AquaMax 600 is agreeing with them!
I couldn't let them have all the fun so I tossed in a Stubby Steve's pellet on a #8 hook with 2# test and let it sink. I thought I had a trout but look what showed up: 14.5#, 2.26# WR 1.46? I think it was one of the pound fish that I stocked from Jones last Spring that were supposed to be pellet trained. Look at the body size compared to the mouth size. I tagged it with a numbered tag and back in it went. I also saw the other LMB that I tagged last year as a skinny (2.76#), but long (18") LMB from the local lake. It was looking a lot fatter than it did when it went in, but it ignored the pellet.
I had on what looked like another LMB, but it came unbuttoned close to shore. We also caught 3 Male BG and one Female.
We saw some larger trout swimming around. I can't believe how fast they grow! The WR's are picking up!!!
They had a blast even tho they didn't land 75% of the fish that they hooked. They couldn't believe how high they'd jump!
I went and dabbled around in the pond a bit this evening, after a bit of rain. The pond finally is coming up, and there was enough rain to finally bring up the neighbor's pond and overflow into mine. It's still 22 1/4" below full pool.
I tossed out a 2" white twister tail on a #10 unweighted hook on 2# test around the pond edge, hoping to take out some LMB that are small. I caught the LMB that I caught, tagged and transferred last year. It is still thin, but it's now 19" long (gained 1") and it now weighs 3.51# (gained .9#). I took 2 12" LMB out for dinner, one weighed 1.04" and the other .94#. I took out 10 LMB, all 4"-6" as well. I was catching some pretty good sized BG, between 8" and 10", (all Males) when I caught a fish that I thought I had eliminated from the pond:
It was really fat, and weighed 1.16#:
The previous owner stocked them and I did my best to fish them all out. I haven't caught one since 2008 before the pond was renovated. I'm hoping that this is the last one (again).
I bet it tasted good! Pretty fish... What was making the belly so fat? Any sign the crappies reproduced in your pond, or are you just catching the remnants of the original stockers?
Female loaded with eggs. I'm hoping to take that as a sign that no males are present since the LMB were making nests 2 weeks ago. The cold fronts are driving them on and off the beds.
Since this is the first one caught in 2 years, hopefully this means that they aren't reproducing. The last one was about 9" long.
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
Went fishing with 3 friends at West Point Lake (near the GA/AL line) today and we caught about 25 Stripers. Modesty prevents me from telling you who caught the largest, but someone took a picture of the handsome devil. No that is not Catmando! Weighed 14 lbs.
Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:" "She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."
I fished Lanier for stripers last Saturday and we blanked on the line-sides. We caught a few spotted bass later in the day but nothing big. I caught the biggest fish - about 1 1/2 pounds.
I've fished West Point a few times and caught some decent LMB but I've never tried stripers there.
Congrats!
If you're too scared to throw that bait where the fish are, why did you tie it on?
On another note, I fished my pond around noon yesterday and the LMB were surprisingly active. I only landed 1 fish - about a 15-incher - caught on a fluke where there was some feeding activity near the surface. I had a vicious strike in shallow water up by the inlet creek mouth but my stinking flouro leader snapped immediately. I'm swearing off flouro line for a few years - I've had too many fish break off (and I was using Sunline - not cheapo stuff).
If you're too scared to throw that bait where the fish are, why did you tie it on?
Thanks guys. We caught them on 4" BG & RES. They like the lighter colored (females) better. The lake had a tremendous amount of rain recently, and was muddy with logs, and other stuff floating all over the lake. It's clearing up now. They had a shad kill over the winter, so there are no schools anywhere. There are some monsters in there - I think the record is around 63#.
Fished for my SMB for about a hour or so but didn't catch one. They seemed active because I saw multiple strikes on the surface all around the pond. Probably attacking the FHM and GSH. Feed the FHM and GSH right before dark and they were active. I am going to try again tomorrow and if that doesn't work I may set up a trap the next time I am down here.
We went fishing at one of my smaller ponds Saturday morning and caught approximately eight LMB 8-10" in size. Took all of 30 minutes to catch them. After catching them we relocated them to another pond. Sorry, no photos.
Now for the reel fun! We are now aggressively targeting the GSF population in the backyard pond. My wife caught 20 or so under 4" but she also caught some closer to 9." This was the smallest of the three "good size" GSF she caught this afternoon. Using a lightweight spincasting rig with an old jar of "Gulp" artificial bait someone had given me for Christmas three years ago.
). This RBT is 17.5" long and weighed 2.98#
