Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Cane Pole Fishing

I have purchased some 1 piece bamboo cane poles from academy for $1.86 a peice and after work I'm going to take these superworms I got from petco to a local pond and hit it Huck Fin style. Me and some guys on texas fishing forum are about to start posting pics of fish caught on cane poles. A cane pole club so to speak:)

Pretty hard to beat a good ol' cane pole when pond fishing. I have many great memories of fishing with a cane pole rigged with carpet thread and a hook baited with a freshly caught grasshopper. I keep a few around for the neices and nephews. I have threatened to switch back to the cane poles many times while picking a birdnest out of one of my $300 baitcast combos.

That's funny. Lately I've been recalling that as a kid I tried fishing with a stick, some thread and a safety pin. I've almost dared myself into trying it again. (I think you'd have to cut the pin side down to about 1/2 normal length)


Make your own cane pole

I still have my Calcutta Cane surf rod that I built for striper fishing. I can zing a shad a long way with it. Or, at least I used to be able to. I haven't fished anywhere but out of my own ponds for a long time. We have some cane growing around NW Texas but it's pretty flimsy stuff.

Had to go give it a go

My primary bluegill pole down at the dock is a bamboo pole. I got mine at a BassPro Shop in Harrisburg, PA for about $4.

It is three sections, each about 5-1/2 feet long. I tied on about 12 feet of 60 lb. mono, and then about 3 feet of 4 lb. leader. I use like a jigging rod with a 2/0 long shank gold (barb smashed) hook that is baited with either white bread or worms from my worm bin. No weights, no bobber, just the hook and line.

It is a killer, and it takes no time to get a meal of bluegill with it.

Great pictures. Yours looks like it works as good as mine.

Caught this today on my cane pole. Lost a big one that straightened a gold minnow hook. I'm thinking circle hooks would be better since you don't get a good hook set on the long bamboo.

Keith,

Cane pole fishing is a lot of fun for me as well...and it can be very effective on farm ponds. Cane grows wild here in bountiful East Texas and all I have to do is pick one out and cut it. Ever try jigging a very small in-line spinner with a cane pole? It works!!

Where will you post on the TFF? I'd like to check them out and maybe add one or two, also.

The thread is up on the photos board. That bass that straightened the gold crappie hook haunted my dreams last night and set a burning sense of disgust in my belly that only catching one as big as him or bigger on my cane pole will cure. Now, with rain in the forcast conditions for optimal fishing may decline. I like the water clear for optimal visibility. I get off at 2:30 and maybe I can snag one out of there before things get bad. I love going fishing with a specific goal. It's like hunting moby dick with a cane pole.

What's the photos board Keith?

The one thing I really like about a cane pole is that it doesn't spook the fish when one gets caught.

Many times, I only get one or two bluegill if I'm using a fly rod or spinning rod. The others catch on pretty quick.

But, with my cane pole, they are yanked up on the dock before any other fish seem to notice what is happening. On Friday evening I pulled out about 15 bluegill -- and one dumb bass -- in a very short time using this technique.

oh, he was asking where I had it posted on TFF(texasfishingforum.com) and I was saying it's on the photo board. You texans should check out that site!!!

My favorite piece of gear is my "Little Jewel" collapsing fiberglass bream pole. You can get 9, and 10', but I like the 9' best. I use 8# line, #8 hook, and no sinker or bobber. I just let the bait float or drift down slowly. On that very light pole and line, you can feel every last nibble. A 12oz BG feels like a 5 LB LMB. When the bream are out of reach, or the bass are big, I use my fly rod, but fish almost the same way.

Keith,

I'm with you. I love to target certain sizes and types of fish. Last week it was grass carp (but not on a cane pole) and this week I've been after some of the original Florida LMB in my pond, again, not with cane pole

My little grand-daughter is only three years old, but she loves to fish with the cane pole. A few weeks back a rogue huge LMB scared her (and me) by grabbing her baited hook and running. The result was predictable.

Catmando,

That's an excellent observation, one which I can also testify to.

ML and Cat, I like that idea and had never thought of it. I'll try it. Maybe that's why doodlesocking is so effective.

I'll bite. "Doodlesocking"?

I have a memory of fishing a private pond with a cane pole when I was about 5 or 6 years old. Because of one detail of the memory I have some doubts about the accuracy, but I can't deny that I have this image in my head that has lasted more than 40 years.

I remember catching a Bluegill, a very large one. I can still picture the beautiful fish with it's bright orange belly and deep blue body against the light blue sky as it hung from the pole. The black braided line was tangled and the fish was hanging from near the tip, which was broken.

There's no way to know how big that fish was in reality, but what are the chances that a BG could be large enough to snap the tip of a cane pole?

Whether that's an actual or a distorted memory it does explain my love of panfish.

Theo, doodlesocking is using a long stiff pole or rod, a relatively short line and dipping a bait into dense areas that bass might inhabit. It is usually done with a weedless half ounce or larger bass jig. It can be a good way to stop your heart or get a broken arm when a big bass inhales the jig.

I used a couple of old jointed cane poles last weekend while fishing with my 8 yr. old Grandson/Pardner. He wasn't too impressed with the idea at first but when he caught 4 CC's about 4 lbs each, he changed his attitude. On the last cat, the pole broke just above the joint. However, it still stayed together just above the joint and he got landed it.

A little later, we went back to the pond and he put a piece of nightcrawler on using a rod and reel. A bass grabbed it and promptly lit out for a brushpile. The fish got hung up and straightened the small hook. He told me that it wouldn't have gotten away if he had used his other cane pole.

Keith, thanks for starting this thread. I was trying to figure out just why I have about 30+ rods and reels and 10 tackle boxes of foolers.

Anybody know where you can get a Calcutta around Fort Worth?

I started a homemade pole. I had just finished making an ATM deposit when I noticed that the bank had a nice patch of bamboo at the edge of the parking lot. I figured that they would appreciate some help maintaining this invasive plant so I fetched my machete and went to work. The bank was closed, but a few cars showed up during the harvest. If they were bothered by the site of a man chopping wildly at the landscaping they didn't show it.

This shaft is slightly curved at the thick end which I doubt will straighten out. I think it's a little over 12 foot long. There is a huge patch of bamboo not far from my place and next time I drive by I'll see what's available.

I am impressed with these BG photos and stories. I really haven't fished much for them in our pond but intend to do so this weekend. They drive you nuts when worm fishing in my pond for LMB. Question: I don't have access to crickets in my area. What are your preferred baits and also, are you fileting them or frying them whole (less heads and scales of course)?

Try your local petstore for these things called super worms. People feed them to their lizards and small snakes. They are some type of beetle in the larval stage and they work sooooooo good. Often they stay on the hook for 2-4 fish so I like them better than crickets. The petstore also usually sells crickets.

When doing a little BG sampling near one of the feeders, two LMB nearly took the cane poles out of my dad and brother-in-law's hands. I'm not sure if they were the feed-trained bass or if they were just waiting for the feeder to go off in order to pick off an easy BG meal.

I was throwing a bait-cast reel on a 6 ft. rod about 50 yards away...not nearly as fun. I had to laugh watching those two big boys giggle over nearly being pulled in by the wittle bass.