Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Stubby Steve tip

When I open my envelope of SS�s, they are stuck together and sticky when separated.
I put them in a prescription bottle with ground up AQMX and they become coated and even more effective.

While you guys are at the conference playing �make believe� tournament fishermen, I�m culling 5-7 inch primo female CNBG.
I�m more convinced than ever that the fish kill survivors are pure Florida CNBG and more tolerant to low DO than native BG � these smaller CNBG have beginning copper bars and markings.

George Glazener

Thanks George! I'll try that.

Ordered mine friday, I will try it also.

thanks for the tip George. You wouldn't happen to have a tip for keeping the catfish from disappearing after you catch one? Stubby Steve's fools them, but once you get one hooked...the rest disappear for hours.

.... and don't ever release one after you catch .... as DD1 says "they won't touch anything with a string attached" - they are too smart for me.

I'll never stock another one...

Good morning, Gentlemen! I was telling Doc about George coating his Stubby Steve's in ground Aquamax... great minds think alike!!! We used to do exactly the same thing, but we ran into mold forming on the fish food. We could easily wipe away the fish food and mold and the SS would be fine...

So, now, when we roll the SS in ground fish food, we make sure to get rid of the extra for storage. So far, no mold after one year storage.

Also, we have found that it really helps to store the SS in the refrigerator when not in use. We have kept some for over a year with no deterioration.

Doc says, especially if you decide to store your SS in ground fish food... don't be a "tight wad" and put the used piece back in. (his words, not mine.... I told him no one here is a tight wad)!!!

Hope you all are having a wonderful Labor Day Weekend!
Stacy

I am a huge fan of Stubby Steve and IIRC the first to post on this forum the merits of SS after Todd Overton sent me a complimentary package to test.

FWIW, as a long time user of pellet flies, I offer an opinion.

Best: Foam pellet surface fly encased in panty hose and stored in ground AQMX � UNTIL � fish get hook shy.
HSB will strike fly so hard that fly will be pushed away.
Most durable pellet fly.

Best: Cecil�s AQMX pellet encased in panty hose for sinking flies and lasts long enough to land several fish.

Best: Stubby Steve for sinking fly, stored in ground AQMX as a convenience for folks not wanting to go to the trouble of tyin� flies.
Better than any other commercial product ever tested.

I used SS a couple of days ago that had been stored in ground AQMX since June w/o any mold problem.

A problem with the �stamped out� SS pellets that I have received are in one piece that requires separating � a plus is the sticky side adheres to ground AQMX very well.

Negative SS - shipped in flat envelope, postal sorting machine flattens out pellet to thickness of penny rendering them almost useless.

I highly recommend SS for fly rod.

Hello George! You are a wealth of information! This issue of Pond Boss is my favorite so far!!! Wonder why....

I just want to say that the post office was brutal to all of the samples I sent out over the country this past spring. I didn't know until way too late what had become of our beloved SS. Nothing "stubby" about them... flat as pancakes. That probably hurt my marketing a little!

Soooo, we send out all of our purchased lures in priority mail boxes and as far as I know (I'm sure I would have been told otherwise) they are ariving to thier final destination still "stubby" and round!

We appreciate your approval, George!

Stacy:

You saw what mine looked like! The ones that you sent came thru just fine. The box was smashed on one corner, but the SS were undamaged.

If the bag is unopened, do I need to store them in the refrigerator?

Hey Scott! Yeah, I would store the whole thing in the fridge. They'll be fine if you don't, but if it's gonna be awhile before you use them, it'll keep them from getting sticky if it's really hot wherever you have them.

Even if they get a little sticky, they "un-stick" just fine! I've had a big zip-lock bag full of SS that's rode around in the car with me since Feb... you can imagine the freezing, un-freezing, scorching hot...not to mention how my car smelled! They still catch fish, though!

Thanks Stacy. It's only been in the low 80's, but I'll throw them in the fridge.

I hear ya George. I was letting the small ones go until this year. Any CC caught does not make it back into the water.

The priority mail shipping works. I got my SS in perfect shape.

Hey, george - what size hook do you sue with your Stubby Steve's?

WHAT are you doing to sue with your SS.

I learned my lesson this year. Any CC that's caught (with the exception of the a few that I tagged) will exit the pond if caught. They learn too damn fast and remember what a hook is for too long!!

FWIW, my Chubby Steve's pellets float with a 1/0 Owner Octopus hook.

Theo, I'm using a #10 Owner Mosquito hook with mine on 2# test.

Theo, I use #6 Mustad 92641 bait hooks � they have barbs on the hook shank to hold SS away from hook gape.
They are large enough to cull small BG, heavy enough to sink the fly, and handle large HSB as well.
If SS is not hooked securely lose too many.

Fish caught on the surface become hook shy much quicker than when caught sub-surface - visibility too good on surface,
Fish are smart�!

Another tip � Catch and released fish caught on SS�s fish will become conditioned for it as quickly as any other lure, so it helps to change baits occasionally.
I�ll switch back and forth from SS to AXMX ph fly to prevent this problem.

Yes, that would be quite useful - I'll have to find some. I have trouble trying to have enough hook left to snag fish mouth, and have had several strong nibbles (bobber well under) for each hook set so far.


And yet they are still biting on fake feed. Have you suspected any decrease in feeding from the use of these faux pellet lures?

I released my last CC early last Spring.

Never - IMO that's an "old wives tale" ...
A FLY ROD is the very best delivery system for SS's ....

I need to clarify this statement � if fish are hammered day in/day out with pellet flies around the feeders, undoubtedly there would be a decrease in feeding � so again �it all depends�.

The past week was the first time my fish had seen a hook since June and my pellet fishing was limited.

The only time I will �hammer� fish with pellet flies is when I am culling, and I may take out several dozen culls, and weigh, measure and photograph the fish to be released.

I catch some of my largest CNBG on foam gurglers, hoppers and spiders.

My HSB love chartreuse spinsters.
I try not to fish for them on pellet flies but sometimes they get greedy.
They are a blast on a fly rod.

I was thinking more of an "Old Forum Members'" tale, george.

I have only noticed very temporary effects. Bass feeding is off if I feed quickly following catching a LMB on a pellet. And when I had more CC, catching one on anything resulted in 9 out of 10 CC avoiding feeding for a couple of hours or more. OTOH, I have never noticed any decrease in feeding with BG wrt some being caught. Biggest effect was on GC; I had decreased GC pellet feeding for about a month after hooking 2 of 5 on Stubby Steve's in a two week period (but that was a good thing).

I don�t have any experience with feed trained bass so cannot comment, but BG, CC, and GC � quite a bit.

CNBG - As mentioned in above post � no observed decreased feeding activity when fishing with pellet flies.

HSB - No decreased feeding activity what-so-ever ...

CC � No decrease feeding activty when fishing with pellet flies.

GC - You are right on � no GC around feeders after catch and release - easiest way to control.
If persistent feeders, don�t release, take them out � too many GC stocked in pond or not enough aquatic vegetation for them to eat.