Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Fellowship of the Traveling Lure-Stories & photos

So, no pics tonight because it was a totally impromptu and unexpected trip to the farm. We arrived at church and as we were pulling in, my wife said she thought she might have forgotten to lock the door to our building when she left there earlier today. Her plan was to run out tonight and check it, but I decided to just go do it myself. So, I'm feeling guilty about ducking out of church but I figured as long as everything was okay out at the farm, it would have been a worthwhile reason to miss.

I get there and see that the pond surface is absolutely as clear as I've seen it in weeks and smooth as glass. All the FA is beaten down from the rains of the past few days and the watermeal is all bunched up from the wind we had today, so fishing looks ideal. I figure I might as well grab a couple of the traveling lures and give them a few minutes in the water, right?

So first I toss in a handful of feed and the BG start going crazy on it. Then, I grab the Viking Spoon again figuring it's worth trying once again. That thing casts almost all the way across the pond, which is really cool, and so I launched it out there once, twice, with no takers. On the third cast, I get a bite and set the hook, moments later reeling a dink LMB at 5 oz. and 6 inches long. Nothing impressive, other than being, I think, the first fish actually caught on this beast of a lure! That dink proved to be the key, though, to breaking the ice as the next 10 minutes resulted in these LMB:

13 inches - 1 lb.
9 inches - 11 oz. x 2
8 inches - 9 oz.
7 inches - 5 oz.

I decided to give the Spoon a break and tossed the jointed rap out on my ultralight rig. The first cast led to another dink bass, like the very first one, then another 9 incher that I didn't bother weighing, though he did give me one very impressive jump, easily 18 inches out of the water trying to shake the lure. A few casts later, I get a hook up and see a flash underwater and realize it's a bluegill. After a vigorous fight, I pull in the fattest BG I've ever caught and immediately begin lamenting the lack of a camera or even a phone with a camera in it!

This is perhaps the most all-around impressive BG I've caught in this pond. It wasn't the longest by any means - 8 inches. But it was a solid 12 oz. and had amazing head development. This sucker not only had a huge helmet, it had a huge chinstrap as well! I looked like its head was surrounded by a ring of meat - absolutely impressive fish! The breast was a really bright orange, and it had a large number of black scale tips. I forget if that's indicative of a male or female. The ear tab looked to be slightly extended, maybe indicating a male. In any event, a truly awesome fish and one I hope is enjoying the feed so it can keep packing on weight.

In any event, it turned out to be a whirlwind 30 minute outing and an absolute blast. The rain had moved through - hopefully for good for the next couple of days - and it was just a beautiful, calm, cool evening. All in all, clearly what pond ownership is about!

I may get some time in tomorrow as well and will certainly report any doings if I get out. Then, Friday, I pack up the lures and drive east to meet our friend Catmandoo to personally deliver the lures and enjoy a few hours of fishing with him before leaving the lures in his care. What a cool event this whole thing has been!