Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations What's your "go to" BG lure/bait?

One of the old timers I used to run the river with always said, "You wanna catch fish, use a small hook... You wanna catch FISH, use a big hook!!"

He could take a group of kids out and have them on fish as fast as you could take them off the hook... Then when the fun was over he could fill a gallon ziplock with keepers just as fast..

Here is my story and I am sticking to it. Plus I have witnesses.

2 short (6 ft) cane poles with small hooks and 6 lb test with sinker and cork. 2 10 year old girl fishermen (one had never fished) and 2 Stubby Steve's brown pellets. One Leatherman Wave tool. In 30 mins 35 CNBG 6-10 inches (they fished and I took fish off the hook) as fast as I could. If I was faster it could have been 50. At that point we stopped.

On another occasion when all the kin were suffering a slow bite on crickets and worms I broke out the secret weapon (Stubby Steve's pellets) . I proceeded to catch 25 CNBG while the rest ( 4 fishermen) caught 4 on their bait all in 20 mins. Sometimes my kin get pissed but they will sure listen now.

SPRK, I have and use both. I prefer to never use a weight. Even while pond bass fishing I generally use a weightless worm. I have found that pond fish have become conditioned to the red and white bobber. So, I have tried, sometimes successfully, to use sticks from the shoreline.

I can't tie 2 pound line. Heck, I can seldom even see it, much less feel it. That stuff is very unforgiving.

Stubby Steve pellets on the fly.
No live bait allowed - that's cheating.
Catch CNBG on almost every cast.
Use heavy enough hook so will sink - they get hook shy on floaters - be a line watcher.
G/

Dave, I'm with you on not using added weight if possible. I tend to use a 'slider' float when the BG are deeper however, and this requires some placement weight to get the bait to depth. Also, I usually fish from shore, and tend to make long casts to avoid spooking the fish. This requires weight of a different fashion....it's
a balancing act trying to combine distance, yet kep the splashdown to a minimum.

George I hear you....line watching with no float or weight can be a killer method!

Like Dave said, my fish also have learned to avoid the red and white bobbers. They don't bite if I use the small Styrofoam floats. I frequently use foam strike indicators if I'm just using a worm on a hook without weights. However, I do get a lot of fish trying to eat the strike indicators.

I'll use the small ice fishing floats, and if I need a little bit more weight to either 1) make the float more sensitive or 2) give me more weight to cast I'll put a tiny split shot directly under the float and slide it up the line so it's touching the float.

One trick when fishing with floats. If you watch the float during the cast, and slow down the line going out right before it hits the water, the bait will land away from the float and slowly flutter down, while keeping a relatively tight line to the float for maximun sensitivity on the float.

I like the clam shaped split shot as opposed tot he more common round shaped split shot.

TUMS,
How do you get the cricket out there? Are you using a cane pole or some other "long" rod?

With good water clarity I like to use a black ant fly behind a small casting bubble on an ultra light spinning rod.



Fly Fishing with a Spinning Rod

I've never tried Stubby Steves, but I need to try it. Gulp maggots work great. I raised meal worms for years and years. Now, I just feed them to the birds. Micro jigs (1/80 or 1/100 oz) are used exclusively as fish never swallow them and I get great hookups. Depending on the situation, I'll use a 5 to 8 foot microlite pole and 4 lb test line(the softer the better--I like Suffix). Again, depending on situation, I'll attach a tiny fixed or slip bobber to determine proper depth. If I'm casting for gills, Charlie Brewer's tiniest (1/2 inch?) Slider Grub is fantastic. I think they're called Bees?????

+1 for the light Sufix Elite line.....