I'd like to ask a question if I may. First the reason. I have a 1 acre pond with a max depth of 11' and about 25 years old. Years ago it became very weedy and got way out of balance. I've worked hard these last few years at restoring it. Weed removal, aeration and a fish feeding program. The bluegills are finally starting to do well. But the bass are still overcrowded and under weight. And still it's almost impossible to get them to hit an artificial lure. My question is would it be a bad idea to use Creek chubs for bait. Those are about the only minnows that I can correctly identify. And how about bait store bought minnows. My thinking is I don't want to introduce anything new into my pond that could cause me more problems. Any and all thoughts are welcome. Thank you.

That might work you might catch a BG/ For bass, my go to bait is a 3 to 4 inch free swimming bluegill.

Can you show a picture of how you hook these please? Iv always been taught in the middle of the back. My father in law hooks them between the eyes. My buddy always hooks by the tail. Just curious of what works best for everyone?

I hook them through the back so they aren’t impeded swimming.

In a river with a current, on a trot line, it is more important to hook them thru the eyes so the current doesnt beat them up, but in a pond setting you will get much more swimming action, like DD said, by hooking thru the back or tail I think you will find.