At my pond...if you catch one fish with a particular type of bait, it tells the others and significantly reduces any further bites. At this point, I think they have wised up beyond bait style and are now looking for the eye of the hook and/or the line, maybe even a bobber at the surface. I know this is not near entirely true, but it sure seems like it at times. And, I do not overfish, or should I say "over-catch" my pond. I have probably caught and returned 70 fish since it was stocked 1-1/2 years ago.
I have caught, at least one, HBG twice, but I would certainly bet it was different bait both times.
Somehow, I thought (prior to the pond build) that I was going to easily create a fish catching haven...really, how can a 1/4 acre pond with over 600 fish in it be so hard to catch a few fish, let alone fill a basket?
"Hook shy" is a concern of mine, but they can't get much harder to catch than they are right now. I think they are spoiled on natural foods and pellets.
