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Post by Purebred Redneck on Mar 12, 2009 9:26:57 GMT -5
I was at the archery shop yesterday and heard some guys saying they're catching a lot of bass.
It's going to be about 55 this weekend so I might go out to a few little hidden ponds I hit every year. I've never been this early though.
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Post by jmarriott on Mar 12, 2009 9:48:06 GMT -5
Wacky Worm rigging time red. North end of the lake.
Still to cold here.
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Post by jimiowa on Mar 12, 2009 10:09:56 GMT -5
Water will still be cold and fish metabolism is slow.
I would use small baits.
I'm not a bass fisherman, but have taken crappie before ice was clear out. By casting onto the ice and getting hits just as the baits fell off the ice into the water.
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Post by bullseye on Mar 15, 2009 8:36:11 GMT -5
We still have a good deal of ice on the lakes but the smaller rivers are starting to open up. It is still way too cold for even thinking about bass fishing yet. I am thinking that the last week of the month I will get the boat out of storage and start to load it up. I am guessing that we have about 4-5 weeks before the ice comes off the lakes and bass fishing may start. Lake Winnebago still has 16" of ice on it yet. The Wolf River on the Winnebago system should open up by the end of the month and then it is time to think of walleye fishing. While the Wolf will open, the lakes in the Winnebago system will still have ice on them.
We did get up to around 50 degrees yesterday but a few days before it was -3 in the morning. That was the warmest temps we have seen in quite a while. Last Sunday we got 6" of snow. While the snow on the level is pretty much gone there are still a lot of snow banks and those by the larger parking lots are 12-14 feet high yet.
It is March in WI which means we can see anything from 60 degrees to below 0 for temps and I am guessing there is an 8" snowfall somewhere in our near future. It seems to happen every year just when we think spring is finally here. It wasn't that many years ago we had a 5" snowfall in early May!!!
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Post by jmarriott on Mar 15, 2009 9:15:42 GMT -5
I have a favorite early season spot i fish from a bank. It has a field drainage tile spilling into the little bay. This stop always produces bass and gills early. It is a deep hole and a nice little drainage in. I only have luck with live bait at this spot or maybe a jig if it had a boat.
I have a 10 foot one person canoe and while most here may not think of it as a boat it really works compared to on foot.
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Post by Purebred Redneck on Mar 16, 2009 8:19:50 GMT -5
This was the earliest I have ever bass fished and they are biting a bit.
I caught 6 or 7 in the 2 hours or so I fished.
Pretty typical of the two ponds - all the fish were between 10-13". Got them on a black lizard with green tail.
Despite the 1/2 mile walk, someone else has already been back there as you can see fresh tracks in the mud. It's a shame, but secrets don't last forever.
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Post by jimiowa on Mar 16, 2009 10:11:51 GMT -5
This was the earliest I have ever bass fished and they are biting a bit. I caught 6 or 7 in the 2 hours or so I fished. Pretty typical of the two ponds - all the fish were between 10-13". Got them on a black lizard with green tail. Despite the 1/2 mile walk, someone else has already been back there as you can see fresh tracks in the mud. It's a shame, but secrets don't last forever. THat's not necisarily a bad thing Red. I used to fish a pond on a farm where I was the only one who fished it. It was a small pond and I could pull 1/2-3/4 pound bass out of it all day long any time I fished it. A given size body of water has a carry capacity and once that's exceeded the fish become stunted and never grow any bigger. I would rather see others fishing a pond and keep the quantity of fish down so they can grow. |
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Post by Purebred Redneck on Mar 16, 2009 10:31:31 GMT -5
The fish look pretty healthy and chunky - everyonce in a while you'll catch one that's long and thin (evidence of a stunt). This isn't one of those ponds where you catch one every single cast.
I probably take 12-15 bass and 20-30 bluegill home every year. For two ponds about 2 acres each in size, I would think the numbers are about right.
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Post by jmarriott on Mar 17, 2009 7:14:24 GMT -5
One farm pond that i fish at has a single limitation. Leave the big bass and catfish in the lake and take everyone of the bluegills caught home to fry up.
Two kids with a pole each can keep me busy just watching and baiting and untangling all morning with no real pole time for me. So I have them catch me a real small gill and then toss out one pole with the gill on it hooked in the back. I get one maybe 2 big cats or bass each time. One of the bass i caught was around 5 pounds last year and a cat was most likely close to 8 pounds. The good fishing on this pond lasts untill about may when the weeds make it a nightmare to fish from the bank.
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Post by jimiowa on Mar 17, 2009 8:06:35 GMT -5
Ah yes I remember those days well!! Had a lot of fun taking my kids fishing when they were small.
The biggest Catfish I ever caught , well actually my wife caught it on my pole?
While untangling the kids lines my rod started to take off and the wife saved it and landed the fish. ;D
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Post by jmarriott on Mar 17, 2009 8:42:32 GMT -5
Jim I here you loud and clear. I had to run in after my pole last year about 5 feet into the lake when i was baiting a hook. I came close to loosing it.
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Post by jimh on Apr 10, 2009 23:02:14 GMT -5
well my two youngest boys went with their uncle today to spend thier annual Good Fri down on the farm. Last year when they got back we had 3 friggen babby Ducks that the Bro in-law thought would be a hoot for them to have. this year though (i told him ahead of time i would shake-n-bake them if they got ducks again) they just went fishing. the wife got this picture of the middle one with a decent Bass he caught today. not bad considering it has been raining the last two days.  |
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Post by deputydon on Apr 11, 2009 6:26:58 GMT -5
Nice Bass. My oldest has been hitting the bass hard too. He emailed me a photo of a 8 ib. plus one about 4-5 days ago. What he really likes to to hit is the BIG pike and he says they should start shortly...
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Post by Purebred Redneck on Apr 11, 2009 18:47:03 GMT -5
I love those farm ponds.
You never know what's going to happen when you set the hook.
One of two things
1. The fish is going to be flying over your shoulder ;D
2. It ain't going to budge ;D
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bounce
Royal Member
Posts: 5,727
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Post by bounce on Apr 12, 2009 19:40:42 GMT -5
Tryed fishing my pond & the neighbors today, nothing for fish or bights but a lot of wood ducks were at mine and super mess of pelicans at the neighbors, The pelicans stayed and did not fly and then another huge flock of them came in and landerd so it was mostly pelican watching for me.
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