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3,777 Posts
Hey all,
Just a quick report on the last two days that I've been able to get out and fish the local ponds. I've noticed that the rain we've had several days ago still have a hold on the clarity in general. Chocolate milk is being served regularly......
Usually I prefer fishing the rivers but with the influx of rain, I stayed clear until those swollen systems shrink a bit.
This early in the season I am bound by the fathead and slip bobber offering and with out it I probably would have come up short. Even so I can't say the response was fast and furious, the fact that I offered a little live bait helped none the less. I ran side by side with artificials and came up with a complete 0 on artificials.
The first pic is a nice surprise considering this pond seems to have an abundance of stunted crappies. The crappie swiped at the minnow as I was retrieving it, at first it looked like a bass. I was just happy to get a response since the rest of the afternoon produced a smaller crappie and a couple of lost fish with the twister.
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Right around 6 pm he decided to break lose. I'm convinced this guy was put in the pond by someone rather then it gaining that size on it's own in this pond.
Today I headed on out to the Joliet/Plainfield area which holds it's fair share of subdivision ponds. I really enjoy getting out to the area since there are so many ponds that hold a variety of fish. Although the pressure is similar to ponds in my area (Darien) the fish are a bit more resilient (sp?).
Again I worked the slip bobber and patience prevailed fishing the TURBID water.
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I put alot of time into an area that didn't provide a whole lot of response. Usually I'm one to move around if I don't find some action with in the first 15 minutes. The only problem with that is when I did so I had alot of 15 minute stints that surfaced absolutely nothing. Headed back to this spot and worked a while longer with a couple of slow bites that I missed. I always have to remember to give the fish a few more seconds in the spring to take the minnow. It seems that they are lip it a bit longer in the spring.
At the end of the day I worked my way over to a shallow corner of the north side of the pond. I was hoping that the temps did their magic in warming it up a bit and with in seconds managed a combo that was rare for the day as a whole.
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After all was said and done I caught 3 bass and missed a couple crappie aside from those in the pics.
The beauty of the bass pic was that I saw a swirl close to shore. I cast towards it and a split second later the bass had taken the bobber down. I was pleasantly surprised at the quick reaction the fish had to the offering. I was still shocked that he was working the shoreline this early.
I'm looking forward to the following weekends as the temps improve and artificials prevail. I've still got tomorrow so with some luck this post will be extended.
See you on the water,
JB
Just a quick report on the last two days that I've been able to get out and fish the local ponds. I've noticed that the rain we've had several days ago still have a hold on the clarity in general. Chocolate milk is being served regularly......
Usually I prefer fishing the rivers but with the influx of rain, I stayed clear until those swollen systems shrink a bit.
This early in the season I am bound by the fathead and slip bobber offering and with out it I probably would have come up short. Even so I can't say the response was fast and furious, the fact that I offered a little live bait helped none the less. I ran side by side with artificials and came up with a complete 0 on artificials.
The first pic is a nice surprise considering this pond seems to have an abundance of stunted crappies. The crappie swiped at the minnow as I was retrieving it, at first it looked like a bass. I was just happy to get a response since the rest of the afternoon produced a smaller crappie and a couple of lost fish with the twister.
Right around 6 pm he decided to break lose. I'm convinced this guy was put in the pond by someone rather then it gaining that size on it's own in this pond.
Today I headed on out to the Joliet/Plainfield area which holds it's fair share of subdivision ponds. I really enjoy getting out to the area since there are so many ponds that hold a variety of fish. Although the pressure is similar to ponds in my area (Darien) the fish are a bit more resilient (sp?).
Again I worked the slip bobber and patience prevailed fishing the TURBID water.
I put alot of time into an area that didn't provide a whole lot of response. Usually I'm one to move around if I don't find some action with in the first 15 minutes. The only problem with that is when I did so I had alot of 15 minute stints that surfaced absolutely nothing. Headed back to this spot and worked a while longer with a couple of slow bites that I missed. I always have to remember to give the fish a few more seconds in the spring to take the minnow. It seems that they are lip it a bit longer in the spring.
At the end of the day I worked my way over to a shallow corner of the north side of the pond. I was hoping that the temps did their magic in warming it up a bit and with in seconds managed a combo that was rare for the day as a whole.
After all was said and done I caught 3 bass and missed a couple crappie aside from those in the pics.
The beauty of the bass pic was that I saw a swirl close to shore. I cast towards it and a split second later the bass had taken the bobber down. I was pleasantly surprised at the quick reaction the fish had to the offering. I was still shocked that he was working the shoreline this early.
I'm looking forward to the following weekends as the temps improve and artificials prevail. I've still got tomorrow so with some luck this post will be extended.
See you on the water,
JB
