Roly Poly Fisheads 2023
Kansas
Crappie are biting today! Caught 15 in 20 casts. Only had 20 minutes to fish. Thinking it might be time to start prepping for a fish fry.
Looks like a 2.5 yr old…he’ll be good’un in a couple of years ;?)
One day maybe I’ll get to do that…
Don't start this thread on me yet guys. Your killing me. My boat hasn't left the garage since the first of June.
Be still your invite is open ended, come up anytime.
Caught them from a dock KsRancher. No boat needed.
We have been hitting our limits in NE Kansas. Fun times!
The crappie fanatics around here never stopped. A good buddy was ready to get back into bowhunting again this last fall, he even got himself a nice used Prime fully rigged. He never went to a tree once, even though he had access to 2 very good properties. Too busy chasing crappie…. Lol
Probably a lot of people on here who are much more knowledgeable about fishing than me.
We are in the process of completing a 35-40 acre lake. We are going to build several habitat structures before the dam is constructed.
What would you guys do for habitat? I’ve got several ideas and options, but would like to hear other opinions.
Also, what would you do, considering order of operations or timeline, in getting fish started in the lake?
Oh man One Arrow, what a question... and what a lake!
Get on PondBoss forums. They are a great source of info.
Personally I put out alternating brushpiles. One will be brushy like cedar trees, the one next to it will be logs (hedge works great, don't use walnut). Bait fish like the brushy stuff and large predators like to lay under larger horizontal structures. With them alternated it places your predators next to the food supply. Very nice system for growing large fish and being able to fish for them.
Rock outcropings or humps in the lake are important too.
Even if you can't afford (or have time) to put in docks put your pillars in before it fills.
If you want crawfish now is the time to put in habitat for them too.
I could keep on going and going...
Ray: build a boat ramp while you can.
Cat,
As for cedar. I had a friend suggest staying away from cedar, invites beavers and they wouldn’t last very long. There no real way to avoid beavers, and I have a ton of cedar so I’m probably going to do as you suggested anyway.
Keep’em - that is definitely in the works. Probably 2
I’ve got several bulk chemical totes and literally tons of scrap pipe (mostly steel and some plastic). I’ve thought about thoroughly rinsing the chemical totes (and using a neutralizer). Cutting some 3” holes and just sitting them in the bottom of the lakebed. I’ve got a lot of wooden pallets as well… a lot.
I’ll look into that forum. Thanks!
Georgia Cube
Georgia Cube
Make you some of these “Georgia Cubes” fish attractants and place in both deep and shallow water. In summer when there is no oxygen in the deep water the bait fish and predator fish will be piled up in and around the shallow water attractants. If you can maybe even suspend a few that would be even better. I like the one off version with green bucket and smooth black pvc tubes also pictured which will bend and flex as you reel, pull or jig a lure thru it and being smooth should reduce snags. These won’t rot away either like cedars, Christmas trees and pallets. Also included is a pallet pyramid but it may only stay together for 3-5 yrs?
Make sure your pond/lake has settled and PH level is between 7.0-9.0 before introducing/stocking fish. Supposed to introduce the fish slowly by mixing pond water in buckets with fish so they can acclimate to the pond PH and temp and do it in different phases just in case you have a die off it will atleast be a small die off. Good Luck!
Check this out pallet boy ;?)
Those green buckets are expensive
Now that helps… I was just going to stack them. Might try a few pyramid structures. Looks like I need to buy some screws
I’ve done a lot of salvaging over the years, got a bunch of cinderblocks as well. Hundreds.
“Green buckets are expensive”….says the guy building a 35-40 acre lake? Seriously?
Dude, despite what you might assume, I’m not made of money and just because I’m working on a lake it doesn’t means I’m going to have a ton of money in making it happen.
I made a good land purchase about 12 years ago. I had my eyes on it years before we purchased it. 80 acres of it is an abandoned quarry, we were laughed at by a lot of neighbors, but my wife and I fell in love with the place. An abandoned Quarry isn’t much use to a farmer. I’m guessing I could sell it for 5 times what we paid for it now. If I make a lake? Probably closer to 10 times, but it ain’t for sale and you ain’t invited to fish in it. Kyle/Cat/Keepem… come over in a couple years and we’ll get a few good days in.
This project has been a plan of mine for several years and I’ve finally got the go ahead and have saved enough money to at least get started and hoping to finish by mid-summer if estimates hold true. It’s literally going to take a dam smaller than most smaller cattle ponds to hold back 35ish acres of water.. The emergency spillway might cost me a little more, but I’m going to have about as much money in this as 2 ponds. If I wasn’t building a road in part of it, it would be significantly less, but I’m doing that now because it will never get done after we build the dam. This lake was actually a later phase plan I had for One Arrow, but that’s been put on the back burner for now and maybe permanently.
It’s a sizeable lake, how many of these would a guy need to make adequate habitats? 10, 15, 20, 100? I don’t need to justify my expenditures to anyone, but I’ve got 2 kids at home, both going into braces, a roof that should have been replaced 7 years ago, and coming off a horrible crop year. I’m not dropping 2 or 3 thousand into habitat if I have the materials on hand to build it myself. Yes I am a tightwad, but believe it or not, a couple grand is a lot of money to me. I learned a long time ago the value of a dollar.
Never seen a correlation between cedar and beavers (and we have plenty of both). Maybe your friend is referring to cedars up north where they are a preferred food for deer too? What we have is actually a juniper.
Real wood will have to be replaced eventually (7yrs-ish), plastic is much more long term. Careful with plastic though as it must be secured very well. You don't want it slipping out of the cement, having wire rust out, or it becoming brittle with age. Imagine a 5 gallon feed bucket after a yr or two and it just falls apart one day when you pick it up. It'll end up washed up on all your shores. Make it sturdy!
Wood decomposes because it feeds stuff. Cedar and fruit wood (do you have any mulberries?) are loved by algae, micro-organisms, and invertebrates. All super important to the base of the food chain. Your minnows and bait fish won't hit those brush piles just because they are cover, they'll use them for food and sometimes egg laying habitat too.
Best way to prep cedar; cut and let them brown. After a couple of months burn the brown needles off them. It's a fun job with kids. Put them out after the initial flash of fire. You'll be left with a skeleton of the tree and none of the cedar sticky sap. Fish will take to them instantly. If you put them in green it takes a while for the fish to start using them.
Minnows and bluegill. Fatheads require a certain structure to reproduce. Your pallets are perfect for them. Bluegill like gravel spawning beds. Put in a few areas to ensure long term forage populations. Golden shiners spawn on vegetation.
Sounds like an awesome setup! I would like you to start a build thread to document the process with before and after pics. Would be a great follow!
One Arrow...no problem. If truly interested in the bucket attractant option, I would have gladly given you a handful of extra buckets I have laying around here. Again....Good Luck on your project.
So what do you think of using some 6” aluminum pipe? I’ve got some access to quite a bit of irrigation pipe.
Also I’m thinking of using the cages of chemical totes and tying them end to end and setting them in the bottom rather than using the plastic tanks inside them. Got to thinking about what some said about plastic becoming brittle over time.
I didn’t know what size holes a guy should drill in tanks? I’ve got several 55 gallon DEF plastic bulk barrels I can use as well. Thought about drilling 2” or 3” holes, filling about 1/3 with rocks and sinking them. Is that too big of holes, should I go down to 1”?
I’ve got a lot of rock piles. Some huge rocks. Probably going to use some for landscaping, but leave some for habitat
I’ve fished about a 35 acre watershed for close to about 18 years now. There has been a couple of some old mostly submerged hedge trees that have been there since I started fishing it. Some mostly submerged, some only partially submerged. I’m betting they will be there another 20 or more years. And always fish around them.
Yes, swans. They stop every winter and are fairly tolerant of my fishing and screwing around. They don't always leave when I go to the pond anyway.
Had a pair almost land in my Canada spread near Augusta a couple years back. Heard the strangest sound above, and behind me, had wings set but veered off last minute.
Big'ol birds
They're huge, and make weird noises! I checked, not legal to shoot them.
No, not here, but I think up N there are seasons. At least there used to be.
We’ve got a group of 14 I see every day. Man, they are big.
Started off with 2 or 3 swans. Up to 14 now
There was group of 20 or so that spent a couple of weeks in a wheat field south of my house in late December and early January. There were a couple that were gray and smaller. I assume they were young ones. I had never seen them in a field before.
Catscatch: I am envious of you and the fish you are catching. I eat a lot of Crappie. It looks like everything will be covered with ice next week.
Aaron that is some nice ones too.
I see a football state champ sign in the background. You don’t look old enough to have played in the 70’s but was one your kinfolk on the team?
Cat…….do you know if they’re Trumpeter swans or possibly Tundra swans? I know Tundra swans are legal to shoot in certain states, but Trumpeters are protected. Trumpeters are becoming more common in Iowa, due to some restoration nesting projects across the state, including one about 15 miles north of where I live. We see them out in harvested fields fairly regularly. Some birds are resident birds, and don’t migrate. They are pretty cool birds, and big suckers, too!
One Arrow - look what is in this month's issue of Pond Boss Magazine... an article on structure!
T-roy - I id'd them many yrs ago as Trumpeters. Haven't went to the trouble of checking again but imagine they are the same group every yr.
I kept my pond pretty clean of structure when I reclaimed it during the 2011-12 drought. It’s about 3/4 acre so I focused on big gills. I do have nice bass in it too now but it’s fun catching the big gills on light tackle.
Not sure why the pics are crooked….just turn your heads because the rotate doesn’t work.
Dang Quailhunter, that's a nice bass and a whopper of gill!
Blue gills are good eating that's a nice one!
Be still, Correct, I wasnt born yet but I have heard so many stories through the years it almost feels like I was in the stands watching. My dad was the coach of that team. For a school wood working project my daughters made a new sign for the field. Proud dad moment watching them take pride in the sign. My dad passed prior to them being born so it was pretty special.
If anyone want 4-10ft pieces of 1 1/4 inch orange PVC let me know they are free
Yep Aaron I agree with Kyle and I like the school’s colors as well.
Our school color is great...for high school. Ill leave that conversation for the other thread on the Ks site. I just hope the old GOAT is looking down at his granddaughters with a big smile.
Aaron: an alumnus of B-game, class of 61. Was just down there last week, congratulations, dave.
Thanks Dave, Any relation to Mark?
Nice, good family. His boy was a few years younger than I.
Got in them pretty good Saturday morning. Limit in about 3 hours.
I have many family members still in Burlingame. Very nice little town. Might be the only one where you still park in the middle of main street.
I guess I didn't realize how many ties BS had to my hometown. Kinda cool!
Only place where Santa Fe rail crosses Santa Fe trail.
Plus good hunting and fishing within a stones throw in any direction.
What depth are you guys catching those crappie at? Are you catching them around submerged trees? I am thinking I might try to get out Sunday and have no idea where to start. I have never fished in January/February
I've been catching them around submerged trees. 2 jigs or roadrunners under a bobber. Pull it about a foot then let it sit a few seconds. One day I'll catch them 18 inches below the surface, the next 4ft. Mid day seems to be the best right now but to be honest I haven't fished much this winter.
I've caught most of mine on brush in about 14-18 foot of water. Breaks on the channels will produce as well but they tend to move more so you have to work to stay on them.
If you live near Kingman, KS...get your fishing on! KDWP is renovating the waterbody. A fish salvage order went into effect Monday, February 6, 2023. During the fish salvage order, the public may collect any remaining fish in the designated waterbody by traditional rod and reel only, all other methods including seining and snagging are still PROHIBITED. Daily creel limits and size limits are temporarily removed during this period...so CATCH ALL YOU WANT!
Once all fish have been removed from the waterbody, the lake will then be drained so that KDWP Fisheries Dept. can improve existing habitat. Once KDWP Fisheries Dept. have fully renovated the aquatic habitat, they’ll wait for the waterbody to reach an ideal water level before stocking the following species: Largemouth Bass, Channel Catfish, Bluegill, NORTHERN PIKE, Black Crappie. Project to be complete by this coming Fall.
Cool! The State drained a local lake when I was in high school. They allowed snagging. Buddies and I brought cooler after cooler of fish out of that thing! Had a blast doing it!
Kingman about 12yrs ago or so
non-stop action on the lakes this weekend. Limit was hit Friday-Sunday.
Double bonus, Busch Light and Crappie.
Pretty tough around Tuttle, all ice or mud.
Perry, Clinton and Pomona. I had to break ice Saturday morning. Just a thin layer.
Aaron you’re living the life man. Mighty fine times and eating right there.
Very nice pic of the boat and lake by the way.
I love fishing this time of year. No jet ski, 20 minute wait at the ramps, just non-stop action fishing. I would be on the water 12 months out of the year if it wasn't for my addiction to antlers.
What time of day are you having your best bite? I think I am finally going to get out on Sunday for a little bit. It might be a tricky one getting my boat launched on the local county lake I am planning on going at. It is as low as I have ever seen it.
Last weekend I fished Friday evening and the best action was the last 30 minutes. However I wasn't on good fish until then. Saturday and Sunday I only fished in the mornings due to some other obligations. It was pretty much non-stop from daylight to 10am. I talked to a guy Sunday on the water that said they shut down after I left. He said it slowed down until about 4pm before they picked back up.
Thanks. Hopefully I can get into them. The lake is only 50 acres when completely full. Right now it's probably about 40 acres and the deepest spot is 14'. So I should be able to find them I would think
It was slow last night. I only cleaned 27. I guess I need to go back out this morning and try again. Life is rough at times.
The fishing was good this morning. Only caught 2 crappie, but they were nice ones. 14-17in bass were biting like crazy
The big bass was a hair over 22", and hugely fat.
You guys are killing me! Good times
Dang Catscratch! That's a haul. I am hoping to go to Clark next weekend. BUT this will take up a little bit of your time when you normally would be fishing
I fished a lake with a 20 fish limit Saturday morning. The wind was brutal so I put the first 20 legal fish in the well and was home by 9am. Sunday was the day. I got on a couple good schools of crappie with a 12" average. Limit of crappie and Busch Light
She is a cute one KsRancher! Congrats man! She's going to keep your hands full for a long time, but it won't be long before she's tagging along on these hunting and fishing adventures with you.
Thats a mess of fish Aaron. I hope I am not derailing this thread by asking all of these questions. But what are you guys using to catch them? It appears like I am not half of the fisherman I thought I was.
I pour my own 1/4 oz jigs. Lately I've been using crappie thunders by strike king for the bodies. I also use the the regular old 2" tube jigs as well. The colors they hit very from day to day.
Aaron, be careful melting lead. I have a friend who likes to reload that is going through treatments for lead poisoning. He tested around 28, he said acceptable for an adult is around 3.5.
KsRancher - I'm casting jigs under a bobber to brush in 8' of water. Speed seems to be the ticket. I go slow... drag the bobber a foot or 2 then let it rest. Bites might make the bobber go under, or it might just make it twitch. When I switch to a road runner or Beatle spin (without the bobber) I quit catching fish. I image a guy jigging vertical from a boat could be deadly right now. Most all of the fish I've cleaned had tiny eggs in them, as well as minnows and baby perch. Some of the perch are pretty big for the size of fish they're in.
I only pour lead in my shop with the doors open. Good luck to your friend. The treatment is similar to chemo for cancer. I only vertical jig this time of year. Sometimes they don't do anything more than put slack in your line. Good electronics is a game changer too. I bought a new boat last spring and now have active target. Its almost as bad as using a corn feeder for deer. Don't tell sito....
Having spent many years in a print shops melting tons and tons of lead really don't worry about it too much. Maybe giving me problems I am unaware of?
You would know it Dave if you had lead poisoning. Its nothing to take lightly. I fished for about 2 hours last night with my wife. Ended up with our limit of nice fish. They broke out of the bigger schools with the increased water temps. Had to work to stay on them but it was a lot of fun.
Dang! You have them dialed in Aaron.
LOL...careful what you wish for!
Lots of great fish Aaron! And what a great time catching them with family!
Aaron…thx for sharing your catches with us. Do you happen to have one of those new fish finders that is like a video game…it shows the fish and shows your lure and then you can see the fish coming after or biting your lure? If so, can you take a pic of the screen? I heard those things show incredible detail. Thx again.
I have the Lowrance Active Target. Its crazy to watch how some of the fish will come and take a swipe at your jig and never feel anything. And then others come from 5 feet away and just hammer it. If I run to the lake this evening I will take some pics.
I know the question wasn't directed at me. But I put a garmin livescope on my boat. Those things are pretty awesome. But you can also get frustrated at the same time when you watch a dozen fish swim up to your bait and not even get a bite.
KsRancher.....no worries. If anyone on here has these new generation fish finders...I'd love to see the imagery associated with them. I am sure I'm not the only one. Cool stuff...but I wonder if their prolific use could lead to reduced limits?
You're not the only one. I don't have fishing electronics so I have to live vicariously though others.
I'd like some input on them too fellas, thinking about getting one for my dad. Aaron, you're tearing them up...could you just please just change your shirt(s)/hat before taking any more pics please ;?)
I could see it being possible that more fish being kept causing the need for reduced limits. But I think this technology has been around several years already. I doubt if i will use it much while bass fishing during the summer. For me its more of a deeper water type thing. I am planning on making a run to Texoma in the next few months and trying it out on stripers. It is pretty cool stuff though. I hooked a nice fish last weekend and he got hung up in a tree 10ft down. I could see the exact tree limb he was hung up on and watch him swim around. I tried for 5min to get him unsnagged, but no luck. He swam off when my line broke. I will try and get some pics of what it looks like this weekend.
With the live scope/active target/ 360 it basically allows you to spend more time directly on the fish. It eliminates time spent looking for fish.
Hey Sito, Thanks for the help last night!
Here is a shot of a about 6 or 8 logs piled up. The one poking up above the others has about 100 of my jigs keeping it from floating away. Now I can just lift my line up and over. There is a 13" crappie to the right of the pile. Really it is below the boat and he has my jig in is mouth. I set the hook and caught him as I snapped the picture. On the back side of the pile there is some small crappie and shad.
here is a stump with a handful of smaller crappie on it. 25 feet out is a single tree with bigger crappie on the other side.
I'm running a pair of the Lowrance Elite FS 9's with the active target.
Maybe it's the angle, or glare, but your pics look nothing like the image advertised by Garmin or Lowrance? Am I missing something, I mean you've got $3k wrapped up in just those three elements.
It's no doubt you are catching a ton of fish, but is expecting the types of images above unrealistic?
Lake conditions make a huge difference. Last night was windy so the more the boat is bouncing the imaging quality is drastically reduced. I haven't looked at the forecast but if its not windy this weekend I will try to take some better photos. I was going to go to a tree that was about 100 yards south of me last night to take pics of it but I never made it over there. You can count the branches on it. I've watched some you tube videos of side by side comparison and AT in my opinion out performed LS.
I am sure that the advertised images are a BEST case scenario. But I get images like your livescope pic above. Like Aaron said, some days are better than others. And like he said also. You can count every branch on trees
Boy those LiveScope and Active Target “advertised” images sure are nice. Looks like a side view…guess it does sideways scanning? Looks like you are down there with’em at eye level!
I run mine in forward mode so yes its almost like your right there with them vs down scan. You can literally watch the fish swim around.
Ha….and some gripe about cell cameras….lol
Aw I’ve made some jokes about technology on these here screens to have some fun on here but joking aside I don’t feel the same about fish as I do wildlife. Technology in fishing doesn’t bother me as much for some reason.
If I ever started fishing the lakes I would use these screens if somebody would take the time to teach my unlearned self how to use them.
When Cell Cameras first came out I had a weird feeling inside me like it was taking it too far but eventually I caved in and got some. Now I’m getting away from them cause they make me aggravated.
I’m aggravated when an old big one shows up cause I’m working down here and I’m thinking something is going to happen to him before I get up there. I’m aggravated when one doesn’t show up cause then I don’t think there’s any around so either way I’m dam aggravated.
Just starting to like it better where I show up and go through a few cards at night to be surprised what’s there. Even starting to like hunting some places where there’s no cameras to be surprised that way too.
I watched a bunch of the comparison vids between Garmin & Lowrance yesterday, as well as the 32 vs 34 Livescope comparisons. I know it's hard to relay actual footage on screen, but I honestly wasn't very impressed by either. We fish alot on the same lake, we know where the brush/structure is, and have decent "fish finders" already...just not worth such a huge investment in my opinion yet.
Not sure I, or any of us, need to spend more time staring at screens either...gotta have some time to just appreciate the beauty of the outdoors.
I can see the comparison of cell cams and AT/LS. The use of electronic means isn't illegal for fishing so I will continue to use it. Fishing regs are kind of a free for all compared to hunting. Ever fished over a bean hole? Dump soaked soy beans in the same spot everyday and the small catfish will swarm. I took my nephews when they were 4/5 years old. After about 100 fish their little arms couldn't hold up anymore.
Sito, I have fished my local lakes my whole life and obviously know where the brush and structure is. Before I bought my new boat, I was saying the same thing you stated and I caught my fair share of fish too. My last upgrade was around 2011. When I got a new boat last spring I obviously was going to put new electronics on it and decided to add the AT. I've said it many times that its a game changer. I would guess my boat is now on top of fish 90% of the time compared to 50% prior to AT. I never got into the gaming thing even as a kid. But I know even before AT I would stare at my graph non-stop. I'm not happy unless I'm on top of the fish.
Here is something interesting…..the wireless bobber fish finder sending you live images to your nearby cell phone. Can also use it in the hull of your boat when trolling.
Aaron. Do you have better luck in the morning or evening?
Both have been pretty good. I didnt go the last couple days but Tuesday evening I got to the lake around 5pm and had my limit by dark. The smaller fish were in the bigger schools but they had bigger fish mixed with them. The small schools of just big fish were a little harder to stay on top of due to the wind. So I opted to fish the big schools and deal with a lot of throw backs. I hope to slip away this afternoon and see how they doing.
Fishing was tough this evening. Only caught 3 crappie and 2 short bass.
Friday evening was slow. Saturday and Sunday was on fire. I so happened to get my limit of Busch Light!
Looks like some great fishing Aaron! That one is sure enough a nice one!
I made 4 casts yesterday before I got tired of fighting the wind and went for a shed hunt.
Dang Aaron! I am jealous. Either I'm fishing at the wrong spot or don't know how to fish. But you sure have them dialed in.
If my wife asks that's an 18" knife!
^^^ The reason most women can't judge distance or length very well is due to what they've been told 6 inches looks like....
Had anyone ever put brush piles in their ponds?
If so, do you weight it down?
Should you Weigh down single trees? I’ve heard that fallen trees will float if not anchored correctly?
A lot of brush piles have been pushed up during road/dam construction. A few single trees have been pushed up along the edge… I’m hoping they will stay and not float?
Roads built and Dam has been constructed. Hopefully can get the large rocks out this week and then just wait for a 15” rain:) I shouldn’t say that, it has happened before and it wasn’t pretty.
You got the roads and dam done? Outstanding, and congrats! Post some pics. I would like to see what it looks like before and after.
Big believer in habitat in a pond. Bluegill and other forage fish have to have adequate breeding habitat if you want good fishing.
I anchor the brush I put out. If your pond hasn't filled yet you can stake and wire it down. I have to sink brush so I use cement. I like a lot of my trees to be vertical so I weigh it down in a way it doesn't fall over.
I've just used baling wire and large rocks. I don't have a pond but I've put several on the local lakes. I wait until the ice is thick and drag it out tie it all together. Some of these smaller piles produce nice big fish and not everybody and their brother knows where they are.
Several years ago we put brush in three ponds. We drug one onto the ice and weighed it down. Another one I put on waders and a life jacket and got as far into the pond as I could. The other one the landowner wanted some trees cut near a pond. I simply threw some limbs into the pond. Several years later my brother and caught 13 crappie by brush that totaled right 30 lbs. Unfortunately, that property changed ownership and we no longer have permission to fish it. They helped in the other two ponds, but they need replaced.
Several years ago we put brush in three ponds. We drug one onto the ice and weighed it down. Another one I put on waders and a life jacket and got as far into the pond as I could. The other one the landowner wanted some trees cut near a pond. I simply threw some limbs into the pond. Several years later my brother and caught 13 crappie by brush that totaled right 30 lbs. Unfortunately, that property changed ownership and we no longer have permission to fish it. They helped in the other two ponds, but they need replaced.
Hedge trees work the best if available. Lots of branches for them to hide in and they last forever.
The local lake that I have been fishing people have been dragging fresh cut Cedar trees out there all over the place. Last fall there were only a couple of old trees out there and now there are probably 50 big fresh cut cedars out there and I hate them. It's a 50 acre lake and there are trees just all over the place now. It seems like the fish are spread out all over the place. And you can't hardly fish around those cedars without getting snagged
There is a balance between "enough" habitat to support a good fishery, and so much habitat the fish are spread and hard to find. Like I've said in earlier posts; I like cedar type brush for forage fish, and log/rock type cover for predators. I like these to be adjacent to each other. On personal ponds I put the piles in locations that are easily fished from bank, but still easy to fish from a boat if it's out. When putting out multiple brush piles I do it at different features; one pile might be in 10ft of water while another is in 6ft, one might be in the middle of the basin and another might be off a point, etc. Fish change what they key off of several times a year. Having a structure for each season or stage makes fishing pretty easy. Having 10 structures for each season or stage could get tedious.
Spent last summer adding rock to the north bank to stop erosion, and also a couple of rock points. Last weekend I added structures for crawdads in the shallows. Might as well use the low conditions to stay dry while working. Need to make another fishing spot with a couple brush piles.
I’ve taken a lot of pictures and some drone footage as well. I’ll either start a new thread or pile them on here. Not sure I can get the video on here, I’ve never been able to figure that out, but I’ll at least get some screenshots from the drone.
They are working on getting the large rocks out of the quarry now. I have a lot of landscaping I want to do with them.
I’m hoping they can wrap up the whole project in the next few days.
Ok. This is getting frustrating. I headed to Clark State Lake this morning. Was on the water by 6:30am. It is REALLY low, around 12ft down. But still 25ft deep. Went to some trees I have had luck around before. Wasn't there but a couple of minutes and caught a 13in crappie. Thought this was the day I was going to slay them. It was the only bite I had all morning. I fished until noon. Wasn't seeing any fish around any of the trees. Tried depths from 6-22ft of water. NOTHING!!!!
I was only able to fish Saturday morning this whole week. The schools are starting to break up on Melvern now too. I did find one big school but the fish were small. We had our 60 fish limit in about an hour and a half. Nothing over 12" though. I went and looked for bigger fish and was able to find a few scattered on brush anywhere from 8ft to 25ft.
quick trip to the lake today wasn't very productive. All the big schools I've been fishing have broke up. had to chase single fish. Only ended up with six keepers in 3 hours.
Waiting on boat motor parts. Hopefully get out next weekend. Heading to Texoma the end of April. Going to try it on my own instead of going guided. Fingers crossed it goes better than my crappie fishing locally has been.
Aaron, do you go after walleye any? I got a good lead on some walleye fishing from a guy last spring. Did really well the couple times I made it out. April and May should be good
Dad, youngest son and I made it out to a farm pond for a couple of hours this evening. Dad kept 4, son 5 and me with a whopping 1 fish
Nice haul ksrancher! A couple kids came out yesterday and caught right at 70 bass, plus a few crappie. Then they went to another place to catfish. Caught one 8lb'r.
KsRancher... I spend a lot of time walleye fishing in the spring/summer. Probably start now that the schools of crappie have split up.
AaronShort, it's been YEARS since I caught walleyes! Always held that fish in high regards.
Crappie are still biting! Throwing back all the bigger blacks, keeping every white.
Jason…what is the reasoning for throwing back the black but keeping the white?
White crappie have a much higher reproductive rate and can over populate a pond, which leads to stunting. Blacks can too but are slower to do it. If I catch a black that is above average and has a great Relative Weight I'll throw it back. Plus crappie tend to spawn sooner than anything else and all those babies will feast on the yoy bluegill and shiners, which happen to be species I want to be plentiful for bass. Bass will eat young crappie but prefer the bluegill and shiners.
Didn’t know that. Sounds like very sound fisheries management practice. Thx for explaining.
Are you catching them in farm ponds?
That's a good day right there!
Yep, good day and yes in ponds.
Cat you take the best tailgate pics that’s for sure. That’s quite a haul and when your truck looks like that at the end of the day you did it right.
One of my best days chasing the eyes. 2020. We all got our 5 fish limit
One of my best days chasing the eyes. 2020. We all got our 5 fish limit
Good day for sure with the exception of the firewood! And the bass. I cant remember the last time I ate one. Walleye and crappie for us.
Holy moly! I wouldn't keep many bass either if I was catching eyes like that!
To be honest I don't care to eat any fish from ponds anymore.
Is it because of taste? I hear a lot of people that don't like bass. But I honestly can't tell the difference in them and crappie or bluegill as long as the bass are small. I usually only keep them in the 10in range. Unless fishing a public lake with length limit. I started keeping them that size because one farm pond I used to fish was loaded with little bass. Catch one about every cast. Was told that it was out of balance and to start keeping some. 25yrs and the pond is still the same way. It's a big, deep pond with a lot of bluegill, crappie and bass
I can tell the difference in the taste of a pond crappie vs. a lake crappie. Maybe its all the moss in the ponds I have access to? The fillets are darker and not as tender if that makes sense. Most of the crappie we eat are from the cold waters in winter and I think that makes a difference too.
Going to start after the crappie here soon. Love this time of year!
Found a few fish today myself ;?)
The Goat of basketball used to play there I do believe even though I’ve never been there. Cool pics.
I don't even know... guessing Chitcago?
Now Cat I know you don’t have to guess basketball’s…greatest of all time:?)
Now I understand why Sito was questioning the quality of my sonar imaging. I need an upgrade already.
I built 5 of these. I have about $60 in them total. Put them out today finally. Wired aged hedge post to the top and then covered them with several rocks. I then wedged cedar limbs in the cages. One area I was able to cut and lay a tree over the top of the cages and wire it to them.
This upside down picture issue drives me nuts.
I don’t get it. Do you have to submit them upside down? They are right when I upload them and the thumbnail image is even correct? Not worth trying to create a thread with progress. It’s 2023. This site needs some upgrades.
If loading from your phone... take a screenshot of the original and then submit the screenshot.
Your habitat looks good!
Thanks Cat. As much as we need the rain I hope it doesn’t get carried away for a while. I’ve got a lot of plans.
Haven't done another other fishing yet. Went down to the Ozarks this past weekend and struck out.
My fiancee, however, did pretty well! 72lbs on the scale we had. Being the person to haul it around for her, I'd say it was accurate!
Biggest I've ever caught. Only had 30 minutes to fish tonight. Guess it was worth going!
Wt includes bucket as I couldn't get it to zero with it empty.
Wowza! That's a toad. How long was it?
Roughly 23.5 but it's girth was 20.375. We've caught longer but never this fat. Almost looked disproportionate comparing its body to it's head.
She's big boned, but she's got a great personality
Wow that’s a biggen. So how much you think the bucket weighed?
I figure an empty bucket should weigh at least a pound or two. The internet has bass weight calculators based on measurements. Don't know how accurate they are but likely more accurate than the bathroom scale I used.
Great fish Jason. Not sure how accurate a bathroom scale is at that weight range, but I caught one in 2015 that was 23.5” that I weighed on a hand held digital fish scale that weighed 9#14oz. immediately out of the water. She was full of eggs, and I will always wonder how much she would have weighed post spawning.
Brian it shows this fish right at the same size. Jason I scored him for you. With those measurements you gave me your fish scores 9.74 lbs.
Man I need to get up there and get to fishing:?)
Jason….nice fish! Could you have just weighed yourself first to get a baseline weight then stepped on the scale while holding that ole gal to get better idea of her weight without other factors coming into play (bucket, metal stringer, etc)?
I could have done that crested but since I didn't really trust the scale anyway I didn't want to waste time getting on it, getting off it, and re-zeroing it each time. Just threw her in the bucket and weighed her. Once I decided she wasn't going to top 10lbs I threw her back. Didn't want to kill it with a bunch of air time. I've never had a fish mounted, but if I catch a 10 I just might do it.
Thanks for the calculations bestill! I wanted crappie last night but after no bites for 15 minutes switched to a spinner. Only caught two bass but to be honest my last cast was good enough to stop on.
If you have good measurements of her, a taxidermist can make a lifelike replica mount for you.
Fished the mouth of the Fox River, at the S end of Green Bay, this morning. Big Walleye were stacked up, and I hooked two, but didn't get them into the boat. Very slow bite, just a week early or so I reckon.
Beautiful scenery Sito! It seems you get to experience a lot of this country.
I'll give that replica idea serious thought on my next big one (if I'm lucky enough for a next big one). If this would have been a half pound bigger for sure! Maybe I should have stuffed some sinkers and fellets down this one's gullet! :)
Yeah, I’ve seen some amazing replicas. Take some good photos. Length and girth measurements, and weight and let her spawn. I’ve always released the big ones to hopefully fight another day. I’ve just never had the desire to mount one, but if I did it would be a replica. I catch enough crappie and channel cats to keep us in fish fry’s, but if I needed to keep any bass they would be 2# and under for population control. But every pond or watershed is different.
Cat this is my taxidermist friend down here I was telling you about. The one after the perch is a real skin one and the other one is a replica that’s he working and painting on. This guy is dang good on every fish, animal, or bird he works on.
You told me he does outstanding work, and those do look great!
Here’s a deer he’s done. He carves out his own deer forms or mannequins sometimes to make the deer look more real. A long time ago when I was younger he taught me some shading tips on drawings…he’s a true artist.
He’s one guy when you leave something with you won’t have to worry how it’s going to turn out. He takes a lot of pride in his work.
Slow news day....but hey there is a new KS crappie State Record!!!
Quivera today, caught around 20 Kentucky's and a few crappie. Males were staging in the shallows, but the girls weren't there yet.
Hope that storms dumps a bunch down there!
New State record, that's very cool! Read up on it and it appears to catch the big one's you need to be fishing with minnows.
sitO - You just keep on keeping on. Seems like you get a lot of quality fishing done! How long before you're chasing catfish on small sandy rivers?
Yeah I’m always jealous of Sito and you for that matter with all the fish catching.
Looks like I might be selling my boat I never use. This year looks to be super busy with work again. Ain’t complaining though:?)
Maybe if you (be still) and the wife come up for a hunt in Sept we can find time to fish!
Now that would for sure be an awesome time. Might be the only way I can get her up that way again is to entice her with fishing and good company.
My wife and I went out Monday and caught a little over 100 fish total on the watershed we fish.( She like to keep count). All were caught near the bank but where it dropped off to deeper water. Mix of bass and crappie. Bass averaged 1# to maybe 3#, crappie were mostly 11”-12” but caught 1/2 dozen 14-1/2”. Also caught 2 channel cats about 4# each.
Wow that’s a lot of fish and fun just in one day Brian.
Helluva day Brian, and I know that boat Matt...good times!
Yep, my wrist is still tender lol. Nows the time to be out if the wind would just calm down a bit.
Nice blue Matt. Any idea of its weight.
Looks like outstanding fishing trips for bentstick and Matte! I've always wanted to go on a winter Blue's trip but haven't made it happen yet. Jealous!
Yep Bryan's boat. The heaviest fish was #50
Got the boat motor parts on and thought I would make a run tomorrow morning to fish and test the motor. Looked up the fishing report on KDWPT website and it said "all boat ramps closed due to low water level". Have to try new lake I guess
My wife and I are camping at Melvern, but left the boat at home because of weather forecast. Kept14 yesterday, 17 today from the bank on minnows.
Nice "mess" Brian, enjoy!
Very nice Brian and Matt.
Nice mess of fish Brian. I've been hitting some nice ones there too. Some have already spawned.
Did ok on the crappie today, not great, lots of little guys tossed back.
Looks like a couple of good meals there Kyle. I was hoping on going today, but my wife hurt her back so didn’t make it out.
One cast one fish last night. Pond is so low I immediately quit after that one, didn't want to stress them even more.
Five ponds on this property, only three have any water. This rain today should help.
Hope your pup wasn’t trying to run on the bank there…break a leg stepping in one of those cracks.
He did ok navigating the cracks, but went in up to his shoulders in the muck at the edge...bout lost'm ;?)
Six Drum, two catfish(one was 4#), two 1.5# White Bass, and one Walleye(21") @ Marion this morning
Drifting with worms? It's been forever since I caught a eye! I think you should be fishing those ponds hard right now and keeping everything you can. Likely to get die-offs as water shrinks and biomass stays the same. Taking some out might help the others.
Nice messes of crappie guys!
Nice catches everyone. If we don’t get e some rain runoff in those ponds, Jason may be right.
Yep, drifting worms, but the majority of boats were jigging the humps...didn't see a fish get caught. I don't eat LGmouth, guess I could toss'm up on the bank but just doesn't feel right. I think I'll let mother nature have her way.
Talking about low water if I remember right about 20 something years ago we walked to the backside of my parents property and crossed the fence to where there was a soil conservation lake. At normal levels it was probably around 12 acres. I bet that particular day it was down to about half an acre so. I was using some kind of lure with treble hooks and the fish was so thick I was reeling fast and snagging them.
Don’t remember seeing much sign of fish dying but if they were the cranes was probably carrying them off.
Thawed out a six year old frozen WT tenderloin tonight, it was wonderful, so much for freezer burn.
I've been able to catch a lot of eyes but very few are big enough to go in the live well. I was the first boat on a flat Saturday morning and within an hour there were 18. They don't stand a chance to reach 19" in my neighborhood. Catching some big slabs by accident too.
I really miss crappie fishing every spring in Kansas............this was many moons ago at Hillsdale lake.
Be still- beautiful fish mounts. I'd like one exactly like that largemouthand bluegill someday. Any chance you could text me his number? I caught a big ole wiper the other day I'd like to get a replica of.
I sure will…that’s a big one!
3+ pounder out of a small cemetery pond today with some other bass and giant bluegill. There were a pair of 40 pound grass carp swimming by by every 5 minutes as well.
This one had just eaten a small snake
Sounds like a great spot. I bet people are dying to get in there.
Lol I heard its in the dead center of town!
Spirits are high when fishing 6’ under…in that pond.
Buncha funny guys on here..
We fished a new spot today and got into one of my favorite species of fish, the green sunfish. Kept 6, and several were 10" and nearly a pound. Had about a 6 lb bass grab one while I was reeling it in and nearly swallowed it whole. He let go when I started to reel both of them out of the water. Neatest fishing experience I've had in a while, and it was all very visible with the clear water.
Good times there Thornton.
Back in the day I would have been picking up a few of those trot line weights there at your feet.
We put a nice 14.5" crappie in the boat today. Kept 15 10.5"-12". Also caught a 5 lb carp. Cajun Cricket was the ticket.
Is there much difference in flavor between the crappie and sunfish? Here in CT I have eaten plenty of bluegills but I haven't kept a crappie yet
In my opinion Crappie are a little better than bluegill. Crappie are my favorite. I like them better than Walleye.
In my opinion Crappie are a little better than bluegill. Crappie are my favorite. I like them better than Walleye.
There is a resivoir in town that holds crappie. I might have to go see if I can pull a couple up and have a fish fry.
Walleye for the grill and crappie for the fryer....
We caught white bass for about 75 min every cast. Also caught some channel and a nice largemouth. Then went and drifted the flats for 15 min and I caught a walleye. Also caught a couple small drum drifting. Ill shift back to crappie sunday.
Lots of different fish meat to enjoy there.
Ksgobbler, that's a dream fishing trip in my opinion! I'd say the kid thinks so too!
Made it to the resivoir yesterday evening. Kept 7 fish, beet batter and Cole slaw I'm thinking...side of corn? Lol!
The bluegill slayer himself...
So much more fun watching your kids than doing it yourself. Maybe my dad was right about everything all along...
We had a good day today. Red snapper, black snapper, kingfish, bonito, etc.
Nice! Probably cooler where you are than here too? Never know what you're gonna hook up with at sea.
Been a heat advisory every day thus far. Temps only in the lower 90s but the humidity and lack of wind kill ya. Took the fish to a restaurant last night. Had fried red snapper, blackened kingfish, oysters, hush puppies, etc.
That just made me hungry.
This is the Long Island Sound from shore...I caught the bluefish near that little blob to the left of the sail boat. It's called race rock, it's a lighthouse. Awesome place. Basically an underwater cliff...fish like nobody's business.
