Observation and the question Why.
When I used to fish in the fishless ponds around my house, I didn't know they were fishless.
People don't fish in fishless ponds, if they can help it. And How could I know that the two beautiful ponds in front of my house had no fish? No body told me they didn't have fish.
In fact, a friend's dad was told that one of those ponds had big fish some years ago.
But---that was years ago. And he'd never fished the pond himself.
When I slapped a red base ball cap on and grabbed a five gallon bucket, all my fishing stuff, (four tackle boxes with every artificial lure available under five/eight dollars, two water bottles, snacks, beads, butterfly net---you never know just what you might need, lots of hooks, bobbers, weights, a few fishing books and all things considered,) my brothers and sisters knew where I was going.
Many of them always begged to come along, and while I was grateful of the company of one or two, I didn't want all of them to come. After all, the books say you should be very, very quiet. ;)
And that's exactly what my siblings were not.
They were more interested in exploring and splashing then waiting for me to catch an folklore animal called a fish.
Many times I'd have to take whoever wanted to come, as long as they'd finished their chores.
The pond was a short walk away. We could see it well from our kitchen window.
Once there, my siblings would go to one side of the pond, and I the other. I was determined to catch a fish, and every time I went I saw myself , (in my mind,) lug a huge Large mouth bass home. Loud noises, if they must travel with me, were not to be near me when we reached the actual pond.
When I reached my favorite end of the pond, I turned my five gallon bucket over, and sat on it.
It would be about five-thirty. The sun would be casting goldish highlights on the upper parts of trees, and drawing darker shadows below. Little Spring Peeper frogs would begin to sing from all sides of the pond. Sometimes, a wood duck pair would come and fly around the pond before seeing us; many times they'd land in the water and swim a while without noticing us, and yes, sometimes my sibling could be that quiet.
Now this particular pond we have named Raccoon Pond for all the racoons tracks we find on the banks.
As I sat on my bucket, I tied a hook on my line, and many times strung a few beads on the line as well, before tying the hook on. Then I would put some bacon fat, a live worm, a cricket, or even a plastic worm, and sometimes power bait of dog food on the hook. Not all at once of course. But I tried everything in our food cupboards and out. Then I would cast, and let it sit on the surface, or sink in the water. Waiting, I would keep my eyes on the bobber for the for the first few minutes, then get tired of it and watch the water.
How still it was.
How plant-less.
How clear.
And, all the cow manure around the pond...could fish live through that?
And, how still. Only the breeze disturbed the surface.
The only living things I could see were tadpoles. Lots of them. Little black things with big heads.
Frog babies.
Since long before moving to the Ozarks, my brothers and sisters and I have been naturalists.
Each in our own ways, of course. At that time I knew was the name of that little frog, that was so abundant in this pond. But I didn't know anything about it. This little frog, about the size of your thumb, is called a Spring Peeper. Others may know them from another name, but this is what they are called in the books I have read. A few months passed, and my mom got a audio tape about frog calls. So we would listen to them and learn to identify each one. The first time listening through it, one thing stood out. Spring Peepers breed in fishless ponds. That is the first thing I learned about fishless ponds.
And yes, the tad poles in Raccoon pond were Spring peeper frogs. However, I continued fishing there. Resulting in other findings of clues.
Other little animals that live in peace without being eaten by carnivorous fish.
The still water.
The cow manure. That is noxious to water creatures such as fish. The fact that cows themselves, (and they weren't our cows,) were allowed to bathe and hang around the pond banks, was bad.
Cows are heavy enough that when they walk to the pond, they push the dirt into the pond, causing the pond to, over time, become too shallow for fish to live.
Raccoon pond is owned by one of our neighbors, who keep land only for beef cows and their care, and does not attend to ponds that other wise would be a favorite to the neighboring little girls who he gave permission to do so. But fishless, Raccoon pond is a pretty pond, and for the while that it is, we still go there for picnics and to look at the raccoon tracks.
I found the same to be with other ponds around our house. There are about ten, and only two of them have fish. Those two are as we named them, Discovery Pond and Bass Pond.
We do not own either, but have permission to fish in both.
I do not pretend to know everything or even a great deal of fishing, but I value the knowledge I do have, and am eager to try out another fisherman's advice when it is given. :)
Another thing I have found through observation is how to read signs in the water. First, the most easy things to notice are the big swirls of water that are made when a particular fish called a Large mouth bass strikes at something like a grasshopper stranded on the water surface.
Bass Pond, is named for those fish.
It was a favorite thing to do in July and August on a fishing trip to catch a few homegrown grasshoppers, (not homegrown on purpose,) and throw them out in the middle or deep end of the pond. Within seconds, there would be a swirl of water, and the grasshopper would disappear under water.
And I didn't need to bring so much stuff. Not everything in the store will work everywhere and every time. I discarded a few things in my tackle box, and then took what I found best and took and put it into a smaller tackle box. No need to carry a big box. All I needed on a single fishing trip was about two of best for the season lures and four hooks or so, a few weights, some extra fishing line, and a bobber.
Here is my list of months and what baits and lures are best.
But first, you need to know what I fish for. :Large mouth bass, White Crappie, (It's said, Craw-pee) and Blue gill whenever it strikes.
On a warm February morning: Spring peepers are excellent Crappie bait in Discovery pond and a Bluegill favorite in both ponds. Live worms work as well for those two species, and in Discovery pond i like to put them on a hook and throw my line out, (it doesn't have to go far,) without any weight or bobber and let it just sit on the tension of the water's surface. For that your worm has to be small, preferably the Redworm that I find in Mom's garden, and your line should be about 8lb. When the line twitches, or, of course, if it goes down, you have a fish. But if you don't have a bite within two minutes, throw it out again, and try a few feet away from the last spot.
For me and thease ponds, I find that live bait works best in the colder months. But I have never caught a fish in December. I think they are just too lazy. I wonder at people who go ice fishing.
April and June: Fish feeding frenzy! Fat night crawlers are chief here, as well as small plastic grubs or even a fake fish egg. I was given a little packet of fish lures for my birthday two years ago, and there was a foamy little yellow and orange ball. the size of your pinky nail. I thought it was weird, but Discovery Pond's fish love it. As for the plastic grubs I think that the ones with tails about an inch or more work best and in lighter colors.But not yellow. When fishing with a night crawler worm I either put a bobber six inches to two feet from the worm, or just cast and reel the worm in---slow or fast, depending on what the fish like that day. And during these months you have to be careful in the way you put the worm on because fish are suspicious little snatchers and some are professionals getting away with the worm without ever being hooked.
July: Possibly my favorite month for fishing even though a fishing day in July is quite lazy and can be catch-less. But this is big fish month. In the hot sun a plastic worm six to ten inches long is like magic. You can cast out, let the plastic worm sink a bit, reel him in, let him sink, make him do acrobatics in the water, and then wham, you have a Large mouth bass. This is my favorite lure for this particular month. And though some people don't think the colors of the artificial lure matter, I think they do. Not all fish are curious. Some are terribly shy.
For curious or aggressive bass, I like sparkly blue, green or dark purple worms. For the shyer ones I think green, green and black or brown colors are better. You know, more natural.
Shy fish think a sparkly blue worm is terrifying.
Nightcrawlers are still in the menu. And fished with the same way as in June and April, but waiting is more important. Grasshoppers and crickets are hot-topic. This is because it is the natural time for grasshoppers to be clumsily falling into the water anyway. There are different ways to fish these guys. Sometimes fish like them struggling on the water's surface with no weight or bobber.
After all, grasshoppers float.
But other times you may want the grasshopper to sink below the water's surface but not too much. use a weight and bobber.
Spinners are flashy and pretty lures, and I like them because of that. I haven't caught as many fish with them as I have with plastic worms, but I keep one or two. Those and the peanut-butter like power bait are the things I've caught my rare trout whenever we go to a trout hatchery.
August and September: End of fishing season. It's not illegal to fish in any month here, but it's just that these months that fish just get lazier and lazier. Frogs are great if you can catch them, and best fished at night along the banks. The same is with July. Plastic worms and night crawlers are fun, and grasshoppers for as long as you can find them. I have caught fish in November, but this is pretty much the end of my fishing season.
But why some good baits just don't work on the days they're suppose to is not for me to answer.
It's for the fish.
The person sitting next to you isn't always going to know weather you feel like pasta or pizza. Or carmel. Or would you rather have chocolate on your ice cream?
So that's that.
Oh, and my favotite weather for fishing is either after a rain, or a clear warm day where it isn't.
Rain gets in my way. I still fish in the rain though. But just imagine holding an umbrella at the same time as a fishing pole, and not being able to let anything just "sit" on the water tension. and comming home all wet. :(
It has been rain for the last couple weeks. But today is clear, and it is said that it will be beautiful weather this week. Let's see.
When I used to fish in the fishless ponds around my house, I didn't know they were fishless.
People don't fish in fishless ponds, if they can help it. And How could I know that the two beautiful ponds in front of my house had no fish? No body told me they didn't have fish.
In fact, a friend's dad was told that one of those ponds had big fish some years ago.
But---that was years ago. And he'd never fished the pond himself.
When I slapped a red base ball cap on and grabbed a five gallon bucket, all my fishing stuff, (four tackle boxes with every artificial lure available under five/eight dollars, two water bottles, snacks, beads, butterfly net---you never know just what you might need, lots of hooks, bobbers, weights, a few fishing books and all things considered,) my brothers and sisters knew where I was going.
Many of them always begged to come along, and while I was grateful of the company of one or two, I didn't want all of them to come. After all, the books say you should be very, very quiet. ;)
And that's exactly what my siblings were not.
They were more interested in exploring and splashing then waiting for me to catch an folklore animal called a fish.
Many times I'd have to take whoever wanted to come, as long as they'd finished their chores.
The pond was a short walk away. We could see it well from our kitchen window.
Once there, my siblings would go to one side of the pond, and I the other. I was determined to catch a fish, and every time I went I saw myself , (in my mind,) lug a huge Large mouth bass home. Loud noises, if they must travel with me, were not to be near me when we reached the actual pond.
When I reached my favorite end of the pond, I turned my five gallon bucket over, and sat on it.
It would be about five-thirty. The sun would be casting goldish highlights on the upper parts of trees, and drawing darker shadows below. Little Spring Peeper frogs would begin to sing from all sides of the pond. Sometimes, a wood duck pair would come and fly around the pond before seeing us; many times they'd land in the water and swim a while without noticing us, and yes, sometimes my sibling could be that quiet.
Now this particular pond we have named Raccoon Pond for all the racoons tracks we find on the banks.
As I sat on my bucket, I tied a hook on my line, and many times strung a few beads on the line as well, before tying the hook on. Then I would put some bacon fat, a live worm, a cricket, or even a plastic worm, and sometimes power bait of dog food on the hook. Not all at once of course. But I tried everything in our food cupboards and out. Then I would cast, and let it sit on the surface, or sink in the water. Waiting, I would keep my eyes on the bobber for the for the first few minutes, then get tired of it and watch the water.
How still it was.
How plant-less.
How clear.
And, all the cow manure around the pond...could fish live through that?
And, how still. Only the breeze disturbed the surface.
The only living things I could see were tadpoles. Lots of them. Little black things with big heads.
Frog babies.
Since long before moving to the Ozarks, my brothers and sisters and I have been naturalists.
Each in our own ways, of course. At that time I knew was the name of that little frog, that was so abundant in this pond. But I didn't know anything about it. This little frog, about the size of your thumb, is called a Spring Peeper. Others may know them from another name, but this is what they are called in the books I have read. A few months passed, and my mom got a audio tape about frog calls. So we would listen to them and learn to identify each one. The first time listening through it, one thing stood out. Spring Peepers breed in fishless ponds. That is the first thing I learned about fishless ponds.
And yes, the tad poles in Raccoon pond were Spring peeper frogs. However, I continued fishing there. Resulting in other findings of clues.
Other little animals that live in peace without being eaten by carnivorous fish.
The still water.
The cow manure. That is noxious to water creatures such as fish. The fact that cows themselves, (and they weren't our cows,) were allowed to bathe and hang around the pond banks, was bad.
Cows are heavy enough that when they walk to the pond, they push the dirt into the pond, causing the pond to, over time, become too shallow for fish to live.
Raccoon pond is owned by one of our neighbors, who keep land only for beef cows and their care, and does not attend to ponds that other wise would be a favorite to the neighboring little girls who he gave permission to do so. But fishless, Raccoon pond is a pretty pond, and for the while that it is, we still go there for picnics and to look at the raccoon tracks.
I found the same to be with other ponds around our house. There are about ten, and only two of them have fish. Those two are as we named them, Discovery Pond and Bass Pond.
We do not own either, but have permission to fish in both.
I do not pretend to know everything or even a great deal of fishing, but I value the knowledge I do have, and am eager to try out another fisherman's advice when it is given. :)
Another thing I have found through observation is how to read signs in the water. First, the most easy things to notice are the big swirls of water that are made when a particular fish called a Large mouth bass strikes at something like a grasshopper stranded on the water surface.
Bass Pond, is named for those fish.
It was a favorite thing to do in July and August on a fishing trip to catch a few homegrown grasshoppers, (not homegrown on purpose,) and throw them out in the middle or deep end of the pond. Within seconds, there would be a swirl of water, and the grasshopper would disappear under water.
And I didn't need to bring so much stuff. Not everything in the store will work everywhere and every time. I discarded a few things in my tackle box, and then took what I found best and took and put it into a smaller tackle box. No need to carry a big box. All I needed on a single fishing trip was about two of best for the season lures and four hooks or so, a few weights, some extra fishing line, and a bobber.
Here is my list of months and what baits and lures are best.
But first, you need to know what I fish for. :Large mouth bass, White Crappie, (It's said, Craw-pee) and Blue gill whenever it strikes.
On a warm February morning: Spring peepers are excellent Crappie bait in Discovery pond and a Bluegill favorite in both ponds. Live worms work as well for those two species, and in Discovery pond i like to put them on a hook and throw my line out, (it doesn't have to go far,) without any weight or bobber and let it just sit on the tension of the water's surface. For that your worm has to be small, preferably the Redworm that I find in Mom's garden, and your line should be about 8lb. When the line twitches, or, of course, if it goes down, you have a fish. But if you don't have a bite within two minutes, throw it out again, and try a few feet away from the last spot.
For me and thease ponds, I find that live bait works best in the colder months. But I have never caught a fish in December. I think they are just too lazy. I wonder at people who go ice fishing.
April and June: Fish feeding frenzy! Fat night crawlers are chief here, as well as small plastic grubs or even a fake fish egg. I was given a little packet of fish lures for my birthday two years ago, and there was a foamy little yellow and orange ball. the size of your pinky nail. I thought it was weird, but Discovery Pond's fish love it. As for the plastic grubs I think that the ones with tails about an inch or more work best and in lighter colors.But not yellow. When fishing with a night crawler worm I either put a bobber six inches to two feet from the worm, or just cast and reel the worm in---slow or fast, depending on what the fish like that day. And during these months you have to be careful in the way you put the worm on because fish are suspicious little snatchers and some are professionals getting away with the worm without ever being hooked.
July: Possibly my favorite month for fishing even though a fishing day in July is quite lazy and can be catch-less. But this is big fish month. In the hot sun a plastic worm six to ten inches long is like magic. You can cast out, let the plastic worm sink a bit, reel him in, let him sink, make him do acrobatics in the water, and then wham, you have a Large mouth bass. This is my favorite lure for this particular month. And though some people don't think the colors of the artificial lure matter, I think they do. Not all fish are curious. Some are terribly shy.
For curious or aggressive bass, I like sparkly blue, green or dark purple worms. For the shyer ones I think green, green and black or brown colors are better. You know, more natural.
Shy fish think a sparkly blue worm is terrifying.
Nightcrawlers are still in the menu. And fished with the same way as in June and April, but waiting is more important. Grasshoppers and crickets are hot-topic. This is because it is the natural time for grasshoppers to be clumsily falling into the water anyway. There are different ways to fish these guys. Sometimes fish like them struggling on the water's surface with no weight or bobber.
After all, grasshoppers float.
But other times you may want the grasshopper to sink below the water's surface but not too much. use a weight and bobber.
Spinners are flashy and pretty lures, and I like them because of that. I haven't caught as many fish with them as I have with plastic worms, but I keep one or two. Those and the peanut-butter like power bait are the things I've caught my rare trout whenever we go to a trout hatchery.
August and September: End of fishing season. It's not illegal to fish in any month here, but it's just that these months that fish just get lazier and lazier. Frogs are great if you can catch them, and best fished at night along the banks. The same is with July. Plastic worms and night crawlers are fun, and grasshoppers for as long as you can find them. I have caught fish in November, but this is pretty much the end of my fishing season.
But why some good baits just don't work on the days they're suppose to is not for me to answer.
It's for the fish.
The person sitting next to you isn't always going to know weather you feel like pasta or pizza. Or carmel. Or would you rather have chocolate on your ice cream?
So that's that.
Oh, and my favotite weather for fishing is either after a rain, or a clear warm day where it isn't.
Rain gets in my way. I still fish in the rain though. But just imagine holding an umbrella at the same time as a fishing pole, and not being able to let anything just "sit" on the water tension. and comming home all wet. :(
It has been rain for the last couple weeks. But today is clear, and it is said that it will be beautiful weather this week. Let's see.
