Trainee needs advice

So the Granddaughter wants a fishing pole for Christmas and Gramma has been doing everything she can do to make the Granddaughters whish come true. Every time Cabela's pops an ad for some little box of crappie fishing gear, gramma buys it. When it comes in the house Gramma wraps it and puts it under the tree.

Now on the plus side of this I have noted that there seems to be two wrapped gifts over there for each shipment Gramma get from Cabela's.

I suspect this Christmas I will also become a crappie fisherman.

Since my my skills and abilities with fishing are extremely limited-I know many ways to drown worms, I will need some educating on crappie.

A few minutes ago, my wife came to me and showed me a box of "fishing lures" she bought for the grand daughter. She was wondering how to catch fish with them as they had no hooks and no way to tie the line on. It is a box of assorted plastics for crappie jig heads. I know they go on jig heads. I could figure that much out. I explained it as best I could with my limited knowledge.

So she goes goes on line looking for some jig heads and runs into a problem. Head size/weight. How do I decide what she should order. I also see a choice of painted and unpainted.


I don't know if it is important or not, but primary fish location will the world famous Millers Pond located 50 yards out my front door. I doubt depth exceeds 15 feet anywhere, It has recently been planted with an assortment of fish.

What weight and types heads do she need order?

I’ll take a wild swing.
1/16, 1/8, oz some painted, some plain will get you started.
I prefer sickle hooks but it’s not mandatory.
I also like red hooks, but don’t think it really matters.


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Thanks Redge. I have passed the word on.

I hope to have fish reports soon after the first of the year. After it warms up a bit

Since the Pond will be all bank fishing, I was thinking about using a float and a jig suspended. Cast out, bounce the float, retrieve a foot, bounce-retrieve, bounce-retrieve, etc.

Any thoughts? Better Ideas?

How big is pond? Does it have structure? Are the banks shallow or deep?

Pond is around 1.53 acres. it has some willows on one side of the pond, but one of the neighbors keeps cutting most of them down so his wife can have a better view of the water. Banks steep to moderately steep but only at the inlet-where the willows are could it be called shallow. Before the neighbor cut the willows the kids use to catch a pretty big bass in that area. Nobody has seen the bass since the willows got cut.

The neighbors just did a solicitation and dumped a bunch fish in the pond in September.

Are there any good resources for learning about pond development?

I finally found the info on the pond on the HOA Facebook page. They are building the pond for bass, no crappie allowed.

Cricket George is who I’d ask about pond management. Pond that small white crappie would overrun and be stunted. Someone needs to tell the neighbor to quit cutting down the fish habitat!

It turns out that corner of the pond is on one home owners property and they have given permission to cut the willows.

Thank you kindly Dr. Nip. What type of fish were "dumped in the pond? I agree with Nip the habitat needs to be left alone. Crappie should not be stocked in UNDER a 10 acre pond because as Nip said they will overpopulate and stunt which will cause the rest of the pond to go downhill. Why you ask? Its because the pond cannot supply sufficient food for the fish at the correct size for the fish to eat. The pond becomes out of balance and the only way to correct the problem is to rotenone the pond, killing all of the fish, and restocking with minnows then sunfish and finally bass in the proper ratio. What HOA is this in Edmond?
I have worked with numerous HOA's in the past.

Thanks George. Here is what they ordered. Everything went into the pond in October.


100 6-8in Bass
100 4-6in Bass
200 6-8in Catfish
300 Redear Bream
1000 Coppernose Bluegill
20lbs minnows 250-300 per pound
5 grass carp (to eat the algae)

If the minnows were 250-300 minnows/pound they were tiny and wont last long since you are only talking 3,000 minnows. I concur with the stocking. The biggest question is how many other bass and size are in the pond since they will be hitting these minnows too. I would have suggested to add more minnows and have done an electro-fishing survey first in order to see what you already had in the pond THEN determine what would be best to stock. I have had the ODWC crew come to a pond or lake and assisted them with the survey THEN determine what was best. Good preliminary data yields good results.
So what was dumped in the pond in October and where did they get it?

What I listed above is what they put in. The got them from Dunn's fishfarm in Fittshugh.

Good luck

Hum George, wonder what you mean.

I am an outsider looking in on this whole thing, so enlighten me, This is a project of the HOA Facebook group. Lots of arguing, lots of bickering.

I did stick my nose in with the turtles. They have been arguing back and forth about the turtles. I don't know what good ration of turtle are. They all agreed that turtles have be removed and they have decide 100 need to be gone.

They tried trapping them last year but it didn't work. Of course it wouldn't hurt if you put the trap where the turtle are and you checked it more than once a week. I have acquired a commercial trap and live by the pond, and I am retired and check every day.

So how do you humanely dispose of the 6 turtles a day?

George, sure enjoyed talking with you. Thanks for all the great info you passed.

Thanks for the tip on euthanizing the turtles.

:biggrin

My buddy has stocked tens of thousands of dollars worth of bass, crappie, and bluegills in his many ponds. He says the main effect that it has had so far is that the cormorants are fatter.:biggrin:mad::dono:bash

you know what to do to the cormorants

do cormorants taste like chicken, also?

LMAO!!!!! Nay, I think they are a little fishy.

This brought back a lot of good memories to this geezer. In the late 40's - early 50's my Dad used to do a lot of duck hunting at Wister. He would carry a shotgun, a bag of decoys and ME from the pickup out to a blind. One year we had an exceptionally cold winter but terrific hunting. A nonhunting neighbor decided he wanted to try it and called one day to say he got a goose. We went to see it while he was dipping it. On the way back I told my Dad that was a funny looking goose. He just smiled and said 'Water turkey'.

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That is just toooo funny.

So more advice for the rookie please. It seems in her buying frenzy the Wife bought us a three month MysteryTackleBox. This bluegill-bass fishing is new to me.

My personal fishing experience is to tie a snap on the end of the line, clip on a snelled hook and a couple split shot Bait the hook with a worm, egg or kernel of corn, are combination, toss it in the water and wait. Sometime we use a bobber, but not often. Sit back a wait for a trout. Sometime in some lakes we would catch perch, but mostly trout.

Of course when fishing with guides I used the gear and did what they told me and caught fish. Never an explanation of why or how.

Now I did go on a self guided moose hunt in northern Quebec one time and they told me to bring a bunch of rapala's. We caught a bunch of northen pike, but no moose.

Opening up this mystery box and also those boxes of lures and jigs and stuff sweet wife bought I am clueless of what to use and when.

From fishing with guides I know how to use some of this stuff, but the real question is when.

It is January, temperature is in the 40's. Water probably some where around the same. Bank fishing the pond for blue gill, what do I use? Where will the fish be, close to shore, shallow, deep? I know this is important. I just don't the answer.

Conspicuously absent is how to attach the lure. Do I tie the line direct? Do I use snap and leader?

Oh I picked up spinning rod to use until I learn the bait caster.

Will trade socially distanced OK fishing lessons for instructions on how to load 577/450 Martini Henry or 450 Musket No.2.

Re the funny looking goose: When I first got the chance to hunt waterfowl in Montana, my uncle spotted one of those funny lookers, and he told me it was a Butterball goose, the best-tasting goose of all. Fortunately, i never got a chance to shoot one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bigskyfisherman

Re the funny looking goose: When I first got the chance to hunt waterfowl in Montana, my uncle spotted one of those funny lookers, and he told me it was a Butterball goose, the best-tasting goose of all. Fortunately, i never got a chance to shoot one.

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Oh your uncle sounds a lot like my family!
Butterball!


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