Got a late invite form Clayton aka Wildman of the Navidad to fish a couple of ponds on some ranches in east Texas where he had worked. The day started at 7am and lasted all the way till 8pm. We fished from 9:30am till 3:30p.m. The bite was slow during the morning. We fished two ponds. Clayton managed to catch a very nice 9" plus Green. A big Black Bull Head Catfish rounded out the catch. We then drove out to another ranch and fished three large ponds there. Fishing conditions were tough with very high banks and plenty of stick-up's. Clayton managed a nice Large Mouth Bass and he lost a "HUGE BASS" 10 plus pounds after a nice fight. The fish took a Bluegill that was hooked and would not let go until being pulled onto the bank. After fishing and walking well over a couple of miles we took a quick lunch break and finished the day back at the first pond we fished at during the morning. We fished another two hours and I was able to catch a very nice 23" Large Mouth Bass. Approx weight guessing 8 to 9 pound range. All fish were released to fight again. All fish caught on live worms with ultralight tackle. We stopped on the way home at the Oak Ridge Smokehouse in Schulenburg TX for a GREAT dinner. Fishing some GREAT ranch land is East Texas with the "Wildman of the Navidad". It just don't get any better!

Well done men !!

Thanks for sharing a great day !

Thanks Doc for the reply. If it would have been in the middle of summer I would have not lasted one hour. Slept GREAT once I hit the bed!

Beautiful ...colorful bass. Heck, if you were in Schulenburg, you shoulda just gone on to Fayette

Thanks Vogey! We were fishing in the Columbus area. Lot's of nice ranch land. Everything was green and the ponds are in good shape. As always they can use some rain also. A nice 2 to 4 inches this spring would be GREAT! (Double Rain Dance)!

Wowzers Heck of a Bass Chuck.

Clayton- Bet that was fun seeing a Grande come swallow up a bluegill and getting to tug on it with the light gear. Hopefully you land the next one that does that. It does seem like they hold on until you drag them close to shore or in shallow water, thats when a long handled net sure is handy! Sounds like a very fun day fellas.

Good stuff.

>E

Both are awesome catches.

Thanks Andrew,Kelly,and strangetamer90 for the replies! Pond fishing is hard to beat.

Fitz it was the biggest bass I had ever seen just wasn't meant to be I'm definitely going to try again tho thanks all for the replies

Great post chuck! Looks like fun

Sounds like a fun day guys

Great day on the water!!!

Great post Chuck and a beautiful bass! Well done guys!

Thanks Leo,Jamie,Alan,and Yesenia for the replies. Love that pond fishing.

Great day fishing in my book. Pond fishing is where my roots fishing started...

Ya man. I hear you. You will catch her this year, I have faith

Thanks Gnab2 for the reply! Clayton: Those gravel pits reminded me of the place where you caught your record Grass Carp!

Nice fish guys! Both Green Sunfish and LMB are HOGS! Bet the fight was AWESOME on your ultralight! Solid post.




Side Note: Are those pond's stocked? If so how often?

Thanks Curtis for the reply! I think the ponds on Clayton's place had been stocked years ago with bass and catfish. Clayton would have the correct answer. As for the other ponds I do not know the stocking history!

Thanks Chuck. Again some super fish!

Great post and some very nice fish. HUGE POND BASS! Good job guys.




Side Note. How deep was the pond that Clayton hooked his 10 plus fish?

I'd say I'm the middle based off the dams and talking to people in that area who run dragline cranes at least 60 ft on average in the middle straight off the bank it dropped to 13-15' and about 15' off the bank it dropped too 30' there just deep old gravel pits they dug in the 70's and leveled the banks off

As a kid we used to fish old uranium pits in Yorktown that where a 100' plus and catch 2-5 pound bass every cast it was unreal

Thank you Sir! I have a couple of friends of mine who live in Columbus and know those pits well. The have said some of those pits have never been fished. No telling what is in them.

I have never fished a gravel pit before until this trip! Even saw a HUGE Gator! It was one good adventure for sure! Thanks Gitter for the reply!