I have a little 1/2 acre pond about 30 feet from my house ... It has always been very prolific ... Last year do to my stupidity I did not let the aerator run long enough and with the day in and day out heat of 103 deg's temps I lost a lot of fish ... So about 2 months ago I had Walt ... TNPONDMANAGER stock it with Copper nose, and shell crackers ...
I haven't fished it much actually since the stocking ... Here is a strange activity ... I would on occasion go down and fish for the gills with flyrod and TM's and catch a few during the day with the aerator running but not really a busting day ... The schedule with pond fish is to feed them about the same time everyday ... so about 5:00 PM the aerator shuts off and I feed them floating fish food ... This is their signal ... they line up at the pvc structure that I have in place ... They are like starved Piranha ...
Today I took a sabbatical and decided to fish from 2:30 PM till 5:00 PM... a mini vacation for me ... I tried a different approach ... I used 1/64 Trout Mags with the trout float ... cast and retrieve with a wiggle and jerk and slower than a normal retrieve ... Fun city ... I was catching gills every third cast ... ... Now like another thread ... the first two caught were the best of the day ... a 9 inch Blue Gill and 8 inch Shell cracker ... Well I didn't take any pic's ... but decided to later ... But everything went down hill as far as size ... Mostly caught was the new stocking ... The old timers are smarter !! Now remember my pond got slammed last year ... So I have a few Cats, Bass and about 25% of the Existing Gill Stock ... the other 75% is new stocking of Copper nose, and shell crackers ... These fish were not hungry !! .. when I would hold them with a little pressure to remove the hook and release them ... They would excrete the floating fish food that I had been feeding them ... ... Hey!! Hey !! It has to be Trout Magnets and <'TK><'s Fish Attractor !!
You know for a guy who came close to the State Striper Record twice ... I have more fun catching these gills ... with Micro lite tackle, with 2 pound test line and the Trout Magnets ...
Well my new method paid off and Had fun all day ... caught Blue gills, Shell Crackers. Copper Nose , Rock Bass ... etc .. Drank a few adult beverages, The wife joined me for a little while and fished ... she asked why such a good day when others have been so Bad !!! ...
Well Here is the secret ... <'TK><'s Fish attractor ... Pic below .. I have been told by my Friend Doug Markham that I cannot market this product because TWRA does not have the budget to replenish all of Tennessee's Fisheries with Fish if my product is used ... So sorry Guys ... you will just have to keep dipping your worms in Bacon Grease ...
Fun Stuff !! ... Hope everyone could enjoy some of the 4th Independence weekend .. It seems our whole summer has been cooler than normal and real wet lately ... So Much for Global warming !! Just don't forget that our Independence through the Centuries is do to the fact that we have always had willing patriots to fight for it ... And thank all those who have served ... <'TK><
Well TK I must agree with you about gill fishing. I have fished many different places for many different species but day in and day out I get the most joy out of the local creeks that are 5 min from the house and hold mostly gills with a few SMB thrown in for variety. Sunfish on a light rod is about as good as it gets. (flyrod in my case)
Fun Day at pond ... <'TK><
So sorry Guys ... you will just have to keep dipping your worms in Bacon Grease ... 
