MidwestBassin

Valid points about the schooling theory. I never thought of it that way. But in my opinion, whether or not the fish communicate amongst each other, I believe it all comes down to if they are feeding or not. Sounds simple, but how many times have you pulled up on some structure and the graphs light up, only to not get a single frickin' bite. On the other hand, on the Tennessee those guys will sit on a channel indention the size of a bean bag chair and smack 25 pounds off of it throughout a day. I believe its all about the feeding. You hear those guys say, "I just need to get one to bite", because once one bites in a school, the others don't care if he comes back crying with a sore lip. They are lit and ready to go. - Tight Lines

Well, as Wisconsin Heat said, I am no expert on catching big fish. You seem to not have that problem. It seems that you have no trouble catching those fish when they are shallow during the spawn, so my first thought is the big girls moved deep. In a pond of that size, whether it is cold or hot, the bass are more sensitive to changing (and extreme) conditions. If you have a few hours, I would start by walking the bank and casting a smaller rattle trap at a 45 degree angle. Every few steps, make another cast. By doing that you have covered the shallow stuff with a loud bait that will tick those fish off. Next I would target that deep grass line with a wacky rigged senko. I like a green pumpkin with the pointed end dipped in Neon spike it (only about 3/4 of an inch). Rigged on a small octopus hook, that bait will shimmy down to the edge of the grass and stay in the strike zone as long as possible. I hope you figure em out. This is just my opinion, and I could be wrong... Completely wrong. But that's part of this whole game. Good luck, bud.