PondHoppinPete

Good question. Based on your 6lber and The Reel Ess, I'm not sure if this is a male anymore. I figured it was because I saw it alone near one of the nets I described guarding a bunch of fry. I've seen similar sizes to this one near other nets with fry. No scale on me, but I'm guessing 4lb?

Described the cover terribly, here's what it looks like

I fish a pond with very little cover. However there are these 6 nets scattered around the pond that I always see fish spawn next to. These fish tend to be the biggest compared to other males that have beds with no cover around them (only the edge of the pond as a "wall"). In your experience, if there were limited ideal spawning grounds, do the biggest male bass get the best ones first? Edit: to clarify, these are not just regular nets. They are hard nets made of mesh in the form of rectangles (not sure why they're there)

The changing weather / transition could definitely be a factor. Next time I go out I will also be trying out new lures. Currently experimenting with speed worms and curly tail worms slowing dragging it along the bottom

Good points being made. I fish local ponds and they're filled with trash (from both fisherman and others in the park). It's a good idea to stuff grocery store bags in your tackle bag and try to fill up at least one bag (which wouldn't be very difficult to do in a lot of these ponds haha) Also what are everyone's thoughts on pond scum or weeds? Sometimes in really grassy ponds I see a lot of dried out weeds and muck on the edges of the pond. Is it better to throw it back into the water or does it not matter?

Good insight. When you start doing the math, multiple catches a day times 3-4 trips a week can really add up in a smaller body of water for sure. Going to give the place a break for now and keep this in mind the next time I go out. Im new to fishing and this place was productive the first day I fished it so I maybe also got carried away with trying to better pattern the body of water and figuring things out

Better question yet then - Assuming you could fish your favorite lake or pond several times a week. Would you limit the amount of times you fish a productive spot? Are we talking the same fish or a new school? I didn't think they would leave entirely, thought they just get lockjaw in that spot

In your experience is there such a thing as over fishing a spot to the point its not longer productive? I fish a local pond with little fishing pressure (most of the pressure comes on Saturday and Sunday) and there's this fountain that was really productive. You could throw a wacky rig and it was an instant bite on the landing. It's no longer that productive (I assume the summer weather also is playing a part). Assuming there's little fishing pressure in a certain spot, how much is too much when fishing your favorite spot? I use to fish the spot 3-4x a week during the pre-spawn / spawn.

Will most soft plastics as a follow up work then?

Thanks for the tips Mike! Been trying to figure out what's best with these things, it's easy to second guess yourself and just going back to using lures you're comfortable with

Slimy in a good way? Sometimes in my pond it's difficult to drag a Texas rig down on the bottom. Always wondered if applying some sort of lubricant would help it slide through better

Thanks for sharing what you've been doing so far. That is the general approach I've been trying to do but it's easy to second guess yourself. When fan casting, do you go from one clock position to the next or do repeat casts in the same direction before slightly changing direction? I've heard somewhere about burning a bait multiple times past the same fish will sometimes result in a bite.

Yea same here! I rely too much in the wacky rig. Bought a couple of swimming worms and paddle tail swimbaits. I don't really have a lot of confidence when throwing them out there tho because slow presentations make the most sense to me intuitively but i know you can catch some big ones as a power fisherman. It's good to be versatile, so hopping I pick up on it quick. My issues so far has been figuring out where to burn these baits and how long to stay at the same spot until it's time to move on

Noted, thanks papajoe. Do you see burning a paddle tail or speed worm the same way? Will burning it multiple times past a bass also trigger an aggressive bite?

How have you been working the speed worm lately? Recently picked a bag in grn pumpkin and Junebug but no bites yet. Do you burn it, slow retrieve, twitch or kill it? And do you do it in open water? For reference, I'm fishing them in ponds in 80-90 degree weather