Where Are The Big Fish?

[Eric Buck]

Here is my dilema. I have been fishing Pond 1 at Fort Stewart, GA for a couple years now and have been unsuccessful at bringing up a fish over 4lbs. I am not sure what I am doing wrong but it's definately not working. I have beat the banks with everything and although I catch quanity I don't catch quality. It's not that there aren't quality fish in there, because there are. Look at Fort Stewart's fishing pictures if you don't believe me. Here's the setup. In the back of the lake is a shallow flat where I have caught a few pound to 2 pound fish but not as many as I catch in the front of the lakes. Mostly I catch the fish on a fluke near the grass beds, however I have caught them on everything else. There is hardly any deep water structure. There are a few tree's thrown in the water but they don't produce that many fish for some reason. When I throw a crankbait and try to make contact with the bottow of the lake it gets filled with slimy moss that kills the action on my crankbait. I am not sure how to approach this lake in regards to finding big fish. Any Ideas? I will attach a picture of the lakes layout.

[aclark609]

Try using bigger baits. If I knew there were large bass in the pond, I would throw some large swimbaits. Although there may not be any large forage for the bass in the pond (besides other smaller bass), the swimbait will still pull a big bite. Be VERY patient. Work the bait as slow as possible. Try to find one that you can work slow without digging into the slime. Perhaps a large wakebait of sorts or maybe a Hudd 0 or Hudd 5. Also, ponds can be extremely easy to pick out where the bass are bedding. Find areas with hard bottoms.

[gobig]

what are the blue wagon wheel looking things on the map?

[Eric Buck]

I can find bedding bass no problem. Just finding the females are the hard part. The wagon wheels are fish attractors such as rebar stuck in the water or a christmas tree that was sunk. They don't hold to many fish for some reason though. I think there is something to the puzzle that I am missing.

[Nitrofreak]

My suggestion would be to slow down and use a C-rig/ swimtail worm or lizard, or a jig presentation, the branch that extends northward or appears to extend northward,( the branch by the dam that goes upward and too the right ) would be something I would try first.

[00 mod]

Start at the word "dam" and work striaght out to the fish attractor sitting in 10-12' of water. It was good coutour lines, and depth. I think depth will be your key here, as you say you catch numbers while beating the bank. That would be my first attempt!

Jeff

[Eric Buck]

I am going to have to figure out the deep waters. My fish finders aren't that great. There is something down there that is holding fish and I just haven't found it yet. I am probably not using the right baits eiher. I get discouraged and always find myself back on the banks. I zig zagged that deep arear by the d**n and found a channel. I beat the channel up with a crank bait with no luck. Jigs seem to work good int he winter time with flukes working great in the summer. Maybe a swimbait is the answer.

[NCbassmaster4Life]

You guys have been in a drought and from what I was told a lot of people are not releasing the bass caught up there? Also Top 13 biggest bass came from Fort Stewart.

[Eric Buck]

I am in Afghanistan right now so I am not sure what the conditions are exactly but I know this tropical storm just went through so water should not be a problem. I know there are plenty of lunkers in pond 1 I just can't seem to locate them. A lot of people have had luck at night time, however I usually can't go out fishing at night time to go get them. I think the night time works because of the heat which tells me that the bigger fish are sitting the deeper water. If there were a lot of structure or humps then I would know where to fish, but there is not. I have spent a whole day out in the deeper water trying jigs and crankbaits and was unsuccessful. I haven't used any swim baits so maybe that will work. I am going to make a bunch of swimbaits over here so when I return I will have plenty to try out. Keep the ideas coming so maybe I can beat my PB when I get back to the States!

[NCbassmaster4Life]

Yeah I have noticed at night the big bass come shallow to feed. Oh yeah and from one service man to another, try to be safe and come back home so you can accomplish your goal! Hooyah. And thank you!

[POPRG]

i really like the south-west shallow to quick 14' depth area..lots of options there [8-10' crank,slow dragging football jig,slow roll spinnerbait,t-rig craw..],..gotta be a few hawgs stemming the transition lines there!

don't over look the "man-made" structures,get a big arkie head jig and pummel them houses!...wish my local spots were that sweet!!

[Bass-minded]

Patience is the key to all fish in life.

[WRB]

The key to finding the big bass is to determine what the are feeding before you can start thinking about what lure to use. The pond should have a population of crawdads, frogs and bluegill.

The night fishing should be good from post spawn to the next pre spawn...most of the year!

Low light a buzzer should work, dark a 10" to 12" plastic worm in black w/blue flakes or dark purple/neon blue blood line during the day. You can add a bluegill swimbait and a fat Ika (297); stay with those 4 presentations until you can determine where the bass located. The s/w corner dam area. the dam face, the center point area are the prime locations for active bass, the basin is where they go to rest. The small bays are spawning areas and night feeding as the bass roam around this pond.

Tom

[Eric Buck]

I understand that the fish are more than likely in the deeper water until they go feeding on the flats, however I can't seem to locate where they are holding.

[NCbassmaster4Life]

Try and get a good depthfinder.

[Eric Buck]

That's what I was thinking but unless someone donates me one that isn't going to happen anytime soon.

[NCbassmaster4Life]

Well just go online and compare pros and cons, you can even get a decent one that's portable.

[WRB]

I understand that the fish are more than likely in the deeper water until they go feeding on the flats, however I can't seem to locate where they are holding.

This is a tiny lake or a large pond however you want to look at it. Where the larger bass are holding isn't the issue, they are not active in a sancturary area. Big bass tend to own the best feeding sites and that is what you want to learn; where they feed and what they are feeding on. When they feed will vary and only time on the water can determine that factor. Lets say that the 8' to 10' break line* is the depth the big bass prefer; that is where you should focus your efforts.

* just an educated guess, you need to determine the depth.

Sonar unit will help you meter some marks and determine the break lines, but this lake is so small you can just go fish it and learn what you need to know in a few trips.

Tom