Can Anyone Help With Some Florida Pond Fishing?

[Basstatmaster]

    Allright. I'm new here. And just got back into fishing. Gave an intro earlier. Got back into fishing just as something more relaxing to my daily hustle and bustle with tattooing. You know. Fun. I have a pond behind my apartment. And I've lived there a few months. Always literally at almost all times of the day. So I figured I'd get back and do something I enjoy more. Little did I realize I had a pond of some smart ***** lol.

   So here are some details. I can see pops from blue gill towards the edges. Only 12-4PM do I see these pops go towards the middle of the lake. There is pretty much nowhere to hide. A small bush of cat-tail. 2 small trees. That's all. I do not think it's any deeper than 10 feet. It takes about 5 minutes to walk the lake. There is a pipe inlet from some lakes beyond my apartment in a cow pasture. I KNOW there are bass. There is a lot of vegetation. I don't know exactly what. But enough to where you can get caught up pretty quick. I have used texas rigged worms, spinnerbait, jigheads on my worms, a rooster tail, crank bait. Nothing. Got a bite one time. But may have just hit more grass. I've tried going fast, along the edge, in the trees, around the pipe (as long as the gator isn't around it). Nothing. Just pops and swipes around but not at the bait. At this point. I dunno what else to do. Won't let this pond beat me though. I'm enjoying this challenge. I know for sure there are bass. A neighbor caught a 5 pounder there right along the shore. But took him forever to get that.

 

Any one have any ideas on what I could do feel free to shoot. If you nee more info let me know. I have pics as well. I tried to be a little more detailed.

[ClackerBuzz]

slow drag a soft plastic of ur choice is hard to beat. put a bead on the line and it will slide thru weeds much easier. 

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/13845-guaranteed-to-catch-bass/

Re: Method:

Start with the Senko. Cast parallel to the bank, 10-15 yards off the shoreline. Let the bait sink to the bottom, count to 30 (as in 30 seconds) then move the Senko 6-12" with a slow horizontal sweep, allowing the bait to fall on slack line. Count to 10, then repeat. Continue all the way back, move ten steps forward and repeat.

 

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/126667-bank-fishing-forum/page-9#entry

[NDH Fishing]

Fan casting is always better than casting wherever. Sight fishing is fun, If thats what you like. Casting a topwater lure about 2-5 feet away for the shoreline at first light is very effective. And try to step lightly, you sometimes can scare fish from a distance if youre stomping. Good luck. 

[bbodkin]

All of my Florida pond fish have been caught by doing:

1. Casting a topwater lure a foot away from the shoreline and retrieving it along the shoreline.

Zoom horny toads are the only frogs that work for me right now. Not really any hollow body frogs work.

2. This is the MAIN way to catch them right now. Find a good tree in the water. Or bush. You'll most likely see a stick coming out of the water in the middle of the pond. That's a good place for bass to hide. I usually get on a boat and flip or drop a worm, or a senko. Just twitch it a little and let it float right in front of their face. They will strike very hard so be cautious of that strike and set the hook hard. I usually use Alurring Baits Trick Sticks, or Zoom Trick Worms.

Hope this helps.

[F14A-B]

So water clarity is..? I fished 40 to 60 different pond/ pits.. In the Oseola and other places, also many other huge waters there in Fl. One possibility is, it just doesn't have many LMB, one pond comes to mind... We just called it the clear pond... Now, in order for us to even have a chance, we would cast from 25' off the bank, with Trig worms 7" , up on the Bank? Forget it , nothing, I mean nothing, there was big fish in there too... We applied hunting skills w/ fishing and we succeeded , many 5 to 7 , not all will be that clear, but that pond has probably been beat to death, just a guess... I would fish it though, since it's on you're door step!

[BassinLou]

Have you tried frogging in the early or late parts of the day. Focus your attention on the areas of vegetation and the culvert that connects to the adjoining apartments. You can throw either a hollwbody or soft buzzing frog, for example a horny toad. Burn the soft frog through the vegetation and see what happens. The hollowbody I would find the open pockets in the vegetation and work the frog back to shore. Study the color of the vegetation. Is it green and healthy or brown and decaying? If its the latter stay clear of it. If its green and healthy focus your attention to it. This time of year, at least in South Fl, where I live, the vegetation in some areas are dying off and the fishing has been slow. 

[Basstatmaster]

I had some luck with some bluegill. None with bass so far, Just wen to worms, and a 4lb test line. Caught some catfish as well. I know there are definitely bigger better fish. but as was stated earlier its just been fished to death. I keep at it though. Its a fun little pond. The gator that's been in it I believe is either scaring the big guys or keeping them in hiding. There's not much of trees or any "hiding" spots I can see. there is one underwater tree I saw poking out Just gonna wait for the right way to fish it and sink my worm around. They are definitely there and I'm not giving up on this spot. Thank all of u guys  for ur info.

[Under the Radar]

Hey, we are in florida in the heat of summer. It's gonna be slow. You said you can walk it in five minutes. So it's a really small pond. Your footsteps are going to transmit your arrival. Think stealth. Try live bait. fish daylight til 8:30 a.m. then 6p.m. til just after dark.

If you can cast across the pond to the other bank, do it. then drag the bait softly into the water and work it slowly back.

[ThatZX14Fella]

The way you described the vegetation getting you tangled up pretty easily reminds me of the pond I fish. Try buying some watermelon seed curly tail worms and T-rig them. Instead of fishing them slow, throw them near the cat tails and do a steady retrieve. Try to keep it about middle of the water column. If that fails, get out a jitterbug or buzzbait and have at it. The pond I fish has so many weeds all I fish now is top water.

[gar-tracker]

Watch your stealthness while walking around, bass spook off shore farther then you think while walking, my best luck back in my pond days were with a gold rapala top water paralleling the banks.

[Basstatmaster]

Thanks guys for the responses. To respond, one of the issues I always have is the cast just seems it never goes far enough. I'm using Berckley fireline 8lb line. Just doesn't seem to cast well unless I have a pretty good sized weight. It never tangles which I do like just wish I could get some good distance. So for now I have been casting along the banks off about 8 feet then reeling in. I am fishing those little trees and vegetation as well. Makes sense to me if I can get out further I should have some better luck. I can see clusters of pops in a line down the center of the lake but even a bullet weight and worm won't go far enough. I used weights and a bobber with a worm but that just made the gator come out every time. I got some top water ultralights, stopped using those because I can only cast out maybe 10 feet with them. I just got a black jitterbug and a few other goodies so hopefully tomorrow I can have some fun. I will definitely have a good detailed report on techniques and such. I think I may change up my line though.

[BassinLou]

Thanks guys for the responses. To respond, one of the issues I always have is the cast just seems it never goes far enough. I'm using Berckley fireline 8lb line. Just doesn't seem to cast well unless I have a pretty good sized weight. It never tangles which I do like just wish I could get some good distance. So for now I have been casting along the banks off about 8 feet then reeling in. I am fishing those little trees and vegetation as well. Makes sense to me if I can get out further I should have some better luck. I can see clusters of pops in a line down the center of the lake but even a bullet weight and worm won't go far enough. I used weights and a bobber with a worm but that just made the gator come out every time. I got some top water ultralights, stopped using those because I can only cast out maybe 10 feet with them. I just got a black jitterbug and a few other goodies so hopefully tomorrow I can have some fun. I will definitely have a good detailed report on techniques and such. I think I may change up my line though.

 

Based on your explanation of the line I am assuming you are using a spinning reel? With 8lb braid that line should be flying off your spool since its so thin. Make sure you have filled your spool to an 1/8" of the lip of the spool. Not having enough line on your spool will definitely cause distance issues. I usually fill my spinners just like my b/c's with a mono filler and then braid the rest of the way. Your casting distance should be much better than average if everything is done correctly. 

[Basstatmaster]

I'll be fixing the line issue soon. I am using a spinning reel yes. THERE ARE BASS! They are young but I know they are there. I was out just going for some bluegill, same set up as usual, a worm hooked with no bobber. Caught a bunch of bluegill, not really any keepers this time, but low and behold started reeling in some probably 6-8 inch bass. I just tossed my line, let it sink, reel in a bit, sink and wait, reel in again, just kept doing this stuff. I had a lot of fun. This was going on from 2:30 pm well into about 7:00pm. Caught some catfish also. So guess the trick is just give them the live bait and be slow. It will be getting better here soon.

[SirSnookalot]

As of late all my bass fishing has been done in my community ponds where I live in South Florida.  First off, I have never used a lure or bait that hasn't caught bass, or any other fish for that matter, but nothing works 100% of the time and everything works some of the time.

For a while fish were busting like mad here, top water lure ruled but that bite has ended.  Used a senko twice caught fish but bored to death in the process.  Going thru some plastics that hadn't been used in a while I came across Gambler flip n shad, all I can say was wow.  I've used other paddle tails just preferred the way the Gambler worked.  I've used them in canals along with the larger version, where as I caught fish just didn't like them for that venue, think the fluke works better for me.

[Pz3]

Get up in the grass. If I had to take a guess. The fish are hanging out deep as they can in the day and hunting shallow in the morning/night.

For deep water texas rigged sounds good. 1/8 to 1/4 ounce bullet weight. Bobber stopper 1/2cm infront of the weight. Skip a worm slowly across the top of the suberged vegitation (if its grass) or slow crawl in the breaks between grass.

Small square bill crankbaits, frogs, jerk baits, top water (zara puppy) if you ever see them chasing near the shore line.

Hope that helps some.

[Pz3]

Oh as far as the line goes.... Braid on spinning reels can be trouble some. I know a lot of guys use it but I would recomend not using it.

The reason being is using no weight lures (sinkos) the line will find a way to dig into the spool as soon as any pressure is applied to it. Especially smaller lb braids. This was my biggest issue I use to have with a similare setup.

I would go with a better quality mono and have at it. Just remember to try and keep the fish out of the vegitation. Mono might not be able to pull them back out of it.

[SirSnookalot]

Does braid dig in on spinning gear, yes it can but it happens so infrequently it isn't worth a thought for me.  Pond fishing in Florida isn't like having to locate fish on a larger body of water.  In my part of Florida these ponds are usually about 12' and less, if community or golf course ponds they are easily walked.  I do not over complicate what it takes to catch pond fish.  My lures will vary based on what the water allows me to use, at times there is algae or heavy weeds, other times it's pretty open.  Coming from natural lakes both inland and the great lakes where fish have to be located, I can tell ya in a 5-10 acre pond or less these fish don't have a whole of places to go, finding them isn't tough.  These are man made holes in the ground, little if any structure.  I hit one of my ponds almost everyday, in all honesty Florida pond fishing is the easiest and most relaxing kind of fishing I have done in my life.  I wouldn't begin to compare my 5 pounder from one of these ponds to what it takes to do the same thing on big natural body of water.  Put some time in and more often than not you will catch fish.

Pond fishing is very enjoyable for me.