Pond Fishing

[DUMAN]

I live in a state where the biggest pond is only about 190 acres. Most of the ponds are actually much smaller. I do rather well on these ponds but my

success is limited to early morning and the evening. Keeping in mind the deepest areas of these ponds are only 8-10 ft. and there are no boat docks, few blowdowns

but lots of pad fields.

My question is, why is my success during the middle of the day very limited? In a situation like this, do the fish bury themselves in the pads or will they

move to the deeper spots? Once again deeper being 8-10 ft.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[DUMAN]

I should add this post was directed at this time of year (the dog days of summer). Thanks once again.

[fishballer06]

It's not just your body of water, or state. Fish (in general) are tough to catch during the hot summer days all over the world. Not saying it can't be done, but it is much tougher. 

 

Fish are like people. When it gets hot and sunny out, they seek cover and try to stay cool. Some may go deeper, some may sit under the pads. 

[Sam]

Depth is a matter of the specific body of water to the bass. So even if you think 8 to 10 feet is shallow, it is deep to the bass..

The bass have gone deeper for the oxygen and cooler water plus some will hold in the pads and grass.

Can you cast far to go deep?

Can you throw frogs or toads or drag a Senko or trick worm over the pads?

Give these options a try.

[Master Bait'r]

Only one way to find out!   

[buzzed bait]

any of these ponds have little creeks or streams that feed in?  would be around them where the oxygen levels are a little higher, often times in this heat i have a little better luck if i can find a nice drain pipe that puts off some shade for the fish, but with pads they have some shade.  i'd be frogging this place like crazy myself, letting the frog rest in the openings/pockets of the pads for a bit before moving it.....

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

I approach pond fishing just like one would a lake or reservoir just keeping in mind everything is scaled down and relative in relation to bigger water. 

[Weld's Largemouth]

I live in a state where the biggest pond is only about 190 acres. Most of the ponds are actually much smaller. I do rather well on these ponds but my

success is limited to early morning and the evening. Keeping in mind the deepest areas of these ponds are only 8-10 ft. and there are no boat docks, few blowdowns

but lots of pad fields.

My question is, why is my success during the middle of the day very limited? In a situation like this, do the fish bury themselves in the pads or will they

move to the deeper spots? Once again deeper being 8-10 ft.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Try casting a spinnerbait into a shaded spot, you're sure to get a reaction strike. The shaded spots near the edges of the pond that are created by overhanging trees are the best and the coolest spot for a bass to hang in a small pond. The reason being is that the shallow water heats and cools much quicker than the deeper water, so the shallow water is cooler and that's where the bass will sit, waiting to ambush prey. Any reaction bait will produce a strike if it placed properly so that the bass sees it. I pulled out a 6 lb and a 5 lb bass in a small pond using this method. It was the middle of the day, clear skies and sunny

[tbone1993]

190 acres is a pretty big pond and Ive had a ton of success in everything even ponds that are an acre or two big. The best tools for the job are spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, pop-rs, senkos, frogs, crankbiats/ratltraps and big worms. I catch most of my fish in those ponds along the bank near toolies aka cat tails. 

[Jtrout]

Go deep as u can u will find some I find em with Texas rigged worms n just heave them out as far u can usually they hit it on the fall. Also look for a little current that's where it's the deepest n I fish a 36 acre lake and have good success with that. Also I've noticed the ones I catch in the deep have not been caught before. I use bullet weights to get it out there

[mwh33]

I usually have the most success with a crankbait, a Texas rigged worm, a jig fished on the bottom, or a spinnerbait slow rolled in the middle of the day. I had a little success with swimbaits, but you need to figure out the depth of the bass with different retrieval speeds.

[ClackerBuzz]

i'd put away the spinnerbaits, cranks, reaction baits and slow drag weightless soft plastics of ur choice (except keep using reaction at dusk/dawn/night fishing).

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

[PJBoudzy]

Fish the line where the pads hit open water.  If that has no success, go and toss soft plastics into the small openings in the pads.  They will be waiting to ambush! 

[DUMAN]

thanks to everyone for the info. will give it all a try. seems like the only time I have trouble is during July and August. The rest of the year no problems.

[ClackerBuzz]

thanks to everyone for the info. will give it all a try. seems like the only time I have trouble is during July and August. The rest of the year no problems.

think of july and august like fishing in a bowl of soup. hot water with low oxygen levels. it's a good time to learn how to finesse fish...or get skunked every year!

[RMcDuffee726]

You've answered the question yourself.  The "dog days of summer" aren't the most desirable days to catch bass.  Summer is a much more difficult season all around.

[macmichael]

I only have 3 lures I use when it's hot. I caught the one in my picture with one of these lures.

 

1. Senko

2. Senko

3. Senko  

 

PS: Did mention a senko?  (-:

[Rhino68W]

I am an avid pond fisherman. I haven't been doing it very long, but I've learned a few things that work well even on hot sunny summer days.

1. Wacky rigged wweightless worms.

I like to toss them 10-20 feet from tte bank in "fishy" looking areas. I can normally get a bite as it falls.

2. Small spinnerbaits.

I'll throw them down the bank and keep them in the strike zone as long as possible. I change my retrieve from slow and twitchy, to fast and constant. I've found that keeping it deep works best though.

3. Top water frogs

This method only works during dawn and dusk for me. But I can almost always get a good amount of fish in the weedy areas of the ponds.

I stick to these 3 methods most days. On optimal weather days that I get a lot of fish I'll start throwing crank baits and buzzbaits to see if I get even more.