Intensity And Frequency

[Preytorien]

I remember once reading an article that talked about which was more influential on a body of water, the frequency you fished it or the intensity in which you finished it. Some argued that it was best to fish more frequently for shorter amount of time, while others said that it was best to fish less frequent for longer periods of time. I don't remember the outcome of the article. I do remember that one school of thought heavily outweighed the other one. I don't remember where I read the article, but the article was backed up by substantiated facts and observed information from fisheries biologists.

Hi fish a few small ponds, they are sort of honey holes to me, and I want to make sure that they are quality bodies of water every time I finish it. I don't want the fish to become so conditioned that I cannot catch them. As it stands now I have a few of them on rotation and I usually try to fish them less than two times a week most of the time it's just once a week.

What are some opinions, facts, and supporting information that can lead me in the right direction so that my fishing spots stay good all year around?

[Dyerbassman]

Interesting topic. Unfortunately, even if you limit yourself on the frequency that you fish for the same bass, others don't. I like to think that some of my secret spots are all mine, but in reality I know that they get fished just as much when I'm not there.

[Ozark_Basser]

I don't believe that fish can become conditioned to the point they won't bite. You can always figure out a way to get them to bite. Whether you do or don't is up to you. With that being said, fishing pressure definitely does affect how well they bite. As far as intensity vs frequency, I would go with intensity. One 7 hr day once a week to me would keep the fish less accustomed to seeing baits than one hour days seven days a week in a small pond.

[papajoe222]

I would think that the frequency of trips to a pond will have more of a negative effect in the long run than occasional long trips. I strongly believe that if they're getting a regular diet of the same baits, you can have more positive results if you mix it up.   You'll likely be targeting the same areas either way and on the occasional longer visit you may need to go through a few presentations before you figure out their mood.  Ponds, in general, are small bodies of water and hitting them regularly would be like making a milk run on your favorite lake and only stopping at the first spot every trip.  I'd treat your ponds the same way and stop one this trip and a different one the next, etc.

[Bankbeater]

How heavily fished are these ponds?  Are you the only one that fishes them, or are the ponds open to the public?  I fish a couple of very heavily pressured lakes.  I have noticed over the years that it is much easier to catch bass during the week than on the weekends when the place is packed.

[Preytorien]

I only very rarely see people fishing at these ponds, 2 are public ponds, the other 2 are private. However, in general, based on the ability to not only catch fish with pretty good consistency (compared to heavily fished ponds I frequent), and the overall very skittish nature of these fish, it would seem that I am the only really consistent person to fish them. I would say there's probably a slight amount of pressure on 2 and almost no pressure on the other 2. One pond, my best, I have never seen another person fish there, ever, in 2 years. 

[SirSnookalot]

I have a pond where I live, can be pretty darn good with nice bass, this pond probably is no more than 2-3 acres.  Not only do I fish it a lot, there are 3-4 other people that do as well, sometimes several people at one time.  These other fishermen are worm guys and I use only 3 or 4 different lures.  Either we all are catching fish or none of us are.  

 

I believe yesterday is ancient history and tomorrow hasn't got here yet.  What matters is the exact instance the lure hits the water, a few seconds can make all the difference.  Pressure doesn't concern me, but only to the extent some one other than me caught fish, their lure may have just hit the water at the right second.

[Choporoz]

I didn't see option C. more frequently for longer periods of time.  If those waters are your only choice, anyway.  No such thing as too much fishing

[WRB]

It comes down to several factors, man hour per acre, number of catchable bass per acre, skill level of the bass anglers. The old saying that 10% of the anglers catch 90% of the bass isn't that far off, nor is the saying that 10% of the water contains 90% of the bass. When you put skilled anglers where the majority of the bass are located, success rate increases exponentially.

In small bodies of water skilled anglers can catch a higher % of the catchable bass, how many man hours that takes depends on population density.

There are non catchable and catchable bass everywhere. If you intensely focus your time on the catchable bass your catch per hour increases with experience, knowledge and success. Doing the same thing every time you fish yields the same result regardless of the amount of time doing it, good or bad.

Tom

[J Francho]

The old angle vs. motion argument, lol.

It's a good question, though. Some of the best big fish lakes around here get hit hard - like tournament every day. Other big fish lakes start out as a secret, and then seem to get played out quickly as more hit them.

So, when is the ice gonna melt?

[Team9nine]

I used to live in a housing addition that had 5 different ponds on the premises, all stocked with bass and generally lightly fished. What I found through experience, as well as what has been documented via studies, is that as pressure increases, catchability decreases. The solution that worked best turned out to be a small combination of things.

 

1. Rotate effort across the ponds - Don't hit every pond every trip. Rotate through them allowing certain ponds to "rest."
2. Shorten trips - Don't sit there and fish for hours at a time on a given pond. Even at the largest one I fished, I never spent more than 30-40 minutes max before moving on. Many of the smallest ones might end up only getting 15-20 minutes each.
3. Restrict presentations - Bass learn through repeated exposure. I always just chose a single presentation for every trip so as not to show bass "the kitchen sink" every time. One day it might be nothing but shallow cranks, and the next day tubes. After that maybe buzzbaits on the third trip, then the following trip jigs. This way you catch what will bite that bait in a given day, but don't show them what's coming next trip.

By incorporating some form of the above into your routine, I believe you'll maximize your overall catch rate across an entire season.

 

-T9

[F14A-B]

Doug Hannon proved that "Large" largemouth bass would hit a plastic worm over, and over again.. Apparently never able to realize it had ever been a fake, however, hard baits like crankbaits and such were mostly always rejected, after having fooled the fish once, What does this mean? I guess using soft plastic is a excellent bait to rely on if you are at all concerned with educating Fish! Lol..of course that was his conclusion. I'd say he caught a few over 10 pounds in his life.. Approaching 1000 as I recall..