Only Bass In The Lake And Nothing Else

[fatso]

  I tried a new body of water this summer and its a reservoir-man made. From reading the internet I find the reservoir is slightly more than 100 years old and its entirely rock. It's what i describe to people as a bathtub. Its only eight acres of water and I doubt it gets to 20 ft at its deepest point but plenty of 10 feet depths. Its a beautiful place to sit on a rock and cast my Carolina Rig all day. It's an old drinking water reservoir from the WWII era but today it only on standby, but very clean water none the less.

 

  Since June of this year, I've latched onto 200 bass in total, mostly smaller one to two pounders

but the occasional 5 pounder and one 7 pounder. I cant say I caught a 3 pounder yet, which i find strange.  Occasional old timers tell me of Pickerel that use to be in the water but i see no evidence of that today. In fact I see no evidence of any other fish residing in the water. The water is so clear and I've spent enough hours on the water now that I should have spotted something else? Not even bait fish of any kind? The only other water resident I've seen have been the snapping and painted turtles.

 

Is it possible a large body of water will only be of largemouth bass?

[Bass newb]

If it's small enough and few enough hiding/cover areas I would guess that it's a possibility for bass to have decimated all other fish population.

[fatso]

I do hear the occasional Green frog but not enough to feed this population of bass, I do see plenty of smallish Largemouths patrolling the shoreline but what else could they be eating? I see no evidence of crawdads.

[the reel ess]

They have to eat. Maybe they eat bass. But if that decimated the other species, it seems they would decimate each other.

[WRB]

Because you don't make visual contact with other fish species or crawdads doesn't eliminate them from being there. Do you see the bass swimming around?

Take some oat meal and broadcast it out on the water and watch for baitfish. Set a crawdads trap over night with bacon and check it for a few days.

Tom

[FinCulture]

Because you don't make visual contact with other fish species or crawdads doesn't eliminate them from being there. Do you see the bass swimming around?

Take some oat meal and broadcast it out on the water and watch for baitfish. Set a crawdads trap over night with bacon and check it for a few days.

Tom

Agreed. If you can spot a crawdad in ten feet of water, go buy yourself a cape and use your powers for good because that'd be amazing. Just because you don't KNOW it's there doesn't mean it ISN'T.

[the reel ess]

I've been told by someone who used to work for DNR that there are crawfish in almost all bodies of water. I fished L Wateree, SC for 40+ years and only saw one sign of a crawfish. And it was a claw hanging half out the back end of a bass. I helped that bass out enormously and threw it back.  Been fishing craw lures ever since.

[bigbill]

That's my spot. Try at 4 am.

Be very very quiet. Walk softly don't step on roots and rocks. Handle your tackle quietly. No noise. No baitcaster click. Spinning reel and close the bail by hand. I use snap swivels no flashing glare from lights. Keep a one battery flash lite hidden by the top of your tackle box. Don't spook the bass there right at the shoreline feeding.

In the dark, topwater, shallow cranks, poppers, hula popper, hitter bug.

Rebel crawfish cranks. All sizes match your color.

Rapala f7 blue or black

Bomber cranks fat a or model a Redapplecraw, browncraw, green craw.

Inline spinner mepps

Spinnerbaits. 1/8 to 1/4oz.

C-rig plastics black 6" worm.

Weighted 2" white or yellow grub.

Norman thin n chartruese, redear, perch.

Daytime go deep to there cover jigs

[bigbill]

Have to have panfish. Bass eat panfish, crawfish, eels, other bass etc. If u have small bass there's bigger ones making baby bass. Be very quiet get in the zone. Don't talk. No noise.

[fatso]

There are plenty of small bass for sure hundreds! I've yet to catch a 3 pounder which I find strange, but I have caught 3 or 4 five pounders and one 7 pounder. There is not a lot of cover structure that I can see- being a rock bath tub and all. Even grass stands don't exist.

 

It must be a spring feed water supply as springs abound in the surrounding area but no brooks or creeks connect here. Ive walked around the entire eight acres many times looking for signs of life. 

 

certainly no pan fish which would be easy to spot in the clear water, I would have caught one by now anyways! My fishing buddy thinks its a decimated reservoir I'm beginning to think the same but im going to give that bacon idea a try for crawdads.

[Turkey sandwich]

where are you located?

The pond is still going to have some sort of insects/larvae, crayfish, and likely a bunch of species of small baitfish you had no idea existed. Bass will eat other bass, but they have to get big enough to eat other bass, first.

Likely to find: panfish, some kind of catfish, and small fish like chubs, sculpins, dace, etc that you're never going to see from the surface.

[WIGuide]

That's my spot. Try at 4 am.

Be very very quiet. Walk softly don't step on roots and rocks. Handle your tackle quietly. No noise. No baitcaster click. Spinning reel and close the bail by hand. I use snap swivels no flashing glare from lights. Keep a one battery flash lite hidden by the top of your tackle box. Don't spook the bass there right at the shoreline feeding.

In the dark, topwater, shallow cranks, poppers, hula popper, hitter bug.

Rebel crawfish cranks. All sizes match your color.

Rapala f7 blue or black

Bomber cranks fat a or model a Redapplecraw, browncraw, green craw.

Inline spinner mepps

Spinnerbaits. 1/8 to 1/4oz.

C-rig plastics black 6" worm.

Weighted 2" white or yellow grub.

Norman thin n chartruese, redear, perch.

Daytime go deep to there cover jigs

Next time read OP's post. He's not having issues catching fish in the least, he's asking a forage base question.

[Jaderose]

Be very very quiet. Walk softly don't step on roots and rocks. Handle your tackle quietly. No noise. No baitcaster click. Spinning reel and close the bail by hand. I use snap swivels no flashing glare from lights. Keep a one battery flash lite hidden by the top of your tackle box. Don't spook the bass there right at the shoreline feeding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did anyone else read this in Elmer Fudd's voice?  (Sorry BigBill)

[bigbill]

Be very quiet when hunting wabbit. It's ok.

[Raul]

  I tried a new body of water this summer and its a reservoir-man made. From reading the internet I find the reservoir is slightly more than 100 years old and its entirely rock. It's what i describe to people as a bathtub. Its only eight acres of water and I doubt it gets to 20 ft at its deepest point but plenty of 10 feet depths. Its a beautiful place to sit on a rock and cast my Carolina Rig all day. It's an old drinking water reservoir from the WWII era but today it only on standby, but very clean water none the less.

 

  Since June of this year, I've latched onto 200 bass in total, mostly smaller one to two pounders

but the occasional 5 pounder and one 7 pounder. I cant say I caught a 3 pounder yet, which i find strange.  Occasional old timers tell me of Pickerel that use to be in the water but i see no evidence of that today. In fact I see no evidence of any other fish residing in the water. The water is so clear and I've spent enough hours on the water now that I should have spotted something else? Not even bait fish of any kind? The only other water resident I've seen have been the snapping and painted turtles.

 

Is it possible a large body of water will only be of largemouth bass?

 

Yup, it is possible that theres only bass. Baby/little bass are big momma bass food. Guess what I find in the stomach of those stunted pond 5"- 8" bass ? aquatic insects and mosquito larvae, nothing else.

[fatso]

here is a satellite image of the water-beware you have to zoom in [click on] on the red dot [and keep clicking]: http://mapcarta.com/222183

[A-Jay]

here is a satellite image of the water-beware you have to zoom in [click on] on the red dot: http://mapcarta.com/222183

 

Pretty Little Lake ~

 

With all that rock as mentioned - I'd be throwing a Jig & Craw a ton.

 

A-Jay

[everythingthatswims]

It has a lot of shoreline for 8 acres!

[fatso]

yea, it's kind of a double figure 8 pattern

 

the shoreline might be the only real structure other than the submerged rocks

[stkbassn]

  I tried a new body of water this summer and its a reservoir-man made. From reading the internet I find the reservoir is slightly more than 100 years old and its entirely rock. It's what i describe to people as a bathtub. Its only eight acres of water and I doubt it gets to 20 ft at its deepest point but plenty of 10 feet depths. Its a beautiful place to sit on a rock and cast my Carolina Rig all day. It's an old drinking water reservoir from the WWII era but today it only on standby, but very clean water none the less.

 

  Since June of this year, I've latched onto 200 bass in total, mostly smaller one to two pounders

but the occasional 5 pounder and one 7 pounder. I cant say I caught a 3 pounder yet, which i find strange.  Occasional old timers tell me of Pickerel that use to be in the water but i see no evidence of that today. In fact I see no evidence of any other fish residing in the water. The water is so clear and I've spent enough hours on the water now that I should have spotted something else? Not even bait fish of any kind? The only other water resident I've seen have been the snapping and painted turtles.

 

Is it possible a large body of water will only be of largemouth bass?

 

 

Throw a 6 inch Hudd in bass pattern, probably select for some bigger fish that you're looking for but still catch some smaller ones too. I'd guess there are other species there but I agree that not seeing any sign of bluegill or smaller bait fish is odd in such clear water. In my experience that's odd anyway. Sounds like a cool little spot to fish though.

[WRB]

Looking at the sat overhead this lake is full of structure away from the shore, large under water boulders where bass love to locate at, rock islands, very irregular shape shoreline and rip rap walls. You should fish this lake from a boat of some type.

Tom

[fatso]

I wish I could use a boat but there is no access to the water. I need to hike through the woods a quarter mile to get to the water and its all up hill on a giant rock. I dont think any personal watercraft is allowed anyways-protected water!

 

I'm having no problem casting from shore and a caught 40 bass yesterday.

 

Still no 3 lbs!

 

I know the bass have been in there 20 years anyways from internet stories I read of past stockings-one would think I would see plenty of 3 pounders

[lmbfisherman]

I wish I could use a boat but there is no access to the water. I need to hike through the woods a quarter mile to get to the water and its all up hill on a giant rock. I dont think any personal watercraft is allowed anyways-protected water!

I'm having no problem casting from shore and a caught 40 bass yesterday.

Still no 3 lbs!

I know the bass have been in there 20 years anyways from internet stories I read of past stockings-one would think I would see plenty of 3 pounders

time to thin the herd. Fish fry?

[C0lt]

This sounds like it would be a pretty interesting place to throw a baby bass swimbait.