Florida Pond Fishing - Seasons

[mplspug]

So I have been living in Florida for about a year and 3 months.  I have a small retention pond by my house, as well as 2 ponds with pads and more vegetation,  and when I first started fishing in November last year it was decent.  I'd catch at least one it seemed every other trip.  I'd usually put out a crawler once in awhile too and get some catfish. The catfish were pretty active and I'd see schools of them.
 

So the fishing was pretty good until about April.  Then as the water warmed, I seemed to have more and more blanked trips in between catching one.  So April through about now the fishing tailed off significantly, although I did get my biggest at the end of July, and that was fishing one of the other adjacent ponds mentioned before.  Even the catfishing got difficult and I stopped seeing schools.

I am curious if people find the summer and fall months tougher with higher water levels, plenty of forage and warmer water temps?

For the life of me I have not been able to establish a seasonal pattern.  The bite and location of the fish seems pretty random, which isn't too surprising, since the pond is small with little structure and just some hydrilla on the bottom being about the only vegetation growing.  I've tried around a full moon, new moon, after the barometer dropped, after rain, the windy side after the wind has blown from the same direction for a few days.   The only real structure is a storm sewer which I though would hold fish, especially after rain, but it doesn't appear to be the case.

Thoughts?

[soflabasser]

Ponds tend to be more affected by temperature and fishing pressure than larger bodies of water.When it's hot and sunny try to fish near heavy cover that is in deeper sections of the pond.Change lures and your retrieves until you find the lure/retrieve they respond to.You can also fish periods of low light,such as sunrise,sunset,and overcast days.Winter/Spring is approaching and with that comes better weather for bass fishing.

[bostonsox2904]

I live in Lake Mary currently and have been here about 6 months. I've had a bit of luck but it's been really hit or miss for me from the shore. I don't know about shore fishing on the big lakes or st johns, but they definitely hold some nice fish. Recently I've been heading to mosquito lagoon for the redfish and trout. Good luck!

[Mike L]

If those ponds are inter connected that's why you're stuggling.

They're moving in and out based on when and how thier food chain moves.

You're just gonna have to chase them down.

If your area is anything like mine down here...

The ones with the most vegetation should be the summer hot spot.

The deeper ones should hold fish in the winter.

The older ones with a more settled and firm bottom would be best during the spring and fall transition..

Good Luck

Mike

[mplspug]

So since the post on November 17, the fishing has gotten much better.  I ran a string of a half dozen trips where I caught at least one. I tried Saturday with blue bird skies and a chill in the air and that broke the string. This evening I caught 2 and missed a 3rd. 

[FD.]

I would not consider this year a typical year.  The amount of rain over July and August and subsequent high water in most lakes really changed the pattern for me in nearly every place I fish.  My home lake is still 3 feet above normal and very difficult to fish.

[N Florida Mike]

In the summer, I'd fish early morning and late evening in the ponds.I'd use any soft plastics or live bait and fish areas with the heaviest cover.Also,bait up an area with fish feed ( available in 40 lb bags at feed stores) .Feed them 2-3 times a day if poss.and the minnows will come,followed by panfish and catfish.The bass will start hanging around to feed on the smaller fish.Catch shiners or bream using a tiny panfish hook and small bread ball.(If using bream in Florida you must catch them on hook and line for them to be legal bait)Use a light bronze hook #4 size and hook the bait through both lips.Don't use a cork.You'll know when a bass grabs the bait because he will take it and run.I count to 10 and set the hook.This method should produce well for you any time of year.Hope this helps.

Edited January 3, 2016 by mike barnett

[Sam]

I don't live or fish in Florida but living in Virginia (where we are expecting our first snow storm next week) and growing up in south Louisiana (where the entire state closes down for a quarter inch of snow) I can relate to the fishing seasons in Florida Virginia and Louisiana:

Florida's Seasons

Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall - Fish all the time.

Virginia's Seasons

Winter - Cry about Redskins, Hokies and Hoos Football, start to watch ACC basketball and duck hunting.

Spring - Cry about Hokies and Hoos Football recruiting and hope the ice has melted off the lakes to launch your bass boat.

Summer - Bass fishing and wondering if the Hokies and Hoos will win three games each.

Fall - Reorganizing your tackle while you wait for the snow and ice and talk about why the Redskins did not make the playoffs and the Hokies and Hoos football teams can rebound for next year. Follow ACC college basketball for the fun of it.

Louisiana's Seasons

Winter - Mardi Gras, Food duck and deer hunting and Football Recruiting and trying to figure out how LSU lost to Bama again.

Spring - Food, fishing, duck and deer hunting and Football Recruiting

Summer - Food, fishing, duck and deer hunting and Football Recruiting

Fall - Football, food, fishing, duck and deer hunting and how to beat Bama in football.

YOU HAVE IT MADE IN FLORIDA!!!! ENJOY THE FISHING SEASONS AND POST YOUR SUCCESSES.

[mplspug]

On 12/24/2015 at 7:41 AM, FishinDaddy said:

I would not consider this year a typical year.  The amount of rain over July and August and subsequent high water in most lakes really changed the pattern for me in nearly every place I fish.  My home lake is still 3 feet above normal and very difficult to fish.

Being I have only been here since August 2014, its typical for me   The fishing has definitely gotten better with the cooler temps.  I tried one morning  early on a warm day after a cool spell a about a week or 2 ago.  I got there early enough to try a buzzbait and I was literally catching them on every cast or 2.  They must have been schooled or loosely schooled and pressing the bait.  It was pretty fun, but shut down as expected as the sun came up.

 

[GeoffreyInLouisiana]

That's so true bout Louisiana seasons. I've been fishing all yr long last year. I even went a few days ago to a friend's pond and caught 2 white crappie but being I was going for bass I let the guys live another day even after putting em on the stringer just in case I caught a bass or 2 or 5 lol. But last February I saw bass sitting on beds so they spawn pretty early in the yr here. Actually bout to go to see if I can catch anything now. I'll update later when I get back. 

Update on fishing trip today...I caught one lil fella on a red eye shad pearl white n that was bout 10 mins after being there. Then I tried several beetle spins 1/4oz n nothing. So bout 20 mins til 3 I put on a zoom mag II green pumpkin, I got a bite but didn't set the hook good, so that 6lber got away lol. The one I did catch was maybe a lb..pic attached...won't let me attach n it's 148k but getting error saying it has to be 153.8k 

Edited January 13, 2016 by GeoffreyInLouisiana
Update for todays fishing trip

[GeoffreyInLouisiana]

Here's what I caught today but lost a 6lber lol