Year Round Pond Fishing in the Southeast - Tips and Tricks?

[rttaylor619]

Sorry for the long post - just wanted to include details in case someone cares.  Hoping to put the guide together for some scouts that visit my pond year round, some weekly.

I have a newly acquired 2.5 acre pond, in North Carolina, and I want to put a guide together of general year round pond fishing for bass and catfish - specific to the southeast.

Hoping those here may have some tips I can use in this guide.  The purpose is mainly for the many visitors I get to the pond.  I am a scout master, and have young men coming to fish on the pond weekly.  While I have only been fishing for 2 years, most of my catches have been limited to the post spawn season and fall(to a much lesser degree).

The pond is shaped like a rounted triangle, with the northern two corners being shallow and the southeast corner being shallow.  The southwest corner is the deepest, with a drop off going down to ~12 feet.  General pond depth after the dropoffs is about 5-7 ft, and the level stays within a foot of the top of the drain all year round, even in droughts.  No major structure except a dock on the east side of the pond.  It has lots of bluegill, black crappie, sunfish, and LMB.  Also yellow/red painted turtles and some snappers(want to shoot them all)

Plans:  Get aerator installed (3/4 HP), started feeding the brim(getting a feeder setup), likely buying some more channel catfish if I cant locate them in the pond better this year.

Bass:
Neighbor has put in some 5+lb fish he caught up at lake Kerr, but no one has ever caught them.  Nothing we have caught was over 17 inches, and the majority of fish are 10-15inch skinny LMB.

Catfish:
Previous owner used to feed them and they came up to the dock, so the legend goes.  We have caught two by accident, and I have tried with stinky baits and worms year round with no success from the dock area(4 ft deep).

Most of what I catch has been in the shallow areas, along the edges of the pond, and mostly right now in the year and then in the fall.  Dead during the summer and winters.  I've never caught anything in the deeper water.

Any tips that you guys can fill in for locating/catching year round (all times of day) which I can pass on to guests and scouts using the property?

Spring Pre-Spawn:

Nothing biting, except a random bass on a worm when fishing for brim with a bobber.  Different lures in front of a nesting female with no luck at all.

Spring Post-Spawn:

Top Water, Texas-rig worms, spinners, suspended broken shad, all work well - in the shallows.  Mostly just Dawn/Dusk success.

Summer: Dead

 

Fall:

Similar to post spawn success, just not as much of it.  Same lures/same locations...

 

Winter: Dead

 

 

[N Florida Mike]

I can tell you about the fishing but not so much about the stocking or management.

If I wanted to figure out what was in there I would : Catch some small bream and use live ones for bait with and without corks.If you have shiners they are better.When the bream or shiners die, use them for cut bait.With a float to suspend them off the bottom and without a float on the bottom.

The feeders are a good idea but before you get them bait up ONE area by hand and focus there( dock area?)You can probably get the feed at. Feed or hardware store.Purchase a feeder or throw it out by hand several times a day and it will attract many of the fish so you can catch them easier and find out what all's in there.

also use a stinky bait on bottom like dead shrimp or chicken livers.Also earthworms with a small hook.To catch little baitfish use a tiny hook no cork and a tiny breadball.( and 4 pound test line)

While you're waiting for a bite.Fish search baits such as flukes or 4 inch senkos to find bass.To get an idea of bass populations, I would get some fat earthworms and fish aroun the pond with a small cork and #4 or 6 bronze hooks.Use the whole worm, hook it once in the band ( cast softly).You will get action ! Sometimes the bream will peck it off but sometimes the bass will get it first .

Try the pond boss web site.

Check with your state fish/game.They can help with stocking/ management.

Mike

[Lawsonfishing1]

Pre spawn- an winter both just about my favorite way to catch them in on a lip less crankbait "yo-yoing" off the bottom besides that a Texas riged trick worm with a 1/8 ounce weight.

spawn- weightless stick worm blind casting.lizard on a carolina rig. an a Texas rig with a bed fishing bait for sight fishing 

post spawn- pretty much anything will catch them in a pond

summer- Texas riged plastics during the day  an topwatter is mornings an evenings an don't forget topwatter at night 

fall-moving baits spinner baits topwatter chatterbaits crankbaits etc.

winter- back to yo-yoing jerk baits an wasting time. also carolina riged stick baits dragged "sloooow"