I've found myself confused with fishing this year

[kiteman]

So I am in Texas and 2 years ago found a gem of a pond I bank fish from and by last summer I was catching 4+ bass an outing after one hour or two and went out twice a week for the last two years with the same results fairly consistently. The pond is private property that I had permission to fish on, but it had views fr the local rural housing and picked up some outsider pressure also fishing it. I saw a lot of fish go, and even so I was still catching. Eventually I think most of the randoms were driven off (even though I'm convinced a few still come late at night). Unusual enough, my biggest bass have been this year, I'll go on a drought and catch nothing, then in a span of a few weeks I caught a 3.9, 4.5 and 4.9.

 

I mostly fish square bill cranks and worms. Texas rigged crawfish work well sometimes but the jig and pig is the most useless bait I fish out there...They just don't like it. I am 100% certain I don't catch as many fish this year as the last two years, and I've gotten better at fishing. So either people are taking all the fish or the fish are getting smarter? It's about a 10 acre pond.

 

Also it has no structure at all either, and lots of water moccasins so there are really only a few places you should be fishing from (only a few I fish from, maybe not the local poachers!). Also it has crazy weeds, from 20ft out from the bank to probably 10 feet off the bottom. I constantly lose jigs or cranks getting caught down there and on a 30lb braid.

 

I don't know if I should be fishing with deeper baits/weights with heavier line or what (from the bank the deepest I can cast is probably 35ft)? Any insight you can provide would be great. I will tell you I only get 3-4 hours across 2 days a week at most to fish, so I usually have snaps to change lures vs constantly cutting and tying different rigs. So while I'd like to do drop shots or Carolina rigs on top of the other stuff each outing, with my schedule I may not have the time for all that. I usually throw a bait 5-10 times and if I don't catch I move on. I know this isn't a great practice, but until this year my method has always worked on this pond. Thanks everyone!

[N Florida Mike]

They are probably getting used to what youre throwing. ?

[Sam]

Kiteman, there are three basic water levels that we fish: topwater/shallow, mid-range and deep/bottom.

 

You have to use techniques and baits for all three levels using a "fan pattern" for every place you stop to fish.

 

The "fan pattern" means you work your bait from left to right and then right to left, about five our six times, before changing baits or techniques.

 

Poachers like large bass. Nothing you can do about poachers other than to avoid them. If they are taking the large ladies who help continue the pond's bass population, then sooner or later the population will be harmed.

 

Please consider down sizing your baits on lighter line, with the understanding that you may have to upgrade your line test and bait size when you fish the grass.

 

Consider a Carolina rig or a Mojo presentation in the grass, using weedless rigged plastic lizards with weedless 1/0 or 2/0 hooks.

 

And use those weedless hooks with your plastics to avoid snags in the grass.

 

You can also remove the back trailer hook from your lipless crankbaits and pull them through the grass.

 

If  you still do not catch anything then the bass population in the pond has been severely damaged and it may not recover.

 

How about adding your location to our avatar so we can easily understand where you live and what bodies of water you like to fish.

 

All I can add is to go out there and experiment. It will be painful and the results may not be what you want. At least you will have tried.