Pond bass in winter

[Mr. Aquarium]

1 hour ago, Paul Roberts said:

It's just that pond! It's location in each pond. Sure some fish better than others in winter. But, there should be fish to be caught in any pond. Trick is finding them. Even 8acres can be a lot of real estate to cover during a short winter day at winter speeds.

Agreed. It’s probably the pond but also just about finding active fish in the pond. I’ve spent a lot of time fishing a lot of different ponds in the winter. Some ponds simply better then others. Some ponds I love in the warmer months but can’t buy a bite in the cold

[kayaking_kev]

I don't have much experience, but it gets rather cold here in Ohio and a Ned Rig on a clean bottom or a Jerkbait over a vegetated bottom have had the best results for me so far this year.

[Paul Roberts]

3 hours ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

Agreed. It’s probably the pond but also just about finding active fish in the pond. I’ve spent a lot of time fishing a lot of different ponds in the winter. Some ponds simply better then others. Some ponds I love in the warmer months but can’t buy a bite in the cold

Yeah, I suspect the biggest culprit is available/vulnerable prey. If there is little to eat, or possibly even too much, the bass can get mighty quiet. I'd guess the former is more common than the latter. But, like you found, most of the real estate in my ponds have few bass. They collected in prime locations.

[K.Mac]

2 tips that I've found look for the older ponds that have been around for several years and look for areas of the pond for any source of oxygen. spring fed, drainage, etc. 

[Paul Roberts]

7 hours ago, K.Mac said:

2 tips that I've found look for the older ponds that have been around for several years and look for areas of the pond for any source of oxygen. spring fed, drainage, etc. 

Yeah, I've found fish around inlets too, but it seems to be more about the structure of the spot that attracts. Then again, we rarely have ice here long enough for 02 issues to develop.

21 hours ago, kayaking_kev said:

I don't have much experience, but it gets rather cold here in Ohio and a Ned Rig on a clean bottom or a Jerkbait over a vegetated bottom have had the best results for me so far this year.

The Ned Rig is a bass magnet. That along with hair jigs are my winter GoTo's, esp when searching for fish. Usually those two will reveal fish, if they are present. I do best with jerks early winter and very early spring. Maybe I'm just not patient enough! @Team9nine has done really well with small bladebaits. So far, they've only been sporadic producers for me. He's a darn good angler so I may simply be missing something. Although he appears to have been a relying on Ned's lately.

23 hours ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

Agreed. It’s probably the pond but also just about finding active fish in the pond. I’ve spent a lot of time fishing a lot of different ponds in the winter. Some ponds simply better then others. Some ponds I love in the warmer months but can’t buy a bite in the cold

Here's one of the videos I've made on winter fishing small waters. It doesn't advertise my channel so it should be ok to post:

https://youtu.be/TH8AMqSTdFw

[kayaking_kev]

54 minutes ago, Paul Roberts said:

Here's one of the videos I've made on winter fishing small waters. It doesn't advertise my channel so it should be ok to post:

https://youtu.be/TH8AMqSTdFw

I just subscribed to your channel about a week ago, nice info.