winter big bass help!

[Mr. Aquarium]

so this kid says i suck at fishing, not to sound cocky but ive caught some big fish. 6.9lbs smallie and a 7.8 largemouth in MA doesnt come easy and his PB is only 6.5 for largemouth and 4.0 lbs for smallie, he thinks his 11lb fish from from a private stocked pond where the guy hand feeds the fish, he thinks it counts as his PB, 

well i need to put him in his place!   i have a pond with big bass! caught many fish over 5lbs here, including my PB of 7.8  Its a small 11 acre pond of not pressured fish.  its 30 feet deep.  with some great drop offs! and deep flats

the problem is its stained now ive always heard cold stained  and murky  water is tough fishing!  
i love bass fishing in the winter, blade baits and hair jigs down deep in clear water ponds.

what area would you fish! the southern area with a shallow shoreline flat with weeds and trees its less then 5 feet deep along the shore then gradually deeper then very steep drop off that drops into 20-30 feet or the northern area where the shoreline  is all a deep 5-10 foot flat with shoreline trees and weeds. the flat drops off into the deeper 20-30 foot water. the northern area has very little shallow, less then 5 feet parts! some shoreline water drops into 5 feet plus!   other parts of the northern area have a little bit of shallow water very tight to shore then drops in into that 5-10 foot flat 

this pond has no inlets or outlets it is spring fed, the ground water is around 50 degrees!   any suggestions on what to use here?  would blades and hair jigs deep work as good as they have for me in deep clear water

ORRR PLAN B!! Fish a deep clear water pond with big bass???  oh and i don have a fish finder or GPS on my kayak

[TOXIC]

In cold water, spring fed, ponds I have always done best if I know where the springs are located.  Stable water temps and usually a tad warmer than the rest of the water.   

[WRB]

1 hour ago, TOXIC said:

In cold water, spring fed, ponds I have always done best if I know where the springs are located.  Stable water temps and usually a tad warmer than the rest of the water.   

^^^this^^^

Find the springs as they provide the warmest water during the cold water period and cooler water during warm water periods.

I have never know of private lakes managed to grow larger being success doing it north of the Florida LMB survival latitude. It takes genes and lots of prey to grow big bass and 10 lb northern strain bass are extremely rare fish equal to 15 lb FLMB.

2 things must be in place, 1) bass the size you are trying to catch, 2) constant supply of of prey, can't feed bass pellets.

Private water equals less fishing pressure because the average angler can't afford the cost of membership or pay to play. Public water is state managed but has higher fishing pressure.

Private lake may have higher numbers of big bass but that alone doesn't mean they are easier to catch, just improves your odds.

Tom

[Mr. Aquarium]

any ideas how to find springs?? 


the worst part is i thought he was my friend but talking all this smack about me!  dont need that in my life! time to smoke him on the water

[WRB]

Early morning when the water is flat you can round area on the water surface that has a little fog if the surface water temps are cooler than spring water, the opposite is a spot on the surface without fog.

Fisherman like to tease each other, I wouldn't take it too seriously.

Tom

[Deleted account]

You care what a kid thinks AND you are online looking for what to do? $20 on the kid...

 

[CroakHunter]

2 words, pink buzzbait. Kills them every time. 

[Catt]

Spring feed with no inlet or outlet?

 

Where does the water go?

[TnRiver46]

41 minutes ago, Catt said:

Spring feed with no inlet or outlet?

 

Where does the water go?

Has to go somewhere unless it's an Australian billabong?

[Mr. Aquarium]

11 hours ago, Catt said:

Spring feed with no inlet or outlet?

 

Where does the water go?

a lot of ponds up here have no inlets or outlets, only ground water. these are kettle hole ponds, deep clear places made by the glaciers!

[Mr. Aquarium]

16 hours ago, WRB said:

Early morning when the water is flat you can round area on the water surface that has a little fog if the surface water temps are cooler than spring water, the opposite is a spot on the surface without fog.

Fisherman like to tease each other, I wouldn't take it too seriously.

Tom

you are absolutely right i  tease my buddies all the time, we joke around and have fun! but this isnt the first time! he met a friend of mind on the lake and was talkin smack about me! hell even behind my back to another buddy while we were fishing together! maybe im over reacting, but there was some other issues, this was just the cherry on top.

i have had some haters before and i enjoy it cuz they light a fire under I disagree and drive me to fish more and harder.  only way i defend my self is by sending in fish pictures! 

[Catt]

3 hours ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

a lot of ponds up here have no inlets or outlets, only ground water. these are kettle hole ponds, deep clear places made by the glaciers!

 

I understand that

 

But doesn't the spring have a constant flow of water?

[Mr. Aquarium]

i would assume so!  idk where the water would go! evaporation???  the water levels usually stay around the same unless there is a drought!  

[Ktho]

The only advice I can really offer is the advice I've been giving myself, it's been working lately for me so it could be worth a shot for you. The winters here are pretty mild but fish still move into winter mode. When it's winter and I'm shore fishing I target the deepest and steepest water closest to shore that I can. Deep is important to fish the fish, they like to move more vertically than horizontally when they're feeling lazy. Close to shore is really important cause it does me no good if they're coming up onto a hump out in the middle where I can't cast. I do the best personally on Hudd 68s and Finesse Jigs, both just slowly creeping along the bottom. The Hudd I constantly reel at a creep, the jig I'll wait often 5, 10, 15 seconds between actions, I aim for 100% bottom contact the entire time. 

 

My former boss Dave Myers told me fish still move shallow in the winter but instead of twice a day like they often do other times of the year it's only once a day in the winter. Timing can be really important from shore and I've seen it. Sometimes it's later in the day 3pm to after dark and other times they're up bright and early but figuring out when fish are in the zone you're able to target helped me catch more fish and fish efficiently. Whenever I thought might be their time I'd make some casts, feel it out and if it's no good I'd go check out places I didn't think are good based on conditions. Sometimes you surprise yourself and other times you confirm what you're already thinking. 

 

 

 

 

[Mr. Aquarium]

15 hours ago, Ktho said:

The only advice I can really offer is the advice I've been giving myself, it's been working lately for me so it could be worth a shot for you. The winters here are pretty mild but fish still move into winter mode. When it's winter and I'm shore fishing I target the deepest and steepest water closest to shore that I can. Deep is important to fish the fish, they like to move more vertically than horizontally when they're feeling lazy. Close to shore is really important cause it does me no good if they're coming up onto a hump out in the middle where I can't cast. I do the best personally on Hudd 68s and Finesse Jigs, both just slowly creeping along the bottom. The Hudd I constantly reel at a creep, the jig I'll wait often 5, 10, 15 seconds between actions, I aim for 100% bottom contact the entire time. 

 

My former boss Dave Myers told me fish still move shallow in the winter but instead of twice a day like they often do other times of the year it's only once a day in the winter. Timing can be really important from shore and I've seen it. Sometimes it's later in the day 3pm to after dark and other times they're up bright and early but figuring out when fish are in the zone you're able to target helped me catch more fish and fish efficiently. Whenever I thought might be their time I'd make some casts, feel it out and if it's no good I'd go check out places I didn't think are good based on conditions. Sometimes you surprise yourself and other times you confirm what you're already thinking. 

 

 

 

 

i got a lot of hudds!!! i havent really fished them in the cold! when water is in the 40s to just above freezing

[BassB8Caster]

Drag a hudd, worm and/or a jig slowly across the bottom. Can fish 11 acres in a couple hours.  Spot check water temps and write them down. Some sort of pattern should present itself showing the spring location(s). Dont let anyone get in your head!  March to the beat of your own drum. Period

[Mr. Aquarium]

7 minutes ago, BassB8Caster said:

Drag a hudd, worm and/or a jig slowly across the bottom. Can fish 11 acres in a couple hours.  Spot check water temps and write them down. Some sort of pattern should present itself showing the spring location(s). Dont let anyone get in your head!  March to the beat of your own drum. Period

They respond very well to big swimbaits here! at least large topwaters.  havent really fished a hudd here much! ive tried once or twice!   my buddy lost a big fish at the hole the only time ive ice fished it! to big to fit through!  so if they bite through the ice im sure they would hit a lure in openwater in the winter!  

i dropped an aguavu camera to the bottom! saw a big fish down deep in 20 feet of water here last winter, it was pretty dark down there! thats what im afraid of! how the water clarity is down deep and the fact that the water is in the 40s to upper 30s.   do i have to get a bait right in front of the fish in order for it to bite?

[BassB8Caster]

Your thoughts are correct concerning water clarity and depth. Just remember they still need to eat. May not be as often but they will. They also want a big reward with little spent energy. So you will have to get it within a good distance. Also need timing to be right. Be patient and ok with getting skunked. You can do everything right, and if she doesnt want to eat the result will be the same. Put in the work and go slow and you will succeed. First requirement is to be where the fish are.  You have that covered. Now find what they want and how they want it. And be ready. Little room for error. Good luck.

[WRB]

Water temps 39.4 degrees F and warmer hold good levels of dissolved oxygen after the lake turns over. Water colder 39.4 degrees starts to contain very high levels of DO becoming lighter in density floating up towards the surface, bass avoid DO levels exceeding 13 ml/G the very cold water contains then freezes at 32 degrees.

Deep water is warmer water in the cold water period and the spring water becomes the warm water fishes life zone.

Water clarity is secondary to survival and bass have excellent low light vision and senses that allow them to hunt and feed in total darkness.

The 68 ROF 5 or 12 fished very slowly in 20' of water, just fast enough to get the oversize tail moving should work. Black blue jig with a blue soft plastic craw trailer will also work.

Tom

[Mr. Aquarium]

i got plenty of 68s, tried a 1 ounce bucktail, 3:16 rising sons and mission fish but didnt have any luck! but ill definitely have to keep fishing it! i know theres giants here!! 10lbs maybe definitely possible. an 8lber i think so
theres way to many big bass here, but its weird ill  catch a ton of small fish 1-2lbs then a fish over 5. 

theres no predators either, theres no fish that compete with the basss for food. largemouth, big golden shiners, perch and sunfish. there maybe other fish here as well but these are the fish that i have found so far. there is no fishery data  for this pond either! one of those deep remote quiet ponds.  best part is people will fish it and tell me it sucks! theres only small fish here!! 

[deep]

If you have a kayak, I'd get a fishfinder and some buoys. Even a grayscale depthfinder is okay, and a lot better than nothing*. You don't want to fish blind, especially in winter.

 

* I had a portable humminbird that I bought used for $50 and got 2.5 years out of it.

[Mr. Aquarium]

9 minutes ago, deep said:

If you have a kayak, I'd get a fishfinder and some buoys. Even a grayscale depthfinder is okay, and a lot better than nothing. You don't want to fish blind, especially in winter.

i had a hummingbird fish finder! but i didnt really trust it!