Where do pond bass go when it's overcast?

[EGbassing]

It's been overcast almost every day in NE Alabama recently. I've tried spinnerbaits, crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, etc. and in about 10 hours of total fishing, caught one bass. I can usually catch one about every 2 hours on average when it's sunny because they all go to cover, making it easy to find and catch them. My question is, where do they go when it's cloudy? I've tried fishing cover a lot without one bite. The one that I caught was about 3 feet off one of those "nothing banks". Should I just randomly be fan casting while hoping to get lucky and get a bite, or is there a more effective way of catching them? Getting kind of frustrated because I know they're active, but I just can't locate them. Any advice as to locating them would be appreciated.

 

Edit: Didn't mean to post that in fishing reports...

[OCdockskipper]

The expectation would be that they would venture away from cover & be higher in the water column.  With warm, summertime water upping the bass's metabolism, my first choice is moving top water baits (walking & buzzbait as opposed to poppers).  They will let you know if that is the ticket pretty quick.

 

Sometimes, the bass don't do what they are supposed to.  Last Sunday, we had weather similiar to what you described, but I ended up finding the fish hunkered down under docks as if it were a clear, sunny day.

 

Every lake has its own personality, it takes some time & effort to figure each one out.

[EGbassing]

2 minutes ago, OCdockskipper said:

The expectation would be that they would venture away from cover & be higher in the water column.  With warm, summertime water upping the bass's metabolism, my first choice is moving top water baits (walking & buzzbait as opposed to poppers).  They will let you know if that is the ticket pretty quick.

 

Sometimes, the bass don't do what they are supposed to.  Last Sunday, we had weather similiar to what you described, but I ended up finding the fish hunkered down under docks as if it were a clear, sunny day.

 

Every lake has its own personality, it takes some time & effort to figure each one out.

Interesting. Thanks.

[CrankFate]

 They morph into catfish.

[CroakHunter]

How do you know they are active? 

[Fairtax4me]

Jerkbait or if there's grass twitch a stick bait over top of it or on the edges. 

 

The bass in the ponds I fish tend to get super shallow on cloudy days. Casting Right on the edge of the bank gets them to crash in after a natural colored fluke or stick bait. 

 

Also so keep in mind those are pond fish and they may not want an aggressive or loud lure. Try a little smaller, or quieter presentation. Instead of a clacking metal blade buzz bait, try a plastic bladed one. 

 

Also, A paddle tail worm with a very light weight with a retrieve just quick enough to get it to run and paddle on top is a great way to get topwater pond fish. 

[Sam]

Cloudy days the bass swim around.

 

Sunny days the bass will hold to cover and go under docks, piers, baits and into the grass and pads.

 

Fish accordingly.

[EGbassing]

4 minutes ago, Sam said:

Cloudy days the bass swim around.

 

Sunny days the bass will hold to cover and go under docks, piers, baits and into the grass and pads.

 

Fish accordingly.

Do they tend to just go like, 10 feet away from the cover, or way out in the pond?

[Sam]

Believe it or not, each bass is different.

 

Some will sun themselves along the bank and then float leisurely into deeper water.

 

Some will just swim around with nothing to do but go from structure to structure along the bank or along grass lines or on their milk run.

 

Others will go deep.

 

Many will hold against anything they can find to just hover in place looking for a meal to float by, moving from place to place.

 

So on cloudy days hit them with crankbaits, spinnerbaits, Chatterbaits, buzzbaits, Whopper Ploppers, Sammy's, RICOs, poppers, swim jigs, and even jerkbaits until you decide if you have found the pattern.

 

You can throw stick baits like Senkos, drop shots, shaky heads, and Carolina or MOJO rigs.

 

Jigs can prove to be a very valuable bait to get them to bite on cloudy days.

 

Just remember, on cloudy days they can be swimming all around and you have to find where they are and the pattern.

 

Have fun.

 

 

[brgbassmaster]

Topwater time

[EGbassing]

1 minute ago, Sam said:

Believe it or not, each bass is different.

 

Some will sun themselves along the bank and then float leisurely into deeper water.

 

Some will just swim around with nothing to do but go from structure to structure along the bank or along grass lines or on their milk run.

 

Others will go deep.

 

Many will hold against anything they can find to just hover in place looking for a meal to float by, moving from place to place.

 

So on cloudy days hit them with crankbaits, spinnerbaits, Chatterbaits, buzzbaits, Whopper Ploppers, Sammy's, RICOs, poppers, swim jigs, and even jerkbaits until you decide if you have found the pattern.

 

You can throw stick baits like Senkos, drop shots, shaky heads, and Carolina or MOJO rigs.

 

Jigs can prove to be a very valuable bait to get them to bite on cloudy days.

 

Just remember, on cloudy days they can be swimming all around and you have to find where they are and the pattern.

 

Have fun.

 

 

Huh. Interesting. I caught my PB today in about 6 inches of water right off the bank. For some reason I never thought they would be that shallow when its overcast, but apparently so.  

2 minutes ago, brgbassmaster said:

Topwater time

I would, but the bass in that pond just won't hit topwater. I've spent countless hours throwing frogs, spooks, buzzbaits, etc. and never got a bite on one. Then I tie on a T-rig and start catching 'em.  

[brgbassmaster]

54 minutes ago, EGbassing said:

Huh. Interesting. I caught my PB today in about 6 inches of water right off the bank. For some reason I never thought they would be that shallow when its overcast, but apparently so.  

I would, but the bass in that pond just won't hit topwater. I've spent countless hours throwing frogs, spooks, buzzbaits, etc. and never got a bite on one. Then I tie on a T-rig and start catching 'em.  

Ya I go shallow ir throw over grass flats in main lake. 6-8ft if water with grass coming up to about 6" below surface and they smash on top. But yes I have a lake here in Arizona if u have seen my posts where freak mutant giant bass live lol. They will not hit a topwater bait. I don't care who comes and fishes it. It won't happen. I know guys that have fished these two small lakes for 20 years and they all say these bass will not hit on top. They ALWAYS relate to the bottom idk why. 

[EGbassing]

20 minutes ago, brgbassmaster said:

Ya I go shallow ir throw over grass flats in main lake. 6-8ft if water with grass coming up to about 6" below surface and they smash on top. But yes I have a lake here in Arizona if u have seen my posts where freak mutant giant bass live lol. They will not hit a topwater bait. I don't care who comes and fishes it. It won't happen. I know guys that have fished these two small lakes for 20 years and they all say these bass will not hit on top. They ALWAYS relate to the bottom idk why. 

Yeah. I wish I could catch them on topwater, but they just always stay on the bottom. It's really shallow so I guess they're just trying to get as deep as possible. Jigs and t-rigs are the most effective baits in that pond by far.

[Eric J]

I fish a 160 acre pressured lake for the most part. Sometimes the rules apply and sometimes there are no rules.

 

I had a great topwater day last week with the sun overhead and the bass were out towards the middle deeper areas.

 

The lake has a reputation for very migratory bass...

[Koz]

In my part of the south when it gets cloudy the bass tend to cruise the shoreline of the smaller lagoons rather than hug the cover along the shore. And what they are most likely to hit on are topwaters. I'll start by throwing quieter lures to progressively noisier lures - frog, then spook, then Whopper Plopper 110.

 

If that doesn't work - which rarely happens - I'll throw a chatterbait with a paddle tail trailer, working the shore first then fanning out to deeper water. Some days the chatterbait is gold, others days I'm hauling blanks.

 

Earlier in the spring I'd start with a spinnerbait before moving on to a topwater.

 

One last thing - go ahead and throw in water that's only 4-6 inches deep. Plenty of big bass cruise right along the banks looking for a meal.