Perfect pond with no big bass

[Siberianfred]

A local pond by me that's about an acre in a square shape has almost no bass bigger than really 6 inches. There's just about every species of bait fish (bluegill and rock bass in large numbers and perch and crappie in much smaller numbers) and carp that jump all over the pond, most likely all coming from the river very close by. The bottom is rocky with some weed patches and structure and seems to get semi deep although I can't really tell. The problem here is when fishing (most often fly fishing around the shore), there are tiny to medium bluegill, small to big rock bass, and the bass (3:1 smallmouth:largemouth) are all around 6 inches and just as big as the bait fish. It seems like the masses of bait fish that hide in the weeds around the shore should be amazing bait for big bass but as far as I know there's only been one 2 pound smallie my friend caught right as a rooster tail hit the surface. It just seems so confusing to me. Are there way too many bait fish and rock bass that compete with the little bass keeping them small (they almost always have fat stomachs even being so small) and how would one fix that? Thank you for your help.

[WRB]

Change your lure presentation to catch adult size bass.

Tom

[MN Fisher]

^ What Tom said. Fly fishing with so many small fish available will net you small fish. Change up to a rig running larger lures.

[Bird]

There's always a big bass lurking. 

[Siberianfred]

45 minutes ago, WRB said:

Change your lure presentation to catch adult size bass.

Tom

Almost every time I go fishing there I try throwing senkos or today I threw topwater for more than an hour with not a single sniff. I'm usually never skunked but at this pond I've never caught a bass bigger than 7 or 8 inches. This whole summer my friends and I have fished it and there's only been one bass bigger than the size I said.

[DitchPanda]

While it is entirely possible the pond is mostly dunks if say it's impossible it's all dinks. Gotta be a few better fish in there. Throw a jig with a craw trailer...see what happens.

[jbsoonerfan]

A one acre square shaped pond near me wouldn't be for fishing in, just saying.

[Bluebasser86]

How old is the pond/fish population? If it's a new pond, or the fish have recently been stocked, then they might not have time to grow large yet.

Just now, jbsoonerfan said:

A one acre square shaped pond near me wouldn't be for fishing in, just saying.

Catch some nice brown trout or sewer bass maybe.

 

[Koz]

1 hour ago, jbsoonerfan said:

A one acre square shaped pond near me wouldn't be for fishing in, just saying.

I never, ever rule out the small lagoons. The photo below is a kidney shaped lagoon about 1/3 of an acre behind my father's house. I've caught three 6 pounders in there, a handful of 5 pounders, and nothing less than 3.5 pounds. My son also caught a white crappie in there that weighed a tick under 2 pounds.

 

 

[smalljaw67]

What is wrong is that the fish have become stunted. Too many panfish that eat the majority of forage and then the bass feed on mostly insects. After a few years the bass grow smaller in order to survive, large fish would struggle to get enough food to sustain themselves for very long. 

[Siberianfred]

8 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

How old is the pond/fish population? If it's a new pond, or the fish have recently been stocked, then they might not have time to grow large yet.

Catch some nice brown trout or sewer bass maybe.

 

Fish have never been stocked and have been around for longer than I've lived in the area.

8 hours ago, jbsoonerfan said:

A one acre square shaped pond near me wouldn't be for fishing in, just saying.

I regularly fish in a pond the size of my house and caught an almost 3 pounder. Exciting topwater bite to say the least.

1 hour ago, smalljaw67 said:

What is wrong is that the fish have become stunted. Too many panfish that eat the majority of forage and then the bass feed on mostly insects. After a few years the bass grow smaller in order to survive, large fish would struggle to get enough food to sustain themselves for very long. 

How would I fix a situation like this then? Try to thin out some of the panfish? It sounds weird to me because pickerel are generally enemy #1 in my area but would they have a place thining this smaller fish or would they wreck havoc on the bass too?

[moguy1973]

1 hour ago, smalljaw67 said:

What is wrong is that the fish have become stunted. Too many panfish that eat the majority of forage and then the bass feed on mostly insects. After a few years the bass grow smaller in order to survive, large fish would struggle to get enough food to sustain themselves for very long. 

^^^^THIS

 

Having all those species of fish in one small pond means they are all fighting for the same food sources.  Crappie are horrible fish to have in a small pond if you want bass to get any sort of size.  They eat the same food the bass do and they multiply a lot faster than the bass.  A good bass pond typically only has three species in it, bass, bluegill (or some sort of small sunfish), and catfish.  The only other fish that would work well in a small pond, to keep the grass in check, would be some grass carp.

 

 

[jbsoonerfan]

Okay, apparently my post went over some peoples head. Where I am from (southern Oklahoma)a small square pond is used as a "tank" for peoples waste coming from their home. I would prefer not to fish where people poop, but that's just me. 

 

I'm not saying you are fishing in a "poop pond" but a square pond around here, that's what they are.

[gim]

Definitely went over my head.  I thought the United States had moved on to modern water treatment facilities years ago, not **** filled ponds.

[scaleface]

Catch those little fish by the dozens and release them in that river . 

[Siberianfred]

1 hour ago, moguy1973 said:

^^^^THIS

 

Having all those species of fish in one small pond means they are all fighting for the same food sources.  Crappie are horrible fish to have in a small pond if you want bass to get any sort of size.  They eat the same food the bass do and they multiply a lot faster than the bass.  A good bass pond typically only has three species in it, bass, bluegill (or some sort of small sunfish), and catfish.  The only other fish that would work well in a small pond, to keep the grass in check, would be some grass carp.

 

 

How could i fix this? Imo it's the rock bass that have a strangle hold on this pond bc I've only caught a couple crappie ever while the biggest fish I've caught there (other than carp) are by far rock bass.

[MN Fisher]

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

Catch those little fish by the dozens and release them in that river . 

 

2 minutes ago, Siberianfred said:

How could i fix this? Imo it's the rock bass that have a strangle hold on this pond bc I've only caught a couple crappie ever while the biggest fish I've caught there (other than carp) are by far rock bass.

Rock bass are good eating - I use to purposely catch them when I was a teen cause my mom loved them. Catch lots of panfish (to the legal limit) and have a good feast every now and then.

[jbsoonerfan]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

Definitely went over my head.  I thought the United States had moved on to modern water treatment facilities years ago, not **** filled ponds.

Not out in the sticks LOL

 

Most people in rural areas use a septic system, either with lateral lines or an aerobic system with sprinklers. However, some places that are older still have a pond where their waste goes. 

[gim]

12 minutes ago, jbsoonerfan said:

Most people in rural areas use a septic system, either with lateral lines or an aerobic system with sprinklers. However, some places that are older still have a pond where their waste goes. 

Well that is just foul.  I am obviously aware of septic tanks and wells for a water source but a stinky pond in the Oklahoma heat just sounds disgusting, whether there's fish in it or not.

[Fishes in trees]

If you live out in the sticks and it is properly engineered, a turd pond is the way to go, ie., there are fewer things that can go wrong with it.   Where I live in the country, septic systems are a lot more common, with holding tanks & laterals, but there are a lot more things that can go wrong with them.   I know this from experience.

 

Back to the topic, if I came across a square pond, I would presume it was stocked with brown trout, and I'd fish elsewhere.

[mikey z]

Don't eat the "crap"pie lol

[kayaking_kev]

How many other people fish the pond? It doesn't take long to kill a small pond when there are just a few people who keep every decent size bass they catch. Some people just don't care about anyone but themselves. It's happening to my favorite pond this year.

[the reel ess]

Some people say there has to be a big fish in every lake/pond. I disagree.

 

I have a friend who has a back yard pond. I went there for the first time 17 years ago. I caught a 6.5 lb. I have fished there more than 100 times since and have yet to catch another bass over 2. I did not take that 6 out. But it wouldn't be living now anyway. The average is less than 1 lb. I try all the big bass baits and still only get dinks. They're stunted there and a lot of them need to come out. By comparison, I have probably 30 bass over 5 lbs from two other places that I have not fished nearly as much.

 

That could be the case where you're fishing.

[TnRiver46]

This pond doesn’t sound “perfect” to me 

[5/0]

A friend of mine has a 5 acre pond chock full of crappie. They’ve caught 5 gallon bucketfuls of them in a short period of time. The bass in the pond are healthy, but never over 2#. This has been the case for years. I’m convinced the crappie are detrimental to the bass population.