Is there a fall transition in ponds?

[Luke Barnes]

I mainly fish ponds, big and small. All public and pressured. Some more pressured than others. During the summer ive caught 9/10 bass close to the bank. Do they move deep when it starts to cool? Do they still key in on baitfish, whether its bluegill or minnows? I'm just trying to figure out what to throw and where. 

[Sphynx]

I see no reason there should be a lack of transition simply because you choose to call your tiny lake a pond, I doubt very seriously that the bass are aware of the difference anyway, the nice thing about smaller ponds is that you can test theories out with little difficulty, spend an hour or so looking for a summer pattern, then do the same with a fall pattern, see which one is most productive, a few hours on the water, or fishing one day one way and the next day the other should give you at least some empirical evidence of one pattern or the other.

[Bassfishingfred]

Yes. I've had to finesse them lately. The fish get a little funky especially if you have a lot of turnover from decomposing grass. I'm catching them in the deeper holes right now

[Luke Barnes]

These arent tiny lakes. They are straight up ponds. I can see because of the turnover. I didnt think about that. 

[Catt]

In anybody of water Fall is like pre-spawn...it's all about the baitfish!

 

What's your predominant food sources?

 

Follow them!

 

Some will be shallow & some will be deeper.

 

Sounds kinda like pre-spawn huh!

 

 

Edited September 26, 2020 by Catt
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[Luke Barnes]

So bluegill imitating baits it sounds like is what I need to be using. Ive got a couple ideas for what to use. Swimbaits and chatterbaits but for bottom contact baits I'm not sure. I'll use craws and see how that does. 

[MGF]

 I don't get to fish many ponds but by what I do fish I'd say that a pond is a special case. First of all I can cast to every inch of the pond I fish. The fish didn't move because there's no place to move to. Forage? It's sunfish, maybe a couple of minnow species and the occasional frog (haven't seen many of those lately). It's a muddy bottom with weeds that come and go. I'm sure there are crawdads but I've never seen one. So what changes? Mostly just how the fish act and how much/often they feed.

 

 

[Catt]

1 hour ago, Luke Barnes said:

for bottom contact baits I'm not sure

 

Oh I don't know maybe something like a Rage Tail Structure Bug

[lynxcat]

I exclusively fish neighborhood ponds and I do think there is behavior differences that still take place. However, it’s not as dramatic as bigger bodies of water where fish can move from deep holding / ledges to shallow creeks, etc. The variation in ponds is much more subtle typically so there could be movement but it’s limited by the space and available structure. Right now, I’m seeing a lot of baitfish activity. Chatterbait has become my absolute go-to bait and it’s targeting the bigger fish which is great. Finesse works but I’ve caught way too many small fish. I’ll save that for the winter when the reaction bite slows. 
 

I’m going to try the Caffeine Shad today along with a Fogy. 

[Koz]

The biggest factor in any pond transition is going to be the depth of the pond.  Ponds with depth and ledges will have more similarities with larger lakes. However, stormwater ponds or ponds with little depth change will be much different.

 

In the latter case I start by following where the sun is hitting the water looking for bass to be feeding in these warmer parts. This could be a specific bank where the sun is shining or it could be structure protruding out of the water (trees, vegetation, outlets) that radiate heat.

 

If that fails I look for channels. These could be channels created off points or channels created by the flow of water from inlets into the basin or flowing from inlets to outlets. Even if that channel results in only a depth change of half a foot or so I often find bass hunkering down in those channels or running those channels to the shore when they go to feed.

 

Still, when the water cools to at or near whatever the norm is for winter temperatures the bite gets tougher as the feeding periods for bass tend to shorten. But in my experience where I locate the bass in ponds in the winter becomes more consistent than the summer, but the bite times and rate are inconsistent.

[DitchPanda]

I fish small ponds and small lakes both...anywhere from a few acres to 75 acres and to me they act the same this time of year. It is all about your baitfish. I have a pond that has craws and gills but a huge base of shad. I also fish a lake that has a forage base of gills. The past few weeks of fishing both all my bass have come from 3ft of water or less. Bait is shallow right now for me so the bass ain't far behind. I've tried fishing some deeper brush piles both places without a bite.

[plawren53202]

4 hours ago, Catt said:

 

Oh I don't know maybe something like a Rage Tail Structure Bug

Moon juice Rage Bug with the tips of the tails dipped in chartreuse Spike It (or colored w a Spike It pen) works well for me as a soft plastic/bottom bouncing bluegill imitation (got this from Alex Rudd on YT). Also, Dirty Jigs makes a finesse swim jig (1/4 oz.) in an awesome bluegill color that has been working great for me in small ponds, with a 3.25 green pumpkin Rage Swimmer as a trailer. It's a dead ringer for a bluegill, and like any swim jig you can work it on or near the bottom if you want.

[Bassfishingfred]

Time on the water:)

 

 

[Mobasser]

I fish an area that has an 8acre quarry lake, along with two ponds. The quarry lake has crawfish, but the main forage in the ponds are bluegill. I've caught almost all my fish from the ponds with straight plastic worms in purple and grape, which I've come to believe imitate the bluegill. In the quarry lake, plastic craws work also, along with plastic worms. At certain times, the bass key in on crawfish here , and that type of bait will work the best.

[Luke Barnes]

I'm going to have to dip some of my Moon Juice Rage Craws in chartreuse and give that a try. I'll start deep and work shallow. I just got a foggy in Hot Sauce and I use a Falcon Lake Craw rage craw or rage menace as a trailer. That ought to do great if they are feeding on craws. 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

On ‎9‎/‎25‎/‎2020 at 1:40 PM, Luke Barnes said:

I mainly fish ponds, big and small. All public and pressured. Some more pressured than others. During the summer ive caught 9/10 bass close to the bank. Do they move deep when it starts to cool? Do they still key in on baitfish, whether its bluegill or minnows? I'm just trying to figure out what to throw and where. 

Just about all the water I fish that isn't tidal is on the smaller side, with varying amounts of pressure.  The fish had been slowly pushing in and chasing bait.  Last week we had consecutive nights in the mid and upper 40s and the number of fish that are pushing shallow in the 2-4 lb range has dramatically increased.  Just like normal the LMB are keying in on smaller baitfish.  Crankbaits and JBs usually produce very well this time of year, but the water is abnormally clear and the JBs and shallow cranks aren't as effective.  Ive been doing really well with finesse swim jigs and mojo rigs around points and cover with close proximity to shallower water. 

[Luke Barnes]

12 hours ago, Rusty_Shackleford said:

Just about all the water I fish that isn't tidal is on the smaller side, with varying amounts of pressure.  The fish had been slowly pushing in and chasing bait.  Last week we had consecutive nights in the mid and upper 40s and the number of fish that are pushing shallow in the 2-4 lb range has dramatically increased.  Just like normal the LMB are keying in on smaller baitfish.  Crankbaits and JBs usually produce very well this time of year, but the water is abnormally clear and the JBs and shallow cranks aren't as effective.  Ive been doing really well with finesse swim jigs and mojo rigs around points and cover with close proximity to shallower water. 

The pond I'm going to hit today has a weed line around the entire bank so a square bill would be a weed magnet, but a lipless maybe out deep would be ok, but that defeats the shallow thing! Ive got a weedless underspin swimbait tied on that I'm hoping will do the trick. 

[galyonj]

48 minutes ago, Luke Barnes said:

The pond I'm going to hit today has a weed line around the entire bank so a square bill would be a weed magnet, but a lipless maybe out deep would be ok, but that defeats the shallow thing! Ive got a weedless underspin swimbait tied on that I'm hoping will do the trick. 

Maybe a texas-rigged fluke or a white truck worm?

[GetFishorDieTryin]

2 hours ago, Luke Barnes said:

The pond I'm going to hit today has a weed line around the entire bank so a square bill would be a weed magnet, but a lipless maybe out deep would be ok, but that defeats the shallow thing! Ive got a weedless underspin swimbait tied on that I'm hoping will do the trick. 

If its submerged grass like milfoil SBs are great for that.  SBs don't to well with grass on the surface.  When the fish are on schools of bait I want the flash of an underpin to make my bait stand out in the school.  With smaller bodies of water you have the time to really pick apart the bank with T rigs C rigs SHs or what ever you think will get the spookier fish to hit.

[Team9nine]

On 9/25/2020 at 1:40 PM, Luke Barnes said:

I mainly fish ponds, big and small. All public and pressured. Some more pressured than others. During the summer ive caught 9/10 bass close to the bank. Do they move deep when it starts to cool? Do they still key in on baitfish, whether its bluegill or minnows? I'm just trying to figure out what to throw and where. 

 

2 hours ago, Luke Barnes said:

The pond I'm going to hit today has a weed line around the entire bank so a square bill would be a weed magnet, but a lipless maybe out deep would be ok, but that defeats the shallow thing! Ive got a weedless underspin swimbait tied on that I'm hoping will do the trick. 

So many variations in ponds that it can be difficult to make any absolute statements. IMO, most ponds don’t go through typical “fall transition” simply because they rarely ever truly thermocline (often too shallow). They also don’t have the space or fishery population to be really amenable to such things. They do go through typical environmental changes though, such as any untreated weed growth will start dying off as the water cools and the daylight shortens. This will force juvenile fish more toward the bank in many cases, and the bass will frequently roam just outside these shallows. 

 

If your weedline is still intact as you mention, a finesse jig should be a key bait right now.  It has been one of my best baits on the ponds I fish that are similarly ringed. For further outside the weedline, more open hooked baits like Ned or other jig-worm style baits has been productive. Small swimbsits have also been good, especially on cloudy/breezy days when controlling finesse plastics can be more difficult. Personally, I’m not a big fan of a lot of traditional bass baits for ponds. They have their days (and again, unique pond differences will make them play in some waters), but don’t seem to be nearly as consistent.

[Luke Barnes]

So from all ive taken away from this I'm going armed with a weightless fluke, Jackhammer with Zako trailer, SK Pad Perch in Sexy Gill for topwater since its overcast and breezy, Zako on a weedless underspin, and a shakey head probably with a mini rage craw. That should cover everything from deep to shallow and mostly baitfish profiles. Storms are coming so hopefully the pressure drops and it turns into an amazing day!

[GetFishorDieTryin]

On ‎9‎/‎26‎/‎2020 at 11:20 AM, Koz said:

Still, when the water cools to at or near whatever the norm is for winter temperatures the bite gets tougher as the feeding periods for bass tend to shorten. But in my experience where I locate the bass in ponds in the winter becomes more consistent than the summer, but the bite times and rate are inconsistent.

My favorite time to fish is October to March.  Fishing pressure is dramatically reduced when the temp drops.  The fish stay fairly active until the water gets in the lower 40s.  The fish spend less time in shallow water looking to feed the colder it gets.  A good bite can be challenging to find in mid Winter.  However, if you can figure out what kind of cover the active fish are staging in before they go shallow, you can really get into them.  In my experience the fish don't deviate a whole lot from that initial pattern which provides consistent results.