Flooded retention pond tips

[TriStateBassin106]

We got a bunch of rain last night here in NJ and both my park ponds I fish at are currently raised with water, I tried fishing today at both spots and only got 1 bass per spot, my strategy was flipping and pitching into pieces of cover, before the rain these cover spots were at least 2 feet away from the shoreline, now they're submerged with water, I'm aware that bass hold tight to cover during flooding but what else could I throw during this time? Will the bass hit any moving baits? Also the water quality isn't great, greenish murky at both spots but it was already like this before the rain due to algae blooms. 

[Hook2Jaw]

Try those same spots tomorrow as well, and then fish deeper.  Often, bass will move to the first deep water they can find in post frontal conditions and that's exactly what you have -- they may be trying to readjust before they go prowl the new cover. 

[TriStateBassin106]

8 minutes ago, Hook2Jaw said:

Try those same spots tomorrow as well, and then fish deeper.  Often, bass will move to the first deep water they can find in post frontal conditions and that's exactly what you have -- they may be trying to readjust before they go prowl the new cover. 

What would you recommend throwing? 

[Koz]

What kind of grass was covered up by the rising water? If it's a grass lawn I never see bass move into that type of territory. Fish from the middle in by fan casting with a Senko, t-rigged worm, or whatever you would normally fish out there.

 

Now if the water has flooded into some tall grass that's a different story. Bass will move into those areas because that tall grass usually attracts insects. I remember one day in that type of a situation where a few feet down from me a bass suddenly leapt out of the water and into the tall grass and got stuck. I had to help him out. And yes - I counted it as a catch!

 

Any time I get aquatic grass sticking up out of the water the first thing I throw is a buzzbait parallel to the grass line. If for some reason that doesn't work I'll throw a spinnerbait parallel to the grass line. But in these cases instead of casting farther out and working my way in I cast tight to the grass line and work my way out.

 

 

[Hook2Jaw]

8 hours ago, TriStateBassin106 said:

What would you recommend throwing? 

A bottom contact bait you have confidence in, followed by combing the water column with a swimbait in case they're suspending.

[Team9nine]

Small wakebait - Mann’s Baby 1- or similar. Slow and steady retrieve.

[TriStateBassin106]

6 hours ago, Koz said:

What kind of grass was covered up by the rising water? If it's a grass lawn I never see bass move into that type of territory. Fish from the middle in by fan casting with a Senko, t-rigged worm, or whatever you would normally fish out there.

 

Now if the water has flooded into some tall grass that's a different story. Bass will move into those areas because that tall grass usually attracts insects. I remember one day in that type of a situation where a few feet down from me a bass suddenly leapt out of the water and into the tall grass and got stuck. I had to help him out. And yes - I counted it as a catch!

 

Any time I get aquatic grass sticking up out of the water the first thing I throw is a buzzbait parallel to the grass line. If for some reason that doesn't work I'll throw a spinnerbait parallel to the grass line. But in these cases instead of casting farther out and working my way in I cast tight to the grass line and work my way out.

 

 

Tall grass and bushes that are usually a foot or 2 away from the shoreline. Both ponds eventually will recede the water level and these plants you could walk right by.

[Spankey]

Fish a weedless worm type rig. Throw it weightless. Use a 6# or 8# spinning setup. I’d use 6 lb. but to each his own. Personally I’d throw some 4 1/2”, 6” and 7” PowerWorms. I don’t know the place you are talking about but just trying to think what I’d do if I were to get dropped off there to fish it. 
Maybe have some small split shot #7 or smaller if needed. I’m saying PowerWorm because it’s a basic straight forward type worm that generally worked anywhere. 

[Koz]

1 hour ago, TriStateBassin106 said:

Tall grass and bushes that are usually a foot or 2 away from the shoreline. Both ponds eventually will recede the water level and these plants you could walk right by.

Then I would go parallel to that grass line with a moving bait. Chances are the bait fish are also going to move into that type of grassy area for cover. If they are there you will see them scatter when you drag a bait by that area. To get even more specific, I use white or sexy shad spinnerbaits and buzzbaits in these conditions, but your results may vary depending upon the forage available in your area.

 

The caveat this time of year is that if this is a shaded area I wouldn't expect much action. I'd try it, but if I didn't get bit quick I'd fish deeper and slower.

[TriStateBassin106]

1 hour ago, Koz said:

Then I would go parallel to that grass line with a moving bait. Chances are the bait fish are also going to move into that type of grassy area for cover. If they are there you will see them scatter when you drag a bait by that area. To get even more specific, I use white or sexy shad spinnerbaits and buzzbaits in these conditions, but your results may vary depending upon the forage available in your area.

 

The caveat this time of year is that if this is a shaded area I wouldn't expect much action. I'd try it, but if I didn't get bit quick I'd fish deeper and slower.

Both ponds are man made and are surrounded by bushes like this. At pond number 1 this was the normal water level during the summer but now the water is so high most of those bushes are now 25% halfway in the water. My guess is the bass are deep in them, I usually walk into those bushes or paths between them and pitch around the rocks but the dry land I used to fish around there is also now a foot deep of water. 

[Koz]

4 minutes ago, TriStateBassin106 said:

Both ponds are man made and are surrounded by bushes like this. At pond number 1 this was the normal water level during the summer but now the water is so high most of those bushes are now 25% halfway in the water. My guess is the bass are deep in them, I usually walk into those bushes or paths between them and pitch around the rocks but the dry land I used to fish around there is also now a foot deep of water. 

This time of year and especially in your northern location I don't think the bass are going to be hiding deep in there very often. In the summer heat that would be a different story. If your water temps have already started to cool they may be along the edges as the sun starts to beat down on those areas as the heat will transfer from the bushes to the water.

 

But the biggest thing is finding out of the bait fish are hiding in there. If so, the bass will be patrolling the area looking for a meal. Again, I would throw a moving bait parallel and close to the bank and look to see if the bait fish are scrambling out of the way. If they are, the bass will find them. I have found that as the water cools down in the fall THE most important factor in catching base is finding the bait fish as pond bass don't seem to cruise as much as when the water is warm.

 

If there are any drop offs or channels that's usually where the bass will come up from. For example, in the bottom left of that picture it looks like there's a concrete inlet pipe. Often water movement from that inlet causes a channel to form out into the pond. Those channels are like highways for bass and are usually a good place to start all year long.

 

If you can wade in the water a bit you can position yourself to cover a lot of that bush line.

[TriStateBassin106]

29 minutes ago, Koz said:

This time of year and especially in your northern location I don't think the bass are going to be hiding deep in there very often. In the summer heat that would be a different story. If your water temps have already started to cool they may be along the edges as the sun starts to beat down on those areas as the heat will transfer from the bushes to the water.

 

But the biggest thing is finding out of the bait fish are hiding in there. If so, the bass will be patrolling the area looking for a meal. Again, I would throw a moving bait parallel and close to the bank and look to see if the bait fish are scrambling out of the way. If they are, the bass will find them. I have found that as the water cools down in the fall THE most important factor in catching base is finding the bait fish as pond bass don't seem to cruise as much as when the water is warm.

 

If there are any drop offs or channels that's usually where the bass will come up from. For example, in the bottom left of that picture it looks like there's a concrete inlet pipe. Often water movement from that inlet causes a channel to form out into the pond. Those channels are like highways for bass and are usually a good place to start all year long.

 

If you can wade in the water a bit you can position yourself to cover a lot of that bush line.

This was the pond during a summer drought, lowest it usually gets due to it being a retention pond, the spot in the first pic is visable and you can see the rocky bottom contour. All that exposed bottom is now underwater lol. Also that pier is a great peace of cover. Lot of bait fish hang out there. 

[soflabasser]

Try fishing a buzzbait near flooded cover or other structure that is usually shallower. Weightless soft plastics are another good choice.