Bass size in pond

[JamesWatkins]

I go to this pond quite a lot and its located in the north. Me and my buddy catch like 15 total every time using a finesse zoom worm for whatever reason they love those so much and they dont even care what kind of jig you use. The "problem" is that the size of the fish are all 10-15" with like every 15-20 fish is a 2.5-3 lber. Does anyone know where the big ones are hanging out in the summer because I feel like there might be at least a few 4-5 lbers in there if we have caught like 10 3 lbers. the pond is like a big square 120 yds x 120 yds and has a flat bottom of about 10-15 ft in almost every spot but the dropoff is a gradual decline. So any techniques or bait ideas for locating a nicer fish there?

[Captain Phil]

The lake you are fishing is similar to many small lakes in Florida.  In order to grow large fish, you need large plentiful bass food.   In a small lake, a 4 1/2 pound bass may be a giant.  There could be a ten pound bass, but it's not likely you will catch it on a finesse worm. If you wish to target only larger fish, use larger bait.  Instead of Zoom finesse worms, try Mag II worms.  You won't catch as many fish.  Those you do catch will be larger.

 

[Dens228]

Not every pond has big bass.   That being said I fish 5-6 days a week, mainly lakes and quarries.  My biggest bass by far was caught in a 5 acre pond.  

[BrianMDTX]

My pond is likely different from yours, but the last two 5+ lb bass I’ve caught have been on a weightless Zoom Trick TR and a weightless Daiwa/GYBC Neko Macho TR. Both caught at the dropoff from shallow to deeper water. The Zoom Trick was hit working it back slowly on the bottom; the Neko Macho was hammered as soon as it started to sink. 

[Sam]

I would surmise that the pond is not managed and the smaller bass have taken over, driving the larger bass deep or having the big ladies die off.

 

If all you are catching are in the 10" to 15" size then the pond is not managed.

 

 

[JamesWatkins]

1 minute ago, Sam said:

I would surmise that the pond is not managed and the smaller bass have taken over, driving the larger bass deep or having the big ladies die off.

 

If all you are catching are in the 10" to 15" size then the pond is not managed.

 

 

Yes, this may be true but I believe a few are hanging in there, because one guy scaled one at 5.5 and another at 4.5, my biggest there is a tie between 2 3 lbers

[Sam]

33 minutes ago, JamesWatkins said:

Yes, this may be true but I believe a few are hanging in there, because one guy scaled one at 5.5 and another at 4.5, my biggest there is a tie between 2 3 lbers

Yes, you are correct. There is a "mother ship" around.

 

In Richmond, VA, we have a pond by some office buildings that have a lot of dinks. But one day I landed the big one, at least 4 pounds (I do not take a scale with me) so I knew that she was enjoying herself in that pond all to herself.

 

I added some bluegills  into the pond for her so she would have more than a few minnows and smaller bass to eat.  And I never caught her again.

 

So keep looking for Mrs. Spock and post pictures. In addition, how about adding your location to your avatar so we can see where you are to give you better input.

 

And try to cast out as far as you can as the big ones maybe above the thermocline in deeper water.

 

Welcome to the Forum.

[Deleted account]

I've caught a lot of big fish from tiny puddles with "no big fish" in them. If there a a lot of tiny ones, chances are there aren't a lot of mid sized fish, but one or more toads are probably there. 

[JamesWatkins]

17 minutes ago, Sam said:

Yes, you are correct. There is a "mother ship" around.

 

In Richmond, VA, we have a pond by some office buildings that have a lot of dinks. But one day I landed the big one, at least 4 pounds (I do not take a scale with me) so I knew that she was enjoying herself in that pond all to herself.

 

I added some bluegills  into the pond for her so she would have more than a few minnows and smaller bass to eat.  And I never caught her again.

 

So keep looking for Mrs. Spock and post pictures. In addition, how about adding your location to your avatar so we can see where you are to give you better input.

 

And try to cast out as far as you can as the big ones maybe above the thermocline in deeper water.

 

Welcome to the Forum.

Its a private pond in south MN, everyone thinks the fish are small in MN but there are plenty of 5-7 lbers here, my pb being over 6 on the scale. So south east minnesota is where im at, there are not a lot of natural lakes around due to the hills and bluff features of the driftless area, but we have quarry ponds and reservoirs that hold fish probably close to our state record of about 9 lbs, that being said I will say it is an overfished area due to the tremendous amount of residents in Rochester, but me and my buddies make it happen thats for sure!

[MN Fisher]

5 minutes ago, JamesWatkins said:

Its a private pond in south MN, everyone thinks the fish are small in MN but there are plenty of 5-7 lbers here, my pb being over 6 on the scale. So south east minnesota is where im at, there are not a lot of natural lakes around due to the hills and bluff features of the driftless area, but we have quarry ponds and reservoirs that hold fish probably close to our state record of about 9 lbs, that being said I will say it is an overfished area due to the tremendous amount of residents in Rochester, but me and my buddies make it happen thats for sure!

This much is true. Looking back at 2010-2019 tournament result summary for Lake Minnetonka on the DNR site. While the average bass caught was 2.5#-3# - every year saw 6#-7# bass caught...so they're there...it's just finding them

 

Lake Auburn - which holds the current state record of 8-15 from 2005 coughed up an 8-5 in 2017. It's not out of the realm of possibility that a new state record will be set sometime in the not-so-distant future...it might even be in the Rochester area.

[PhishLI]

4 hours ago, JamesWatkins said:

So any techniques or bait ideas for locating a nicer fish there?

If it's going to happen it's going to be a right place at the right time thing. 1000 different baits might be the one if you pull it past her face.

 

3 hours ago, Dens228 said:

My biggest bass by far was caught in a 5 acre pond.  

My brother has a 6 acre weed choked puddle right around the block from his house. We took the Jon boat out in the dead of winter when the weeds were down in order to scope the place for contour and structure. We didn't find a spot more than 4ft deep, and didn't see a single fish. During the bluegill spawn the banks are loaded with beds, and it's a shooting gallery for bass on certain nights. Earlier that fall he pulled out a 5-14, and his buddy pulled out a 7-7 which were weighted and photo'd. You never know.

[RDB]

I agree with Sam.  There are population limitations to maximize growth potential.  While there may be some bigs, the fact that you are seeing large numbers of smaller fish is a good indicator that there is some over population.  Texas A&M published a simple management tool using catch rates by size to evaluate population balance.  I will see if I can find it this evening and post as any fisherman can use to get an estimate.

 

Edit:  Here is a link to one survey example.  It doesn’t speak to using angler records specifically but another A&M link did.  I believe this used fish size applied to Texas waters...not sure if that matters for other states.

 

http://agrilife.org/wildlife2/files/2010/04/3_Fish_Popl_Assessment.pdf

 

Not endorsing, just sharing a study on assessing fish population balance ?.

[Bluebasser86]

My swimbait PB came from a puddle I could easily cast across. She blasted a 7" Slammer deadsticked on the surface. 

 

You say you use a Zoom Finesse worm all the time, maybe try something different?? The biggest bass in the pond is likely eating it's smaller brethren, not tiny bugs and worms. 

[Biglittle8]

1 hour ago, Bluebasser86 said:

The biggest bass in the pond is likely eating it's smaller brethren, not tiny bugs and worms.

☝️This. I don't know how many times I've caught bigger bass and found a large bluegill or small bass hanging in it's gullet, sometimes a bigger bait will work. You'd be surprised at how large a bait a small bass will hit.

[Hammer 4]

I use to fish a city park pond that was 4 acres and max depth was 6' plus. On May day the dfg came in and shocked the pond to see what was in there. What they found was over a dozen bass weighing 14 lbs + 10 that were in the 12 lb range, and a bunch of 7 and below pound bass.

There is also catfish, bluegill and IIRC 2 or 3 gar.

To Blues point, out of all the local guys that fished there, only a hand full of us threw big swimabaits. Sure, we could spend days fishing with out a bite, but when we did catch a bass it was usually 6 lbs or bigger, there were a few 12 lb'rs in there too.

So maybe try throwing a larger bait, could be an Upton 9 to 12" worm. If you have the gear to throw say a 2.5 oz bait, a 6" Huddleston would work. What do you have to lose.?

[The Bassman]

The ratio of smaller bass to bigger that you mentioned is actually not too bad. Larger bass actually make up a very small percentage of total population in most bodies of water. A healthy pond produces bass of all sizes not just big ones. The ponds I fish produce very similarly with the occasional 4-5 lber.

[Deleted account]

Wrong thread

[Bankbeater]

Either use a bigger bait or use a heavier bait. I fish a small lake that has a ton of little bass in it, but it also has some nice ones. A small bait, or a bait that takes a while to sink will get hammered by dinks long before it gets down to where the big bass are hanging out.