Early Spring Pond Bass

[Wyatt kelley]

Hey everyone!

I was fishing my pond today since we had our first big warm front with warm rain come through. I was fishing in the evening and I noticed something very different as I came up to the pond. No joke, there were multiple schools of bass on the surface of the pond. When I mean on the surface, I mean their back fins and tops of their tails were out of the water. I tried to throw a multitude of lures at them. My most confident bait was the mega bass jerk bait. The fish were swirling all around and I could throw my lures passed them and come through them and they would not bite. I could even throw it in the middle of the school and they would splash because they got spooked when the lure would hit the water. Keep in mind this pond is loaded with good fish. These schools were mostly 4-7lb bass just sitting on top barely swimming around at all. A couple would chase a lure if I burned it near the surface but none of them would commit. I was wondering if anyone knows why the bass were doing this and if there’s a good way to get these fish to bite? Just two weeks ago this pond was froze over and now the water is near 60 it seemed like because the grass had grown a lot and made it hard for my chatterbait to even come through it. I seen about 20 bass doing this in the hour I was there. It is about a 1 acre pond with grass.

[Wyatt kelley]

Also these bass were suspended doing this. It seems like there were a few bass on the bank but most of the bass were in the very middle of the pond suspended with their backs out of the water.

[Basser2021]

This happens a lot in a pond right down the road for me except they are smaller fish.

 

Something tells me that they suspend to get warm when the warm front comes through.

It is hard for me to get them to bite as well but I do sometimes have luck burning some type of moving bait basically right by their face.

U aren't the only one Lol

[Blue Raider Bob]

I have a pond on my property that mirrors what you are seeing. Every winter the fish disappear. That's bass and bluegill. When late winter begins to arrive and we have sunny days the bass are easily seen at the very top of the water column in the north bays in the afternoon. The bluegills reappear as well. The middle and southern sections of the pond are fishless "my pond is so clear I can see the bottom". The fish disappear on cloudy, or rainy days, and reappear when the sun comes back. I cannot get these fish to eat anything I throw consistently. Occasionally I will get a small one on a TRD but the big ones have lockjaw.

14 hours ago, Wyatt kelley said:

Also these bass were suspended doing this. It seems like there were a few bass on the bank but most of the bass were in the very middle of the pond suspended with their backs out of the water.

Mine keep their backs wet but I know just what you mean. Schools in midwater right at the top.

Wyatt I wish I would have read your question thoroughly before answering. If you have a one acre pond full of 4-7 lb bass then maybe i'd better come and see the issue in person! LOL

[roadwarrior]

Sounds like carp to me.