How many times do you try the same pond

[Swamp Girl]

26 minutes ago, Joedodge said:

Man this topic turned into some great conversation!!!

 

Agree. @Pat Brown is both one of the best anglers at Bass Resource and one of the best teachers too. He once sent me a photo of where he fishes. It's oh-so-urban. 

 

Pat, @AlabamaSpothunter, and @PhishLI all encouraged me a couple years ago to focus on fewer ponds and I did, with great results. In 2024, I caught 2,044 bass, my PB, and had one morning with a bag in upper twenties (The bass that's my avatar is one of those bass in my biggest bag ever.), which are good numbers for someone who lives at the top of the country where the fishing and growing season is short. So, keep taking notes. These guys are wise and generous.

 

My only suggestion is fish the lightest line the ponds allow. When I used to fish crowded water, I had times where my fish catching attracted other boats. I literally had boats trolling around me, glaring at me while I caught fish after fish. My secret was four and six-pound mono. Pressured fish can be line shy. 

 

FWIW, there is no way I could fish light line today. The weeds disallow it:

 

[the reel ess]

52 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

 

 

I see otters all the time at my big fish ponds AND people keep fish there all the time - it don't matter.  You will never hear a good report from anyone who fishes that pond ever.  That is often a sign it's got giant fish in it - it's tough.  Big fish are smart.

 

You do realize the Japanese govt tried to wipe out the LMB with gill nets and chemicals and paying citizens to keep and kill them?  Well it produced the world record - that and some trout 😂

 

In BIG FISH ponds - you usually catch nothing or a big fish or maybe a dink now and again because the big fish eat everything including other bass and it's just a couple schools of really big smart fish and some super scared dinks.

 

Numbers ponds are different entirely and in general - we don't have those here.

 

I actually think otters and people accidentally selectively harvest for giants and make fisheries into giant factories.

 

We might get angry when we see the bucket brigade pull a few 4-6 lbers off the banks and eat them every year but consider this - those are often the smallest and most competitive females on the pond - and the stupidest - and the ones you really would be worried about them catching - you actually don't know exist - and you'll never see them spawn in your life up shallow.  AND - those folks keeping those couple dumb 4-6 lbers aren't touching the general population of 4-6 lbers that now have enough biomass to become 7-9 lbers next year.

I have places with 4-6 pounders where I catch fish. Think about it. Big fish either produce small fish or there will be no fish. I['m with you on management though. A certain amount need to be removed or it get so out of balance it can't recover.

[Catt]

How many times do you try the same pond?

 

My entire life 😉

 

Think of it like hunting for Bigfoot, you're looking behind this tree when he's over there behind that tree.

 

We have to keep in mind all bodies of water experience highs & lows. 

[Joedodge]

1 hour ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

Agree. @Pat Brown is both one of the best anglers at Bass Resource and one of the best teachers too. He once sent me a photo of where he fishes. It's oh-so-urban. 

 

Pat, @AlabamaSpothunter, and @PhishLI all encouraged me a couple years ago to focus on fewer ponds and I did, with great results. In 2024, I caught 2,044 bass, my PB, and had one morning with a bag in upper twenties (The bass that's my avatar is one of those bass in my biggest bag ever.), which are good numbers for someone who lives at the top of the country where the fishing and growing season is short. So, keep taking notes. These guys are wise and generous.

 

My only suggestion is fish the lightest line the ponds allow. When I used to fish crowded water, I had times where my fish catching attracted other boats. I literally had boats trolling around me, glaring at me while I caught fish after fish. My secret was four and six-pound mono. Pressured fish can be line shy. 

 

FWIW, there is no way I could fish light line today. The weeds disallow it:

 

That’s amazing and a beautiful place to fish. I can see how they were upset. But you were the stronger angler with more skills. 

1 hour ago, Catt said:

How many times do you try the same pond?

 

My entire life 😉

 

Think of it like hunting for Bigfoot, you're looking behind this tree when he's over there behind that tree.

 

We have to keep in mind all bodies of water experience highs & lows. 

Very well said 

[fishballer06]

Interesting story regarding this question. A number of years ago, I was browsing Google Maps at work and saw a pond close by my work, so I decided to go check it out during my lunch break. I got there and the place was super weedy and had cat tails all around it. It looked like the only way to fish it was with a frog. 

 

So a day or two later I was finally able to get out and fish it. In less that 2 hours, I probably had 20 blow ups on my frog but I never hooked up on any of them. I thought I had found a new secret honey hole that was loaded with aggressive fish. 

 

I have probably fished that pond at least 30 times since then. Ever since, I have never had an outing where I got more than 2 or 3 bites. Many outings I get totally skunked. I also learned that all the bass in there are 8-12" at best (hence why they probably couldn't get my frog in their mouth). 

 

I don't know what was going on that first trip out there, but I'm convinced that there's hardly any fish in this pond and the ones that are there are all stunted out in that 8-12" range. 

[MIbassyaker]

4 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

One thing I will add to this discussion that is a piece of wisdom that really helped me catch big fish early on in my journey - pick ONE spot and always go there until you catch one fish.  Then try to build on that one fish etc.

 

I think spending time trying lots of bodies of water has a novelty and allure and a rush early on - but generally leads to frustration and more failure than success - every body of water is different and I try to digest them one at a time.

 

I am going to agree with Pat on this, despite being someone who persistently, every year, does exactly what he recommends against. 

 

I fish a loose rotation of around 40 distinct bodies of water or stretches of river, and only usually only hit 2 or 3 more than once a year.  Last year I made it to 27 of them by kayak, bank fishing or wading, and only two places got more than one trip.  

 

This is what I enjoy doing, but it is definitely not for everyone, and it is not a recipe for maximum consistency or success.  It's like playing on a higher difficulty setting, and you're not going do as well as if you focus on one or two places.

 

When I started fishing for bass in earnest here, I spent most of my time on two bodies of water -- a little river bayou and small natural lake-  and fished them both almost exclusively for the first 3 years.  I would try a few other places here and there, but it was only after after I got to know those first two places pretty well that I really spent significant time branching out to others.

 

Fewer variables change when you go to the same place compared to a different place. That means you can make more direct comparisons from trip to trip, moment-to-moment, spot-to-spot  on the same body of water, and you more clearly see the effect of changing conditions on location and activity of the fish.   

 

What I found was that once I learned a few places very well, it was much easier to be successful when I showed up somewhere different, because I'd already worked out patterns for parallel situations on a consistent body of water.

 

So if you feel the urge to diversify like I did, do it after you've learned one or two or three spots like the back your hand, not before.

[WRB]

9 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

One thing I will add to this discussion that is a piece of wisdom that really helped me catch big fish early on in my journey - pick ONE spot and always go there until you catch one fish.  Then try to build on that one fish etc.

 

I think spending time trying lots of bodies of water has a novelty and allure and a rush early on - but generally leads to frustration and more failure than success - every body of water is different and I try to digest them one at a time.

 

I finally broke the 8 lb mark on a public lake I've been pounding for 5 years that has WAY bigger fish than 8 lbs in it - and then...- I caught my second fish over 8 lbs on that lake a few days later!  This happened a couple weeks ago!  When it rains it pours.

 

I'm still buzzing from those fish - 9 lb 14 oz on a jig out of 14 feet and a 9 lb 3 oz on a frog out of 0 feet lol - opposite sides of the lake - just a couple days apart.

 

Never broken 7 on that lake fishing it hard for 5 years before that.  I know there are tons of fish in the 8+ range on that lake it's just very very different from other lakes I fish and I really had to hunker down and grind on it to start to figure out what fish do there.

 

Point being - pick one you feel good about - and hammer it every chance you get doing everything you can to learn to catch *those* fish.

 

 

Zero feet of water, was it a floater😎

Tom

[Pat Brown]

31 minutes ago, WRB said:

Zero feet of water, was it a floater😎

Tom

 

 

Let's call it 10 inches of water lol - I threw my frog an inch from the bank and then on the first twitch she got it so she ate it out of 1 in of water.

[Craig P]

While not a pond, a small reservoir I fish yielded just 2 bass yesterday, today, 15 in 90 minutes.  What a difference a day makes....never give up!

[Joedodge]

1 hour ago, Pat Brown said:

 

 

Let's call it 10 inches of water lol - I threw my frog an inch from the bank and then on the first twitch she got it so she ate it out of 1 in of water.

That had to be an exciting one for sure. 

[33oldtimer]

How is the fishing pressure on that pond? I have a pond I fish with terrible fishing pressure. But it has some nice size bass in it and persistence can pay off. 

[Joedodge]

1 minute ago, 33oldtimer said:

How is the fishing pressure on that pond? I have a pond I fish with terrible fishing pressure. But it has some nice size bass in it and persistence can pay off. 

Honestly not entirely sure. I’ve been there a couple mornings. Walking trail around it is active but I don’t know how many fish not how regular. I’m pretty observant. Usual stuff some line stuck in a tree. Found some hooks on the bench on the walking a trail a small curl tail worm on the bank. Judging from what I hear it’s most likely kids after school. 

[12poundbass]

How many times do I try a pond? 20 years! Most of you southern boys would consider my two favorite lakes (100 acres or less) a pond. My wife caught her PB of 5.5 out of one and mine 5.25 out of another. Her lake I’ve all but given up on because it hasn’t produced in almost 20 years. By produced I mean anything but dinks. My lake has rarely produced in 10 years. I keep going back to mine because it’s a great frog lake although not in the past few years, but I know they’re there and the scenery is like I’m in Canada. Her lake has sentimental reasons for her and the scenery and loons keep us coming back year after year. 

[Joedodge]

32 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

How many times do I try a pond? 20 years! Most of you southern boys would consider my two favorite lakes (100 acres or less) a pond. My wife caught her PB of 5.5 out of one and mine 5.25 out of another. Her lake I’ve all but given up on because it hasn’t produced in almost 20 years. By produced I mean anything but dinks. My lake has rarely produced in 10 years. I keep going back to mine because it’s a great frog lake although not in the past few years, but I know they’re there and the scenery is like I’m in Canada. Her lake has sentimental reasons for her and the scenery and loons keep us coming back year after year. 

That’s part of what makes this all great is the memories. In a way it’s gotta be near to have fished somewhere in its prime and fished it till it wasn’t so prime. 

[Harold H]

I rotate between 5 ponds and if they're biting on one I'll stay until they quit

[J Francho]

^^^This. Put together a milk run of shore spots. 

[Joedodge]

3 minutes ago, J Francho said:

^^^This. Put together a milk run of shore spots. 

I actually have 3 ponds all basically connected and one small stand alone pond. That after talking to a lot of you all. I’m just gonna fish those for quite a while and really figure them out. Close to the house. Close to park my truck. And close to just walk to the next one if I want to