Small ponds, ice out, and bloody fingers

[Paul Roberts]

March 10, 2010

Ice-out?? Not quite.

Some gills and small bass were seen along de-iced strips of N shores. NW shores were most thawed.

Only one pond had a fully open NW corner, and carp and gills were gathered there.

March 18, 2010

Ice out came within the past week, on a sunny warm spell. Perused shallow ponds finding water 52F at shore and 48F just 2feet deeper.

In the two shallow ponds I fished I looked for heated water where I could find it downwind (and NW as luck would have it ), on both ponds. In the first pond the NW corner held carp and some bluegills, and numbers of small bass up to 12 that attacked a jig -most just grabbing the pork trailer, then dropping off lol. Optimistic little fellas! Spring is in the air. This corner drew fish, but was too far from winter quarters in this particular pond to draw bigger bass -yet.

Next pond had wind blowing strongly across it from the NE. The SW corner cove was being blown into creating a current pinched by a point. Some small bass and gills were in the calm slightly heated cove behind. Caught 5 mature bass 13 to 17 from sparse dead milfoil clumps in the current, swimming a creature through. Despite the cold water (50F) I saw a bust, where a bass chased a pod of gills, obviously making good use of the wind-generated current. Also took a single 15 in back end of the cove, also on the creature. No pics today, just fishing.

March 31st, 2010

Winter and summer are still duking it out. Water still cold, with no chance for strong heating today. Larger pond this one: 48F at 8feet, 51F at shore. Fished a jerk and a jig, and a painfully slow-rising lipped crank to probe slightly deeper after I found I could not find the big females. There is a strong year class of 4-5yr olds (13"-14") in this pond I've watched grow over the past few years. Caught 20 nearly carbon copy 13-14ers, a 15 and a 16, and half a dozen around 9-10. The big girls are apparently still away from shore, or deeper on the drops. With water levels so high, and no appreciable heating, they are probably relating to last year's weed edges. Thought I found one, but it turned out to be a 27 7-12 cat -on a jerkbait! It was in fine condition so I took it home.

At one point, while I was subduing another carbon copy, a guy walking the pond approached. He told me that it was too early for the bass and I was lucky to get one. I told him that was number 17 for the day, and that if anyone ever tells you can't catch bass in cold water, wellit's a myth. He said, Wow! I guess so.

Bass were happy with an aggressive retrieve, but not too much horizontal speed.

I swam, and flipped a jig wherever there was cover.

Slow rising "potato chip" (shad-style). Short pulls, and pauses.

Dinner. Found a stout piece of wood, looked all directions (for possibly sensitive on-lookers), and administered the coup de grace.

Best bass for the day a 16. The big girls just weren't up on the shoreline shelf, or in the flooded shoreline cover. Probably off the outer weedwalls of the shelf. I, shorebound today.

April 1st, 2010

Cold again (winter just won't give in), with very dark snow squalls pushed around by strong winds. The sky was tornado black at times. In between tempests the water was flat calm downright eerie with black skies in the background. The wind storms were a little disconcerting and at one point the first lightning of the year cracked overhead. I stayed in lees and made sure I wasn't under any big cottonwoods. :-/

Started at a larger pond and measured 48F at 7feet and 51 at shore. I knew what that meant but started my obligatory quick paced jerk retrieve ("power", baby!) to no avail. The first fish was a perfect test case, and its behavior held true: I had switched to a favorite very slow rising (almost suspending) crank and while watching it flutter on the twitch (testing the action), a 10er took it. It was like a jig bite. I went on to catch 5 12-14 on both the jerk and a skirted jig, staying an hour or so. All fish took on bottom and slow horizontal speed. Even with the jerk it was like fishing a jig. A foot too high and fuggetttaboutit!

On to a series of smaller ponds that hold some better fish. I stuck with the jig and found a few. But the retrieve was somewhat faster, as these shallow ponds were a tad warmer -52 to 54F. I ended up with 4 more: two 15's, a 17, and an 18. The 17 was holding tight to the bank of a small bar in 2fow and if I'd just walked up to the spot I'd have spooked it. I stayed low and behind the bar and cast over the bar. Whap!

The largest fish of the day was filched which means an individual fish I finagled into biting. You know, lures look pretty stupid to educated bass most of the time. To catch them the lure has to do something right (and esp nothing wrong) at just the right place and time within the individual bass' strike window for the given time. Some places and times lend themselves to this, others require filching. In small ponds I don't always find a solid multi-fish pattern -like the wind blown area found last week (the 18th). Sometimes it's visiting places that consistently hold fish (these are small waters) and having to figure out how to get bites.

I approached one such spot carefully (it always holds several larger bass top fish for these waters -17 to 20 inches) and cast my trio of lures to the important places and some less likely places nada. As I gathered my rods to move on, I spotted the dark shape of a large bass about 4feet down. I flipped the jig beyond and hung it until she got within appropriate range, then I let it fall bass LOVE falling prey-sized objects . I laid the braid slack on the surface (but straight just like nymph fishing with fly tackle) and watched it. It made two flicks as she handled the jig, I set, and lipped an 18+.

As I hoofed out I looked at my bloody, tooth-torn fingers, and knew they'd sting like hell when they warmed up. I passed a couple of well dressed birders, aware of my mud boots and layers of old fishing clothes spattered with black mud and long-dead algae, remembering I had to stop at the grocery store on the way home. I saw my shadow on the ground as the setting sun broke out of the clouds low behind me, and reveled in what I saw a fisherman, and a happy one at that. It had been a long winter.

[gobig]

To cool.

[bassman31783]

Your shadow, in the last pic, looks like you could be "Ash" from Army of Darkness.  Chainsaw for a right hand & a boomstick in the other.   ;D

Awesome post as well.

[LCpointerKILLA]

cool post nice pictures. Ill bet you are glad that ice is out

[Paul Roberts]

Your shadow, in the last pic, looks like you could be "Ash" from Army of Darkness. Chainsaw for a right hand & a boomstick in the other. ;D

Awesome post as well.

My shadow does seem to have the Ash effect on the bass lol. When the sun is low my shadow can spread almost across some of those ponds.

Yeah, it was a neat image, really cool sky; glad I bothered to take it.

[SausageFingers23]

Fantastic post.  I used to buy into the "you can't catch bass in cold water" myth until this season. I got on the water as soon as there were open patches.  Ive managed a few - nothing like your numbers - but they're fish nonetheless.

[Mrs. Matstone]

Awesome report and pics. Congrats!  ;D

[brushhoggin]

i'd put that in field and stream if i had any say-so

[b.Lee]

Some great catches there

[Paul Roberts]

Thanks for the kind words on the writing. I enjoy that almost as much as the fishing.

[Murray]

great pics. awesome colors!