messed up bass

[fishingfrenzy]

My neighbor has a small pond that is a 1/2 acre in size and stocked with bass and bluegill.  There have been problems with otters before, we killed one a couple of months ago and a new one has just found his way into the pond.  I have seen the otter numerous times before and I am just waiting to meet him when I have my shotgun ;D  Right now the bass are pre-spawn and are located in the shallow part of the pond.  The fish are extremely wary and wont bite anything I throw to them.  In fact, when ever I toss a lure whether a senko or small crappie jig, the bass are spooked of the lure and swim away.  The bass will spook if they see someone, so I have had to switch my outfit to Realtree camo  No matter what I throw to them they just swim away and don't even look at the lure.  I have tried a Snag Proof Pro frog before and let it sit for 15-20 minutes.  The fish will swim under the lure and look at it, but when I twitch the lure they swim away again.  I have become frustrated at fishing there, because I won't catch anything.  I'm looking foward to testing out some homemade M-80's there.  Any suggestions about making them bite, other than the explosives.

[senko_77]

make low, slow speed casts, use extremely natural color soft plastics, and make as low of a cast as possible.  

[russ0101]

I had this same problem a few years ago... a guy told me not to kill the otters/beavers, but to wound them and let them go back into their den where they die and run off others. It took about a year for the bass to relax somewhat.

The other problem I was told by DNR was that my pond was about a foot low due to lack of rain... I dont know what your weather conditions are, but down here we are hurting for rain, well atleast my pond is.

As for catching the fish, try not to even go near the pond for about a month (I know it sucks) but I was told if it's visited and fished regularly the fish get spooked (especially in a small sized pond). The other way to catch them is to fish it after sunset and before sunrise. I know the times suck, but I catch the largest bass at this time. You might even try feeding them dog food (just a little bit) each time you come down so that when they do see you they expect food.

Also, have you tried using live minnows? I know its not as fun as artificial, but if you want some action minnows or crickets work pretty good, its what I did for a year.

[fishingfrenzy]

make low, slow speed casts, use extremely natural color soft plastics, and make as low of a cast as possible.

I have tried that before, the fish are spooked of anything that they see, they are just retarted.  As for Dawn/Dusk, I have tried that to with no sucess.  I have also set up a minnow trap and caught minnows before, but the bass won't eat them either.  Once the bass start spawning, I can catch them on small jigs and during the summer, I catch a lot of bass on worms and spinners.  I just can't catch them now :-?

[Minuteman]

Shotguns, M-80's ? Spooked Fish? I think I know why they are spooked. ;D

[RoLo]

Bass, otter and beaver all live very well together.

Man is the intruder.

[senko_77]

do u know how to place a lure in the water with dead silence??  this can be an awesome thing to trigger a reaction strike, because the lure drops in thre face, but there is no noise.  there is a spinnerbait video out by bass pro shops by kevin vandam where he teaches you how to cast a lure with nothing but a ripple as it hits the water.  i know this has been vital when i flip for fish

[Poor Richard]

:'(  Izaac Walton was of your opinion about otters, but killing an otter -- a predator just like you and me -- to save a few fish is unforgiveable.  A neighbor of mine lost a duckling to a redtail hawk and was talking about getting his shotgun out.  I asked him which he would rather see when he went outdoors,  a hawk or a little duck.  He voted finally for the hawk.  Values may be relative, but there are values nonetheless.  The otters got here first, my friends.  Count yourself lucky even to have seen one.

Tiny ponds are almost impossible to fish.  Night stealth is the best idea, I guess, and live bait might work because you can let it sit and not stir everything up with the first catch.

Dynamite the pond and end all the controversy at once.

-----------------------------

"You kill it, you eat it!"   :-X

[Panamoka_Bassin]

Yeah, man, I agree...as much of a problem as they may be, otters are among the more intelligent animals in the world.  There has to be a better solution than just blasting it to kingdom-come.  Do some research and see if there is a more humane way to get rid of him/them.  

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

Try casting weedless lures on the opposite bank, let it sit a minute, then sneak it into the water. A 10" Zoom worm ought to get some attention.

Jim

[LookinForLunkers]

Fishingfrenzy, I'm in a similar situation as you.  Our pond is a little bigger than an acre, 1.5 acres at the very most.  It seems like everything I do just spooks the fish away.  It almost appears as though the fish have discovered what lures I use and have stopped biting.  Last week I threw Zoom Superflukes and Senkos for the first time and was catching fish left and right.  Now, nothing.  Not even a bite on the trusty Rat-L-Trap, which used to work like a charm.  They aren't even attempting to go after anything.

Can bass actually learn your lures in a matter of days?  All I can catch on occasion lately are the little bass I stocked last year that are up to about 12" now. :'(

[uiubassmaster]

I'm going to have to take a stand with poor richard in saying that killing an otter is not worth it.  I would be thrilled to see a majestic animal such as an otter swimming around in my local waters.  Too me, seeing animals and how they act in natures beauty is half the fun of fishing.  I don't mean to preach, but there's gotta be an easier way to get the fish to bite than killing an otter.  I know it may sound a little wierd, but fly fishing a dry fly would be a great way to silently present a bait to the bass.  Another alternative would be to use light spinning tackle with light line and throw flies (if you aren't an avid fly fisherman, which I am not).  Don't mean to criticize, that's just how I feel.

[ernel]

The way I am fishing my pond is a little strange, but it has worked well for me. I will take a walk around the pond and mark where the fish are located. I use a reference point beyond the nest on the opposite bank. I reccomend a good pair of polarized glasses for the locating of the beds and fish. Now I will wait for 10-20 minutes without making a cast. This allows the bass to pul back up on the bed hopefully forgetting that I walked through a few minutes before.

I keep a very low profile and move in a crouched or even crawling posistion when ever I am approaching the pond to begin fishing. From this posistion I have a very hard time locating the beds thus the marking of the beds with a cross reference. I have 3-4 rods pre-rigged with a lizard, wooly-hawg, a tube bait, and a senco. I will occasionally have a trick worm as well. The lizard and wooly-hawg are the only things that I have any weight at all on. I am using flourocarbon line and throwing past the bed to one side. I bring the lure slowly back to the bed at an angle so that the line is only crossing the bed just as the lure reaches the bed. I alternate between the lures untill I provoke a bass into biting. I have spent as much as an hour stalking one bass untill it hit.

If you have a little bit of patience, the bass will become more aggressive in a few more weeks. The other thing too is that they are a few bass that will hit a horizontal drop shot as well. Just leave it in one place for more than a few minutes at a time. I had some cast that lasted as long as 15 minutes. The Other thing you can try is a jerk bait if you have enough depth where the fish are staging. If not you can use a rod tip high technique that will help prevent the lure from diving when you twitch it forward. You are in the same phase that I was in about 3 weeks ago. The bass are probably not as interested in eating as much as they are in warming their eggs in their bellies. I did not notice your location prior to writing the first part of my post.

[Tom Bass]

Otters do eat fish, it's what they do. Why not "live trap" it and take it to a local river? Or Don't and kill it. If Otters have bred there in the past I am sure that you may not cure the problem by killing that one. Others may show up and what then? Otters have territories like most animals. I would live trap it and turn it loose elsewhere. You may want to study up on live trapping and let the critters live. It won't hurt none and you might learn something in the process.

I would never wound an animal and let it suffer like russ10 said. It's cruel. Period.

[fishingfrenzy]

First off, I don't let the otters suffer. I am a hunter and a very good shot, so each shot is well placed and they make quick clean kills. The otters don't breed there, there is a small stream flowing into the pond that the otters follow. Last otter I shot was killed extremely quick, I snuck up on him then blew him a couple of feet into the air with a shot to the head. He died on the spot. Also I don't trap or know anybody that does and attaining traps in my state is next to impossible, so that is out of the question.

I don't fly-fish, but I have tried casting flies to the bass before with no luck. I own a pair of polarized glasses and always circle the pond before I fish to locate the bass, but I stay far enough away so they don't spook. Jerkbaits won't work, right now worms don't either. I agree with ernel, with bass not being hungry this time of year, because I have literally tried every trick in the book with no succes. In a month, I can catch the bass, just they are extremely finicky right now.

[Poor Richard]

fishingfrenzy:

All right, that does it.  >  I have e-mailed the King of the Otters, and you are in for a surprise.  The Otter Army and their friends the Eagle Air Force will be waiting for you one of these days.  You might get a few before they get you, but what they will leave behind won't even feed the bass.  Fair is fair.  :

C'mon, Frenzy, leave the otters alone.  You know perfectly well that they are not the reason you're not catching those bass.  They probably aren't even very interested in the bass; like you and me, they'd rather not work too hard, and they probably settle for the bullheads and suckers.  I have never seen an otter in the wild and would walk many miles to do so.   :-[  You should be thankful to have them around.

Is it even legal in your state to kill an otter?  I'd hate to think it is.  We all have an equal share in our country's wildlife, and I hereby register one vote against your killing otters.  So far, then, we are in a tie.  

I'd like to hear from some more of you guys and gals out there about this one.  

[fishingfrenzy]

Fine I'll let'em go.  I know that he spooks the fish, but I really don't care anymore about the pond.  I have located other ponds in the area and I'm going to fish more in other places.  It wasn't my idea to shoot the otter in the first place, my neighbor (the one who owns the pond) said to get rid of them.  It is just that he's gone a lot and wanted me to do to get rid of them, because he doesnt have the time.  Next time I go there, I'll take my camera and try to snap some photos of the beast.  I should have some posted by the end of the week. :  

[Matt Fly]

Fishingfrenzy, I'm in a similar situation as you. Our pond is a little bigger than an acre, 1.5 acres at the very most. It seems like everything I do just spooks the fish away. It almost appears as though the fish have discovered what lures I use and have stopped biting. Last week I threw Zoom Superflukes and Senkos for the first time and was catching fish left and right. Now, nothing. Not even a bite on the trusty Rat-L-Trap, which used to work like a charm. They aren't even attempting to go after anything.

Can bass actually learn your lures in a matter of days? All I can catch on occasion lately are the little bass I stocked last year that are up to about 12" now. :'(

Welcome to the forum.

[russ0101]

just to get things clear... I dont kill beavers for the fun of it, but when they block up my inlets and outlets it causes problems to my lake. I haven't had otters, but beavers on the other hand are a different story.  As for wounding instead of quick killing, it's the only thing that worked. I was tired of trapping and I really don't have the time to catch every single one that was there. One wounded and dead seems better to me than killing the 7 different ones that were in there and new ones making homes every week.

I'm not one to think killing is the way to solve everything, but it seemed to take care of my problem, and as inhumane as it may be, I'll do it again before I let it become a nuisance like before when I thought they were cool to watch and stopped up the waterflow to my lake.

[Poor Richard]

Russ 0 1 0:  around here, they dynamite the dam.  But boy those beavers are stubborn.  Fortunately, beavers are hardly endangered.  I have no ideas on how to control them.  Talk to them nicely and see if you can get them to build you a nice fishing cabin.  For a while, the pond they create can provide interesting fishing, but just like the big dams we have choked our rivers with, theirs will also silt in and become useless.  Maybe your state DNR can move them.  

I STILL THINK THE SOLUTION TO FISHING SMALL PONDS IS STEALTH.  IF YOU GET ONE OR TWO, YOU'RE DOING REALLY WELL.  I fish a hundred-acre pond, and I swear they know when you get in the rowboat and push off.  If the kids are swimming anywhere, you can forget it.

------------------------

You kill it, you eat it.        (I hear beaver tail is delicious.  I'm in over my depth now, for sure.)  

[russ0101]

I havent eaten them.. but there are people where I live that eat it, coon, and possum... yes i live in the BOONEDOCKS! either way I dont have a problem with beavers anymore. i usually catch between 20 and 25 fish everytime I go and they average in size from 2 to 5lbs (it was built in 1958). no one fishes it but me and unless you like swimming with water moccasins as big as your boat, i dont think that will happen.

[LookinForLunkers]

Thanks for the welcome, Matt!

[5bass]

Do you have a throw net?Maybe if you net a few of them and throw them back,they will then know that you are a good guy and are not going to eat them.

;D  ;D  ;D

[Poor Richard]

8-)  Oh, cool, Russ010--just tell me how to get there.  By the way, a big moccassin makes a superior bait for a really big bass.  Grab him behind the head and stick a 6/0 through his lip and out the nose.

Oh, yes, be careful: they sorta like to bite.  My insane colleague and boonie-tramping buddy down in North Florida has encounted many moccassins.  True to his usual instincts, he ate one.  He said it was awfuly sour, kind of fishy.

But I HAVE eaten snapping turtles, raccoons, woodchucks, bait shrimp, raw coquinas, croakers, and plenty of crow.  My grandfather tried to get me to eat an "Indian turnip."  I was nine, but I already knew him well, so I passed.  This is the culinary equivalent of going snipe hunting.  My wife has us all beat, though:  she spent a chunk of her very early childhood in Santo Tomas Prison Camp in Manila.  By mid-1944, things were getting very lean.  She tells how a dog wandered into their area and disappeared into the cook pot before you could say "Hey, Ma, he followed me home--can we keep him?"  Some of the internees ate rats, which I hear are quite tasty.  Trouble is, the rats were starving, too.

The best lunch I ever ate was made up of fresh brook trout and frog legs a friend and I harvested ourselves.  This was in  New Jersey, during high school.  Mom fried 'em.  Lovely.  

----------------------------

"I kilt it; you wanna eat it?"

[chitwnbass]

Whats with the killing of the otters beavers and such.  Why should we be killing indigenous animals to improve any fishing?  If you can catch teh fish in this pond try a diffrent approach or move on to another pond.  Come on is killing an animal for the sole purpose of making your chances of catching a fish from a pond greater really worth it? Otter or no otter the fish need to eat in the pond you just need to figure out a way to catch them.  Thats a big part of this sport is getting fish to bite in a wide variety of situations. Fishing in a stocked barrel is fun but after a while it loses it charm. Just my 2 cents.