Golf Course Ponds...

[imurhuklbery]

Any of yall ever fish in golf course ponds? Im joining a local country club here in about a week and ive heard there has been some hawgs pulled out of some of the ponds. Just wondering if yall have had any luck

[j-bass]

My cousin and I fished at one outsite of Baton Rouge and we did catch a few....the only thing is that whatever dye they used on the grass bled into the water.  The bass (and a small catfish that I caught on a crank bait) where a weird greenish color....almost neon.  Strange.  Needless to say, everything went back in the water.

[Curado]

I've fished a couple of golf course ponds, but never really pulled any monsters out. The ones I've fished though I've been told there were some monsters in there.

[mgmoore7]

I have caught alot of fish out of golf course ponds in FL.  I have never caught any hawgs but I have heard and have friends that have.

[Bassbum80]

Maybe a dumb question, but isn't it frowned upon by the golfing community to do this?  Do you just fish at night?  I too have heard good things about these ponds but have always been a bit hesitant to go out there.  

[RoLo]

I have caught alot of fish out of golf course ponds in FL. I have never caught any hawgs but I have heard and have friends that have.

Ditto on all three counts.

Though the action is typically excellent on golf ponds, I've caught much larger bass on farm ponds.

Can anyone expound on why that might be so?

Roger

[Will]

Be careful if you plan on eating the fish from golf courses, there are lots of chemicals and fertilizers used on the grass.

[bassmasta7]

Be careful if you plan on eating the fish from golf courses, there are lots of chemicals and fertilizers used on the grass.

I dont know if this is true but i heard some of these chemicals work kind of like a steroid to make fish bigger. I dont know how that could be true, it seems it would just make the fish sick or somthin.

[mgmoore7]

Maybe a dumb question, but isn't it frowned upon by the golfing community to do this? Do you just fish at night? I too have heard good things about these ponds but have always been a bit hesitant to go out there.

I think it varies on a number of things.

-what the management of the course is like

-are there houses on the course

-where are you fishing... in direct line of golf balls, way off to the side, etc

-are you bothering anyone

-when are you fishing.  i mostly fished after 4pm when the course is getting slow.

-are there "no fishing" signs

Where i fished, all these things were favorable.  I never had anyone get upset.

I caught some huge crappie one time and ate those.  2 crappie fed 4 adults with left overs.  after that i did not each from the ponds since I was concerned with all the fertilizers.

[Poor Richard]

 Lots of those Florida golf course ponds have alligators in 'em.  Boys like to go out and feed marshmallows to the gators.  This trains the gators to associate white nubbins with tasty tidbits and so of course they eat golf balls, thinkiing they are marshmallows.  Not good for the gators, but the trouble is the gator may think you owe him some more more more.   :-/

Those bright green bass (hilarious!) would convince me not to eat anything out of golf course ponds.  They spare no expense on weird science to make the greens fair and fairways green.  Farm ponds get fertilizer that is much more natural:  just common nitrates and cow poop.   :

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This is all there is to it:  they're either bitin' or they ain't.   :-?

[FL_fisher]

The biggest bass I have caught out of a golf pond was a 8.5 pounder on a rattletrap. Anyone else think that golf pond bass have longer teeth?

[bixbybasspro]

Ya, lots of fish to be caught but no big fish... :-[ :-X

[ball_coach_1]

I don't do it anymore, but back in high school, me and a couple of buddies use to always go fish the golf course ponds at the local private and state courses.  BOTH were awesome.  As well, both were illegal, if you  get caught and the superintendent wants to do it, charges can be brought.  More than once we ran with gear in hand under/over the fence to the car.   I am not in to it anymore, but boys will be boys.

BUT...we caught hawgs.  Southern Ohio bass 5 to 6 pounds were not rare every other trip....and LOTS of bites.  I believe there are two reasons, one being very simple....they don't see lures very often and have no pressure.  Second, and my own opinion, I think that the great amount of fertilizer put on golf courses drain to the ponds and can actually have a positive effect on the entire food chain of the bodies of water.

A little fact, professional golfers actually tote their fishing gear when traveling, and actually go fishing in the course ponds during the evenings at events during the practice round days.  Also, they filmed Tony Stewart fishing the infield ponds at Homestead last year before the Cup Series final race.

[Bassbum80]

Thats more how I pictured it being.  Nothing against golfers here...I golf occasionally myself, but there just seems to be an elitist attitude among many of them and they take great ownership of their country clubs or home couses...as they probably should.  I only picture myself running away when i think of fishing a golf course pond, not actually fishing.

[Okeechobee_Cracker]

I don't do it anymore, but back in high school, me and a couple of buddies use to always go fish the golf course ponds at the local private and state courses. BOTH were awesome. As well, both were illegal, if you get caught and the superintendent wants to do it, charges can be brought. More than once we ran with gear in hand under/over the fence to the car..

lol : : :  ive never done that

[LowCountry_Lunker]

I fish some local golf course ponds and there have been some really nice sized bass caught out of them. If you plan on fishing golf course ponds, be sure to get permission to do it, because it is private property and tresspassing is illegal and you can get in trouble. I obtained permission from the residents home owners association to fish. I told them I would only fish in the late evenings and would not keep any fish caught.

[fireandice]

Just make sure that you check with the golf course owner!  We catch hogs on a daily basis out of our little golf course hideaway.  Dodging golf balls isn't much fun sometimes, but we have lot's of trees to deflect them.

My opinion on the big bass thing is this:

More fertilizer + nutrients going into the water = more plant life

More plant life = more plankton and microorganisms for baitfish

More + bigger baitfish = Golf Course Lunkers !

[papa smurf]

Fire and Ice has it right.  The fertilizer causes an increased algae bloom which feeds the plankton that feeds the baitfish that feed the bass

[Cburgerjr35]

There isn't hardly any Fishing traffic on Golf Course Ponds..That is another reason you can catch bigg fish in them..Little or no pressure at all.

[c17Lat]

I guess some golf courses are more serious about trespassing than others. I was jus scoutin a golf course pond, carryin no fishing gear, and a course employee came riding up to me in his golf cart and told me to leave. Maybe this was because i rode my bike up to the pond i don't know.

[c17Lat]

My opinion on the big bass thing is this:

More fertilizer + nutrients going into the water = more plant life

More plant life = more plankton and microorganisms for baitfish

More + bigger baitfish = Golf Course Lunkers !

Be careful there. I've got an AP Environmental science exam coming up and here's what comes straight out of the textbook "During hot weather or drought, this nutrient overload produces dense growths or "blooms" of organisms such as algae and cyanobacteria and thick growths of aquatic plants. These dense colonies of plant life can reduce lake productivity and fish growth by decreasing the input of solar energy needed for photosynthesis. When the algae die, their decomposition depletes dissolved oxygen. This oxygen depletion can kill fish and other aerobic aquatic animals"