2 ponds... which one to fish?

[fishingfrenzy]

Ok so here's the question, I have 2 ponds that I have permission to fish.  One pond is 15 acres, it is really deep (30 feet).  The pond is basically round and has a lot of cover all the way around it.  It is loaded with bass between 13 and 17 inches, but has the capability of producing a bass between 20 and 26 inches in length.  The bigger fish are very hard to catch, with one 23 incher being caught in 10+ trips of fishing there.  So on average you will catch 10 small bass with the rare possibilty of catching one big one.

Pond #2, is 10 acres and is long and somewhat narrow.  The max depth is about 6 to 8 feet and has a lot of weeds all throughout the pond.  The average bass caught is slightly bigger than the other pond with typical bass ranging from 16 to 21 inches in length.  It has the possibility of producing a bigger bass, but my biggest so far has been right around 4 pounds.

Given these 2 ponds... which one would you rather fish?  I have permission to use a jon boat at both places, with bare minimal equipement.  There are no fish finders or other luxeries, so finding structure in the deeper pond is much harder.  

[RoLo]

Given adequate vegetation, I'll always go with the shallower body of water.

All other things equal, the shallower pond will support more phytoplankton, zooplankton, forage fish & game fish.

All other things equal, the shallower pond will sustain a higher mean water temperature (higher growth rate).

All other things equal, the shallower pond will have more discolored water (I like that).

I hasten to add though, bass get very irritable when there's not enough water to submerge their dorsal spines :

Roger

[Lightninrod]

I fish a lot at my former boss's two ponds.  Yours sound somewhat similar to them.  The deeper(only 12'), larger one has been 'skunk city' for me lately.  The shallower(8' max) has been much more productive lately.

Why can't you fish both?

Dan

[justfishin]

Why is it a choice if you have permission to fish both of them?, fish and learn the characteristics of both. If you had a chance to date two pretty sisters and both wanted to go out with you would you only take one?, duh !!! ;D

[Ky_Lake_Dude]

Why is it a choice if you have permission to fish both of them?, fish and learn the characteristics of both. If you had a chance to date two pretty sisters and both wanted to go out with you would you only take one?, duh !!! ;D

what he said

[fishingfrenzy]

Its not that I don't fish both of them, cause I do.  Its just that the shallower one is a slightly further bike ride, with which I have to go up a huge hill.  The deeper one is like 3 miles and the shallower one is 5.5 miles... which can be tricky trying to carry a bunch of rods and have a big tacklebox strapped to my back.  I've been alternating between both of them, so its not like I fish one over the other.  I just wanted to see which one you guys would prefer.

[Senko4life]

I would hit the shallower one more often just because I find it easier to locate bass in shallow water with good vegitation.

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...

I might not ever fish the shallow pond. I like "bigger, deeper and closer."

[Infidel.]

I have to agree with Roadwarrior 100% on this one.

I just realized that I messed up and voted for the wrong one.

[.dsaavedra.]

i'd definitley fish the shallower one. i really dont like big deep ponds. i find that they are harder to locate and find fish. plus i like fishing ample vegetation

[Taliesin]

I voted for the deeper one, for two reasons:

A lot of cover all the way around it. It almost sounds like the other one has too many weeds (should be around 25%).

Main reason: It's closer!!

[Troutfisher]

I love those good shallow ponds for catching fish.

[Floridabassking352]

This is a tough question. I have an easier time fishing shallower ponds, but I just prefer deeper water for some reason, which is why I chose the first option.

[Davefromwarwick]

i would go for the shallower one because you can probably get a hot topwater bite

[PondBoss]

definitely fish the smaller shallower pond.  with less water they got less room to hide.  ;D  but in all seriousness I have basically this exact situation here, when I'm willing to be skunked in search of a big bass 8+ lbs I'll fish the bigger deeper water.  If I'm taking someone with me and I'm wanting to catch a lot of descent fish the smaller shallower pond is always the option.

[bass109]

go for both

[Guest avid]

I'd go with the deeper.  Only because I would be able to a wider assortment of lures.

see my sig line.