"Big" Bass, Small Ponds

[Paul Roberts]

Good question ! where are they ?

My first 10+ pounder came from one of those irrigation ponds I was talking about, as a matter of fact, my 1st, 2nd and 3rd 10+ lbers came from the same pond the same day ( who wouldn 't love to have a day where you catch 3 10+ pounders ? Smiley ), now the catch here is, I fished that pond for maybe 5-6 years on a reagular basis ( every 2 weeks ) and all I caught were 8-12 inchers all the time, the largest fish I caught out of those ponds in all those years was a 4 pounder.

One day it happened, I caught big momma bass from that pond and the spawn had a lot to do with it, I was at the right place at the right time. So where them big mommas hid ? well the pond in question has a lot of tule, it 's a gigantic bed that cover 1/3 of the surface of the pond, a practically impenetrable mass of weeds where most likely big mommas spend most of their time hiding.

Raul,

Specifically, We were comparing the NE coastal states and inland NY specifically, and (in my mind) other northern parts of the LM range.

Peak size (beyond freaks) seems to be about 7lbs over much of the northern range, but 8s and 9s appear along the coast pretty far north. Beyond that, such fish seem to be a "southern thing".

That aside, I think you are very much on the money that many of those big ones become inaccessible for much of most anglers fishing season.

I think this is why the coldwater period in general (late fall through spring) is the best time to catch large bass -they have moved (to winter quarters or spawn areas) and are thus exposed. The vegetation dying back then helps too. In the south, without cold water there may not be a movement to winter habitat, so the spawn is the window.

[WRB]

Take a look at state record largemouth bass:

Colorado is 11 lbs, 6 oz, NY is 11 lbs, 4 oz, MN is 12 lbs 12oz, which may indicate the maximum size of northern strain largemouth bass grow above the Mason-Dixon line or snow belt zone. The reason IMO is the growing seasonal periods are shorter. Bass were protected from harvesting in the northern states during the cold water period for conservation reasons. LMB that live in water less than 40 degrees are stressed, low metabolism and eat less. Targeting the big bass during the cold water period may be effective, if the state law allows you to fish for them.

Small lakes and ponds are very susceptible to cold water die offs due to the lack of deep water sanctuary areas.

WRB

[Paul Roberts]

WRB, state records are, in my opinion, the "freaks" I was talking about in the above post:

Peak size (beyond freaks) seems to be about 7lbs over much of the northern range, but 8s and 9s appear along the coast pretty far north. Beyond that, such fish seem to be a "southern thing".

If one fishes hard and smart in the north they will likely see a 7lb LM. But, they will not likely see an 8 over most of the northern range. A DD?? Fugettaboutit!

The CO state record btw was 22.5inches long. Think how FAT that fish was! A 22.5" LM in good body condition would normally weigh ~6.5. The only 7 I've got a lip on measured 23".

As WRB has stated in the past, body length is a real limitation. It takes a freak to pack DD weight on a 23inch frame.

[WRB]

I was surprised to see the Colorado record at 11 lbs 6 oz, thought it would be about 8+, due to the altitude of most the state being around 5,000 feet. Thin air doesn't hold heat well. I don't know about saying giants are freaks of nature, they result because of everything coming together for that fish to grow, then be caught at the prime time in it's life. Lets just call them rare and few and far between.

I caught a 12 lb NLMB out of a 2 acre rock quarry pond that was crystal clear, 40' deep and had a year around stream running in and out, plus springs. Ideal habitat, lots of baitfish and had a good big bass population, located in SoCal. This bass was over 27" long.

Altitude has a big affect on bass, cold climate and short growing periods. Big Bear lake is a lot like Colorado lake; 7,000' and freezes, 7 miles long, 70' feet deep at the dam. Lake record is around 8 lbs. Big Bear is located in SoCal. There is location and then location; sea level verses higher altitude, big difference.

WRB

PS; maybe the 23 is a typo for 28, or the fish swallowed something very heavy.

[fourbizz]

WRB, I used to fish the lake in Colorado where that fish was caught. It actually sits at 7,237ft! That angler has 2 doubles out of there too. Only about 100acres. It gets pumped full of trout.

[J Francho]

It gets pumped full of trout.

Oh my!  There's that "food source" thing again.

[Paul Roberts]

I don't know about saying giants are freaks of nature, they result because of everything coming together for that fish to grow, then be caught at the prime time in it's life. Lets just call them rare and few and far between.

OK, agreed. Rare. (How about "freakishly rare"?? LOL

WRB, I used to fish the lake in Colorado where that fish was caught. It actually sits at 7,237ft! That angler has 2 doubles out of there too. Only about 100acres. It gets pumped full of trout.

Ahhhhhh....I wondered what that fish had been eating.

Actually, the climate here (on the plains at 5000ft where I fish) is about 3 weeks ahead of central NY, where I came from and where J Francho is. Summer temps on the plains regularly go into the 90s and some of my ponds get into the mid-80s in summer. It's advances about a week for every 1000ft from there.

[WRB]

OK, freakish works. The deal with thin air is it doesn't hold heat during the night and 30 to 40 degree changes are normal. Warms during the daytime and cools fast during the night, the water doesn't get above 70, or maybe just above that at the surface. One reason the trout did well. NLMB don't eat big bait often, so the trout plants must be small size; 5" to 7" with a few 9" to 12". FLMB will eat a 12" rainbow like a gum drop, NLMB tend to eat the smaller size baitfish, it's a genetic thing. The freak evidently decided anything it could swallow was a good meal. Still a square 23" bass is freakish.

A 6" Huddleston would be the ticket there.

WRB

[Maxximus Redneckus]

10-4 and 9-4 here in Maryland in ponds i love ponds and prefer them so much easier to plan a strategy and so forth and they out number lakes and rivers by about 200 to 1. small meduim and large ponds ill take um all. look for forage and cover and as others stated depth is key Good luck and enjoy

[roadwarrior]

The issue in the Mid South is drought. As a "general rule",

I target ponds that are at least five acres, five years old

and professionally stocked. My best ponds are 9-12 acres

and 10+ years old. However, they are not "managed". My

best pond has produced five 10s, my favorite consistantly

produces 5+ up to 8 lbs. All but one are public ponds in city

parks.

None of these ponds have much cover or structure, but they

are teaming with baitfish. Go figure! Currently we are in pre-

spawn and the fish are fat.

8-)

[Paul Roberts]

J Francho wrote:

Perhaps the trophy hunters aren't reporting everything they've caught.

I doubt that. Too many anglers out there ready to brag. They dwarf the number of serious and close-lipped trophy hunters. Through the south we see and hear about DD fish from trophy hunters and the masses alike. In the inland north, nada. Look at the boards, top fish are 6 to 7. 8s come further east (that corridor) and south.

roadwarrior Wrote:

The issue in the Mid South is drought. As a "general rule",

I target ponds that are at least five acres, five years old

and professionally stocked. My best ponds are 9-12 acres

and 10+ years old. However, they are not "managed". My

best pond has produced five 10s, my favorite consistantly

produces 5+ up to 8 lbs. All but one are public ponds in city

parks.

None of these ponds have much cover or structure, but they

are teaming with baitfish. Go figure! Currently we are in pre-

spawn and the fish are fat.

RW, to a northerner, that's just...amazing.

Hey, how does one get the "roadwarrior wrote:" into the quote without my having to type it??

[roadwarrior]

"RW wrote"

Don't know...sometimes that's printed, sometimes not...it's a

mystery to me.

Regarding "drought". We get plenty of rain most years. However,

every decade there is a drought, the last was two years, ending two

seasons ago. There is no way of knowing if a small pond dried up and

the fish were killed. I want to fish where I can be pretty sure big fish

live.

An example is my "Secret Pond". It did not go completely dry, but it

got extremely hot and seemed to turn-over two summers ago. The

water appeared almost metallic, with rotten, suspended and dead

vegetation. I fished it once without a bite and haven't been back. I

will give it another try in the next few weeks, but I think it's a goner.

p.s. A friend of mine caught the biggest bass I have ever seen in

person, at the Secret Pond. No scale, no pic and he would not keep

her even though I insisted. Her eyes looked like gigantic shooter

marbles. We settled on 13lbs, but she might have gone 15, who

knows? To put it in perspective, fishing from a two man kayak and

having no net, we spent an eternity getting her in the boat. HUGE!

[J Francho]

Paul, I think for the majority, you are right.  But I still think there are others, with bigger catches that aren't reporting on the internet.  To us, its a ubiquitous part of our social lives, to others, its something completely unknown.  I also do think there are a select few that keep their cards close to their vest.  They may be onto something, e.g. a new state record, that needs to be kept quiet.  Who knows.

Kent, awesome post!  10's in your ponds?  For real?  Where's my invitation, LOL!

I do see your point about "professionally stocked, though, and "abundant forage."  Sounds like a BLAST.

[tyrius.]

Hey, how does one get the "roadwarrior wrote:" into the quote without my having to type it??

When you click on the quote button in the thread (instead of the reply button) you'll get a quote author=XXXXXXX link=###### date=##### (where those X's is a string of letters and numbers which must represent a specific user). This displays the author and provides a link to the quoted post.

I don't know if you can type a name there. The attempt is below.

Will this work?

And no it doesn't work.

[J Francho]

Hey, how does one get the "roadwarrior wrote:" into the quote without my having to type it??

When you click on the quote button in the thread (instead of the reply button) you'll get a quote author=XXXXXXX link=###### date=##### (where those X's is a string of letters and numbers which must represent a specific user).  This displays the author and provides a link to the quoted post.

I don't know if you can type a name there.  The attempt is below.

[quote author=tyrius]Will this work?[/quote]

And no it doesn't work.

Correct, tryius.  The forum software references the primary key value in the database for username.  Once you have it though, you can quote away!

That J Francho is a buffoon!

That is true....

back to pond action.

RW: please visit that "secret pond" and report back!  All may not be lost.

[tyrius.]

back to pond action.

RW: please visit that "secret pond" and report back! All may not be lost.

I agree.  I only fish small neighborhood ponds (don't have any idea on the deepest spots so I haven't responded too much to this thread).  There are BIG fish in these ponds.  Last fall I caught one that weighed nearly 7 pounds out of a small neighborhood retention pond.  I'm convinced that this string of ponds holds some MASSIVE fish.  The issues with pond fishing that I've found are lack of cover makes locating the "hotspots" a tough go.  

Little ponds are subject to many risks though.  RW's pond is likely not completely dead, but may have experienced a large fish kill that will take a long time to recover from.  

[Paul Roberts]

We have droughts here too that drop pond levels, and at first it serves to consolidate fish, and the bass get FAT! All those bass and 'gills all crowded together. But these ponds are also at risk of winterkill.

This is the boom and bust cycle that WRB brought up earlier in this thread. This is a key point. Those booms (often following busts) bring on great numbers fishing but, at least in the north, size takes age. A 6lb fish in the north is at VERY least 10 years old and in some cases 15 or more. Boom and bust cycles don't support such ages.

RW, don't write off that pond yet. LMs can survive surprisingly low oxygen levels -they are adapted to it.

I have a pond that gives up "big" fish and it gets low and "stanky", but still supports it's fish. It's been in a low state the last two seasons -down almost 3 feet, with max depths at about 7-8ft now.

Filamentous algae covers the milfoil and kills it off even before fall sets in. In late summer the last two years the place looks and smells terrible. But, those bigger bass are still there.

Here are some bass from this pond from this year and last. (The white flecks on the ground is not snow, it's salts left from evaporation!):

[Russell]

I have a pond that is 80 acres and is mostly five foot deep with a few areas a little over 6. I have pulled out multiple bass over 5 pounds and a few over 8. The biggest to ever come out was just over 13lbs. This pond has been stocked multiple times with blue Gil and thread fin shad. I think it’s means more in how you stock your pond rather than how deep it is. I would not recommend having a pond shallower then 5 feet. 

[GreenPig]

Yes. Less than 1 acre and less then 7'

[Mr. Aquarium]

Most of my big fish are on ponds less then 20 acres, I’ve caught a ton of 5-6lbs fish and maybe 2 7s from 2 different ponds, 1 is 5 acres and the other is 11 acres. My Pb 7.8 lbs is from the 11 acre. My buddy has caught a few 8lbs fish from ponds less then 20

acres.  Each pond has good food. The 11 acre pond is 30 feet deep.   
where I live there’s 100s of small ponds. Most are good some are only full of small fish. There’s a recipe for having big bass. Good food, like golden shiners, herring and trout, but you also need good water.

ponds on a river system are usually good. good food, and good water, maybe shallow but usually good fishin 

[Paul Roberts]

6 hours ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

There’s a recipe for having big bass. Good food, like golden shiners, herring and trout, but you also need good water.

ponds on a river system are usually good. good food, and good water, maybe shallow but usually good fishin 

I've found this too. "Good water" supports a good food chain. I've seen this even in waters that went from heavily vegetated to no vegetation! That was something of a surprise, although pond layout and prey species present factored in greatly.

[Mr. Aquarium]

6 hours ago, Paul Roberts said:

I've found this too. "Good water" supports a good food chain. I've seen this even in waters that went from heavily vegetated to no vegetation! That was something of a surprise, although pond layout and prey species present factored in greatly.

Bingo. Some place may look good but can’t support a good fishery. Maybe water is to acidic. Who knows 

[soflabasser]

Lots of big bass get caught in little ponds so yes it is possible to catch a big bass in a small body of water. As long as bass have plenty of food and optimal growing conditions they will grow large even in a pond less than 1 acre.

[Deleted account]

7 hours ago, soflabasser said:

Lots of big bass get caught in little ponds so yes it is possible to catch a big bass in a small body of water. As long as bass have plenty of food and optimal growing conditions they will grow large even in a pond less than 1 acre.

This ^.

 

I fish a few really small ponds and puddles close to me that range from 3 to 75 acres. Most are 6-8 feet deep at most, some maybe 12-20 feet or so. I have caught fish over 6 lbs and some much bigger out of all of them. Around here if there are gills, shiners and crappie in there and the water is fairly green, they grow big. I think there are larger fish than most folks think in most places. Another plus is that a lot of these get weed chocked for a lot of the season, and that discourages people when it's warm, and early in the season, the pressure is light. Sure from April through June it can be a challenge with the pressure, but that's why God made Wednesdays...

[jbsoonerfan]

I remember when I fished ponds and I thought I was a pretty good fisherman. Then I starting fishing lakes and realized I wasn't nearly as good as I was when fishing ponds.