What's In My Lake!??

[Bobby2k85]

I've lived in my current apartment complex for about a year now and have been fishing in the small lake behind my apartment since the day I moved in. The thing is I just can't get a handle on what's going on in my lake and why its so hard to catch bass there. I've asked everyone I know about the lake and so far I can't even find out who, if anyone, owns it.

What I know is there are Bass, Bluegill, Crappie, Catfish, and Carp in the lake as I've either caught or seen all of them on occasion. But that's just it: a decent fish out of that lake is an occasional happening. I can catch tiny bluegill all day out there and a few little crappie as well but almost all of them are too small to eat. I've seen a few 5lb+ catfish come out of the lake and my wife and I have each caught a 2lb largemouth but that's about it. I've seen a number of large carp in the lake around the banks and I'm wondering if they might have eaten up all the oxygen producing vegetation in the lake. Another thought I had was that it was fished out a long while ago and all that's left are the smarter, more cautious fish.

This lake is definitely a challenge and since its behind my house and one of the few area's that I've found nearby where I can legally fish I don't want to give up, but I'm starting to feel like I'll never be able to catch anything decent. Just yesterday, after my wife caught her first 2lb bass on the lake my landlord's son made us let him take a picture to send to his friend because apparently he's a professional fisherman and hasn't been able to catch anything on the lake, this is not giving me much hope.

Oh, and the worst part, most evenings I see fish jumping in the lake, I've never been able to catch a decent glimpse to see what species but I'm guessing it's those smart bass that I know are just taunting me.

Any explanation or help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[5bass]

I'm too tired to type a real answer so in the meantime, I'll just say....throw a buzzbait at dusk and see what happens.

[Hammer 4]

If your seeing larger fish boil, or break the surface, it's likely the carp.

Just out of curiosity, what baits have you used..?

[Chris]

It might be a pond that is to small to hold a big bass. carp are goldfish and can grow big in small water catfish are in the same boat in respect that they can grow big in small water. bass and bluegill grow big if the pond has room to grow and when you have high populations the fish don't grow big.

[GonzoFishing]

Keep trying! I fished a tiny pond behind my moms house for a couple of years before catching a 5+lber. I also fished a small lake in a Florida park for a few years before hooking onto an 8lber. I think the larger fish are just more cautious.

[JuniorFisherJJ08]

ok, what i need 2 know 2 give you a good answer...

1] size of lake[pics would be great]

2] what you have thrown

3] where you are located(state)

4] depths your fishing

5] cover in the lake[weeds etc..]

if you want me to put u on the fish

1] seeveral pics

2]water temp

3]water clarity

4]outside temp/weathet

5] your fishing style.

[Bobby2k85]

Thanks A lot guys! I'll get some more information and pics of the lake tomorrow and get back to you.

[ZeNoob]

my thoughts.

could deffenatly have been fished out. Probably a few years back. We got alot of apartment complex around town that have ponds that used to have fish in them. but with easy public access and no one keeping an eye on them, people who live there, and most probably people who dont live there have come in and wiped it out. now every 5yrs or so the fishin gets good again but as soon as word gets out, they come back and rape it again.

We have chased several people off the pond behind my condo this year. One guy even showed up every day for 4 days and was taking everything and anything he caught out of the pond. It finnaly took us calling the cops before he stoped coming back. Also if you goto the public lakes youll notices plenty of anglers doing that exact same thing, thats why they got to constantly stock them.

these are just my thoughts  ;D

[Scruffy]

You'll often notice that small lakes and ponds like the one that you are explaining to us are extremely accessible resulting in a high number of fishing being taken from the body. Its extremely likely that it has been over fished and just needs to be stocked. I wouldn't recommend stocking it yourself, due to laws and such, but if you can hit up your City Hall they may have a record as to who has the deed to the body of water, assuming its not just public. Good luck!

[Bobby2k85]

That's true, its totally accessible by just about anyone, which is why I'm able to fish there. I only rarely see anyone else out there though, but it's obviously something other people know about. I've never actually experienced a "Fished Out" lake, but then again I don't know how you'd know if you're dealing with one or you're just not doing the right things either. There are A LOT of little fish in there and I've caught a few smaller keepers that I've thrown back which gives me hope that something worth catching is still alive in there. I'm wondering if I should just give up on bass and start fishing for carp since I know they're in there, not nearly as much fun though. I'm still wondering what those jumping fish are. Do Carp really jump out of the water? I always thought of them as fish that stay on the bottom.

[HAMMER23]

I've lived in my current apartment complex for about a year now and have been fishing in the small lake behind my apartment since the day I moved in. The thing is I just can't get a handle on what's going on in my lake and why its so hard to catch bass there. I've asked everyone I know about the lake and so far I can't even find out who, if anyone, owns it.

What I know is there are Bass, Bluegill, Crappie, Catfish, and Carp in the lake as I've either caught or seen all of them on occasion. But that's just it: a decent fish out of that lake is an occasional happening. I can catch tiny bluegill all day out there and a few little crappie as well but almost all of them are too small to eat. I've seen a few 5lb+ catfish come out of the lake and my wife and I have each caught a 2lb largemouth but that's about it. I've seen a number of large carp in the lake around the banks and I'm wondering if they might have eaten up all the oxygen producing vegetation in the lake. Another thought I had was that it was fished out a long while ago and all that's left are the smarter, more cautious fish.

This lake is definitely a challenge and since its behind my house and one of the few area's that I've found nearby where I can legally fish I don't want to give up, but I'm starting to feel like I'll never be able to catch anything decent. Just yesterday, after my wife caught her first 2lb bass on the lake my landlord's son made us let him take a picture to send to his friend because apparently he's a professional fisherman and hasn't been able to catch anything on the lake, this is not giving me much hope.

Oh, and the worst part, most evenings I see fish jumping in the lake, I've never been able to catch a decent glimpse to see what species but I'm guessing it's those smart bass that I know are just taunting me.

Any explanation or help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     You wouldn't know the history of this lake by any chance would you ?  How old, if it has ever been stocked etc.

[CWB]

Why not target the Carp or Catfish?

For carp, chum an area where you have seen them with corn and then throw a nightcrawler in the middle of the spot.  Carp will fight harder than a bass of the same size. For bass, try a 4" senko near any cover

or weedlines if present. If none, walk the bank and work an entire area starting from parallel to the bank on one side to all the way around to parallel the bank on your other side in 10 degree increments. Then move 2 cast lengths and repeat.

[HAMMER23]

Why not target the Carp or Catfish?

For carp, chum an area where you have seen them with corn and then throw a nightcrawler in the middle of the spot. Carp will fight harder than a bass of the same size. For bass, try a 4" senko near any cover

or weedlines if present. If none, walk the bank and work an entire area starting from parallel to the bank on one side to all the way around to parallel the bank on your other side in 10 degree increments. Then move 2 cast lengths and repeat.

                                                                                                           That's an excellent idea !! why not carp or catfish ?

[Drew9586]

There are A LOT of little fish in there and I've caught a few smaller keepers that I've thrown back which gives me hope that something worth catching is still alive in there.

I suspect your giveing us the answer right here.  The smaller keepers you have caught, were they long and thin?  If so your problem is an overcrowded body of water... which may be the problem even if those keepers look well fed.  If you dont have enough large predator fish and too many small ones there will not be enough food to go around.  The pond probably has a couple big fish that eat anything and a ton of small fish with nothing in between.  You can search the internet for a table which lists the weight to length ratio of healthy bass, or check out the website for Pond Boss magazine where its listed on their forums in one of the stickied posts I believe.  That will give you the best idea if the problem is underfed fish.

If the problem is underfed fish you'll need to find out who the owner is, prove to them the problem is too many little fish, and then, with premission, remove them (bring a kid along and fish with worms for a while).  Nature has a wonderfull way of working.  After enough of the little ones have been caught (which may take a few years depending on how much you fish) the others will start growing bigger.  You'll know you have caught enough when you start catching fish that are a decent size.  The general rule of thumb is to remove 20lb of fish per year per acre of the body of water... however that is REAL variable.  My best advice to you would be to check out the forums on that site I mentioned earlier, Pond Boss magazine, and read what the real experts say.

All of that assumes the problem really is too many fish which I suspect based on the statement "A LOT" of smaller fish.

[Under the Radar]

I'm really surprised that no one has mentioned fishing some of those "tiny" bluegills as live bait.  Soak some of those gills for awhile, that should give you an answer. Be patient.

& Good Luck

[bigtimfish]

you cant catch whats not there!

[cato]

If you really want to know then catch one of those small bluegill, lip him on a hook and toss him out in the middle. There have been many small ponds that have produced this way!!!