Old Timers Round Up Part 2 Deep Water Fishing

[WRB]

You call this a pond and it sounds more like a small natural lake, is it man made? Does it have a dam or a means of controlling the water pool level; stream in and stream out?

Being only 6 feet deep with a muck bottom, decaying matter build up of sediment and dead vegetation, LMB survival may be marginal during the winter period when it freezes over. The springs would be where the bass must locate when the lake is iced over.

The best time to locate the bass is during the spawn. If you can't locate the bass or their beds, chances are few resident bass are in this pond/lake.

The only reason bass would venture out away from shoreline areas is to pursue baitfish, otherwise the bass should be shoreline cover oriented. Without pelagic bait fish, other than a few crappie, the bass are more than likely surviving on bottom dwellers, frogs and young of the year perch and crappie.

The flock of cormorants should be chased away if possible, they can devastate the fish population in a small lake/pond quickly.

WRB

PS; the only thing old about this reply is me. The cormorants wouldn't be a problem back in the day we no limit on the number we could shoot, the good old days.

[Paul Roberts]

...

Here's my question.

What is your best conclusion regarding what is sustaining such a large population of white perch? Would it be the midge larvae?

There have been a few times when all is quiet and calm that I have seen the surface thick with some type of hatch. So thick that at first glance it looks like a layer of dust or pollen on the surface. Close examination reveals it to be otherwise.

Tom,

If those perch are truly a pound, (~13"), or bigger than ~10" period, then I would say that they would have to be eating smaller fish. Where you found them makes perfect sense as they tend to be more pelagic-oriented. They are also voracious piscivorous, and very prolific reproducers. So...my guess from 2000 miles away is: they are sustained by YOY fishes -probably their own offspring.

One other thing I'd ask is: Can those perch get in from the ocean or larger lake? That would be obvious to you, so I doubt it but have to ask.

White perch are such effective open water piscivores that they can be fierce competitors with bass for food, and can crop down YOY of all species. YOY bass will move offshore to feed on plankton and midges, but a large popn of white perch would likely alter that scenario. Best survivorship in bass and other species is likely the shoreline vegetation.

I bet your bass eat YOY white perch too. I would look into research on freshwater juv white perch behavior cases. What tendencies do they have? Find those young WP and you've got a bead on your bass too. Offshore xmas trees might be such a location.

The insect hatch sounds like a midge hatch. From the sound of your description I suspect a tube-net variety. Most burrowing midges are larger and look like mosquito's. Look on the substrate and  boulders and look for tiny (minute) vermiculated (wormy) markings that look like...dust or algae growth on the rock surfaces. These would be net spinning midges. They can cover entire pond substrates and produce billions of tiny adults. They feed very tiny fishes.

[Fishing Rhino]

...

Here's my question.

What is your best conclusion regarding what is sustaining such a large population of white perch? Would it be the midge larvae?

There have been a few times when all is quiet and calm that I have seen the surface thick with some type of hatch. So thick that at first glance it looks like a layer of dust or pollen on the surface. Close examination reveals it to be otherwise.

Tom,

If those perch are truly a pound, (~13"), or bigger than ~10" period, then I would say that they would have to be eating smaller fish. Where you found them makes perfect sense as they tend to be more pelagic-oriented. They are also voracious piscivorous, and very prolific reproducers. So...my guess from 2000 miles away is: they are sustained by YOY fishes -probably their own offspring.

One other thing I'd ask is: Can those perch get in from the ocean or larger lake? That would be obvious to you, so I doubt it but have to ask.

White perch are such effective open water piscivores that they can be fierce competitors with bass for food, and can crop down YOY of all species. YOY bass will move offshore to feed on plankton and midges, but a large popn of white perch would likely alter that scenario. Best survivorship in bass and other species is likely the shoreline vegetation.

I bet your bass eat YOY white perch too. I would look into research on freshwater juv white perch behavior cases. What tendencies do they have? Find those young WP and you've got a bead on your bass too. Offshore xmas trees might be such a location.

The insect hatch sounds like a midge hatch. From the sound of your description I suspect a tube-net variety. Most burrowing midges are larger and look like mosquito's. Look on the substrate and boulders and look for tiny (minute) vermiculated (wormy) markings that look like...dust or algae growth on the rock surfaces. These would be net spinning midges. They can cover entire pond substrates and produce billions of tiny adults. They feed very tiny fishes.

The white perch are very large indeed.  I have caught them in other ponds, and seen them seined in the Westport River, but very few of them match these for size.

As for a path to the ocean.  There is, but, there is a kicker.  The outlet is at the north end of the pond as a small stream.  Then it meanders a short distance into a swamp which flows into Sawdy Pond.  Sawdy pond has an outlet at the north end which flows into South Watuppa Pond.  The swamp would be one obstruction for fish to make their way into Devol.

But the small dam, which is a couple of vertical pieces of channel iron with wood planks betwen them would block young fish returning from the sea.  There does not appear to be any openings in this "dam" because there is not so much as a trickle that flows through it.  The drop from the top plank to the water level below is four or five feet.

South Watuppa's outlet is the Quequeshan river which flows beneath the city into the Taunton River, which is a tidal salt water river.  The waters of the Taunton River flow to the ocean by way of Narragansett Bay, and the Sakonnet Passage.

The other thing is, I have never caught, nor have I heard of anyone catching an eel in this pond.

Looking north from where I put in, you can follow the brown stalks of the dormant purple loosestrife around the edge of the pond.  The exit is in the greenery between the loosestrife to the left and right.

Looking north from the dock.  The shore at the top is nearly a half mile away.  Taken in zoom mode which compressed the perspective.

[Paul Roberts]

The eel would appear to seal the deal on imports.

Wow. Very nice shoreline veges -despite the fact that the 'purple strife is loose'. Your YOY survival hinges on that shoreline cover I'd bet. And with WP of that size there's obviously plenty of YOY production.

[Raul]

Pretty place you got there. 

[Fishing Rhino]

You call this a pond and it sounds more like a small natural lake, is it man made? Does it have a dam or a means of controlling the water pool level; stream in and stream out?

Being only 6 feet deep with a muck bottom, decaying matter build up of sediment and dead vegetation, LMB survival may be marginal during the winter period when it freezes over. The springs would be where the bass must locate when the lake is iced over.

The best time to locate the bass is during the spawn. If you can't locate the bass or their beds, chances are few resident bass are in this pond/lake.

The only reason bass would venture out away from shoreline areas is to pursue baitfish, otherwise the bass should be shoreline cover oriented. Without pelagic bait fish, other than a few crappie, the bass are more than likely surviving on bottom dwellers, frogs and young of the year perch and crappie.

The flock of cormorants should be chased away if possible, they can devastate the fish population in a small lake/pond quickly.

WRB

PS; the only thing old about this reply is me. The cormorants wouldn't be a problem back in the day we no limit on the number we could shoot, the good old days.

I call it a pond simply because it is named Devol Pond. Whether it meets the actual definition of a pond I do not know. No stream in, but there is a swamp at the north end which drains into Sawdy pond. Not man made, though most of the rocks around the shore got there when farmers cleared rocks from the fields and dumped them into the pond.

As you can see from the photos in a prior post, most of those fields have reverted to woodland. The only fields remaining are on the east side of the pond.

It was once a smallmouth pond, until a tanker truck hauling largemouths to a nearby pond broke down on Sodom Road. A local farmer hooked his tractor to the rig, and towed it to the pond, where its contents were emptied.

The pond has always been a place for catching much larger than average fish for this area. I've caught several from this pond that were over five pounds, according to my Langley Deliar 50 -55 years ago. Also caught a 36 inch pickerel, and a 16 1/2 inch crappie back in that era. My dad won a season long "derby" at his workplace with a 7-14 smallmouth.

For whatever reason, surviving the winter does not seem to be a problem, since there are plenty of large (for this area) of bass that can be caught on a daily basis.

There are very few days when I do not catch a three pound largemouth. Somedays, they seem common.

My favorite photo on this pond. This one got away, but you can see its back in the photo, and the boil it produced which pushed some of the pads underwater.

And one that didn't get away.

My avatar was taken on this pond.

If you ever get out this way, it would be a pleasure to take you fishing on this pond/lake.

[WRB]

Beautiful pond, cherish it. In small bodies of water with a diverse population of predator fish, the adult LMB can go where they want. If you are not catching many 1 to 2 lb bass, then recruitment or young of the year survival is low do to competition with the other predators...birds and fish. I agree that the young perch are more than likely the primary baitfish and the adult bass tend to cruise the outer weed lines and dominate the major ambush sites. Thank you for sharing the pictures, you have a wonderful place to fish.

If the ice can support you safely, try piling up some of the shore line rocks and move them out onto the ice at strategic spots, easy way to make rock piles.

WRB

[Paul Roberts]

You do have a treasure there. I have a few of my own, and cherish every minute I have on them. How's that for fitting an 'Old Timers' thread.

[Fishing Rhino]

You do have a treasure there. I have a few of my own, and cherish every minute I have on them. How's that for fitting an 'Old Timers' thread.

Same invite for you if you ever leave your haunts and head east for any reason.  There are a couple of nice ponds in the Cape Cod area that allow me to do reasonably well, with both largemouth and smallmouth.

My favorite I'd avoid in the summer.  Too many boaters of all kinds.  But the others would lead you to believe the Cape was deserted, even in high season, Fourth of July to Labor Day.

[Paul Roberts]

You do have a treasure there. I have a few of my own, and cherish every minute I have on them. How's that for fitting an 'Old Timers' thread.

Same invite for you if you ever leave your haunts and head east for any reason. There are a couple of nice ponds in the Cape Cod area that allow me to do reasonably well, with both largemouth and smallmouth.

My favorite I'd avoid in the summer. Too many boaters of all kinds. But the others would lead you to believe the Cape was deserted, even in high season, Fourth of July to Labor Day.

Thanks, Tom.

I do make it back East every now and then, but not usually quite that far east. My wife has been salivating over a beach vacation, so I'll let you know if our summer plans allow me to actually take you up on that offer.

[Fishing Rhino]

You do have a treasure there. I have a few of my own, and cherish every minute I have on them. How's that for fitting an 'Old Timers' thread.

Same invite for you if you ever leave your haunts and head east for any reason. There are a couple of nice ponds in the Cape Cod area that allow me to do reasonably well, with both largemouth and smallmouth.

My favorite I'd avoid in the summer. Too many boaters of all kinds. But the others would lead you to believe the Cape was deserted, even in high season, Fourth of July to Labor Day.

Thanks, Tom.

I do make it back East every now and then, but not usually quite that far east. My wife has been salivating over a beach vacation, so I'll let you know if our summer plans allow me to actually take you up on that offer.

I'm less than an hour from Cape Cod. If she wants a beach vacation, the Cape is tough to beat after Labor Day. The weather is still splendid, and the crowds are gone. The rates for rooms also drop considerably.

Horseneck Beach in Westport isn't too shabby either. It's at the entrance to Buzzards Bay which leads to the Cape Cod Canal.

The beach in the photos above and below is two miles long.