Looking For Some Advice...

[PondBassin]

Hey guys,

About two months ago, I found a nearby private pond that I was allowed to fish on. At first the fishing was great; I would catch probably 10 an hour with half of them being over 2 pounds, some ranging up to 6 pounds. This is a relatively small pond, only about an acre, were I am about the only person that fishes it. It it about 4 feet deep at its deepest point, and I do the majority of my fishing along the shoreline were the fish have been holding. I'm not in a boat, rather am just walking around on the shore. All I have used since going there are pink zoom trick worms (quite possibly overlooked, a great bait that I always trust). The bass loved 'em, but all of a sudden, in the past three weeks, the fishing has decreased. I know it's most likely because I've only been using the trick worms. They've probably gotten used to it. What I need is some tips about how to get back to catching these fish. Do you suggest a change in technique, presentation, color, new bait, etc? The important things to know are that this pond is very small, can be walked around completely, the fish are pretty skidish, the pond is very shallow, and the bottom of the lake is covered with a mucky substance that is easily collected on any bait.

If you have any questions about the features of the pond or anything else, just post below.

Thanks in advance!

PB

[dhami013]

A fellow named Catt on here says that a plastic worm is the one bait fish can't remember, I've never heard of this but considering he's a very knowledgeable individual I will certainly take his word for it. The fish may want something else. Maybe with the season changing, their appetite has changed. I would try throwing some other baits just to find out what works. Mucky bottom, is the water murky? If so darker colors have worked well for me, like black and blue, green pumpkin. You can use a light bullet weight like a 1/16 to keep it off the bottom. Or try senkos or other colored trick worms. I've done well here in very murky water with june bug senkos and grape trick worms.

Always be open to using different techniques and baits.

[Missouribassman95]

Maybe since the weather has colled down cause of fall the fish are more active, and are looking for something alittle faster like a spinerbait, or chatterbait.

[Bassn Blvd]

My suggestion is why not figure it out for yourself?

How much fun would it be if I handed you the rod to reel the fish in after I did all the work of getting it to bite and then hooking it? I don't think that would be much fun.

Same thing applies to your question. Your pond is only an acre and can be walked oround in 10 minutes. Take the time to try different baits, fishied at different times of the day and with different presentations.

You mentioned that you think the bass might be accustomed to your bait. If you think that, then change it. You don't need to second guess yourself. The biggest part/fun of fishing is trying to get the fish to bite. Getting them to bite takes patience and a process of elimination.

Go learn by teaching yourself. If nothing works after a few days then I will give you a sure fire way of catching them.

[SirSnookalot]

How much fun would it be if I handed you the rod to reel the fish in after I did all the work of getting it to bite and then hooking it? I don't think that would be much fun.

Hand me the rod on a 40# juvie and see how much fun I'll have, be happy to let you do the work............lol

[BrianSnat]

Could just be the change in seasons/water temp. I've been killing the bass all summer on the local lake (caught 19 bass as recently as last week), then the last two times out, nothing. Well not exactly nothing, but 1 bass each trip and both under 10".

On the day last week when I caught 19 it didn't matter what I threw. When I ran out of watermelon Senkos, I went to pumpkin, then to black. When I ran out of Senkos I was using a Junebug Zoom. This week it still didn't matter what I used. Tried nearly every plastic in my box in every color I had and then went to jigs, crankbaits, spinnerbaits and swimbaits. Still nothing. Tried deeper water and still nothing.

Could be the bass just weren't in the mood to bite. Could be what is happening to you. Maybe next time out you'll be catching again.

[Jim H.]

The question here is how many bass over 2 lbs do you think a 1 acre pond can sustain? You have probably caught them all... maybe more than once. Even if you released them and they survived, they are "sore mouthed" and may not feed again for weeks. A good bass fisherman can decimate the bass population in a 1 acre pond in one afternoon. just my $.03

[1234567]

Agree, with JimH. I wonder how many bass could actually be in there. Anyways, with it being 4 ft at it's deepest, I'd try a topwater.

[PondBassin]

Headed out there last afternoon. Caught 5 in about 3 hours, 4 on the worm, one on a jerk bait. Nothing hit the topwaters, buzzbaits, or cranks I threw. The one caught on the jerk bait was a white bass. Or so I thought. I never know there were white bass in the pond. It looked just like a white bass, especially with the significantly smaller mouth. However, as the day went on, the rest of the fish I caught had a similar color to them. So, I deduced that the fish were probably sick. The next time I see the owner I'm probably going to bring the topic up.

PB

[Big-O]

As mentioned above, small shallow waters will often disappoint you if they're getting fished aggressively. If you want to stay with Soft plastics, weightless or light weight Lizards and/or Craws seem to catch many fish time and time again... Also might fish extremely early and late.

Big O

www.ragetail.com

[Bassn Blvd]

Fish are not sick just because they are light in color. Light colored bass generally mean the water is dirty.