Cold Water Small Ponds

[gall]

i fish a lot of rather small ponds the largest being 2 acres max and the one pond i fish no more than quater acre has rather large bass and lately we've been having rather weird weather monday was no warmer then 50 and yesterday was 75 i went and fished there yesterday and not a single hit i went through all my baits from worms to cranks shallow water to deep water any idea where they might be the water is no more then 10 feet deep with a slow and easy drop to the deep part from the shallows not that much structure other than a lot of cat tails which are almost completely sumberged due to the large amount of rain we have had

[senile1]

I can give you some generalities to apply to your pond, but as they say, the bass don't read the same books we read. The bass in your small pond are probably the predator at the top of the food chain in that body of water. The forage will try to find the best places to hide from them so any vegetation, or cover is where they will be. The bass will hang around near that cover at various times during the day to feed. Fish near the edge or in any cover you can find using crankbaits, spinnerbaits, worms, jigs, etc that are either similar to your forage or that will provoke a strike.

For example, I have a pond that I fish occasionally where the main forage is bluegill and green sunfish and they are always up near the cattails and in the coontail moss. If they were out in the middle of the pond they would be sitting ducks for the bass. At this time of year when the water temperatures are in the 60s I have a lot of luck at this pond with jigs and craws, worms, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits. The bait that works for the day depends on the weather conditions and how active the bass are. If the bass aren't very active and I am fishing a worm or jig, I usually move it by crawling and never move it more than a couple of inches at a time. I never have my best luck with larger hops using worms and jigs.

[Marty]

While you mentioned some air temperatures, water temp is of much greater importance. Your water there should be more than warm enough for good bass fishing. I've had good fishing well into November in some years, so my best advice is to persist and not give up.

[Nick]

If the water is discolored from the recent rains that can have a generally adverse effect on behavior esp. feeding habits. Often, even in good ponds, I've had to wait until the water color returns to noremal or near it, to get the bass on a dependable feed. I doubt its the water temps that's caused your problems, and I hope you didn't lose some big ones down a spillway!

[Hyrule Bass]

i fish a lot of rather small ponds the largest being 2 acres max and the one pond i fish no more than quater acre has rather large bass and lately we've been having rather weird weather monday was no warmer then 50 and yesterday was 75 i went and fished there yesterday and not a single hit i went through all my baits from worms to cranks shallow water to deep water any idea where they might be the water is no more then 10 feet deep with a slow and easy drop to the deep part from the shallows not that much structure other than a lot of cat tails which are almost completely sumberged due to the large amount of rain we have had

i would of tried something like a husky jerk or xrap in the shallower parts, in the deep part maybe a weightless t-rigged worm, drop shot or shakeyhead...

[Chuck Cooper]

Well, sometimes they just aren't eating during the time that your fishing. If you can, try different times in the day. They really do go in and out of chow mode. The guy that figures out how to tell when they're in chow mode is going to get rich. LOL good luck.

[gall]

thanks for all your tips today i went and used a 4 1/2 inch bps sticko worm and was twitching along its really clear water and senile 1 you were right i was twiching it a long when i saw her casually stroll out of the cat tails and whamo she was a 20 inch 3 1/4 beauty they are exactly where you said in the cat tails and i went back to my good ol favorite zoom trick worms and let it slowly sink on the edges and thats exactly where they were thanks

[Hyrule Bass]

20 inches but only 3 1/4 pounds? im not sure if thats what you meant, but if it is it sounds like she was slim and has plenty of room to pack on some weight...

[gall]

yeah i weighed her thats what it said i mean i am using a berkley digital so idk exactly how accurate but she was a nice one the only problem about the pond is its about a 1/8 acre so its not a large pond if it was bigger theyd be a lot bigger kinda a shame but still nice for such a small pond