Question about the site fidelity of farm pond bass
- This topic has 16 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated Jul 1, 2011 at 10:06 pm by
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Suppose you had access to a great little farm pond, but on three trips you never managed a largemouth bass over 10 inches.
No question, I’d let the boy try to catch it. Every trip back would be another shot at “ole Mossback”. The anxiety will be more then he can stand the night before every trip back to the pond. He won’t sleep much for thinking about how he’s gonna catch that beast of a fish this time. Those memories will follow him and you for the rest of your lives.
Loose the spinner for a Power worm.
LMB have a great habit of staying in close to cover in the same general area, now I mean that they can go so far as to put up a house and live there until conditions change. Largemouth Bass are seasonal movers and generally will stay until water temps push them deeper or shallower(spawning). They will move shallow to feed at dawn and dusk but will generally return to the same holding structure.
But no unlike small mouth or spotted bass they aren’t river gypsies. Word to the wise, he is not likely to fall for that same spinner twice. But keep that general size in mind. I have been known to switch from size four flies down to size eight flies in the heat of summer.
The way you can look at it is this, if you are outside in the heat all day working, do you want a cheese burger? No, of course not. But if somebody offers you some trail mix, you are likely to eat a handful. So that same thought applies to bass, smaller bites are easier for them to digest in the heat.
Another thought is this during sunny days with high temps those fish are not coming out of the cooler deeper water until the surface temp of the water dips at dusk, dawn, or at night. This brings them up closer to you so you can up your odds at a bigger fish.
See if you an get permission to go back there at night and take an eight weight and a big black surface fly, might end up with the biggest bass of your life. Especially on a night with a full or nearly full moon.
To make life easier, take some bream flies out there and see what the bass are eating. In other words catch some of the bream and such and pattern some flies after it, or scoop up some minnows and do the same. Take advantage of the fact that you have a fly rod and can really learn about your fishes environment and what he eats, better than a gear chucker.
Good luck.
As for fish fidelity the others have pretty much naile dmy experiences.
As for the 7 y/o perhaps the pond was doleing out a little cosmic Karma for taking the boy. Take him again and should he catch the fish bask in the pride that is sure to follow.
I had almost the exact experience on Fathers day 2010. I took my son and DadIts sounds like your pond is overcrowded like most. You have a limited source of food and bass that reproduce by the 100’s yearly which turns into very few that make it past the first year or two. If you had a shock study conducted on your pond it would probably show 100 1/2 pounders for every 3 pound or larger fish, or maybe worse! Pending the pond owners approval I would recommend that you keep everything that you catch under 14″. If you cull out 100 small fish this year you would see drastic size increase in the fish you catch next year and so on. I have heard 12 fish per acre per year to remove as a general guideline but the major factor is what they are eating.
Something to keep in mind also is water temperature plays the biggest role in when big fish eat. Moreso important than what you use. Try fishing sunrise and sunset when surface temps are cooler and you will probably have better probability of catching larger fish.
you probably also did not get a solid hookset on the fish which would be hard to do with a ultra light rod. Big bass have very hard mouths that require you to really “Hit” them to break the skin!
I hope this helps
Truth is it is 25 pounds of fish (bass) per are per year that have to be removed in a farm pond if properly fertilized and half that if the water is clear.
As far as blue gill go, you almost can’t harvest enough.
This is based on info I have heard from some of the big wheels at Auburn University and they are the ones that would know.
Andrew, take it from me there are three flies to use for bass that will catch em’ anywhere, size 6 clouser (black and white or olive and orange), size 6 stealth bomber (chartreuse and green or black and red), and a size 6 hairy fodder (olive and rust or black and red) (weedless).
But keep this under your hat, I don’t want other folks knowing the secret formula of flies or that you should fish deep or shaded cover in the day and the flats in the evening/morning. This is between us.
😎
Peter, We have used Southeastern Pond Management out of Opelika, sounds like the same school of logic.
I know the western Pa farm pond I fished during my high school years was a great largemouth producer.
Peter, We have used Southeastern Pond Management out of Opelika, sounds like the same school of logic.
If I had to bet on it I would say that they also graduated from Auburn’s aquaculture program. If you want me to I can get you in touch with a couple of guys out there. But I would imagine that it isn’t needed.
I have always considered myself an astute student of warm water fisheries but I am learning loads from these guys. No doubt in my mind, when I dig a pond, these guys will be the first calls I make.
If that pond is seldom fished and only by you, chances are that big ole bucketmouth isn’t as smart as he is credited with.
The recommendation on going small, isn’t one I’d follow, but after hearing your description of the flies you are using, you might be going bigger than needed.
I’ve got a master’s in Zoology and Wildlife Science from Auburn, and it ain’t helped me catch that bass yet.
Ever try a jitterbee? It is typically a bream fly, but bass will munch them as well. (size 12 in charteuse and black is delicious apparently)Bass also like clouser minnows in chartreuse and white. They will also nail chernobyl ants. I usually fish them with an orange belly and black back with orange barred silli legs.- I tend to fish with a chernobyl ant as an indicator and drop a jitterbee or clouser minnow deep off the back end. I am using chernobyls tied on a size 6 hook. The large ant is big enough to keep the dropper suspeneded where I want it.
Typically, a particular bass will have its favorite haunt.
There is a very large bass that sits in a hole next to a location where water from a clear spring rolls into the pond closest to my house. The fish must be quite dumb because it keeps falling for the same tricks and same flies every time. I’ve caught her 3 times in the same spot. She is so predictable.
A size 6 clouser is about the size of a crappie jig. Â I’m not saying big bass can’t be caught on crappie jigs, because once in a blue moon, one hits a lure that size.
However, you don’t see guys in bass tournaments throwing crappie jigs, and for good reason. Â Think about the size of the mouth on a 6 to 8 pound bass.
A bass in a farm pond is probably primarily eating bluegill and bullfrogs. Â Match the hatch. Â You’re probably looking at a bulky fly 3-4 inches long or more instead of something in a #6.
Does this mean you’re going to go a long time between bites?
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