A bit confused and it's a little frustrating! 2025
MichaelCopeland reply :
I'm a bit confused and it's a little frustrating. I have read almost every article there is in this forum's menu about fall patterns and the transition. All of them tell about how the bait fish start to migrate to the backs of creeks and into channels of lakes and/or rivers. None of them mention what they do in ponds, specifically small ponds. The only place I really get to fish anymore is the small pond in my neighborhood near my house. There's a bigger pond too, it just doesn't have enough fishable bank to really go there much anymore. I'm not really sure what type of bait fish is in this pond. The only things I see in schools near the banks look like tadpoles. They're pretty small. I do see little baby bass occasionally around the bank in little groups of 3 to 5 of them. They seem to be feeding on the tadpole looking things. There are lots of turtles big and small in this pond along with some frogs and some of those are pretty big too. There's also a few small snakes around it at times as well. I would think that there's some bream, possibly blue gill or maybe even perch in there. I just haven't seen any. I can't imagine that largemouth bass are the only fish in it. All this being said, what do the bait fish and bass do in small ponds in the transition to fall and the fall? Been having a hard time trying to find them and when I do, it's only one and usually a dink here lately. Last night I caught the first one a pound or better in like 2 weeks or more. The water level is maybe 5 feet give or take a little. Below is a pick of the pond I'm referring to. I can fish all the left side and bottom end around the right side up til a picket fence blocks it off(should be able to see that fence below the bottom house on the right). I can also fish the top end all the way to the first tree of a group of three trees that are in the water not far off the bank. There's also patches of matted vegetation of some kind around the entire pond. Some patches are longer than others. How would y'all go about fishing this pond this time of year?
scaleface reply :
Well they cant go anywhere , they are captive in their small environment . Try a different bait , maybe that will fool them . It looks like my neighborhood pond and I had a lot of luck there with a weightless Yum Swurm fished like a jerk bait .
Bassin' Brad reply :
If there is lots of turtles in a pond like you mentioned they can put a whoopin' on the bass.
Koz reply :
The good news is that it looks like you can cast every square foot of that pond so that gives you the opportunity to throw just about any bait, anywhere.
I fish a ton of small lagoons here in SC and what I have found the past few weeks is that the bass are cruising around a lot instead of hunkering down in one area. Afternoons between 2 and 5 have been great times to fish lately, whereas in the summer 6-9 in the evenings was best. They are also hitting on baits different than in the summer.
In the summer T-rigged Senkos, trick worms, jigs, frogs, buzzbaits, crankbaits, and the Whopper Plopper worked best. I couldn't even catch a cold with a crankbait. But lately my Purple Tiger Rat-L-Trap has been crushing it with both LMB and crappies. I've also caught 5+ pounders with an 8" worm that I found on shore one day.
But lately except for the Whopper Plopper none of my summer baits have produced in the last 3 weeks. For me it ended up being fun throwing stuff I haven't thrown in a while and actually catching good sized fish on those lures. So what I'm getting at here is if nothing is biting on your go to baits try some of the stuff you normally don't throw and see what happens. You have an advantage because you can pretty much cover the entire pond.
In the mornings and evenings throw some top waters over and around the mats. But the rest of the day throw everything and anything everywhere. My experience here in SC tells me that the cooler water in these small ponds will have the bass cruising around looking for their next meal. Whatever you do cover lots of ground. Fan cast from one spot and if nothing is there move around. When you get to the end throw on a different bait and repeat.
If there's bass in there you'll eventually run into them with the right bait. Take advantage of the small pond.
BrianinMD reply :
If there are no shad in a body of water the fall pattern about shad will not mean anything. Think about the behaviors of the baitfish in the particular body of water. That is where the fish will be.
MichaelCopeland reply :
On 10/6/2017 at 5:54 AM, scaleface said:Well they cant go anywhere , they are captive in their small environment . Try a different bait , maybe that will fool them . It looks like my neighborhood pond and I had a lot of luck there with a weightless Yum Swurm fished like a jerk bait .
I have tried several different baits. Chatter baits, a spinnerbait, a buzzbait, Rat-L-Traps, Red Eye Shad, hollow body and plastic frogs, H2O Express Model TWS topwater, weightless wacky rigged Senko style baits and trick worms, weightless Texas rigged ol' monsters, trick worms, SK Rage Bugs and KVD Perfect Plastics rodents, 12" jelly worm and quite a few others. The wacky rigged and Texas rigged stuff works sometimes but only catching dinks and one 1lber with the jelly worm. Can't get bit on it again now. If I use bullet weights on them I can't get bit. I think I need lighter bullet weights than the 1/4oz, 3/16oz and 1/8oz I have. Guess I'm gonna have to buy some other baits and bullet weights. Any suggestions?
On 10/6/2017 at 6:00 AM, Bassin' Brad said:If there is lots of turtles in a pond like you mentioned they can put a whoopin' on the bass.
I can see that happening with the big turtles, but can't the bass eat the smaller ones though?
Bassin' Brad reply :
On 10/6/2017 at 8:25 AM, MichaelCopeland said:
I can see that happening with the big turtles, but can't the bass eat the smaller ones though?
I figure they will. I don't know a lot about it I just have some family that has a small pond they built and they had quite a few bass some getting to be a few pounds and then the turtles took over and they wiped out most of the fish. They trapped 20+ turtles out if it and the bass are coming back.
MichaelCopeland reply :
On 10/6/2017 at 7:21 AM, Koz said:The good news is that it looks like you can cast every square foot of that pond so that gives you the opportunity to throw just about any bait, anywhere.
I fish a ton of small lagoons here in SC and what I have found the past few weeks is that the bass are cruising around a lot instead of hunkering down in one area. Afternoons between 2 and 5 have been great times to fish lately, whereas in the summer 6-9 in the evenings was best. They are also hitting on baits different than in the summer.
In the summer T-rigged Senkos, trick worms, jigs, frogs, buzzbaits, crankbaits, and the Whopper Plopper worked best. I couldn't even catch a cold with a crankbait. But lately my Purple Tiger Rat-L-Trap has been crushing it with both LMB and crappies. I've also caught 5+ pounders with an 8" worm that I found on shore one day.
But lately except for the Whopper Plopper none of my summer baits have produced in the last 3 weeks. For me it ended up being fun throwing stuff I haven't thrown in a while and actually catching good sized fish on those lures. So what I'm getting at here is if nothing is biting on your go to baits try some of the stuff you normally don't throw and see what happens. You have an advantage because you can pretty much cover the entire pond.
In the mornings and evenings throw some top waters over and around the mats. But the rest of the day throw everything and anything everywhere. My experience here in SC tells me that the cooler water in these small ponds will have the bass cruising around looking for their next meal. Whatever you do cover lots of ground. Fan cast from one spot and if nothing is there move around. When you get to the end throw on a different bait and repeat.
If there's bass in there you'll eventually run into them with the right bait. Take advantage of the small pond.
The cooler weather hasn't quite made it here yet. We've been having upper 80s lower 90s during the day and upper 60s lower 70s at night and early morning. I can cast to almost all of the pond. A lot of the right side above the picket fence up to the upper right where the trees are I can't cast to without a boat/kayak. Tried with my boss' kayak a couple weeks ago and it was pretty awkward for me not being able to stay put in a spot without drifting some. Still with the warmer temps we've been having the summer baits that worked well aren't working at all now. I do have a few baits I haven't tried yet. Next time I get out I'll give em a shot.
BuzzHudson19c reply :
Don't over think it. Pond bass don't migrate.
If there are frogs, I would start there, casting parallel with the bank.
If you are unsure of the bait fish in there, grab some crappie jigs and try to catch some. Then you know what's on the menu.
MichaelCopeland reply :
On 10/6/2017 at 8:35 AM, Bassin' Brad said:I figure they will. I don't know a lot about it I just have some family that has a small pond they built and they had quite a few bass some getting to be a few pounds and then the turtles took over and they wiped out most of the fish. They trapped 20+ turtles out if it and the bass are coming back.
When you say trapped, were they taking elsewhere? I don't have a way to trap and move them somewhere else and I'm not gonna do them any harm.
On 10/6/2017 at 8:53 AM, BuzzHudson19c said:Don't over think it. Pond bass don't migrate.
If there are frogs, I would start there, casting parallel with the bank.
If you are unsure of the bait fish in there, grab some crappie jigs and try to catch some. Then you know what's on the menu.
I have thought about throwing some crappie jigs, just haven't done it yet. Guess it's time to try that. There's frogs in there too, can't seem to get bit on my hollow body or plastic frogs or any topwater bait for that matter. I'll keep trying those though, I figure that bite has to start some time.
N Florida Mike reply :
My small lake is full of bass but there are times you would think it isnt.
This year the fishing wasnt as good overall for numbers .I began to think that I was fishing it too much ,and using the same baits too much. So I didnt go quite as often ,and I began trying new baits they hadnt seen. Most of all I quit using my top 2 confidence baits. I began catching a good number of fish with a spinner bait ,and went back to my 70s and 80s style, which was worms,worms and more worms. Fishing my lake is feeling fresh again,and I am learning new ways to catch em.
If I was you,I would slow down the frequency I fished that pond. I have a theory that is a lot like hunting. If you go to the same area too much , the game becomes suspicious. I have seen what I think is the same thing with fish.
If it was me ,I would limit the trips to the pond ,fish with new baits, or ones not used much , and I would find out the main forage in there and use live ones for bait or at least something that matches the hatch.
papajoe222 reply :
Trying to equate fall shad migrations to a pond, or even a natural lake is difficult. The information is still applicable to any body of water in that the bass will follow the bait fish (no matter the type). The difficulty you are running into is the fact that following whatever the forage is in that pond becomes a catch 22 because the forage doesn't go anywhere, so there is no need for the bass to 'follow.'In a natural lake, the baitfish have some room to move and it's usually to the inside weed line, or the spawning flats used in the spring.
Because there is no need for them to follow the bait around, it's just a matter of feeding when they need to or feel like it. Unless you have a magic lantern, figuring when that is is a dodo shoot. My advice is go for reaction strikes and cover water. If they're active, you'll know right away. If not, you can still pick off a fish or two. Just don't expect more than a few bites for your efforts.
Sword of the Lord reply :
On 10/6/2017 at 10:26 AM, papajoe222 said:Trying to equate fall shad migrations to a pond, or even a natural lake is difficult. The information is still applicable to any body of water in that the bass will follow the bait fish (no matter the type). The difficulty you are running into is the fact that following whatever the forage is in that pond becomes a catch 22 because the forage doesn't go anywhere, so there is no need for the bass to 'follow.'In a natural lake, the baitfish have some room to move and it's usually to the inside weed line, or the spawning flats used in the spring.
Because there is no need for them to follow the bait around, it's just a matter of feeding when they need to or feel like it. Unless you have a magic lantern, figuring when that is is a dodo shoot. My advice is go for reaction strikes and cover water. If they're active, you'll know right away. If not, you can still pick off a fish or two. Just don't expect more than a few bites for your efforts.
As an avid pond basser, this 100%. The baitfish here is all bluegill. I have noticed this season that where the bluegill are in big packs, the bass aren't there! Rarely ever will I get bit where the baitfish are. Then I move to the logical spots. Weedlines, overhanging trees, weedbeds, and there they are! It's like going to the refrigerator when you need or want to as opposed to following the food truck around because you don't want to lose it.
MichaelCopeland reply :
On 10/6/2017 at 10:23 AM, N Florida Mike said:My small lake is full of bass but there are times you would think it isnt.
This year the fishing wasnt as good overall for numbers .I began to think that I was fishing it too much ,and using the same baits too much. So I didnt go quite as often ,and I began trying new baits they hadnt seen. Most of all I quit using my top 2 confidence baits. I began catching a good number of fish with a spinner bait ,and went back to my 70s and 80s style, which was worms,worms and more worms. Fishing my lake is feeling fresh again,and I am learning new ways to catch em.
If I was you,I would slow down the frequency I fished that pond. I have a theory that is a lot like hunting. If you go to the same area too much , the game becomes suspicious. I have seen what I think is the same thing with fish.
If it was me ,I would limit the trips to the pond ,fish with new baits, or ones not used much , and I would find out the main forage in there and use live ones for bait or at least something that matches the hatch.
I believe you're right. I do fish that pond alot using the same baits just different colors more often than anything else. I fish there so much because it's walking distance about 10 mins from the house. There's another bigger pond that's walking distance also just doesn't have enough accessible bank to fish. Guess I could go there instead for a little while and give this one a break. I'll also do a better job of using different lures/baits when I go back to it.
Sword of the Lord reply :
On 10/6/2017 at 10:46 AM, MichaelCopeland said:I believe you're right. I do fish that pond alot using the same baits just different colors more often than anything else. I fish there so much because it's walking distance about 10 mins from the house. There's another bigger pond that's walking distance also just doesn't have enough accessible bank to fish. Guess I could go there instead for a little while and give this one a break. I'll also do a better job of using different lures/baits when I go back to it.
I dunno about all that, to be honest. I start at this little bity hole every weekend using the exact same lures and colors and snag several LMB before moving on to my preferred ponds for bigger bass.
Koz reply :
On 10/6/2017 at 10:46 AM, MichaelCopeland said:There's another bigger pond that's walking distance also just doesn't have enough accessible bank to fish.
Go out and get yourself a machete. Seriously. We have hundreds of lagoons in our area and many of them are overgrown. I bought a machete and carve out spots to fish all of the time. I just need to be careful I don't surprise any alligators.
As for the weather, ours is close to yours but in fact our evenings are still in the mid 70's and we haven't seen 60's yet. But that's cooler than the 80's we've been experiencing all summer and the daytime highs now are only in the mid to upper 80's and that allows the ponds to cool down pretty quick.
MichaelCopeland reply :
On 10/6/2017 at 10:26 AM, papajoe222 said:Trying to equate fall shad migrations to a pond, or even a natural lake is difficult. The information is still applicable to any body of water in that the bass will follow the bait fish (no matter the type). The difficulty you are running into is the fact that following whatever the forage is in that pond becomes a catch 22 because the forage doesn't go anywhere, so there is no need for the bass to 'follow.'In a natural lake, the baitfish have some room to move and it's usually to the inside weed line, or the spawning flats used in the spring.
Because there is no need for them to follow the bait around, it's just a matter of feeding when they need to or feel like it. Unless you have a magic lantern, figuring when that is is a dodo shoot. My advice is go for reaction strikes and cover water. If they're active, you'll know right away. If not, you can still pick off a fish or two. Just don't expect more than a few bites for your efforts.
That makes a whole lotta sense. I've been trying to get reaction strikes though it does work sometimes. I'm thinking most of the bass, especially the big ones, are in around those trees at the top right end of the pond. I can kinda get to the tree that's on the far left side of the three trees that are in that area, just not able to fish very far around it all. Hoping when the water starts cooling down they will get more active. I know there's some big uns in there and that's what I'm really after. Just been tough finding the right bait that they want.
On 10/6/2017 at 10:57 AM, Sword of the Lord said:I dunno about all that, to be honest. I start at this little bity hole every weekend using the exact same lures and colors and snag several LMB before moving on to my preferred ponds for bigger bass.
That looks bank accessible all the way around. Looks like a fun place to fish. I need to find something like that around here.
MichaelCopeland reply :
On 10/6/2017 at 11:32 AM, Koz said:
Go out and get yourself a machete. Seriously. We have hundreds of lagoons in our area and many of them are overgrown. I bought a machete and carve out spots to fish all of the time. I just need to be careful I don't surprise any alligators.
As for the weather, ours is close to yours but in fact our evenings are still in the mid 70's and we haven't seen 60's yet. But that's cooler than the 80's we've been experiencing all summer and the daytime highs now are only in the mid to upper 80's and that allows the ponds to cool down pretty quick.
I've been wanting to get a machete for some of the lakes I fish for that reason. Not sure if it would be allowed for me to use it at the ponds here. They are private community ponds owned by the housing authority of the subdivision I live in. Probably wouldn't hurt to ask someone. Just have to find out who that someone would be. Great idea though and hope it's ok for me to do it.
bigbill reply :
First,
I only fish smaller places. I notice the fish can be very wary. The least little noise can spook them or put them on guard. I'm very stealthy when I walk up, put my tackle box down, handle my rods. I only use a spinning reel and operate the bail by hand avoiding the click of the baitcaster when the spool clicks in. I do not step on exposed rocks or roots on top of the ground as I walk up to my spot. Stepping on roots and rocks sends sounds into the water it's natures alarm system. I cleared my throat once and watched a large bass swim away from shore right in front of me.
Next I find that turtles can shut the place down. The minute I see turtles on the topwater infront of me it's time to move. If they are on the bottom clawing it up you can tell by the line of bubbles. Again move.
As the weather turns colder I change my presentation. I like to use the dying minnow twitch with yum money minnows(example). Make it look like an easy meal. I don't weight the minnow.
MichaelCopeland reply :
On 10/7/2017 at 7:16 AM, bigbill said:First,
I only fish smaller places. I notice the fish can be very wary. The least little noise can spook them or put them on guard. I'm very stealthy when I walk up, put my tackle box down, handle my rods. I only use a spinning reel and operate the bail by hand avoiding the click of the baitcaster when the spool clicks in. I do not step on exposed rocks or roots on top of the ground as I walk up to my spot. Stepping on roots and rocks sends sounds into the water it's natures alarm system. I cleared my throat once and watched a large bass swim away from shore right in front of me.
Next I find that turtles can shut the place down. The minute I see turtles on the topwater infront of me it's time to move. If they are on the bottom clawing it up you can tell by the line of bubbles. Again move.
As the weather turns colder I change my presentation. I like to use the dying minnow twitch with yum money minnows(example). Make it look like an easy meal. I don't weight the minnow.
I try my best to be stealthy when I walk the bank. Sometimes it's not as easy to do. Little acorns and things like that are kinda hard to avoid when they're in abundance...lol. I use both my baitcaster and my spinning rod. I do close the bail by hand and on my baitcaster I have my thumb over the spool release button when I first begin to reel. It makes about as much noise as hand closing the bail on my spinning reel. Maybe a tad louder, a muffled click. Almost no noise. Seems to work ok. I'll definitely start avoiding the areas where turtle activity is going on. I hope it starts getting better when it finally starts cooling off some down here.
WRB reply :
Above the water noise doesn't disturb pond bass, it's your silhouette or shadow, bright colors and movement, it's not stepping on leaves or acorns that get the bass attention. Keep a low profile and wear dull color cloths.
Pond bass know every square inch of thier environmemt and tend to patrol the parimeter occasionally hunting prey, then set up a home spot to rest or ambush prey.
The best spots are owned by the biggest bass, it's a pecking order.
Lake classification is important as it determines the prey types and bass locations. A small pond isn't a lake!
Your pond has a prey source to support bass if they live there. Common sources of bass prey in pings are terrestrial critters, crawdads, frogs, small fish of all sorts including baby bass.
Tom
MichaelCopeland reply :
On 10/8/2017 at 1:00 AM, WRB said:Above the water noise doesn't pond bass, it's your silhouette or shadow, bright colors and movement, it's not stepping on leaves or acorns that get the bass attention. Keep a low profile and wear dull color cloths.
Pond bass know every square inch of thier environmemt and tend to patrol the parimeter occasionally hunting prey, then set up a home spot to rest or ambush prey.
The best spots are owned by the biggest bass, it's a pecking order.
Lake classification is important as it determines the prey types and bass locations. A small pond isn't a lake!
Your pond has a prey source to support bass if they live there. Common sources of bass prey in pings are terrestrial critters, crawdads, frogs, small fish of all sorts including baby bass.
Tom
I guess the best spots are the spots I can't get to from the bank. The bigger bass are what I'm targeting using bigger presentations but only 1lbers or smaller are hitting them. This pond is only maybe 5' deep give or take a little. Is it possible the bigger ones are in the deepest parts? What technique(s) should I try to maybe have a better chance at catching one?
CroakHunter reply :
On 10/8/2017 at 7:16 AM, MichaelCopeland said:I guess the best spots are the spots I can't get to from the bank. The bigger bass are what I'm targeting using bigger presentations but only 1lbers or smaller are hitting them. This pond is only maybe 5' deep give or take a little. Is it possible the bigger ones are in the deepest parts? What technique(s) should I try to maybe have a better chance at catching one?
Here's my question, is there big ones in there? I fished a small pond for 10 years. After managing it and trying to get the quality and quanity right, I still never caught one over 15 inches. Some bodies of water just won't grow big ones. Especially if max depth is 5'
MichaelCopeland reply :
On 10/8/2017 at 8:08 AM, CroakHunter said:Here's my question, is there big ones in there? I fished a small pond for 10 years. After managing it and trying to get the quality and quanity right, I still never caught one over 15 inches. Some bodies of water just won't grow big ones. Especially if max depth is 5'
I know there's 3 and 4lbers in there, I've caught one of each. A few people have told me that either they or someone they knew had caught a 6lber in there a released it back in there. I just heard tonight that there's also chiquapin and perch in there. I'm guessing those along with frogs, snakes, small turtles and crawfish are some of the forage available to the bass. Gonna try something I haven't really tried in a while a Carolina rig when I go early this morning. I also have a green pumpkin tube tied on with a 1/16oz crappie jig head stuff up in it with the line tie eye pushed out the side at the top. I read where that can be an effective way to rig a tube. At this point anything is worth trying.
Pro Logcatcher reply :
On 10/6/2017 at 8:35 AM, Bassin' Brad said:I figure they will. I don't know a lot about it I just have some family that has a small pond they built and they had quite a few bass some getting to be a few pounds and then the turtles took over and they wiped out most of the fish. They trapped 20+ turtles out if it and the bass are coming back.
The pond in my area is OVERRUN with turtles. One time I got a backlash and my crank was just sitting in the water. I went to reel my lure back in and somehow I thought I hooked into a log. You know how you can sometimes just pull on a stuck lure and it'll drag the stick to you? I discovered I had hooked into a GIGANTIC turtle- at least forty pounds! Luckily for the turtle, the hook bent and it popped free. Let me tell ya, that turtle could definitely eat a three pounder.
MichaelCopeland reply :
On 10/8/2017 at 9:40 PM, Pro Logcatcher said:The pond in my area is OVERRUN with turtles. One time I got a backlash and my crank was just sitting in the water. I went to reel my lure back in and somehow I thought I hooked into a log. You know how you can sometimes just pull on a stuck lure and it'll drag the stick to you? I discovered I had hooked into a GIGANTIC turtle- at least forty pounds! Luckily for the turtle, the hook bent and it popped free. Let me tell ya, that turtle could definitely eat a three pounder.
Haven't seen any turtles that big in there, but there's quite a few that are about 10-12" or so in diameter. I caught one of them a couple mornings ago. I posted a pic of it in the Latest Catch Pics section of Fishing Reports. Caught it on a chatter bait...lol.
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