My golf course pond theory 2024
LCpointerKILLA reply :
I posted this on the golf course pond thread, but it didn't answer any of the guy's questions, so I figured I would make it a thread.
Ever wondered why bass are so aggressive in golf course ponds?
I have witnessed packs of 4-5 larger sized bass actually cruising around close to shore, searching and hunting for bait. Since there is no cover the bait fish move more, which forces the bass to hunt rather than ambush. This makes the bass way more aggressive. I think this is why I have caught 10 nice fish in an hour, and it is a very common thing to catch one on your first cast.
Daniel My Brother reply :
QuoteEver wondered why bass are so aggressive in golf course ponds?
Maybe 'cause they've been hit in the head by so many golf balls?
:-/ ;D
j/k...I like your theory.
Bassboy15 reply :
Plus they probably feel safe, because not to many fish these ponds.
NitroMan reply :
Quoteit is a very common thing to catch one on your first cast.
Dang,
I wish I could have a problem like that!!!
LCpointerKILLA reply :
QuotePlus they probably feel safe, because not to many fish these ponds.
that is also true. In winter though, a lot of people fish on the water hazards at my course. But now it's too hot for these people, so there is no fishing pressure.
Raul reply :
QuoteEver wondered why bass are so aggressive in golf course ponds?
Because nobody fishes for them or there 's very little fishing pressure.
My relatives don 't have golf course ponds but they do have irrigation ponds in their farms. Fish there seldomly see a lure and since they are off-limits to anyone but the family members and actually I 'm the only one that fishes I take my 5 year old and ocassionally fish the ponds so he can catch fish ( which almost granted ), almost a fish per cast is the norm.
Pigsticker reply :
Thats a pretty cool theory, makes a lot of sense
but have you fished golf course ponds with heavy vegatation, do the bass still cruise?
great work though
SunshinePreps reply :
I fish a pond on a golf course and it is almost TOO easy to catch fish. When I get that "I need to go fishing" look in my eye my wife tells me to just walk to the pond and I tell her is not even fun because it is so easy. This one pond I swear doesn't have any small bass at all in it and I think I have caught every fish in the pond. Range is between 2-5. I don't think there are any big big fish and I am not sure the pond was stocked long ago (course is only 7 years old as is the pond) but there are tons of fish. It also has pipes coming in to it which leads me to believe it connects to the big lake behind the course.
The odd thing is I haven't had any luck on any of the other ponds on the course. I can't figure out if it is because of the pipes coming in to this particular one.
Another theory to pond fishing is being able to target the fish from shore and bascially sneak up on them compared to running a trolling motor up on an unsuspecting fish. Also the retrieval of the bait to the shore also probably makes it easier for a fish to see the bait and then have it approach them compared to retrieving bait from the shoreline or cover back to the boat. Even though it seems most of my catch throwing from boat to cover occurs by throwing the bait right on top of the fish for an immediate strike.
avid reply :
My theory is that golf course pond bass are stuck up.
Try throwing some megabass or other high end Japanese lures. 8-)
wilsonm1 reply :
good theory, it makes sense in all. no cover so no place to ambush, so it applys anywhere with no cover. i like it.
LCpointerKILLA reply :
QuoteI fish a pond on a golf course and it is almost TOO easy to catch fish. When I get that "I need to go fishing" look in my eye my wife tells me to just walk to the pond and I tell her is not even fun because it is so easy. This one pond I swear doesn't have any small bass at all in it and I think I have caught every fish in the pond. Range is between 2-5. I don't think there are any big big fish and I am not sure the pond was stocked long ago (course is only 7 years old as is the pond) but there are tons of fish. It also has pipes coming in to it which leads me to believe it connects to the big lake behind the course.The odd thing is I haven't had any luck on any of the other ponds on the course. I can't figure out if it is because of the pipes coming in to this particular one.
Another theory to pond fishing is being able to target the fish from shore and bascially sneak up on them compared to running a trolling motor up on an unsuspecting fish. Also the retrieval of the bait to the shore also probably makes it easier for a fish to see the bait and then have it approach them compared to retrieving bait from the shoreline or cover back to the boat. Even though it seems most of my catch throwing from boat to cover occurs by throwing the bait right on top of the fish for an immediate strike.
Retrieval back to shore seems more effectice than casting to shore... most of the time.
But I now have another part to my theory, I think the small pounds with little to no cover have better acoustics. Sound waves and water vibration are not buffed out by cover or irregular shoreline. That leads me to believe that bass hear much better and feel vibrations much better in golf course ponds.
Castamasta reply :
i fish a golf course lake with a lot of cover and the bass kill out there. everytime i go me and my friends usually catch one over 4. also the lake was recently stalked with 1,000 $ of shad. it is the best lake in the world!! 
EKYFisher01 reply :
Very nice theory!
I have to agree with the idea that the fish are not used to seeing lures and fishing pressure is very little if any and the fact there is little or no cover therefore promoting an adaptation in behavior.
A little over ten years ago my father took me to a farm in the central part of Ky in Owen County. We were there for hunting but there was a small pond not too far from the place we set up camp. One of my fathers friends had brought a fishing pole and for 26 CONSECUTIVE casts he caught a fish (Bluegill.) This tiny pond had probably never been fished at all or in any case not in years. The pond was extremely small and was covered by a thin layer of green nasty.
This leads me to believe that the idea of fish under the conditions of a small pond that is fished very little or at all will pretty much destroy any decently proportional lure thrown in.
The acoustics idea that you have is VERY interesting. Ive always been curious about a fish's ability to hear. I know there are baits that make all sorts of racket. Anyone have any articles or knowledge about a bass's ability to hear?
EKYFisher
bass slayer 17 reply :
my theory is that they run out of stuff to kill or eat so when they see something, they all compete and smash whatever looks edible
ValkyrieRider reply :
Have to agree with the theory. I fished a small pond with no cover today that I know for a fact hasn't been fished more than once or twice a year for the last 5 or 6 years and I couldn't keep fish off the hook.
All this during the middle of the day with temps of 95 degrees.
Huge bluegill (12 " +) and small bass (8-12") all day...
LCpointerKILLA reply :
Quotemy theory is that they run out of stuff to kill or eat so when they see something, they all compete and smash whatever looks edible
that does happen, usually to a pond that isn't managed at all, or a small natural pond. There is a natural pond near my house that has a lot of skinny fish and they are easy to catch. In a pond it seems like bass eat the bream and that is a major food source, and in the lake bass coexist with the bream and prefer shad, craws, minnows...
SunshinePreps reply :
I have been fishing a lake near my house over the past few weeks and have actually been fishing out of a canoe. There are parts of this lake that can only be accessed by a canoe so I was able to get in a few spots this morning that not many people get to and had some succes. Bad thing though is I found the spot right at noon when it was 100 degrees out and nothing was biting at all. Can't wait to get back
this week and get on the spot in the morning or evening. I agree with the theory about not many people fishing probably being a good spot to fish.
Perfect Hook Set reply :
They are aggressive because, the fish need to catch there meal before getting hit with a stray golf ball....
"Since there is no cover the bait fish move more, which forces the bass to hunt rather than ambush. This makes the bass way more aggressive. I think this is why I have caught 10 nice fish in an hour, and it is a very common thing to catch one on your first cast."
Cover gah my local golf course lakes/ponds have all types of cover..
IS yours just a sand/silt/dirt bottom no weeds grass sticks NOTHING?
The main reason is that these fish usually have no pressure from anglers and some have never seen a lure/soft plastics in there lives...
The golf courses here have inlets and outlets for water and or big sprinklers which help to oxygenate the water.
I hope to go to a local golf course today...
Last year I lost a monster pickerel
LCpointerKILLA reply :
My golf course's hazards are hot ponds with NO cover. They have a sandy bottom, and some slop. In summer the ponds are not pressured. In winter they are highly pressured because a lot of kids in this neighborhood fish in the afternoon, and some adults.
BTW I already said this you should read the whole conversation. Jeeez bro :
Paul Roberts reply :
QuoteI have witnessed packs of 4-5 larger sized bass actually cruising around close to shore searching and hunting for bait.
This is pretty common in waters I've fished in both NY and CO.
QuoteSince there is no cover the bait fish move more, which forces the bass to hunt rather than ambush.
There has to be some way for prey fish to escape predation, otherwise there wouldn't be any left -and you'd have small, skinny bass. This is not uncommon in small ponds with little cover. I'm wondering if these ponds have a shallow shelf rimming them, as the primary cover, making the shoreline, as I think you describe, the key location for hunting bass, but shallow enough to exclude the bass.
Another thought is that you have golden shiners in there, and some are able to grow to mature size somewhere (shelf?). These can be too large to be eaten by most bass in the pond, and are able to crank out young shiners over the course of the year. I believe GS's can spawn more than once a year in the south.
Just some thoughts.
jcv reply :
Interesting thread!
I must ask though: where do you folks live that you're able to stroll out onto a golf course and start fishing? I've never tried it but I know for sure I'd either get tossed by management or chased away by some golf club wielding madmen ;D
njbasser reply :
i fish a lake down the street from my house, its small, and there are usually a couple places i always throw a senko (i fish from shore). surprisingly, one of those is in the swimming area where i am usually guaranteed one or two bass. I think that this is because there is no cover, so they are on the hunt and see an easy meal
SunshinePreps reply :
QuoteInteresting thread!I must ask though: where do you folks live that you're able to stroll out onto a golf course and start fishing? I've never tried it but I know for sure I'd either get tossed by management or chased away by some golf club wielding madmen ;D
Good question. The one I fish luckily has a big portion of the pond that is not on the course and has a few vacant lots that allow access to this portion of the pond. Then as sun goes down and golfers are gone, I can reach the other parts of it.
The other side of the argument is this. Those golfers have a lot of nerve incroaching on our fishing grounds. Next time I see them up on the green and I am fishing close by I will look over at them and say "you guys mind keeping it down over there? Trying to catch some fish here" ;D
How do you think they would play out?
fivesixone reply :
Quote"you guys mind keeping it down over there? Trying to catch some fish here" ;D
Lemme know how that goes! Hahaha! That's hilarious!
SunshinePreps reply :
Next tournament they have out here I will set up my folding chair on the 12th greenside bunker with my rod holder buried in the sand. I'll sit there and run a shiner all day and have a cooler of beer by my feet.
"Excuse me sir, do you my removing your ball from my cooler?"
Imagine what that would look like from the Par 3 tee box??
AStallings reply :
This is the best explanation I've heard that makes sense. Everyone keeps talking about fishing pressure. In my case at least, there is definitely more to it than that. We fish 3-4 different ponds on a regular basis, and we're basically the only ones that ever fish on any of them, so pressure isn't a factor.
We hit up the golf course during the day on Monday (the course is closed every Monday, so no golfers). Seeing the pond in full daylight (vs @ night), and through polarized lenses I could see that although there's no above water structure, there actually is "underwater structure". Lots of ledges and steep drop offs. These were all the spots we've been catching fish at night too.
Caught this 2.5 pounder on 2nd cast with a rage tail shad. Called it a day after about 20 min since it was >95 degrees and humid 
Daytime pics of the pond
AStallings reply :
QuoteInteresting thread!I must ask though: where do you folks live that you're able to stroll out onto a golf course and start fishing? I've never tried it but I know for sure I'd either get tossed by management or chased away by some golf club wielding madmen ;D
One of my friends that usually goes with us lives on the course we fish at, but it's never made a difference anyway. Night time under a full moon is the best time to hit up the golf courses. When's the last time you saw someone on a golf course at 11pm ? We've been thinking about trying some night fishing at some other golf course ponds in the area. Google earth is a great way to scope out new fishing spots, find best way in/out, where to park etc.
AStallings reply :
QuoteNext tournament they have out here I will set up my folding chair on the 12th greenside bunker with my rod holder buried in the sand. I'll sit there and run a shiner all day and have a cooler of beer by my feet."Excuse me sir, do you my removing your ball from my cooler?"
Imagine what that would look like from the Par 3 tee box??
lol, I was thinking the same thing last golf tourny I was at. The Heritage Classic in HIlton Head, we were sitting on a hole with a little pond, Anthony Kim hit his ball in the water and we noticed there was a gator hanging out on the other side of the pond 
. Guess that's one way to keep the fisherman away
LCpointerKILLA reply :
QuoteQuoteI have witnessed packs of 4-5 larger sized bass actually cruising around close to shore searching and hunting for bait.This is pretty common in waters I've fished in both NY and CO.
QuoteSince there is no cover the bait fish move more, which forces the bass to hunt rather than ambush.There has to be some way for prey fish to escape predation, otherwise there wouldn't be any left -and you'd have small, skinny bass. This is not uncommon in small ponds with little cover. I'm wondering if these ponds have a shallow shelf rimming them, as the primary cover, making the shoreline, as I think you describe, the key location for hunting bass, but shallow enough to exclude the bass.
Another thought is that you have golden shiners in there, and some are able to grow to mature size somewhere (shelf?). These can be too large to be eaten by most bass in the pond, and are able to crank out young shiners over the course of the year. I believe GS's can spawn more than once a year in the south.
Just some thoughts.
That sounds good
Paul Roberts reply :
Structure/Cover has several "functions":
Structure/cover creates a diversity of environmental elements that create/support a diversity of life forms that are the food chain. You need a lot of links to grow mature bass.
Cover is a place for those links to escape predation.
Bass know, and learn, how to exploit that cover when feeding. Anglers do too.
While bass can be caught other places, they are most vulnerable at those locations.
Pressure can and probably will rear it's ugly head, but under proper conditions and with good presentation skills, you can work around this. Those same areas will still be where the bass are most vulnerable. Another one, if the water is shallow enough, or clear enough, is the surface film -and it's everywhere. A topwater worked appropriately can usually draw some fish. If away from the usual "hunting locations" it may just take some patience.
Tokyo Tony reply :
To add to your theory...
I think another reason why golf course pond fishing is so easy is that the bass are conditioned to people walking around the pond, with no negative cues. They become used to people being around, so they aren't aware that a person can be dangerous to them when that person is armed with fishing gear instead of golf clubs
fishizzle reply :
good point TT
hoosierfisherman reply :
Now I'm gonna have to fish the golf course down the street....
LCpointerKILLA reply :
QuoteTo add to your theory...I think another reason why golf course pond fishing is so easy is that the bass are conditioned to people walking around the pond, with no negative cues. They become used to people being around, so they aren't aware that a person can be dangerous to them when that person is armed with fishing gear instead of golf clubs
that is very true
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