City/Urban Ponds

[DarkShadow]

City Ponds are an interesting breed. I have the luck to live about 5 minutes from a couple, and it's always an experience.



The particular one acre pond that I fish most of the time has very little cover. There is absolutely zero hardcover except for the piping that manages this place's great circulation, and the trenches that were laid for the pipes. The circulation is so good, that I'm surprised it has a decent population of threadfin despite its size. There is grass that grows sparingly as well, as the lake is dyed with a biodegradable compound which reduces how much sunlight can penetrate the water. Other city ponds around me already have a thick muck of all sorts of grass and slime, while this one has a very reduced amount.

There is current at this place, produce by a circular design of water pumps that dispel water in a key location that recirculates the entire lake.

The bass fishing? Not so bad! Some good days, some bad days, but I've become friends with a lot of the locals, so when the bite isn't that good, we're always shootin' the $hit. Im there pretty much every day, since I take my lunch break there, since I WFH.

And, this place is pressured. These fish have seen it all, and I've told people that if they can catch fish here, they will be able to go to our larger lakes and have success.

Anybody else fish a large concrete swimming pool with bass that get a lot of pressure? Do you seem to change your approach from what you would normally fish at a larger more natural lake? Any weird baits or patterns that have given you success?

[Hobie-Wan Kenobi]

Not for bass but, I fished an area in Missouri quite a bit they stocked rainbow trout in a spring that flows into a river. Fish are trapped from a wall.

Many people fish it. Ultra clear water and the fish have seen it all. I struggled at first coming from Northern Michigan where trout streams are abundant and little pressure in most.

I had to refine my approach. I stood far back from the bank and casted tiny spoons. I started hooking up right away. I think the thin line mixed with standing far back made it a success.

It isn't the same as what you are after but, sometimes just minor tweaks are needed. Tiny topwaters would probably work. Don't be afraid to work lures like small jerkbaits slow then erratic. Could either draw an eating bite or, possibly a reaction strike.

[toddmc]

Current or water movement is the key with tiny ponds. When you have it, you will usually have better forage and fishing. Find what the main forage is and go from there. I've been fishing city ponds and golf course lakes for over four decades. There is so much info out on the internet now that it's getting harder and harder to find something that the fish haven't seen. The kids today have way more options than I did. It blows me away how the kids that frequent my golf course ponds have all the lure categories covered. I would go finesse if you aren't getting bit. The slim Senko is one of the slowest falling plastics out there, and it will usually catch fish when nothing else will, but the fish get conditioned pretty quickly. Fishing at night is another option. Fishing at night with baits that the fish don't regularly see (maybe wake baits) gives you your best shot at success. I'm not a live bait fisherman, but using those shad or bluegill will give you a better idea of what the fish population is. I can't bring myself to do that now, but I did it as a kid.

[DarkShadow]

I remember in the age of 8 tracks, there was a study done on bass, that I may have seen in those old Bassmaster magazines. They put them in those big collapsible above ground plastic pools, with zero structure. Nada. The fish milled around aimlessly around the pool. Then they put a big black stripe on one edge of the pool. Guess where all the fish ended up.

It's funny that the old adage of, "95% of the fish live in 5% of the water" holds true pretty much anywhere.

It's been a better part of 2 years since I started fishing this place. Largest fish has been a 7.2, that ate a JDM bladed jig. Second largest has been a 6.8, and it ate a small Texas rig. Putting in time makes all the difference.

There is quite a variety of forage at this place, including threadfin. Depending on the time of the year, they'll wolf pack and chase forage. Whether it be the shad, or the fry that they seem to be focusing on this time of year. The cannibalizing that occurs at this place is pretty high as they seem to be eating bass fry. It becomes difficult for the post spawn simply because the fish seem to be roaming, instead of sticking to the man made structure that they usually sit on during other times of the year.

I wish this place had more crayfish. It would definitely help out and provide the fish another food source

[MK49]

Ponds fishing "was" pretty interesting to me, as well. There were 5 ponds in one area, 5 minutes from where I used to live. I fished there 6 days a week for about 2 years. It's like I woke up, went fishing and went to work. It was easy and simple. That was about 16 years ago. There was not much fishing pressure there, which was weird, considering over 1 million people lived in the city. I hardly ever saw another fisherman early in the morning. The biggest bass I caught there was only 6lbs, but I pretty much always caught at least a few bass everyday, mostly on topwater. What was interesting to me was the day to day difference. I was very curious about the changes (weather/season), and how they affected bass fishing. That's why I fished almost everyday, even through winters.

Then, we had a drought, and 3 out of the 5 ponds had no water at all. The two ponds that I mostly fished were completely dry. That really sucked. So, I started fishing another pond in a park, about 20min from my home, again 6 days a week in mornings. That pond had a lot more pressure (and, bigger bass), and I had to use my spinning tackles. I got to know a few kids there, because we fished there a lot.

Then, the pond had some water problems, and they didn't allow us to fish there anymore. So, I went back to a lake, where I fished since the 90s, and never looked back. Ponds fishing was easy, just go there and start fishing, but I just didn't like to see no water in the ponds, very sad, or they didn't let us fish there anymore. Just thought about those kids I used to see. They were too young to drive, so I'm not sure where they went to fish, when we couldn't fish the pond.

So, my story of pond fishing is kind of sad. I don't want to feel the same way, so I don't go to ponds anymore. I wish I could find a new good pond to fish around my new house, though.

[Nektarios]

There are some ponds in Toronto that you can catch fish on but it is heavily pressured.
Some people fish Lake Ontario from shore or on the small islands short ferry ride away and have success. Have seen big northern pike and carp getting caught this way.