Farm Pond Bass in the Winter

First time poster, long time lurker here.

How do ya'll think a warm front in the winter affects small farm ponds? Last week was in the 30's and the next few days are in the 60's (Then next week goes back to the 40's)..

I try and go a couple times a week and the bite has been tough... Until yesterday. Caught a good bit in the hour that I got to fish. They seem to have turned on a switch for some reason. How long do you think a warm front affects the bass during weeks of cold weather?

Don't know, but plan to find out in the next hour. Got a new kayak and today has been the first reasonable day for me to get out and make sure it floats.

depends on water temps more than anything. If its really shallow and the water gets really cold, on a warm day the fish will become more active since the water temps can raise so easily.

I have a farm pond I fish and its usually a catching pond, but when it get into the 40's for water temps, they shut down.

Teh Wicked said:

depends on water temps more than anything. If its really shallow and the water gets really cold, on a warm day the fish will become more active since the water temps can raise so easily.

I have a farm pond I fish and its usually a catching pond, but when it get into the 40's for water temps, they shut down.

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Pretty much spot on. Water Temp is the number one most important thing in fishing. It'll be pretty slow in the 30-45 range. Then when the water hits about 53 and pre spawn patterns start, it's game on!

Water temp was 49 degrees this afternoon in the pond I fished. Very few bites and only one descent 18" large mouth in the yak.

From all the years ive been at it it usually takes a week or so of warm up to turn them back on after temps in the 30s. One or two days wont help much.

toyota4x4h said:

From all the years ive been at it it usually takes a week or so of warm up to turn them back on after temps in the 30s. One or two days wont help much.

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I fish small lakes in the winter all the time It is when a HAWG can be caught...I can tell you some great basics... First, don't wait for it to warm up... I fish when it is just over freezing, but no ice on lake of course !! I throw a Shad Rap #5 silver-which is black top and silver sided-DIVER. I throw it as far as I can in deeper parts of the lake. I crank it down fairly quick, and slow it WAY down... way down... I just want to feel the shad rap wiggle barely. Do a lot of stop and starts, pause, and most of your hits will be on the stop. I say "hits" but more like a leaf is on your bait. Do NOT jerk too hard..You will jerk it totally away from the fishes mouth. Just lean back on the rod firmly. The bite in cold water is soooo sluggish. You can catch a lot of crappie this way also... My brother will fish a rattle trap bounced slowly off the bottom. On warmer days in the winter, especially the first warm days after a very cold group of days, he throws a big Mepps, and does VERY well. The fish will sit close to the top of the water warming in the sun. Also, a jig is good, but is a little more slow. But try the shad rap--it is DEADLY .. Avoid shallow water on cold days, stay in the deeper parts of the lake(pond) and if you find some fish-you will likely find a LOT of them Good Luck

I think the benefit of fishing a small pond in cold weather is that the slightest increase in water temps can turn the fish on in a hurry. Last year I got to fish a small pond pretty regular during the winter. I caught my two biggest bass (one in my avatar) out of there in Late November and early January, it was cold. But what I learned fishing it so much was as soon as the water temps started to go up just a little, the fish would start feeding. Even when the pond would start to freeze up in the shallows, once the sun came up and started to warm it a little they would start feeding. and It would always be the first bank to get sunlight they would start feeding on. And it wasn't a slow winter bite when this happened. I would catch fish on flukes worked very fast (think spring time aggressive feeding), chatterbaits literally throwing a wake up, and paddle tails fished fast. Watching the water temps go up a degree or two was a very consistent pattern for me in that pond and I have found it to work in others just as well in the winter.