Well, it's been a couple months now since our purchase in late December. The neighbors warned me that while the house was in foreclosure for about 6 months, the locals fished the pond out.
Previous to that, they said the frequently caught hand-sized bluegills, 10" bass, and a 8lbs channel cat. They said fish weren't big but were abundant....usually catching one on the first cast.
Well, I've fished it at least a dozen times now throwing everything from small grubs, beetle spins, crank baits, plastic worms, crappie jigs, etc, etc...even minnows on a hook. Not so much as a sniff. I haven't had the first bite.
I did set out a minnow trap and have caught 6-7 small 1 inch blue gill. I see a LOT of minnow fry in the water (haven't caught them in the trap yet).
I really don't want to drain the lake...that's pretty drastic for me. I did find a local company that does electric shocking to survey the living fish in the pond. Does anyone know what they may charge to do this (ballpark)? I haven't contacted them yet. The pond is only about 3/4 acre and 1/2 of it is only about 2-3 feet deep so if there are fish, they shouldn't have a hard time tracking them down.
