Went back to the pond this past weekend with great success; caught 8 bass with the healthiest looking one being 12 inches long and 14 ounces which comes to a 99% relative weight in the SmartFish app. Once I caught a few I stopped fishing; didn't wanna sore lip more of them since I had the data I was looking for.
My bluegill are spawning in the gravel beds. I caught one big male and then left them alone too so they could get down to business.
At this point, I think it's just a waiting game for me.
One thing I did notice was that certain areas of the pond were just a lot more productive than others. Of the 8 bass, they all came from two distinct locations. 5 were around the dock/feeder and the other 3 were in a corner that has a full tree and an underwater 6 foot brick jetty nearby. Follow the bait = find the fish! It made me consider renovating a few other spots to make them more desirable.
Awesome report, Mr. Lusk says that 90% of the fish may be in 10% of the pond and that changes.
I tag my fish with Floy T-Bar tags and record the weight and where they were caught.
I would have thought that certain fish would gravitate to certain types of cover but it has been pretty random in my pond.
Since you know you are going to catch and release at this point, do you file down the barb on the hook so it's easier to remove? Or as Rod suggested on a previous post just smash it with a good set of pliers.