Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Freeze/Thaw Freeze/Thaw!

My ponds opened up completely for the third time today but temps are dropping into the 20's and low 30's for highs this week with lows in the teens.

It sure was nice to see the ponds completely open this morning but it's short lived.

I think I'm going on the 4th freeze of the ponds. Weird winter!

The important question are the fish biting when the ice is off??? If so what presentation were you using?

I went out fishing this past Saturday & Sunday and didn't catch a darn thing...But then I've never had much luck this early in the season. I guess I just don't know how to find the fish shortly after ice-out.

Hopefully, my beloved crappies and bass will soon move into the warming shallows--I need fish!

I checked my records - we've already been frozen and thawed here four times this Winter. Frozen intervals were for 15 days, 29 days, 3 days, and 3 days. Fifth freeze has to be coming tonight or tomorrow night.

I caught three LMB on Feb. 15, with a Blue Fox Vibrax running VERY slow. It was like 64 degrees and sunny that day - the bass were places where I was typically finding them last Fall.

Tim: When the water is cold your retrieve should be very slow. When you think you are fishing it slow enough slow down some more!

I don't do any fishing for my bass in winter unless I plan to keep them. It's too hard on them. My feed trained bass seem to be more prone to stress in winter than fish that feed on natural feed.