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During summer I have an abundance of coontail along the edges, and several acres of open water in the main basin. It was said on an other thread that bass marathon runners don't get fat. So here is what I'm curious about... as seasons change and aquatic plants start to dissappear do bass run into a period where they are chasing food too much to gain wt? Or does the vegetation fade away at the same time as the fishes slow winter period?

Of a person wanted to add brush in an attempt to help feed any bass that wanted a winter meal where would they put said habitat?

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Cats I don't know if I have the right answer to your question as this is my first year with the pond. My habitat and structure plan included all areas of the pond.

0-3' depths have cedars and a fallen tree along with all the riprap we've placed.
3-6' depths are chunk rock and spider blocks & various cuts in the bottom for abrupt changes (mostly along the chunk rock). One area in this range has an open water artificial eel grass bed. I think there are (3) humps in that range as well with one of them being topped lightly with 3-5" rock and artificial eel grass.
6-11' (max) depth is where I used vertical habitat with upright trees which are basically in open water.

In the reading and watching of the multitude of youtube videos I did I figured the fish would relate different parts of the pond in different seasons. My deep habitat may not get used in summer but I guessed it would be a sure bet in the winter. Similarly my 0-3' stuff likely wouldn't get used in the winter but I wanted it for the other three seasons.

Species may play into this a little. If you have water deeper than the 6-11' there may be a call for some habitat there. I would guess that the deeper the habitat and structure go the less they are used throughout the year - it also doesn't make them any less important though.

I've watched this one a couple of times. I thought there was some useful info here on what the LMB did and how they related to habitat / structure. LMB movement and focus points


1.5acre LMB, YP, BG, RES, GSH, Seasonal Tilapia
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Thanks Boondoggle, I'll give it a watch!

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catscratch,

Does your watershed lake have water go through the outlet after most rain events? Does your lake have a small diameter pipe outlet that always runs to have a minimum flow requirement pass through into the waterway below your outlet?

I am asking, because if there is water flow, then I think you will have a much greater chance of forage and bass holding in "deeper" water in the summer than most of the members that have significantly smaller ponds. When we got a chance to fish watershed lakes in August, the ONLY bass we would catch in the afternoon were in the deep water where there was some type of structure to serve as fish attractors. As the sun got lower in the sky, the bass would move into shallower structures or even be caught on topwater lures.

After an August rain event in Kansas, I think the entering rain water from your upstream waterway will almost certainly be cooler than your lake water. It will also have some suspended solids to make that water even denser. If water is entering upstream and then subsequently passing through your outlet, then I think there is an excellent chance that well-oxygenated rain water has now occupied the deepest portions of your pond basin. That SHOULD make the deepest portions of your lake attractive to your fish population in the hottest portions of the summer, which is a much different situation from a small pond that does not have a waterway inlet.

I have NO IDEA how long that water will STAY oxygenated and therefore attractive to your fish. (Someone like Bill Cody might know from his academic background, or someone like esshup might know if he has run enough DO measurements in a client's similar lake.)

I would keep adding your upright tree project structure (that you showed with a pic in a previous post). I would deliberately put those in different depths. Keep results of your fishing success by month for each bit of structure you add. Once you find a couple of sweet spots and depths, then spend more effort copying that structure in other portions of your lake.


P.S. I can't remember, did your concrete culverts ever make it into the lake?

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Yep, got the concrete culverts in the lake last winter. Fished them many times this summer and they don't seem to be much of an attractant. Didn't catch hardly any fish in relation to them.

Normally the lake has flow, but the last 3yrs it's gotten very low and is a couple of feet below the drain pipe. I'd sure like to get out of this drought and see things go back to normal.

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Did you put the culverts into a horizontal position?

If so, perhaps adding some of your vertical cover nearby will hold some fish.



P.S. I have seen multiple frog-strangler rains go east of me on the radar over the past six months. I was hoping a couple of those had hit your watershed!

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Yes, the culverts were put in horizontal, and vertical cover was placed on one edge of the area. Wasn't a good fishing spot.

We got enough rain early summer to fill it, but it has been dry since. Our corn ground only made 91bu per acre even though it was 10ft tall. Wrong rains at the wrong times.

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Cats do you have "a good fishing spot" that could be made great with additional habitat?

One of the things I like in the vid I linked was that it showed LMB relating to habitat/structure at different times and even a single stump on a flat became a place that fish keyed in on. It was interesting to see that those same areas didn't always hold that fish but in a few instances the same fish called that same spot home.


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I finally watched that video Boondoggle. I'd seen it before but it's a good watch.
I have put habitat on points and drop-offs related to flats, and near the transition from deep water near the damn to the bank. Several good spots to fish that I've helped, but there are still quite a few spots that I haven't tried to help. Still learning and trying to figure out what the best things to do are.

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All structure decisions should include topography (as is noted in above posts - ridges , channels , humps etc) but should also incorporate time of year fishing. See the structure archive thread. For example, in a pond that may stratify in summer deep structure will be fishless but as the seasons change fish move to those deep locations (water de-stratifies and temps change).
















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