Fishing Pressure on Pond Largemouth Bass

As I write, a line of thunderstorms develops to the west, so we cancelled our Apshawa Preserve hike and fishing of Butler Reservoir. Perhaps we'll go Friday.

So instead, I grabbed my favorite rod, tied on a little eighth-ounce Strike King spinnerbait, and walked out in the rain to our neighborhood pond. It's not fishing as well as it has been for years, but I caught two bass in 20 minutes, one of them close to two-and-a-half pounds, the other over a pound.

That's the biggest bass I've caught in a long time and it felt good to connect. I thought the fish was over three at first. I guess this year's a lot like last with the bulk of the larger bass caught in May. If I fished this neighborhood pond hard, I would catch a lot more, but the pressure I would put on it would result in declining catches, even though I've never taken a bass and no else does either.

Bass feel sensitive to lures, especially those that catch them, and after they get caught, it's less likely they'll hit any lure again. I think university studies exist to back this claim. I know for a fact some universities do some very interesting studies with us in mind.

It would be interesting to chug a Crazy Crawler at night during hot weather sure to come again. I think at least one five-pounder exists. A five-pounder got caught and released last fall so it's even bigger if it's still alive. But I don't get worked up about fishing a pond that takes 60 seconds to walk to. Besides, I did try it at night once and got no hits at all. Every time I think of doing it again, I feel that indifference. But who knows.