Page 22 - 2024MarApr

Studying fish movements and behavior in ponds
WILDLIFEDEPARTMENT.COM can teach an angler about movement and behavior
in larger bodies of water. The same environmental
factors apply in both places, but the changes usually
occur more slowly in larger impoundments.
Pond fishing though, isn't just a training ground
for bigger things. It can stand on its own merits as a
productive, enjoyable kind of fishing.
For the boatless angler, farm ponds present the
best chance of catching a lunker largemouth bass.
Many bass weighing 5 pounds or more are caught
from ponds by anglers walking the shores. Each
pond is unique, however. One may produce three or
four 5-pounders. Another may give up only a single
fish, perhaps a big-bellied 1-pounder. The next may
not offer up any lunkers but may provide dozens of
strikes on as many casts. Still another might be a
mediocre bass pond, but instead yield dozens of
whopper bluegills or redear sunfish, or a basket full
of chunky channel cats.
A pond's virtues may loom larger to one fisherman
than another. A black bass devotee may consider a
clay-red western Oklahoma pond worthless. But to
a 10-year old with a can of garden-dug worms or a
scrap of beef liver for bait, that same pond might be
A quiet farm pond is KICK OFF FISHING SEASON AT
a great place to begin a treasure trove of hungry bullheads that can turn a
fishing in the early spring. FARM POND boring afternoon into a cherished memory of youth.
Oklahoma fishermen are blessed with a seeming- Many rural landowners will share their ponds with
ly limitless fishery resource called farm ponds. friends and guests. Some ranchers and farmers who
Springtime is prime time to take advantage of the guard their precious coveys of quail or who very
opportunities provided by these waters, for farm grudgingly parcel out permission for deer or turkey
pond fishing action usually warms up a few weeks hunting might willingly allow strangers who ask per-
ahead of that in the state's major reservoirs. mission to fish in their ponds.
A few days of springtime sun is all it takes to push A myth has circulated for years that says land-
the surface temperature in a small pond up into the owners who get any kind of government financial
high 60s or low 70s, even though the surface tem- assistance in building ponds must allow the public
perature in nearby major lakes may still be in the to fish those ponds. That isn't true. There's anoth-
low 50s. When the shallows of ponds warm up, bass, er myth that says any pond owner who accepts fish
sunfish and crappie all move up to feed. from the Wildlife Department for stocking a pond
A small spinnerbait or jig-and-grub fished on must open the pond to the public. That isn't true
shallow flats or upwind shores can often pay off either. Owners of ponds on private property are
handsomely at this time of year. Wind direction not required to grant access to the general public
and sunshine play an important part in pond fish in either case.
behavior in early spring. In periods of sunny weath- Resource management agencies do encourage
er, winds push sun-warmed surface waters to the pond owners to allow fishing, but allowance might
downwind side of the pond, and that is a good be only for friends or family, not the public at large.
place to search for active fish. There may be a differ- The important thing: Always ask permission and
ence of 10 or 12 degrees in the water from one side abide by the landowner's wishes. Being courteous
of a pond to the other. and cooperative can go a long way toward getting
By the same token, if air temperatures drop for a invited to fish again.
day or two, the wind can push chilled water across Farm ponds are an excellent place to kick off
the pond to the downwind shore, and the fish could the new fishing season, and there's no time like the
go back to deeper water or to the lee shore. present to give one a try.

20 OUTDOOR OKLAHOMA