Farm Pond Gills

[Stickhick86]

Need some help finding gills in a friends pond. It is less then a half acre pond with a max depth of 10 feet. Last season it didn't matter where I drilled, I was finding fish. This season, I can't even buy a gill. I have swiss cheesed the ice and not been able to mark a fish. I am the only one that fishes this pond through the ice. What am I doing wrong?

[Iceassin]

A half acre and 10' deep is really nothing more than big puddle. You say you're the only one who ice fishes it but what about soft water? Could be fished or froze out.

[Stickhick86]

I'm only one that fishes it soft water as well. It is in a friends yard. He doesn't fish anymore so I just go up to control the gill population. I know I haven't fished it out.

[Seamonkey84]

Possible winter kill or something like pesticides got into it?

[Stickhick86]

Highly doubt pesticides. It is in a person's yard well away from where anything would be sprayed. They were there before ice up and now I can't find em

[RyanW]

An underwater camera would answer lots of questions.

[Stickhick86]

I tried my aqua vu, it is a pretty cloudy pond. Saw some largemouth in there but couldn't see the gills. Hope they all didn't die out. I know there were a ton in there late summer early fall. Not enough largemouth to clean em out either.

[Seamonkey84]

They may have switched to a night bite then. If you’ve checked all the depths and known spots Throughout the day, then try an hour before or till after dark and see how you do.

[Ice_Fly_Guy]

Try up in the mid-flats in the 4-7 foot area.  If it is a classic, upside down V-shaped farm pond, I have the most luck finding concentrations of fish in the mid-depth areas not anywhere near the deep side where the dam is.

Although they never really hit it, I often have a live minnow down just to garner some attention from the bluegills.

Another option is to try something really aggressive with rattles to get attention, like a Rapala Rippin Rap.  Use that to attract curious fish, then seal the deal with a normal bluegill offering.

[fishinator]

Otters? Wouldn't take them long to clean out a pond that size.

[crappeye]

Yep otters got in a buddy’s pond and killed everything in it. They just ate the heads off. Don’t take em long to clean out a pond.

[Stickhick86]

I have never seen a wild otter in my life where I live.

[Rugburn]

Had a similar situation in my pond yesterday. Vexilar was going bonkers and not one bite. My wife looks into the hole and sees these 1/2" long needle diameter larvae that must have hatched. The water column was filled with these and that must have been what was making the vex go nuts. We packed up figuring the fish had an all you can eat buffet going.

[Kevin23]

Theres no place to hide in a 1/2 acre pond really. They are either up shallow (could be on the edges in a foot of water if the pond has low oxygen and there is fresh water entering) or they are down deep. If you drilled the entire pond and didn't mark any, i would guess fish kill.

[Iceassin]

Yep otters got in a buddy’s pond and killed everything in it. They just ate the heads off. Don’t take em long to clean out a pond.

Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. Watched one go in and out of an old spearing hole about a half dozen times bringing out a fish each time... in less than 5 minutes.

[Seamonkey84]

Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. Watched one go in and out of an old spearing hole about a half dozen times bringing out a fish each time... in less than 5 minutes.

That just reminded me of this video, animals just don’t know limits or overfishing.

[hnd]

my guess is in late feb/early march, in a pond that small and shallow these fish may be starving for oxygen which means they'll be up shallow. 

we fished a 1 acre pond that was about 8' at its deepest point.  we caught all our fish right under the ice. 

[fishinjohn]

That just reminded me of this video, animals just don’t know limits or overfishing.

That video is HILARIOUS