Pond Full Of Salamanders, Too Much Food?

[kevin24018]

Greetings from S.W. Virginia

I've fished a local pond twice so far, seen some really big large mouth bass (and some small ones) but no luck.  Can't even get the small ones that I can see to bite.  My guess is the food is so abundant they don't need to even move for their next meal.  There are salamanders all over the place.  I was watching a small bass that was a few feet way (probably 10 inches) he'd pick up a salamander and they let it get away, was like he wanted to eat but was too full?  I dropped a few baits to see what he would do.  If I swam one by, it seemed to scare it, but if it left it and hopped it off the bottom a little, he'd come over and touch it with his mouth, then leave it.  The bait was not actually taken into it's mouth.

So is this pond a bust?  

Will the salamanders eventually hibernate or die off?

the pond does get some anglers but I don't think the fishing pressure is real high.

any tips or ideas would be great, thanks!

[CNC Molds N Stuff]

If you just want to catch some fish with what they are eating.  

 

Catch some salamanders and drift them under a water balloon float.  No weight, and just inflate the balloon enough to float the salamander.  Its ok if he can pull it under, but he shouldn't be able to hold it under.  An injured salamander (hook though its tail) will provoke strikes a healthy one will not.  Spinning tackle works well for this as you can cast odd rigs easier and further with less force than you can with most bait casting tackle.  Wind and current can be a tool to your advantage when balloon rigging.  

 

Also, study the pond.  Many farm ponds that were formed with a bulldozer have a slight hump in the middle.  Also, check out the banks.  One of my favorite features is a tiny little ditch where rain water runs in.  Look for a submerged delta just off shore.  For some reason features like that seam to attract feeding bass.  Perhaps because bait that tries to flee down and away is forced back up over the hump.  

 

Fish the pond at different times of day.  Season and time of day both have an affect.  Weather can as well.  On your average hot summer day I've found there is often multiple peak feeding periods.  From lightening sky until the sun gets longer on the water than the shadows in the morning.  Mid morning.  And then mid afternoon when its still hot, but the temperature has broken.  Most people don't notice it, but if they have been out all day some will feel a slight cooling until their body thermostat readjusts.  That mid afternoon bite tends to be slow and steady until it builds around sunset and cuts off as it approaches full dark.  

 

I have caught thousands of bass and more than a few catfish balloon rigging bait before I started to learn to be more proficient with artificials.  Around here its usually threadfin shad if you can catch them, but big fathead minnows, small tilapia, and even red shiners on the rare occasions when you find them big enough can all produce hundred (+) fish days.  

 

... and of course check your local regulations.  

 

I suspect your pond has some locations and times of day that will produce well for you.  

[alsworms]

Bob nailed it with all his suggestions. As your pond sounds somewhat similar to a river we fish quite often, I can also add an old rule of thumb that we live by........

 

If you can see the fish, they can see you.........and often won't bite because of it. 

 

I don't know if you can run a small boat in your pond, but maybe that will help.  Cast towards the shoreline from about 30 to 40 feet out.  They will be more likely to bite something that's dropped in the water if they can't actually see the fisherman.  If you must fish from shore, those fish WILL eventually move into hiding (as Bob mentioned), and you should have better luck that way. 

 

Also, if you don't want to use live bait, matching the hatch is always best.  Maybe use a small plastic salamander or lizard with a red tail or red lip (gives it that injured look, making it easier prey).  Works wonders here in our river.

 

Hope that helps!

[basskat]

I'm not sure where you're at but they could be spawning. Spawning bass will often pick a bait or live salamander up and move it away from their bed. Bed fishing can get under your skin unless the females are locked on and guarding it.

[Anglinarcher]

Waterdogs????? Want to send me a couple of dozen?  LOL  Never mind, in my State that would get me a trip to jail.

 

I do know that "Waterdogs" or "Bombers" or salamanders seem to be less desirable as the critters age later in the year.  I was told that they get a toxin or bad taste to them, but how the person would know that is beyond me.

 

I do miss Waterdogs, they were so much fun to fish with. 

[fishon-son]

let them be and move on to active water.....

[wallybangbang]

In California we have the orange belly salamanders ( or California newt as they are officially called) and they are all over the place in my neck of the woods. I did a search online about them  a while ago and found out they are extremely toxic to fish and even humans when ingested.  A poor kid in Oregon ate one on a dare from his friends and ended up dying. My grandpas  pond is loaded with these things and the bass wont touch them except during the spawn when they grab them and throw them off the nests if they get too close. I had always wondered why I couldn't get a hit when I caught one and through it on a line. Supposedly the larval form of these salamanders( Waterdogs) are not toxic yet and bass love them. Not sure what kind you have there but do a search, they might be toxic to the fish. Grandpas pond has an abundance of frogs and the fishing slows down because the Bass are loaded with them! I've reeled in bass so full they have frogs still half in their mouths!