There is a pond in town (has some local history associated with the local university dating back to the early 1900s), I started riding my bike there and fishing when I was 4. My parents bought a house on it when I was 6, my mother still lives there. When full to the rim, it is about 4 acres. and 15 feet deep in the middle. Not a lot of cover along 1/2 the bank, the rest is a section of reeds and a patch of cypress.
Record bass caught in '78 was 14lbs 13oz on a certified scale. I've caught 20 or so between 8 and 10lbs over the years, and have seen others do the same.
In the late 80s, the pond "turned over" and all the big fish died - hundreds of bass over 4lbs or so, belly up. Of course, when they started decaying the water got bad and took out some of the bigger bluegills, and most of the crappie. The pond recovered.
The 90s started a dry spell - incredible heat, and without the massive flooding rains of summer. The pond shrank. We'd finally get some rain, or a close brush with the remnants of a tropical storm, and the pond recovers.
Again, we had a massive fish kill, not nearly as many big fish as the first, and the buzzards feasted. The pond recovered - barely.
Into the 2000s, the pond got smaller and smaller. Could still catch fish, but the crappie were gone as were the catfish. The bluegills were stunted.
The winter weather pattern changed, no longer a massive rain every week followed by cold clear crisp days, only to cloud up and rain again the next week.
In 2005, we got 2 hurricanes. Mom's dock was destroyed (3rd time), not to be rebuilt. The pond water level was back to where it was in the 70s.
The summers and winters got drier and drier.
In 2010, the pond nearly disappeared. A big mud bog, with a little bit of water in the middle. The pond was on its last legs.
In 2011, the pond dried up. The bowl was covered in grass and weeds, and I was finally able to see the areas that I knew only from years of exploring with a fishing line. I could see the small cuts and culverts that I felt my weighted worms dropping into. I could see the remnants of an oak tree crown where I could usually catch a bass or two. The big flat area on the north side, where the bluegills would bed in the spring months. The massive stump right in the middle... right where that record 14lb 13oz bass was caught.
In 2012, Tropical Storm Debbie passed directly over us. The pond had water again, perhaps a foot deep in the middle, with all sorts of grass and weeds growing out of it. Within weeks, the mosquitoes bloomed. The city dumped a ton of gambusia in the pond, and life started returning.
Since, the "normal" summer weather pattern of afternoon storms has started returning. The pond is now full and looking much like it did 15 years ago, with some changes. The dock on my mom's side is still gone, and her garden has expanded to the edges of the pond. A few new cypress trees are growing, and after dealing with the water lettuce, weed growth from the dry period, and a few downed trees the water is good and cover exists. The gambusia population boomed, and the turtles, bull frogs, and leopard frogs have returned in numbers.
In April 2014, one of the other property owners on the pond paid to have it restocked. 500 juvenile bluegills and 250 fingerling large mouth bass were added, as well as some catfish. I've casually been checking things out since on a regular basis, and noticed that several larger bass had been added and nested on the north side of the pond this spring. With polarized sun glasses, I was able to see the black tails of juvenile bass today.
Since I had a little bit of time to kill, I went to my car (I keep fishing gear there *always*) and setup my ultra light rig with a 1/8oz beetle spin.
On my first cast, I caught this guy - about 2lbs. 3 more casts and I caught 2 juvenile bass that were about 8" long, and I could see many smaller fish chasing my lure.
The pond is back....
Record bass caught in '78 was 14lbs 13oz on a certified scale. I've caught 20 or so between 8 and 10lbs over the years, and have seen others do the same.
In the late 80s, the pond "turned over" and all the big fish died - hundreds of bass over 4lbs or so, belly up. Of course, when they started decaying the water got bad and took out some of the bigger bluegills, and most of the crappie. The pond recovered.
The 90s started a dry spell - incredible heat, and without the massive flooding rains of summer. The pond shrank. We'd finally get some rain, or a close brush with the remnants of a tropical storm, and the pond recovers.
Again, we had a massive fish kill, not nearly as many big fish as the first, and the buzzards feasted. The pond recovered - barely.
Into the 2000s, the pond got smaller and smaller. Could still catch fish, but the crappie were gone as were the catfish. The bluegills were stunted.
The winter weather pattern changed, no longer a massive rain every week followed by cold clear crisp days, only to cloud up and rain again the next week.
In 2005, we got 2 hurricanes. Mom's dock was destroyed (3rd time), not to be rebuilt. The pond water level was back to where it was in the 70s.
The summers and winters got drier and drier.
In 2010, the pond nearly disappeared. A big mud bog, with a little bit of water in the middle. The pond was on its last legs.
In 2011, the pond dried up. The bowl was covered in grass and weeds, and I was finally able to see the areas that I knew only from years of exploring with a fishing line. I could see the small cuts and culverts that I felt my weighted worms dropping into. I could see the remnants of an oak tree crown where I could usually catch a bass or two. The big flat area on the north side, where the bluegills would bed in the spring months. The massive stump right in the middle... right where that record 14lb 13oz bass was caught.
In 2012, Tropical Storm Debbie passed directly over us. The pond had water again, perhaps a foot deep in the middle, with all sorts of grass and weeds growing out of it. Within weeks, the mosquitoes bloomed. The city dumped a ton of gambusia in the pond, and life started returning.
Since, the "normal" summer weather pattern of afternoon storms has started returning. The pond is now full and looking much like it did 15 years ago, with some changes. The dock on my mom's side is still gone, and her garden has expanded to the edges of the pond. A few new cypress trees are growing, and after dealing with the water lettuce, weed growth from the dry period, and a few downed trees the water is good and cover exists. The gambusia population boomed, and the turtles, bull frogs, and leopard frogs have returned in numbers.
In April 2014, one of the other property owners on the pond paid to have it restocked. 500 juvenile bluegills and 250 fingerling large mouth bass were added, as well as some catfish. I've casually been checking things out since on a regular basis, and noticed that several larger bass had been added and nested on the north side of the pond this spring. With polarized sun glasses, I was able to see the black tails of juvenile bass today.
Since I had a little bit of time to kill, I went to my car (I keep fishing gear there *always*) and setup my ultra light rig with a 1/8oz beetle spin.
On my first cast, I caught this guy - about 2lbs. 3 more casts and I caught 2 juvenile bass that were about 8" long, and I could see many smaller fish chasing my lure.
The pond is back....
