Why no fish??

[caw2277]

I have a 4.5 year old pond about an acre in size and around 15 feet deep.  Well stocked with bass, catfish and bluegill.  I ice fished on it for the first time in year 2.  The fish were small but the bite was excellent.  I always caught all 3 species at rates of approx. 10 fish per hour.  As my fish have multiplied and grown (bass up to 4 pounds, catfish 5 plus and bluegills up to 9 inches) my ice fishing catches have declined steadily.  The fishing during the summer is excellent.  I've tried shallow, deep, weedline, etc.  At last ice a few weeks ago, I only caught 3 catfish in 2 days!  I'm generally using jigs with redworms or mealworms.  Where are the bluegill??  I had the same issue last year for the 1 day the ice was good enough.  I have noticed when I have kept/cleaned fish that they are full of snails.  That is all I find.  My only guess is that whatever they are eating in the winter they are so single minded and conditioned to eat whatever it may be that they hardly look at my bait.  It's a small pond for god's sake!  They can't leave...I'm sure I'm contacting fish but they refuse to bite.  I'm so excited to fish this weekend but I don't want to be disappointed again.  Any suggestions or explanations?  By the way, I checked the ice yesterday.  4 inches of clear, hard ice.

[wballard77]

-Have you treated the pond with chemicals? if so what? there could be a problem with pH, dissolved oxygen, ammonia or nitrite. That slows the metabolism down further than the cold alone.

-Is your pond feed by a stream or other water source?

-Is your pond overstocked.

-water clarity? clear,stand,muddy?

-what vegetation do you have in the pond?

-do you have a flasher or camera?
 

 

[slabslayer]

I've read the posts in both locations of this thread.  My dad's pond is similar.  There are gills from 2-13". To get the bigger ones, over 8-9" takes some work.  His water is clear, so the fish are spooky.  I don't use my vexilar because of the noise. I only use my camera, this is where the camera shines. Like you said, there's only so many places they can go, and likely you know the pond well. Often the key for bluegill on the ice is to go small.  Use smaller offerings like a gill pill or a pinmin. Give them different profiles to look at also, some lures are designed to fish vertically, others horizontally, they will prefer different lures at different times, sometimes all in one day.  Fishing depth can depend on light, panfish tend to be vertical movers, meaning they'll feed shallower in lower light(morning, evening, night) and will move deeper during periods of higher light penetration. Also your live bait, try a single spike on your lure, as smaller is often king.  And I agree with the poster who said go light.  Most of my gill fishing is done on a super light dead stick panfish rod with 1 pound test.  And the best advice is never quit moving, drill, drill, drill until you find them. Sometimes I'll drill 30 holes before a lure sees the water. And if your primary food source is freshwater snails maybe start fishing near the bottom, as this is where the snails will be hiding.