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So I went fishing at a stocked private pond, where it was catch and release only. I ended up catching a fish every other cast (about 60 fish). I've realized that my problem might be related to a lack of fish in the waters I fish. How would I go about finding waters with more fish?
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Take a look here:
http://www.eregulations.com/connecti...g/lakes-ponds/
Hopefully, you live near some of these waters and can wet a line in some of them.
I fish the Connecticut River in Vermont, pretty sure it would have even more crappie two states south of here. Pay attention to setbacks, bays, etc.
here in this neck of the woods we have alot of HOA ponds that are teaming with fish . most of them are ketch and release and it is often difficult to get permission to visit them but that might be an idea.
the next spots i would explore if i were you are the "difficult" spots the general public avoid . some of the toughest spots to get to have good numbers of fish in them .
and there is also the ole right in front of your eyes spots that people think dont hold fish as well . some tiny water places have been very kind to me over the years . those little bitty shallow creeks often have good numbers of fish in the deeper pockets of water .
and last but not least , duck ponds ....some duck ponds are flat full of fat fish that sit under the ducks eating the crumbs .
You either have to go searching to eliminate all of the water that doesn't have fish, or you have to find a way to attract the fish to where you are at if legal. I've never seen or considered doing it, but I've heard of people baiting a spot over time with food (dog food or cat food I think) until fish get conditioned into finding food in that area and stay there. I just keep searching until I find them, and some days I don't. I don't have a boat and on the occasions when I rent one it doesn't have a depth finder or any electronics on it except for the trolling motor and battery I bring with me. When fishing on foot I try all of the water I can reach and have to accept the fact that this is limited. I just keep working shallow and deep and moving from one area to another until I start catching fish. There are certain lures and baits I have a high degree of confidence in that if I put them in an area with fish they will bite it. For panfish it is a small black beetle, a bison trout magnet, or a live cricket and if they aren't biting those I assume there are none in the area and I move. The assumption isn't always right as I sometimes fish areas where I know there are fish, but they won't bite until I find something else that triggers them or "matches the hatch", but I assume it will be right when I'm in a searching mode just to eliminate that variable. Getting skunked, even on fertile waters, is a possibility I'm usually prepared for, but fight hard to overcome so as to keep my focus on trying to find the fish. It is true that some waters have more quality fish than others and only experience and news from others can help you determine which ones are the most productive. When I was young there were two ponds within bicycle riding distance that most thought were fished out, but since they were the only water I could fish I went there anyway and started to learn things over time that others never found out about such as where certain fallen trees not visible under the water, certain stumps on points were, flats with schools at maximum casting distance from shore, etc. It took me awhile, but I found out those ponds were far from fished out, the fish just weren't in the easy spots to find. Caught buckets full of bull bluegills and many large bass in those two ponds that almost no one else except the people that were fishing with me had a clue were there.
Don't just drive by bait stores, stop and ask questions. Usually they have info from others to share, if asked.
Thanks for all of the great advice! I found a pond near me on the site linked above, so I'll definitely check that out. I'll also try different locations my local pond to see if there are actually any fish there.
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Wherever I'm fishing new, I ask other people if they know any other spots, and they usually do.
So I took your advice, and decided to try to find the fish at my local lake, and it didn't take long before an 8 inch bluegill was at the end of my line. Just 6 minutes later, I pulled a 13 inch smallmouth out of the same location. I continued to get a bunch of bites there, but I still don't have the hookset reflex built in, but it definitely boosted my confidence a ton.
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:ThumbsUp
Glad you found some and are beginning to get the hang of it!