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Is it a good time to fish after heavy rains raise pond levels

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So the ponds in my community are higher than usual since it rained in south florida for almost two days straight, does this mean fish are closer to shore since there’s more water? And is it a better time to fish? since all the nutrients and bugs that got flushed in when it rained? Also can someone explain to me when i know it’s a good time to fish like the pressure and etc of the moon

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Go fishing. Find out. Arrive at your own conclusions. 

  • Super User

Worst fishing experience I've had is when lake levels are being lowered for maintenance......the opposite when levels rise. 

The fish prefer stable conditions when possible (don't we all?) But it isn't as though they have gone just because it rained, it will be a different pattern of behavior from before, and you'll have to put in the work to find out which pattern it is, but the basic process will remain the same, it has been my experience that as water levels are on the rise the fish tend to push as close to the bank as they possibly can, sometimes to the extremes of tossing lures on the opposite bank and dragging them 6-8 inches into the water and they get smoked, I think that the general answer to the question posed by the first seven words in this threads title is "Yes."

Yes, try fishing the "new" shallow water, especially when it is on the rise. 

FM

  • Author
1 hour ago, 813basstard said:

Go fishing. Find out. Arrive at your own conclusions. 

wish i could go fish, stuck inside for online class lol

I literally fish a similar pond, go try it man, the fish are probably around the pipes that feed the runoff into it, (if your pond has pipes) don't be surprised if the bite sucks though, the fish might be suffocated with fresh food and easy access to it with rising water. I personally do better when the water is in a period of lowering over a few days. Baitfish can hide more in places the bass can't reach. With flooded water like that it's open season and the baitfish are everywhere. 

  • Super User

In my experience high water almost always gets fish moved up to the shoreline. If you still have water coming in fish near wherever its dumping into your pond. Fish seem to stack in and around he current in that situation. Spinner bait or square bill should get bites.

If you have drain pipes, from my experience bass are waiting in ambush near the pipes after heavy rains.

4 hours ago, mikey z said:

If you have drain pipes, from my experience bass are waiting in ambush near the pipes after heavy rains.

This x 2. The one "feature" in my otherwise featureless subdivision HOA pond is an inlet pipe from the storm sewer system. I can usually find a few sitting there after a good rain.

 

BTW, at least in my pond, there are some larger rocks underwater in the pond where that pipe comes in. I would guess they are there to cut down on erosion when there is a heavy rain. That is about the only structure in this pond, and I would think this is a common construction feature for other retention ponds.

I went fishing yesterday after all the remnant rain from Zeta moved in, pond banks were flooded, caught bass, crappie and brim, go fishing whenever you like!  Rain washes stuff into the water fish eat it along with bait you throw.  I caught one bass and brim in shallow water, the rest mid depth, couldn't reach deepest water so don't know but they most likely would have bit there too.

When I was a boy in South Florida, I used to fish a lot of small ponds and rock pits. When water levels rose after a period of low water, the fish would turn on initially.  After the water stabilized, fishing would decline for a period of time.  As a general rule, fish follow the water.  This holds true in big lakes as well where rising water means good fishing and falling water is generally poor.  The exception to this is in the Everglades canals where low water pulls all the fish off the flats and into the canal. Some of the craziest bass fishing I have ever seen has been when the water is low in the Everglades. It's nothing to catch a hundred fish in a day.

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