It hasn't rained around here for over 2 weeks and the water level in the main pond I fish is down a lot. Its a very small pond and I can almost see the bottom in some places. I haven't had any luck at all recently at this pond and I am curious if there is something I should do differently. Thanks

This can actually be good. It consolidates fish making them easier to find and may make prey fish more available to them.

A major tactics change would likely be the increased importance of stealth.

Paul in right on the money....and early morning or late evening or at night might be the best times for better activity levels.

Big O

www.ragetail.com

Should I try fishing just the deeper spots? I usually stay with the more shallow spots in this pond.

Should I try fishing just the deeper spots? I usually stay with the more shallow spots in this pond.

YES.

Should I try fishing just the deeper spots? I usually stay with the more shallow spots in this pond.

YES.

X2 unless at night can be shallow too

Big O

www.ragetail.com

look for lures.   ;D

This happened to one of my favorite lakes this year! I was extremely bummed out about it because there were no fish in my usual spots! Mainly because those spots dried out! But...................it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to the lake! I accidentally found the fish stacked on deeper outer weed lines and any available cover they could find! I have never caught so many bass out of that lake as i do now! One bad part is what Paul stated about stealth! I have found that i need to keep the trolling motor on low and make precise/quite casts! BEST OF LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!

look for lures. ;D

BINGO!!!  Some of the lakes got to there lowest point in 5-6 years last summer.  At one lake, between 4bizz and I, we found numerous trout fishing flashers, dodgers, a GL2/Citica combo (Good shape), and outboard, a downrigger/Ball, found 3-4 other combos, lots of lures including terminator spinnerbaits, 1 lucky craft crankbait, a huddleston I lost 2 months prior, and lots of rapalas.  It was sure cool to search the bank in hopes of finding lures.  While 75% of the lures we found were rusted or unusable, there was plenty of salvagable gear.  

Also with the low water level, take pictures and mark waypoints on the GPS of structure and cover that is normally underwater.  Take advantage of the low level and learn the lake!

ditto for central fla.

water down 4 feet in my home lake.  We had some good rain late may / early june, but that was then and this is now.  bad...not to mention a heat wave that's putting temps up near 100 degrees.   Shoooo doggie it be "pass me a cold one Martha" time here on the treasure coast.

Should I try fishing just the deeper spots? I usually stay with the more shallow spots in this pond.

YES.

X2 unless at night can be shallow too

Big O

www.ragetail.com

X3

I guess specifics will depend on...OK ready? lol...

-Water temp (ditto Big O and avid): midday temps breaking 80+ may close down some daytime bass activity, except in waters with LOTS of catchable prey. You being in the south (thanks for entering your location) this may be less an issue, as S waters can produce more food than N.

-How shallow are those shallows? Bass might be excluded from very shallow water and areas with denser cover where sunfishes have the advantage. You'll only know by being there, and things can change with further water level changes and weed bed changes. Keep an eye peeled.

-Prey species: As an example, it's mostly sunfishes, crayfish, and yellow perch here where I fish. Green, pumpkinseed, and small to mid-size bluegills will use the shallows and bass (of appropriate size) may be close. The big 'gills though (and with them the bigger bass) seem to need more depth often the outer weedline and offshore beds. Ditto the yellow perch but they can be more open water oriented, and are more often bottom oriented. Larger crays move deeper in summer into prime craw habitat (cobbles are best, but some burrow into clay, others burrow in the weeds and algae). Smaller crays are left to lesser habitat and get picked off quickly. You can't always predict what's happening, just be aware of the players and the reasons why patterns set up can become obvious -though they may be fleeting.

-Pick areas near food. A deep pocket with a good weed wall (esp ragged with turns) better if with depth changes and substrate changes (esp hard), humps, etc Such an area close to a shallow flat with prey WILL have bass.

Even in a pond there will be key locations. Small ponds, or those lacking in good habitat, may only have one really good spot. Find it and play there. From there it's don't spook em and figure out how to best trigger strikes.

-Stealth: Clear water, bright sun and shallows can seem close to impossible. Lures and even the line landing on the water spooks everything beneath so your every retrieve path is devoid of fish. Fish heavier deeper and/or heavier cover. Cast really high so fish do not see lure in the air. Cast well beyond your target. Keep line off the water immediately after cast lands. Use braid as it lands like cotton thread and does NOT spook fish like all other lines will. In broken cover pitch low and silent. Shut off motors early, drift into areas, and/or make long casts. Bass that don't know you're there can be much easier to dupe. Be paranoid.

Best scenario: Pray for clouds, esp good dark fronts. Make use of afternoon breezes that ruffle the surface. See an area that is wind ruffled, get there. Bc I often have afternoon breezes here, as the afternoon approaches on my shallow ponds I go ahead and rig a buzzbait, and watch for the opportunity to throw it. Some particularly tough days on shallow clear waters, this is where I will make my catches.

Go deep & stay deepit'll solve all your problems

Man tell me about it... its so *%@$ hot here i can't stand to be outside anymore.  If we don't get some rain soon bassfishing is gonna be hell this year.  I Live in the central part of Louisiana and if it wasn't for the backwater from red river, all of our lakes would be dry.  The Hurricane blew out a d**n on the north end of Saline/Larto lake last year and dried up the entire lake.  I heard the backwater made the dam bust again. If so ppl are gonna catch all the fish out just like they did last year because the water is so low the fish have nowhere to go.  But I hate this because it's terrible for our fish population.  I wish we had a fish hatchery on the lake.

Go deep & stay deepit'll solve all your problems

Excellent advice, and succinct too .

Deep is relative. The ponds I fish run 8-15 feet at the deepest with the majority much less. Yet I've noticed that a lot of the bass are found away from shorelines in summer. There are still shoreline related bass (more in some waters than others) but these are more apt to be unresponsive (at least to horizontal pres that require the fish to move for them), and generally smaller, in summer during daytime.

For this reason I fish from a float tube in summer, and this year I finally put a compact sonar unit on my tube -to find more of those difficult to see away-from-shore spots.