Been meaning to ask this for a while.  I tried a new pond the other day and there were TONZ of turtles.  They kept popping their heads out of the water and looking at me.  I only caught one fish the whole time I was there.  

I'm wondering what the presence of turtles can tell you in terms of whether or not fish are around, or even in the body of water at all.  I was fishing what looked like some prime cover areas with a Trigged worm, then Trigged minnow, and got the fish on the minnow.  Barely any hits.  I was going real slow with my retreive...should I bump it up a notch??  I also tried a rebel popR with no luck, and a jitterbug, with no luck.  Had caught two bass right around dusk a week ago on a pond about a mile away on the black jitterbug.  Love the jitterbugs for dusk!  

Main question though, what, if anything, can turtles tell ya??

Every pond I fish has hundreds of turtles, maybe thousands!

I don't think they mean anything to fishing.

8-)

Every pond I fish has hundreds of turtles, maybe thousands!

Thats a lot of snappers!  

I have some in my pond as well... last count I had was 10 I saw at once with their heads out of the water... quite a few fish in the pond here... but then again, they are smaller turtles.

Mine are huge and sun themselves on a spillway. Not counting any in the water or any other part of the pond, I will have 100-200 just in that area.

8-)

We have hooked alligator snapping turtles on accident that were WELL over 100 pounds while fishing for trout and reds.

Maybe it is all in my head, but I never do as well when there are a lot of turtles in the spot I am fishing.

Actually turtles can tell you something sometimes. It isn't much though.

Turtles like to hang around brushpiles or other big pieces of cover usually, because there are a lot of fish and other creatures there and their chances of getting a dead organism for dinner is higher.

So, if their are a bunch of turtles around you can bet their are a few brushpiles around.

Turtles...he he he!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CKiGXBYLk8&feature=related

I had to post this.  This video is so funny.

Actually turtles can tell you something sometimes. It isn't much though.

Turtles like to hang around brushpiles or other big pieces of cover usually, because there are a lot of fish and other creatures there and their chances of getting a dead organism for dinner is higher.

So, if their are a bunch of turtles around you can bet their are a few brushpiles around.

I knew there presence had to indicate at least some small piece of info.  This place that I was fishing for the first time definitely had cover all over the place, predominantly in the form of vegitation that was growing into the water.  I'm not great at identifying flora but some type of mountain laurel-ish stuff that had dense, woody roots growing 10-15' out into the water.  

I'm not sure it's worth trying again.