Pond fishing in the heat of the summer

Brad White with a crappie that he caught in a local farm pond.

Ken White | Special to the Daily Mail

As my son Brad and I looked over the farm pond, where in the early morning we saw dimpling rises in the weeds along the shoreline.

That was all we needed to see to know there were fish working; so out came the ultra-light fishing gear and the fun started. It took less than an hour before we had all the fish we wanted to clean. It proved once again that farm ponds can save the day when nothing is hitting in the big impoundments.

Some of the best fishing and catching often happens when the heat is on. Many times in July and August ponds have saved the day. It’s amazing just how many ponds are available in Southwest Missouri. Nearly every one of them holds fish from bluegill to channel catfish.

There are several things that make pond fishing good in the heat of summer, including the action you will get by using an ultra-light outfit or a fly-rod.

Many youngsters catch their first fish in a farm pond where they can usually depend on some action. It really doesn’t matter what time of day you fish the pond. Bass fishing is best in the early hours or later in the day. Bluegill will hit anytime of day and often during the hours when insects are busy, and the fish are waiting for one to get close enough to grab a bite.

Regarding when the best time to fish is, a wise old guide once told me that the best time to go fishing is “whenever you can.” If you are like most people, this is when you must fish. True, there are times of the day when fish feed and times when they don’t.

Naturally, changes come with season, weather, and the time of day. Actually, there is no blanket statement to be made other than only by systematically working over an area, hunting for the fish in different places and probing various depths, can you ever be sure if the fish are feeding or not.

High barometer, low barometer, wind direction, none of these affect fishing individually, but collectively they combine to produce various effects. One is during a cold front. Here is the dirty villain that virtually kills fishing. Don’t believe it? Check it out. Fishing will all but stop for 12 to 48 hours after a cold front. The warmer the water the more severe the effect. After the effect of the cold front has dissipated, fishing will continue to improve until the next one hits. A cold front drives fish deep and they go off feeding.

I remember when Jack Larson, Sedalia, owned two farm ponds about an acre each, where he kept the area around the ponds mowed so it could be fished easily by his grandchildren. He said, “I get a kick when the kids go fishing in the ponds. They always have some action and they learn a lot about fishing.”

From now to October, fishing ponds for panfish and catfish is good; and for even more action try using topwater lures like popping bugs. Glen Walker, Bolivar, recently landed a four-pound bass plus 14-pound big bluegill while using a popping bug on a Hickory County pond. He said, “I saw fish hitting grasshoppers that had fallen in the pond so I put on a yellow popping bug on my fly-rod and the action started.”

As Brad and I recently discovered, the hot weather of July proved the fishing can even get hotter using topwater lures and a fly-rod with a popping bug.

The action of fishing ponds during the heat of summer will soon make you forget the weather.