Location: Tiechert Pond
Time: 12pm-2:30pm
Weather: Sunny with wind around 5-8 mph
Water Temperature: 53-55 degrees

Other Side Of Tiechert Pond

Last Saturday there was a peak in air temperature with highs hitting around 70 degrees. I scouted out the pond earlier to check it out and there wasn’t much going on. The water weeds are still dead and the water was rich in brown tannins which leech from the dead plants.

I blew up my float tube and rigged my rod and set out. The water was pretty cold still around the mid to lower 50s. Although there were signs of life out such as sun bathing turtles, ducks, and geese I didn’t see a single fish in the water. The water was warm on top of the weed beds as the plants were absorbing
the sunlight. The bass and other fish were probably sitting deep in
weeds enjoying the warmth. I threw contrasting colored streamers and a bright streamer to no effect. Fishing both deep and shallow, structured and open water, drop offs and weed beds, I didn’t get a single take.

My guess is that it is still too early for this pond. Despite the days getting longer and long warming trends the bass will probably not move until the first greens of early spring. Every body of water is different though so I’ll have to time this pond correctly.
I did find potential spawning beds and was able to float to the other pond. Its pretty shallow all around and it would be a great place to fish the beds later in the spring. Just need to wait it out.

Conclusion:
-Its not quite prespawn time yet. The water needs to warm up just a little bit more. I’ll be keeping an eye on the weather.
-Although I hated fishing in the wind, I understand the benefits of it now after fishing Pyramid Lake. The fish are less spooky when the water is broken. You just don’t want to fish in super windy conditions.
-I am also considering daylight hours as a possible indicator of the spawn time. As of right now the amount of daylight hours is pushing 10 hours and from what I’ve read the bass like to spawn around 11 hours of daylight.

Other fishing has been slow. Flows are really starting to feel the effects of the drought. We really need rain now.