New Here & Simply Want To Catch A Hawg

[Tacbob]

I live in a small town of ~250 people and we have 5 large ponds in our lake association.  The largest, across from me, is ~8.5 acres, is only 12' at it's deepest point and half of it is ~3-6' deep.  There have been some 5lb LM come out of this pond and I want one of them on my wall.  Sorry to offend but I've been catching and releasing up to 2lb LM's on these ponds for ~20 years and I'd like one lunker for the man cave.

 

There's not much cover, one peninsula, the lenght runs E&W and there's a little shade on 1/3rd of the N side.  Some cat tails and we keep the Milfoil under control w/ herbicide (Reward - that's another post there).

 

Crank baits and worms are my got to baits but the lunker eludes me.

 

Who can help the kid (alright, I'm 50 something) catch his trophy?

 

By the way, I like the site, layout, and attitude here on BR.

[flyfisher]

Sounds like you need to mix it up and try something different.  Big fish don't get big by being dumb.  It may take you many many trips to catch a lunker but you will learn about the lake in the process. Try fishing the lake at differnt times of the day and night with various baits.  In a lake that small you could probably fish the entire thing in a few hours and then head back later and do it again.  This will help you figure out where and when they feed.  It also never hurts to keep a log of your activity, what baits, what time, water temp, weather etc...then when you do catch the fish you can look back and say this is what i did and these were the conditions and try and replicate on the next outing.

 

On a few of hte lakes i frequent i know spots that hold bigger fish and i try and hit them in prime feeding times that i figured out on previous trips.

 

Also a 5lb LM while a good fish is hardly wall material in my oipinion.

 

Good luck!!

[Darren.]

Welcome to the forums!

 

Hey, a 5 pounder is nothing to sneeze at. A nice fish if that's a lunker from your pond!

[Tacbob]

lol  Yeah, I didn't even think about that.  5lbs is a good size bass for me up here in N Indiana.  VA would be very different I suppose.  Thanks for the advice.

[BassAddict1911]

Just remember...Big lure, Big Fish! The pics you see of those guys catching a lunker on a 12'' long swimbait aint kiddin!

[BassAddict1911]

Yup, size is always relative. what seems huge here is a minnow down in FL.

[B@ssCrzy]

Welcome to the site!! I am from Indiana as well.  Are you fishing from shore or on a boat?  If I am fishing from shore my favorite pond fishing technique is buzzing a stanley ribbit parallel to the shore.  Depending on the day will depend on how close to shore you cast.  Sometimes it is only 1 foot off the bank.  But those bass just annihilate it.  Probably because they don't see a lot of them so it is something new.  I have caught some big bass in ponds with this lure.  It's worth a try.

[Fishes in trees]

If you don't care how you catch it, live bait might be the ticket.  Anyone can catch a bluegill and suspend it beneath a bobber.   If you want to get creative, you've got options.

 

Once upon a time in my youth, I was exploring options to try to catch the biggest fish in any body of water.

I experienced limited success.   One thing that did work was I went to the pet store and bought some live mice.   The pet store sold them as python food.

 

Braid didn't exist then, but dacron line did.  I had a fairly heavy 7'spinning rod and a larger spinning reel.  It didn't cast very well, but you could lob a half an ounce or so 30 to 40 feet.  Anyway, I took several rubber bands and secured the mouse to a 5/0 worm hook (the biggest I had).  I didn't get very many strikes, but I did catch a channel catfish that was around 24" long and I caught a largemouth that was slightly less than that.  

 

I just threw the mouse out and let it swim around.  When it got too close to shore, I would retrieve it and lob it back out again.  This was in the early summer, from 6 til about dark thirty or so.   Anyway, you might try that.

[flyfisher]

If you don't care how you catch it, live bait might be the ticket.  Anyone can catch a bluegill and suspend it beneath a bobber.   If you want to get creative, you've got options.

 

Once upon a time in my youth, I was exploring options to try to catch the biggest fish in any body of water.

I experienced limited success.   One thing that did work was I went to the pet store and bought some live mice.   The pet store sold them as python food.

 

Braid didn't exist then, but dacron line did.  I had a fairly heavy 7'spinning rod and a larger spinning reel.  It didn't cast very well, but you could lob a half an ounce or so 30 to 40 feet.  Anyway, I took several rubber bands and secured the mouse to a 5/0 worm hook (the biggest I had).  I didn't get very many strikes, but I did catch a channel catfish that was around 24" long and I caught a largemouth that was slightly less than that.  

 

I just threw the mouse out and let it swim around.  When it got too close to shore, I would retrieve it and lob it back out again.  This was in the early summer, from 6 til about dark thirty or so.   Anyway, you might try that.

Intriguing but it also sounds somewhat like the "drop shot a hula popper" thread too....

[DelfiBoyz_One_and_Only]

This is a easy one TacBob.. Go out there a hour before sunrise or a hour after sunset and throw a big Popper style bait or propeller bait.  Try fishing it slow first then if that does'nt produce go a little bit faster.  Here in Va bass like the poppers a little slower when I was in Florida the faster the better.  Make sure to wear camo or dark colored clothing.  Be warned its a killer technique for spring hammers!

 

 

Jay-

[Koofy Smacker]

Man a 5 lb fish up here is a biggun! 6-7 lbers are a huge rarity which you only see 3-4 times a year. If that. You southern boys have no idea

[Koofy Smacker]

In terms of catching a big one, I have a few local small ponds (ones I can cast half way across with a good wind) and Ive caught a bunch of 4-6 lbers out of them. (none have gone over 6 though). My secret? Fish it, A LOT. Youll find areas that tend to hold the biggER fish, and concentrate on those spots. Ponds are a different animal though where youll be catching dink, dink, dink, big fish, dink. Theres no way to really "pattern" them other than what lure they want. Upsize the bait, and usually sunfish colors work great since they tend to be the main forage for the bigger fish in the ponds since shad are non existant. My biggest out of the one pond actually came off a bed using a Sebile Soft swimmer in a sunfish color. The thing annihilated it.

BTW this pond is only 4-5 ft deep at its deepest, so 12 ft is more than adequate to hide those big fish.

[bonzai22]

Jigs are always a good choice for big bass

[deep]

It's not the "what", but the "where". Sorry if that sounded like a smartass comment, but from my limited experience of chasing big fish (bass), it's true. BTW, is your pond really a pond, or a reservoir? (Does it have a creek channel).

 

Once you located the fish you'd like to catch; I'd suggest fishing there with your favorite baits, slower; and as often as you can during different times of the day..

 

Good luck.

 

 

P.S. I haven't fished a lot this year (too much work); but the two 5+ fish I caught so far came on a jig and the bluegill swimbait you see in my signature. The only three baits I really need. Your mileage may vary. 

[Hyrule Bass]

someone mentioned live bluegill, too lazy to go back and read, but thats a hell of an idea. catch you a small bluegill, about 3-5 inches, put it on a hook and chunk it out. the sound of it jerking your line struggling to get away will draw in the bass, and only the bigger bass will be able to eat it, the smaller bass will come in but usually wont strike if its too big for them to swallow. this is an excellent method for big pond bass...

[Bassfishing375]

Jigs or a swimbait you may not get a lot of bites but you will catch the bigger bass. Good luck.

[Fishes in trees]

Hey, Flyfisher, laugh all you want to.  I thought it was funny at the time.  All I know is that at the time I was looking for an "outside the box" topwater presentation.   It didn't work all the time.  But it did work.   My idea at the time was a "live bait" other than fish or worms.  Oh yeah, the bass got released.  The catfish was dinner for 4.  Gourmet hippie food.

[Tacbob]

Good reading.  Did anyone else trip back into an episode of Tom and Jerry?  My son and I laughed and laughed on rubber banding the mouse.  Great fun.

 

To answer a couple of your questions:

From a sport canoe.  The pond's creek fed with an overflow at the far end.

 

Here's what I've learned:

- I missed a big chunk of my life... how did we get from $5 Rapala's to $20 swim baits?  I had to actually Bing "swim baits" to bring my self into the 21st century.

- Big lure = Big fish

- Gonna get me a Stanley Ribbit and a swim bait as soon as my wife give's me my allowance... and I do her chores.

- Wearing dark clothing.

 

Well, I'm on my way, boyz.  Wish me well and I WILL be reporting back.

 

Now, wherz them rubber banz...

[Maxximus Redneckus]

Not to burst your bubble but u may need luck lol

[Arv]

Jig. All my biggest fish have come on a jig.

[WRB]

A little lazy and didn't read through this thread.

In your region the bass are in pre spawn, meaning the big bass are very catchable.

8+ acre pond 12' bowl shaped, the few large bass will be wary of anyone walking around the shoreline. I can only guess that your pond has a bluegill population and no idea of what else the larger bass have for prey?

So lets focus on bluegill and young bass under 6" as a food source. Crawdads are more than likely a prey source, but they are going to be hidden during day light.

My first choices would be a Matt's lure soft 5" bluegill and 6" baby bass swimbaits. You will need tackle capable of casting lures 1 to 2 oz; med/hvy swimbait rod and reel that can handle 15 lb premium mono.

If you don't have swimbait tackle, then your choice change to big worms, jigs, buzz baits or wake baits.

These require at a minimum medium/hvy standard bass rod capable of casting lures 1/2 to 1 oz and 12 lb premium mono. I would imagine the big soft plastic worm would be your best choice; 8" to 10" worm, 3/16 to 1/4 oz bullet weight, 4/0 Owner #5100 worm hook, Texas rigged.

Fish the big T-rigged worm 1 hour before sunrise to about 9A, then again 1 hour before sundown for about 2 hours.

When you start to see beds in about 1 month, then fish around the beds with the worm.

Let us know what type of tackle you fish with and we can offer some specific lure options suited for your tackle.

Tom

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Man a 5 lb fish up here is a biggun! 6-7 lbers are a huge rarity which you only see 3-4 times a year. If that. You southern boys have no idea

 

From your avatar, you look like a tournament guy. In PA (and most places), you gotta work for big fish. I used to fish tournaments but got tired of it, not really my thing (although I'll still fish if a buddy asks me). Anywho for reference, since I started focusing my efforts on 1 fish instead of 5, I have caught 8 over 6lb and two over 7lb in the last couple years. They are here, but you have to fish for them. I've also seen one, a couple years back, that I know was pushing DD territory. Biggest bass I have ever seen swimming, in person.

 

To the OP, perhaps if you have been releasing 2lbers for that long you might have some bass that are stunted around that particular weight. If you want heavyweight bass, you gotta thin the herd some IMO. Eat some, find someone to give them too or start supplemental feeding on the pond. There is only a limited amount of food in your water. Take some bass out, remove some food competition and you will likely see some larger fish. 8 acres is a pretty good sized pond for you to experiment with. Good luck!

[RoachDad]

Good grief!  I hope this is a joke.

   One thing that did work was I went to the pet store and bought some live mice.  

[RoachDad]

I recently started fishing a farm pond.  I fished ponds as a kid but it had been a long time since I had been on small water and i was doing Spinnerbaits and jigs and all the regular stuff.

 

I decided to catch a few bluegills just for fun and caught a monster LM on a rooster tail.

 

Don't be afraid to go small on ponds.  Rooster tails and Mepps spinners have always been good for me on small water.

 

I have not been back but when I do, I'll be finesse fishing for the big girls.

 

[AndyTN]

My PB was caught on a live Blue Gill in S. Fl some 30+ years ago. My fishing budget was severely limited back then and I could not even afford the live shiners that have always been the ticket down there. Small hook and a bread ball got me the bait, and a larger hook and the blue gill got me a > 9lb bass. Here in TN the largest LM I have yet seen caught approx. 7-8 lbs. from a local reservoir was on a 1" crappie bait with a small gold hook so small baits can work too if presented properly and/or luck is on your side. And a 5 lb LM is a nice fish by any measure.