Help With Pond Fishing

[abraham3660]

Hello, this is my first post on this forum so I am sorry if I have posted in the wrong place. I am wondering if you could give me any tips or tricks on fishing this private pond that is located where my dad works. The pond is relatively big and is stocked with largemouth bass. I would say the water is clear compared to a lake, but it is still muddy. There is no structure in the pond and there is almost no vegetation around the pond. It is basically wide open. I'm sorry I dont know very much about the pond. All fishing is done from the shore. I have caught smaller bass, but I know there are big bass in the pond. I am wondering if you have any advice on what bait to use for this location. It is located in central indiana if that is any help. Thank you for your time

[floridabassman]

You just need to try out baits and find patterns. If you are trying to locate the big bass in the pond then i would suggest using jigs, big t rigged worms, swim baits or spinnerbaits. But i would just try different baits and see what works best in the pond. Once you get familiar with the pond, you will start catching bigger fish.

Hope this helped.

[YakenMax]

Look at water temp air temp wind water clarity then carefully choose the best colors and what works for those conditions

[Tyfisher]

In my experience weightless soft plastics seem to rule the pond scene. Keep it slow and always be watching your line and you'll soon catch something and can begin to figure out where they're at and what they want.

[Sam]

Abe, YakenMax is right on target.

 

This is what I want you to do:

 

1.  Have some 6 or 8-inch needle nose pliers with you at all times. Use them to remove hooks.

2.  Have your fishing license with you at all times.

3.  Purchase a swimming pool thermometer to note the surface water temperature.

4.  Have a pack of #213 (Junebug color as in Purple with Emerald Flake) Senkos and #2 or 1/0 weedless Eagle Claw hooks. The Senkos can be 5 or 6-inch versions.

5.  Rig up a spinning rig with 8 pound flourocarbon line and the Eagle Claw (or other brand of weedless hook) without a sinker.

6.  Go on YouTube and note how to set up a Wacky Rigged Senko and do the same.

7.  Get some amber polarized sunglasses.

 

Now you have a Wacky Rigged Junebug Senko (Junebug is good for stained water) on a spinning rig with your needle nose pliers with your license in your pocket and good sunglasses on your nose and you are ready to go.

 

When you walk the bank be invisible and silent. Take small steps and walk at least 50 feet from the bank as you move around. Start to cast your bait into the water from about 10 feet from shore and then walk quietly to the bank to continue fishing that one spot.

 

You fish in a "fan" pattern.  From right to left and then let to right about 10 feet from where you threw the bait the time before. Do this at least two times from every spot you stop to fish from the bank.

 

Keep your eyes open for ANY water disturbance that shows where the bass is feeding or sunning themselves. If you see the water move throw to that area.

 

Hit the pond at daybreak and also fish to dusk.

 

Try to find any underwater structure like a tree, rock, small stick-up, bush, rocks on shore, a small point into the water. Anything out of the ordinary and fish that structure hard.

 

Throw you Senko out and feel the bottom by reeling it in slow. Are there any dropoffs that the bass are using as their main highway to swim around the pond?

 

Everytime you catch a bass put a mark on the map of the pond you are going to make. Don't care if it is a dink or a 10-pounder. Make a map of the lake and mark it showing where you caught or lost any bass.

 

Central Indiana may be in the spawn stage. Check the water temperature to see if it is in the 60's. If so, the bass may be on their beds and you will not be very successful.  If that is the case go home and enjoy the 500 this weekend.

 

When fishing a Senko watch your line. It will move when the bass picks it up. If the bait starts to feel heavy but the line has not moved you set the hook. Sometimes a bass will hold onto a Senko and just hover in place. Reel in the slack and set the hook hard over your head.

 

Now, you are ready to graduate to the Texas and Shaky Head rigs. Then go for topwaters early in the morning and late evening. #5 Shad Raps may produce some bites. Once again, check out YouTube for rigging and fishing these applications.

 

Just be prepared to catch a lot of dinks in case they have taken over the pond. If this happens you can catch the mother but it will be difficult. She will be in deeper water and will swim to the bank to get warm or to feed. Then it is back to deeper water.

 

You can experiment in the pond by throwing bream and bluegill baits to check out the pond for forage. If you catch a good amount of bluegills or bream you know what the bass are eating so mimic those colors and bait styles.

 

Before you use your parents money to buy more fishing stuff please ask us for our input. The guys in the tackle stores may not fish and they want to make a sale so they really do not care what you buy. But we care what you buy so please ask us.

 

Please add your location to your avatar.

 

As a beginner check out the articles and Woo Daves web page, www.woodaves.com for Woo's articles.

 

You will have a lot of fun learning bass fishing this summer and we are here to help you. So don't give up; keep asking us for our input; use our parents money (not your own) for fishing stuff; and read, read and read some more.

 

Tight Lines!

[Sam]

One last tip.

 

Get some bricks or cinder blocks and throw them into the pond about three to five feet from shore.

 

You can throw three to four bricks or one or two cinder blocks together to form a small structure on the bottom.

 

Mark your map where you are throwing these items so you will not forget.

 

The bass will come and hold on them.

 

Don't let anyone know where you have sunk your "structure" in that pond.

 

Give it a few days to attract the bass and then go catch them.

 

Repeat this along the bank as many times as you can.

[Grizzn N Bassin]

^^^x2^^^^... once u find them through some jigs out there I do well with black and blue.. green pumpkin with purple flake.. be quite at all time the pond bass get spooked and in my experience with shut some bass down from eating.. and try to fish the pond really hard.. I like to give it a break and go.to different ones. Then go back.. but if its big enough you can fish different spots and you should be fine

[Grizzn N Bassin]

Try not to fish if really hard****

[roadwarrior]

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/13845-guaranteed-to-catch-bass/

[Marty]

Get some bricks or cinder blocks and throw them into the pond about three to five feet from shore.

 

You can throw three to four bricks or one or two cinder blocks together to form a small structure on the bottom.

 

 

To each his own, but I wouldn't feel comfortable tossing stuff into someone else's pond.

 

For the bigger bass that you know are in there, I'd try bottom lures during the day and topwater, crankbaits and spinnerbaits at night and during low light conditions.

 

I've never had opportunities to fish private ponds, but wish that I had.

[Grizzn N Bassin]

Yeah I put about 4 Xmas trees.. some big branches, stumps , 6 logs of standing timber around my big private pond. Everything holds fish but the big stumps have gotten me some big fish.. the pond is about a 100 yards long and about 70 yards across.. I recommended putting cover in for some great fishing

[Squirmin Wormin]

in my opinion, just go and experiment, you'll find the formula to that pond,

[BigMoneyGrip]

The first thing you need to use is stealth. And the smaller the pond, the more stealth. I have a few small ones (less than an acre) that I fish. Most of the time I will wait about 10 minutes before I make a cast, just to let things settle down.

[LApanic]

A good way to poke around to find out if they're is any submerged timber, rock etc and to gauge the depth on different areas of the lake is to spend a slow half day dragging a carolina rig around and see what you bump into.  If you use a 1/2oz or better weight, you can get some pretty good distance and slowly drag looking for "trash" aka, bottom irregularities and depths, you'll just have to pay close attention to your line and how much goes out and how long it takes for it to go slack on the surface for depth...another trick for this is to put the line over your index finger and make sure it has good contact to the side of your finger right outside the level wind.  I worm fish this way 100% of the time and find it's a good habit to get into for sensetivity.

 

If the water has a slight stain to stained water and big bass, throw a Junebug or Junebug Red Zoom Ole Monster 10.5" worm on the carolina rig and you might just land you a staunch dragging around.

 

I could go on and on, but the last little nugget I leave you would be Google Earth!  Find the pond on google earth and roll back the history slider to years past and you might find a lot of good info that will help.  Especially if you can find a time where the water was low or real low to see more of the contour of the pond and look for structure and irregularities also.

 

Bass do roam but have to relate to something like vegetation, structure/cover, sharper changes in depth (ditches, flats, etc) so if you can locate anything above, thats a good area to start and see what you come up with.

 

Good luck...fish it often...keep a log if you can remember spots, baits etc, and just dissect it till you find a pattern...one clue at a time