How To Fish A Pond

[CDMeyer]

I normally fish out of a boat on our lake where I live in the summer, but school just got out and we will only be up there on the weekends until my mom gets done with her teaching (there schools gets out latter) 

I want to be fishing during the week, and there are some ponds where I live that are slews of the Mississippi in Wisconsin, 

• How should I fish these for the first time
• What should I look for
• What should I use
• Can you develop a pattern in a pond 

[Catch and Grease]

I got one word for you, squarebillcrankbaitsaroundcover.

[bigbill]

START off with topwater poppers, then Shallow square A cranks, inline spinners.

Walk up softly through the woods to it. Don't step on tree roots and rocks sticking up out of the ground. Be STEALTHY.

[Violinguy]

Read THIS.  Great post that is especially handy when you're fishing new water from shore.

 

I usually take 2 or 3 rigs with me with the following baits: Plastic worm (Senko, Yum Dinger, Culprit), Crankbait, Inline spinner  (Mepps, Rooster Tail).  The inline spinner is my desperation bait.  It'll catch anything so expect the unexpected (caught my PB rainbow trout with one while bass fishing in NJ).  For a small pond (2-5 acres) it shouldn't take but a couple days (2 hours each day) to find a few spots that have fish.

[Scott F]

Soon after a rain, fish the spot where drainage water enters the pond. Fish will concentrate there.

[Hyrule Bass]

all you really need to bass fish ponds is soft plastics, top waters and spinnerbaits.

[ClackerBuzz]

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/126667-bank-fishing-forum/page-9#entry

[greentrout]

Soon after a rain, fish the spot where drainage water enters the pond. Fish will concentrate there.

You are so right. And not just the bass will be there.

[CalebJ]

Best choice would have to be about any type of creature bait or worm. Such as a baby brush hog by zoom. Also a top water pop-r will work wonders

[BuzzbaitBite28]

I say this because it's true for the ponds I've been to. A buzzbait or popper works great only because it gets above all the limbs and hang ups on the bottom. If I fish the bottom, I almost always go with a jig and pig or Texas rig weightless worm. Most of the time, it's more of a stained water, but I have seen em clear. Good fishin to ya

[OroBass]

Agree with plastics. Sometimes the least noisy baits are best in ponds. I use t rigged worms, senkos and small swim baits like 4 inch swing impact.

[everythingthatswims]

Senkos are awesome in ponds, so are weightless superflukes, small jigs, squarebills, and small walk-the-dog lures. If the pond is small enough, just fish until you find them! If there isn't much cover like in a golf course pond, do a stop & go retrieve with a squarebill to find them.

[Suspendingjerk]

Follow your gut

[Master Bait'r]

Every time I fish a new small pond (which is pretty regularly) I like to start with small tackle.  I poke around and see what I can get to bite on very small baits for a while, and I use that information to gauge what is probably going on with larger fauna and forage in the deeper sections or at magical times and zones where the fat bottom girls play.  I never use electronics so it sometimes takes a few outings to truly learn a body of water but it's worth it.  

 

Small roboworms, slug-gos and bentos/flash Js are usually my litmus test baits.  Work the edges of the cover and see what's shakin', then drop shot the middle areas and see what depths you're working with, put the puzzle pieces together and work the zones appropriately with either cranks, spinners, swimmers, drop shots or jigs for targeting whatever hit my light tackle or I learn is present.  

 

So yeah...  I work pads with frogs, the edges of the pads with light finesse baits and then map and work with other bait presentations depending on what I find for depth and cover.

 

 

If you don't have a boat, get a kayak or build a $10 raft out of random wood and styrofoam and use a single paddle.  I know a guy who does exactly that and he kills it!  Leaves the raft in the water all the time and just hops on and paddles way sitting on his bucket.  No BS!