Spring Bass Fishing In Ponds

[Jaylen Buckhanna]

Just looking for some new suggestions on baits/lures to use in the spring. I will be mostly fishing in golf course ponds and neighborhood ponds.

[Dyerbassman]

I would throw smaller lures to start off in smaller ponds. The fish in those are used to smaller meals. If you catch some good sized bass, then gradually increase your lure size. Just my approach....

[tatertester]

I would try smaller suspending jerk minnows, and fish them fairly slow, twitching them.

[scaleface]

Beetle spin .

[timsford]

I go the opposite when fishing ponds, especially in spring. My favorite bait in ponds is a mattlures ultimate bluegill or other bluegill swimbaits. I also like larger lipless baits, jigs, and creature baits. There can be some huge bass in very small ponds. Don't get me wrong I do sometimes finesse em too, but not if I know its a pond that can support a large bass

[Hyrule Bass]

I would throw smaller lures to start off in smaller ponds. The fish in those are used to smaller meals. If you catch some good sized bass, then gradually increase your lure size. Just my approach....

 

i tend to disagree with this. you think bass used to smaller meals are going to pass up a chance for a bigger meal when they do get that chance? i dont, bass are opportunistic feeders. i think bass dont care where their meal came from if it looks like food to them. you can use baits and things for baits that dont swim in any water anywhere, yet bass(and other fish) will eat them. so i doubt theyll pass on a larger meal just because most or all of the forage in their water provides a smaller meal.

 

also, ive seen smaller ponds like a half an acre produce decent fish, multiple bass over 5lbs and large bluegill big as my hand. im not saying smaller baits wont work, all i am saying is just because a body of water is small doesnt mean everything in it is small, from the fish to their forage...

 

as for the OP, the earlier the spring i would throw jerkbaits and slow roll shallow cranks like manns 1 minus. as it warms up id switch to plastic creature baits such as lizards and craws. somewhere in between try throwing a red eye sexy shad. later in spring, most any soft plastic...

[Joedodge]

Most of the small ponds in my area are shallow and have a lot of hydrilla and grass. Throwing a trick worm or yum dinger and t rig it is real effective! Wacky also

[everythingthatswims]

Texas rigged craws and creature baits. Toss at cover and drag/hop them back.

[Ozark_Basser]

Bring a variety of soft plastics and look for a real big one on a bed. Learn to pitch.

[roadwarrior]

Pick your favorite lures, almost anything works in the spring. These are some specific suggestions:

 

Topwater: PopR. Sammy, Spook, Cavitron Buzzbait, Rage Shad

 

Shallow crankbaits: Norman Fat Boym DT6, Bandit 200, Red Eye Shad

 

Spinnerbaits & blades: MegaStrike StrikeBack, Siebert Outdoors Cosmic, Rage Blade

 

Soft plastics: Rage Structure Bug, Cut-R,  Baby Craw & Craw; MegaStrike MegaTube Craw, Senko, Fat Ika, Kut-tail on a ShakE2

 

Jigs: Siebert Outdoors Swim Jig (bluegill pattern)

 

 

 

[Sam]

Jaylen, throw everything you have at them.

 

The bass will let you know what they want and at what depth.

 

Remember, you have three water columns to attack: top, middle and bottom.

 

So take your rods and reels plus your favorite baits and your NEEDLE NOSE PLIERS to remover hooks safely and hit that pond.

 

And be sure to take off your football helmet.

[Weld's Largemouth]

Senko+

Squarebill crankbait

=fish

[hatrix]

Swimbaits, swim jigs, craws and creatures, lipless, and jerk baits.

[Brock Grigsby67]

Any lizard style bait. The zoom mini lizards works good for me!

[The Fisher]

Wacky rigged Senko

TX rigged baby brush hog

Bitsy bug with a paca chunk trailer

Keitech swing impact or Zoom Tiny Fluke

[Penguino]

Texas Rig worms are extremely consistent; whenever the bite turns off, just use them, and you will almost always be guaranteed to catch at least one fish.

[primetime]

most golf courses in Fl are full of Tilapia which apawn up to 4 times a year, so I like to use cranks in a smokey blue color, or blue/pearl soft bait, when it is cold, sometimes I find I need to actually speed up to get a strike since fish just will not move on some days, and throwing a small cranbait and buzzing it by in different directions often triggers a strike when slow is what is normal. I fished a pond this afternoon and only had success when I switched to a bright chartruese crank, and water is clear, so go figure...I worked an area for a good hour hunting a double digit female which is roaming, and I have been dragging rage bugs and swimming the bigger shiner colored trash fish hoping to get her to strike this year...Not going to cheat and use a shiner, so far she rolled right at my feet as I was lifting up an inline spinnerbait but she had no intentions of eating it, missed it on purpose but I now know what flat she plans on using since pond is only a few acres, and I have invested a ton of time feeding these fish and moving slots, as well as making it impossible for anyone to steal Bass at night while vulnerable now, I have filled areas with cinder blocks and sharp objects, I get sick seeing someone taking home a 7lb fish that is only a few years old....People are clueless in a 2 acre sewage drain...

[Grizzn N Bassin]

For me conventional tackle i bring is jerk-baits some small cranks , jigs and soft plastics, spinners. They all catch. 

 

I threw swim baits prettty much all year last year but in the spring . I crushed bass in ponds with my weedless Hudd and the 68 special. 

 

The soft plastic listed above with do fine.

 

I used fire tiger and red craw pattern cranks, slow steady retrieve(4.1.1) baitcaster on the outside of the grass. when it was bright and sunny i cranked over top of the grass and got bite A LOT. Also they tend to be roaming around , so when you catch one in a small pond, he was there for a reason and typically there's more bass around. 

 

say you catch a crank bait fish , take mental notes on where it came from and cast again or in the same general area. then you can slow down. also don't forget to cast from different angles at the same spot.

 

hope that helps,

 

GRizz

[dday07]

If i had only one bait to throw during the whole spawn process it would be a fat ika..i a'm already killing them on my local lake(not much bigger than a large pond) just an amazing bait!