Clearwater Pond Fishing

[AllTerrainAngler]

Ok so i just moved into a new area and its been pretty hard to find places to fish around here. I finally found a few ponds to fish and have had pretty good luck. One has me pretty stumped. The pond itself is about 10-12 acres and its fully accessible all the way around. Max depth is 5 feet. Water is crystal clear all around. The fish are beyond skittish. I've seen 5+ pounders swimming but they don't react to anything. I've thrown soft plastics of all colors. Hard baits. Today i finally got one to react and hit a Huddleston but it just chased and swiped at it. This evening i threw a lucky craft sammy and had several hits but the active fish are 12 inches or less. I've fished a lot of pretty clear water lakes(lanier,hartwell,knottely,clarks hill) and had luck on just about everything. Any ideas or tactics for these fish? I haven't taken my kayak out yet but i'm going totry due to the fact one half of the lake is flooded timber. 

[Angry John]

Use top water at night

[AllTerrainAngler]

I have good luck on topwater almost all times of the day but i prefer it early morning and late evening. I have had my best topwater blow ups in the heat of the day though. I've fished this pond several times now and i just can't seem to find anything that just sets them off. 3 Minutes down the road is a set of 4 ponds and you could throw a hook by itself and those fish would hit it. 

[the reel ess]

Wacky Senko? LOL

 

Sunrise and sundown. Live bait. Seine or trap some minnows. Or use a small bream under a float if that's not illegal where you are. I recall Bill Dance say once that fish in extremely clear water might simply refuse to feed during the day. If you think about it, the baitfish also can see for miles.

 

When I was a kid there was a small pond that I used to sneak into that had gin clear water. I only ever got one bite there on an artificial and it was spit out before I could set a hook. I could see all the fish, so i know they could see me. There were big'uns in there for sure...at least to a kid that age. I managed to get one on a nightcrawler, but the big fish would not bite if they could see me around.

[AllTerrainAngler]

I can use live bait. I just haven't in years since I started tournaments and making a little money here and there. I bet if I try that it'll work. And it'll be a lot more relaxing.

[everythingthatswims]

Drop Shot on long casts, ned rig on long casts, and a glide bait. Did I mention LONG casts? Even if they don't commit to the glide, it will show you where they are.

[AllTerrainAngler]

I've had them chase a deps. They couldn't care less about senko style baits.

[Senko lover]

Shakeyhead!

[Dogmatic]

Main forage? Then "match the hatch".

[WPCfishing]

I have great success with traps in clear water.

Tennessee shad color produces best.

[MIbassyaker]

I fish a lot of small clear water lakes up here. In general, I have a much easier time with plastics than hard baits. Downsizing to 2-4 inch baits seems to help a lot. Long casts do indeed seem to matter. Topwaters I usually have to work faster than in murkier lakes. Reduce line visibility if you can. Cast toward shade if there is any, but avoid fishing toward your own shadow.

[Jon G]

I'd finesse fish dropshot, split shot rig, shakey heads, ned rigs, and tubes. I would use the smallest weight possible and use very small baits like a 4.5" roboworm in natural colors.

[Ozark_Basser]

I fish a pond that's pretty similar to yours. It's only about 4 acres, super clear (spring fed), about seven foot deep in the middle, and about half covered in lily pads. I can almost cover the entire thing from shoreshore due to the way it's shaped, so I never take my canoe out.

If I were you I'd take my kayak out and look for irregularities, such as breaklines where the flooded timber turns to open water, large flooded trees, places where structure coincides with the flooded timber, etc.

A picture of the pond would also be helpful.

[*Hank]

Drop Shot on long casts, ned rig on long casts, and a glide bait. Did I mention LONG casts? Even if they don't commit to the glide, it will show you where they are.

I agree,start with a search bait and once you find them FINESSE............