Tips on specific pond

[TGcville]

In my backyard is an almost 2 acre pond w a small island, the west side of the pond is shallow, namely one to three feet, minus a few spots near the dam. There are a good number of grass beds in these shallow flats, and a good bit of down timber. the north side of the island gets decent morning sun, while the south side is much more covered/shaded. I can fish from the bank just north of the island, and found a bluegill hole just past the grass bed. I also stand up paddle board fish the pond to access other areas. The water stays stained for the most part w visibility around 1 foot, getting very muddy after a storm, and remaining for a few days. I've been tossing square-bills in the shallows with pretty good success the past two weeks. Ive also caught two 5-1/2 pounders this year, one on texas rig baby brush hog, the other 1/2 oz double willow spinner. A few on the whopper plopper 130, but no hogs. My brother in law caught a nice 5-6 lb on rapalla pop-r late evening early summer, and my father in law a citation crappie yo-yoing a shad swimbait late evening about a month ago. Ive attached a pic with depths. Just looking for some general tips on what to throw and what retrieve to use to go after some hogs, any areas stick out to you? Are any Lunkers down deep during fall? Possible there are some catfish in there? What would be the best time to fish now that its fall? Better to hit the sunny side or the shade? Would a slip float and live bait produce?

 

Thanks in advance!

[the reel ess]

That pond so small you can just get in it and try stuff. My fav pond bait is the Zoom Trick Worm weightless. The spinnerbait is awesome as well, especially when you bump it off the timber. If they won't hit reaction baits, try the old T rigged worm.

I want to hit the side that gets more sun with topwaters first, then mosey over to the shady side after the sun climbs a bit. then take that old spinnerbait and get the ones that started shying away from topwaters. After that, it's trial and error. It seems to me you ahve the basics down.

I rarely catch any catfish in ponds and I don't know why. They're there, they just don't bite my offerings. Granted, I'm bass fishing, but they bite bass and crappie lures in lakes.

[GORDO]

Typically in the fall, in a lake ecosystem, the bass go shallow. Im not an expert on ponds like a lot of people on here but it sounds like youre already doing well on the pond! When I want a big bite, in shallow water, I like to throw swim jigs. Just a personal favorite of mine! As for slip float and live bait, you can never go wrong with that especially if catfish are in the pond.

[jr231]

Senko (any color , seriously) rigged weightless t rigged.  And wacky. Tx style will allow the worm to last much longer in my experience. 

Double tail hula grub. Again rigged weightless. 

Jig with trailer of your choice. I'd take a good look at the rage chunk. 

Bomber 4a. Year after year this shallow crank catches bass for me. Its so fun to use ! And usually under 5 bucks.. 

That rapala popper you mentioned landed me my PB. So I'm a firm believer in that lure as well. 

Also an x-rap. I think you only need two colors. Olive green and black/orange. 

I second the swim jig as well. 

 

[Sam]

We really have no magic bait. You have to determine what level the fish are holding and throw baits, accordingly.

Topwater - Cavitron's, RICOs, Frogs and Spook-like baits.

Mid Range - Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, Chatterbaits and swimming plastics.

Bottom - Shaky head, drop shots, Texas rigs, Carolina rigs, MOJO rigs, deep diving crankbaits, slow rolling spinnerbaits.

Experiment at each level and keep a log so you will know what works and does not work under what specific conditions.

Looks like you will  have a fun time finding where they are hiding.

Enjoy!