Help Plan My Attack!!!

[Brett's_daddy]

Okay, I'm planning on getting up early (well, early for me...lol) tomorrow morning and being at my favorite pond around 6:20am-ish...just around when the sun is coming up. Unfortunately my boat isn't running right now as it has an oil leak somewhere and I haven't had the time or extra money to take it to be looked at yet so I will be bank fishing. This pond is pretty clear water, shallow as it is about 2ft. deep near the bank and stays that way going out maybe 10 - 12ft. or so before it starts getting deeper to about 4 or 5 ft. and then another 10 - 15ft. or so before it goes to around 8ft. and so on. On the left of the fishing spot is a big patch of lily pads. It's definitely mid-summer in my area. What lures/coloration/techniques would you use for morning fishing this pond? I was thinking topwater like a Super Spook Jr. in Bone, maybe a Whopper Plopper 130 in Bone or even a R2S Bubble Walker in Powder. I do have a little bit of everything though so would jigs or spinnerbaits or buzzbaits...maybe a big worm be a good choice? Like I said, help plan my attack for me .

[Scarborough817]

i would start with a frog and a spook tied on, then as the day goes on and the sun gets higher i would flip the pads with a t-rig craw and throw a ribbon tail worm or a jig out deeper. try to let the fish tell you but i would definitely start with a frog and spook around that time, a buzzbait would be better if the water is a little choppy or your wp 130 because you can pause it. if it's windy then throw a spinnerbait around the edge of the pads, and to deeper water. what is the bottom of the pond like?

[Brett's_daddy]

The bottom is what I would call muddy. There are some weeds that are tall and stringy that go from the bottom to within 6" of the top of the water (not all over but enough). I also only have about a 2 hour window to fish as we have other plans for the remainder of the day.

[Scarborough817]

if you only have 2 hours then i would honestly just take a frog and a spinnerbait or something you want to build confidence in 

[Lil fat guy]

If it has weeds growing to within 6in of the surface, a wake bait could be good too.  Some of them will get down just enough to tick the tops of those weeds...but as others said start out with the frog. Good luck!  

[Sam]

What lures/coloration/techniques would you use for morning fishing this pond?

 

Reply: Start with topwaters, like a buzzbait, Whooper Plooper, poppers, frogs and toads and wake baits.

 

After that bite goes away, try your spinnerbaits, crankbaits, Chatterbaits.

 

After that go with your Senkos and trick worms plus a drop shot.

 

You can also try the Mojo and Carolina rigs.

 

Hit everything you can see and be patient.

 

Post pics of your catches.

[JustJames]

If you can start earlier then you have more time to fish top water.

I'm the same boat as you too many lures too little time since most trips I would stay in water 2-3 hours. I alway brought a whole bunch of lures but end up using only a few since time is limited.

If I were you I would fish top water for first hour. whatever you have confidence on. Whopper Plopper is good, Spook is also produce especially in calm flat shallow. Then switch to Senko or Fluke for deeper when sun come up. Another option is to switch to chatterbait where you can fish on top of grass and along the bottom.

[Fun4Me]

0% chance I wouldn't throw a frog until I was convinced they wouldn't bite it. I'd start with a hollow body first (brown or black if the light is low, and white or yellow/chartreuse if the sky is blue and brightish light). If they didn't hit that, I would throw a soft plastic frog and work it like a buzzbait then let it stop and slowly sink, reel it back up to the surface and do it again. 

 

If they didn't want a frog, I'd try a plopper and then go a swim jig, followed by a soft plastic weightless, then weighted and dragged. If you haven't caught anything by then, it's probably time to head home

 

Have a blast either way!! and this is just what I would do YMMV

[Brett's_daddy]

Well, I didn't have much luck. All I caught was a chain pickerel. I did have a strike from a bass but I was so excited when she hit that my thumb accidentally hit the clutch bar when i tried to set the hook  . The one positive from my trip, this was the first trip where I really used my casting rods and reels for the first time. I was actually impressed by how well I did. Did I have some birds nests...yup, but nothing too bad that I couldn't get out with a little patience and honestly out of the dozens of casts I made that morning I only had 3 or 4 so that really isn't too bad. I may not have caught many fish but I did have some fun experimenting and learning with my casting reels so I consider this a successful trip .