Big fish in small pond??

[Ksam1234]

So I was wondering if you guys think a big fish can be in small pond/lakes. Or should I stick to the bigger lakes for that. We have this small lake/pond maybe about 20 acres big. The biggest fish I got out of there is about 2 1/2-3 pounds.  You think there might be any hogs in here ? Has pretty good structure. Lots of old logs and dead trees sticking up. Weeds and cat tails. Or should I stick to the bigger bodies of water

[HeavyDluxe]

It's hard to say... If you're seeing/catching a lot of middlin' sized bass, it's possible the competition for forage is heavy enough in that pond that it's hard for a big mama to grow.  But, it's at least as likely there's something bigger in there.

 

I've caught my best fish out of very small bodies of water... So, I don't think one has to fish big water to get big bites.

 

One thing you can do is to upsize your presentation or use big-fish oriented baits (like jigs, for example) to try and ensure that you're not just hooking the aggressive, competitive little bucks before the bigger fish get a chance to munch on you.  It'll reduce your catch rate, but might produce the size you want more quickly.

[MBB Nate]

I fished a farm pond last week that was maybe 300x150 ft and caught 12 fish between 2 and 6 lbs in about an hour.

 

Im sure its shallow, and its never fished.  There are literally hundreds of bullfrogs so im sure thats what is letting them thrive.

[jr231]

Yes. Definitely. I fish several ponds and one that I frequent has a LM that is 24"...confirmed, and the pond isn't even 4 acres.  And hasn't been stocked in over a decade. Genetics and proper (also abundant) forage are most key.

 

Not an opinion . This is fact. 

 

[Dens228]

Caught this on a five acre pond in the middle of a suburban subdivision surrounded by houses. 

[david in va]

 Some of the biggest fish are caught in small ponds or lakes. Here in VA anyway

[OCdockskipper]

If you want to catch 1 big bass, your odds are better in a farm pond.  If you want to catch 5 bass totaling over 25 lbs, your odds are better in a larger lake.  Not that either can't happen in the other scenario, but typically there is one queen of a pond while larger lakes can usually support multiple larger fish.

 

I fished a 3 acre farm pond this March in Georgia, the owner wanted to see what amount & size bass were in it.  Since the area near the dam was devoid of cover save for one brush pile, I went ahead and threw a Ned rig on 8 lb line in order to get as many bites as possible.  First 4 casts resulted in 3 aggressive 10" bass.  Fifth cast, the line tightened up, and I set the hook on the queen of the pond.  She broke the surface, with a head that was as big if not bigger than my PB, and then pulled drag on her way over to the brush pile.  I did a bad job of getting her turned, she went into the brush pile & broke me off.  Now the queen has a lip ring.

 

Over the next 90 minutes, I caught about 20 more stunted dinks and a dozen or so bluegill the size of my face.  From what I understand, that kind of dispersion (many dinks & large bluegill, a couple really large bass) is normal for small ponds that receive no pressure or management.

[nstec]

I've caught many fish larger than 2¹/₂ - 3 pounds in farm ponds smaller than 20 acres.  The particular pond you're talking about may not have bigger fish, but the size of the body of water certainly isn't the limiting factor.

[the reel ess]

The first bass I ever caught over 6 lbs was in a 3-4 acre pond.

[Ksam1234]

1 hour ago, OCdockskipper said:

If you want to catch 1 big bass, your odds are better in a farm pond.  If you want to catch 5 bass totaling over 25 lbs, your odds are better in a larger lake.  Not that either can't happen in the other scenario, but typically there is one queen of a pond while larger lakes can usually support multiple larger fish.

 

I fished a 3 acre farm pond this March in Georgia, the owner wanted to see what amount & size bass were in it.  Since the area near the dam was devoid of cover save for one brush pile, I went ahead and threw a Ned rig on 8 lb line in order to get as many bites as possible.  First 4 casts resulted in 3 aggressive 10" bass.  Fifth cast, the line tightened up, and I set the hook on the queen of the pond.  She broke the surface, with a head that was as big if not bigger than my PB, and then pulled drag on her way over to the brush pile.  I did a bad job of getting her turned, she went into the brush pile & broke me off.  Now the queen has a lip ring.

 

Over the next 90 minutes, I caught about 20 more stunted dinks and a dozen or so bluegill the size of my face.  From what I understand, that kind of dispersion (many dinks & large bluegill, a couple really large bass) is normal for small ponds that receive no pressure or management.

Well I guess tomorrow I'm going to be fishing the pond! Thanks for the advice everyone. 

1 hour ago, the reel ess said:

The first bass I ever caught over 6 lbs was in a 3-4 acre pond.

Yeah I would love anything 4 pounds and over! So I hope she is in there 

1 hour ago, HeavyDluxe said:

It's hard to say... If you're seeing/catching a lot of middlin' sized bass, it's possible the competition for forage is heavy enough in that pond that it's hard for a big mama to grow.  But, it's at least as likely there's something bigger in there.

 

I've caught my best fish out of very small bodies of water... So, I don't think one has to fish big water to get big bites.

 

One thing you can do is to upsize your presentation or use big-fish oriented baits (like jigs, for example) to try and ensure that you're not just hooking the aggressive, competitive little bucks before the bigger fish get a chance to munch on you.  It'll reduce your catch rate, but might produce the size you want more quickly.

Ok I'll try using more jigs, I have a few nice skirted ones for punching etc. 

[the reel ess]

The cool thing about ponds is that, if you can get to all of it, you can present a bait to a big fish if there are any. They may not bite, but that's better odds than in a big lake. 

[Ksam1234]

13 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

The cool thing about ponds is that, if you can get to all of it, you can present a bait to a big fish if there are any. They may not bite, but that's better odds than in a big lake. 

That's true , I wanna try a change on scenery to, been fishing the same like for about 2 months straight so a new pond would be nice.  I have fished it before and I know it holds fish just wasn't sure if maybe there could be a hidden gem there 

[Bluebasser86]

I could easily cast across the pond this fish came out of, probably not 20 yards across in any direction.

[Ksam1234]

1 hour ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I could easily cast across the pond this fish came out of, probably not 20 yards across in any direction.

Now that's a pig !

[Catt]

Absolutely!

 

I have a friend who has a 20 acre pond that's 3 1/2-4 yrs old, it producing 6-7# bass.

 

#1 is genetics & second is food source

 

This pond is stocked with F1Tiger bass & it has become very difficult to catch anything.

[Bluebasser86]

50 minutes ago, Ksam1234 said:

Now that's a pig !

Thanks, it was and still is the largest bass I've caught on a swimbait.

[Raul]

I caught my first 10+ lber in an one acre pond, that day I was on fire because I caught 2 more and lost another one right at the bank. Want to hear something interesting ? My friend Pedro and I had fished that pond for years and the only thing we caught were 10-12 inchers by the truckload.

[wdp]

Small ponds & lakes can def hold big fish. My biggest 2 so far this yr have come outta small bodies of water. 

 

This one came from a pond not much bigger than a football field. Around 7 lbs. Bank fishing with a popper. 

 

This 9 lb 4 oz fatty came from a small 30 acre lake. 

 

 

And this 8 lb 13 oz came outta of a small lake about 20 acres in size. 

[Sword of the Lord]

My biggest fish come out of unassuming ponds. My buddy has an 8 pounder on his garage wall; he caught it in a pond 10 minutes away from us.

[Sam]

12 hours ago, david in va said:

 Some of the biggest fish are caught in small ponds or lakes. Here in VA anyway

 

I have caught big bass in very small ponds.

 

The major pond I fish is a seven acre farm pond that is where I have caught my person bests.

 

I have caught big ones in small golf course ponds and in an office complex pond.

 

Of course, caught ones over four ponds in the Historic James River, too.

 

Go figure.

[Dtrombly]

I fish a small farm pond regularly. Have caught many 3-4lb as well as one 6lb and lost an 8+ at the bank. They are in there 

[Rollincoal420]

So with all this being said,  how small of a pond is too small?   I wonder about many little ponds I see.  Somewhere around 20ft x 20ft, probably only a couple feet deep at most.   Some are retention pond in similar square footage

[roadwarrior]

Little ponds dry up occasionally. My most productive pond is a neighborhood around 13 acres.

I still catch some nice bass, but my "pet" was removed last year by some jerk. When taken she weighed 10.4 lbs.

 

[Ksam1234]

Well I went out to the pond.. got a couple smalls then this guy appeared !

[Sword of the Lord]

1 hour ago, roadwarrior said:

Little ponds dry up occasionally. My most productive pond is a neighborhood around 13 acres.

I still catch some nice bass, but my "pet" was removed last year by some jerk. When taken she weighed 10.4 lbs.

 

I can't stand that. Catch and release the bass, especially good ones, especially from ponds.