Need advice on how to fish a large pond

[BigMinnow]

I checked out a local pond a few weeks ago and there was absolutely no chance of shore fishing since there are 20 ft of weeds before the water. So I kinda forgot about the pond until I was recently gifted a cheep sit in kayak. 

 

Today I took the kayak out and got to see the full pond/lake. It’s about 10acres and it’s essentially just one big circle and I’m assuming it’s deepest point is right in the Center at about 20-25ft. All around the edges there is a huge amount of Coontail. Like A TON of Coontail. And then just beyond the Coontail is about 20ft of Lilly pads before the shore. The pads stick up out of the water and the Coontail seems to extend beneath the pads all the way to the shore as well. At the Coontail’s edge the water seems to be about 7 to 8 ft deep. I put in a pic to try and show you how much Coontail there is before the pads. There’s no other structure other than the Coontail and pads. The water is pretty warm, maybe about 70-75°, and it’s stained but has good visibility. 

 

So given that, this lake seems to be bream heaven. Just passing through the Coontail spooks 10 or 20 bream every few feet. I see a lot of fish pecking the surface and even a few bream going fully out of the water from time to time but I don’t see any big fish activity.

 

I’ve tried Pop-R’s, the bream and little 6” bass have hit em, but all the hits seem to be half assed. Like they go to hit and just kinda slap at it instead. How can I remedy that to get more hookups?

 

With this big of a lake, I’m sure it’s safe to assume there’s bass bigger than 6 inches in here. Could you guys give me advice as to how would you would fish this lake? 

[Bass Whoopin']

If they hit it and miss grab a senko or drop shot rig and cast right where the blow up was. If they aren't really eating the topwater go finesse. Try a punch rig or a texas rigged bait and try a drop shot or a whacky rig. Fish it slow. Jigs would be good to try as well. You can never go wrong with finesse if they are being picky. 

[BigMinnow]

@Bass Whoopin' I’ve tried jigging but it’s difficult to drag the jigs or punch baits through the Coontail because it’s so thick and deep. If I had a better kayak with a standing platform I’d have a much easier time jigging. But seeing as I’m sitting right at the water level, it makes using jigs and Texas rigged baits pretty difficult.

 

As for wacky rig and drop shot suggestions, I’m cautious about using an open hook because of all the weeds. An exposed hook near all those plants spells snags for sure.

[jr231]

You tried a frog ? 

 

Go super light with ur Texas rig like 1/16th and use a very slender worm like a zoom trick worm.  And rig the worm truley Texas style with the hook imbedded in the worm not tex-pose and then skin Hooked. 

 

I recommend a 2/0 or 3/0 round bend hook and I'd use tungsten for a smaller profile to reduce the snags. The contact with the coontail should draw strikes. 

 

 

Also. Ten acres isn't a lake but it's a very big pond. and pond bass become used to their environment. They know when you're over head and the bigger the bass the more wary they become. 

 

There's a 4 acre pond I fish from the bank and nail em every time I go. I've put the kayak in twice and didn't catch anything. Could be a coincidence but I doubt it. 

 

I suggest you get out very early spring with some jerkbaits and traps, before all the vegetation blooms.  See what you find then . 

[Bird]

Wow that is thick.

I definitely throw a frog with heavy braid.....slow twitch.

[billmac]

Is there any open water?  Is there a weedline?  I'd use a variety of baits along the weedliine if you can find it.  Try to find something different in the pond.  If it is all just a homogeneous mess of weeds and lily pads, it's just going to be trial and error. 

[LionHeart]

Use a frog and a stout rod, then hope for the best if you hook up.  That is a mess.  I know of a very similar pond that has decent bass in it but it is unfishable due to the vegetation.   

 

You wind up dragging in 10 lbs of muck with every fish.   Just not any fun.

 

 

[JediAmoeba]

Did you check how deep it is?  Assuming it is 20-25 feet is a mistake.  Get a heavy weight, paddle around and check some depths.  

Most ponds of this nature are deepest by the dam and shallower on the opposite end

[BigMinnow]

I’ve tried a frog but I haven’t had much luck on them, just half assed hits, same as when I used the Pop-R’s. Whenever I’m fishing the frog I usually look to cast into the thick stuff and pull it into the pockets of open water within the weeds. Then I let it soak and twitch. Is that how you guys would fish it?? 

 

I have tried a worm T-Rigged but it had a pegged 1/2 oz bullet weight. Next time I go out I’ll try a smaller weight and one of my trick worms.

 

And there is a weed line. I haven’t tried to fish it yet but I figure a rattle trap along side the edge might produce? What do you guys think??

 

@JediAmoeba I haven’t tested depth other than right at the edge of the start of the Coontail. But does the depth of the center of the pond really matter when the only structure I can see is just all the weeds? I don’t ever have much luck fishing the open water.

[JediAmoeba]

Depth matters a lot.  10 acres is small but big enough to target certain areas where the bass may congregate.  

 

If the entire pond is weed-ridden I am going to guess it is much shallower than 20 feet deep

[schplurg]

I agree with the lightweight T-Rig worm or fluke thing.

 

My local ponds are getting thicker with the vegetation. I put an 1/8 oz bullet weight with a Zoom Super Fluke (they float I think with no weight). It ends up swimming just a few inches beneath the water, in fact the strike looked like a topwater smash - very cool. 

 

Didn't think I'd catch anything in this area due to weeds but this worked. Tried a frog afterward and  - caught a bullfrog.

[soflabasser]

Try fishing a hollow belly frog in that pond