Help On a New Pond

[KSanford33]

So I started fishing our local city pond this spring. It's fairly small and heavily fished. There are decent sized bass in it from what I've seen on FishBrain, but I'm having a heck of a time trying to find fish. There's zero cover and very little in terms of structure either. Below is the topo map from the DEC. The bottom is covered with that kind of gooey weed that seems to melt onto whatever bait you try on the bottom. Any advice?

 

 

https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/irolkmap.pdf

 

[EWREX]

weightless senko

topwater when it gets warmer

[Koz]

It looks like you can pretty much cover the entire basin with your casts. It also looks like there's an aerator in the middle. I'd start there and work outwards. In a pond like that, bass will usually sit in that deeper ring and come up the hill to feed.

 

It looks like there's an outlet on the top right. Often times, if there is enough outflow, a channel will form in that area that's just a little bit deeper than the rest of the basin. Sometimes bass will use that as a highway to shallower feeding grounds.

 

If there's an inlet, that's a fresh water source and can often bring in food sources for the bass. I'd look for that and fish there as well.

 

That gooey stuff? I'd drag a hollow body frog over it and see if a bass comes crashing through.

 

I would toss the frog on that gooey stuff first just see see if bass were using that for cover. Then, if it's really pressured, I'd also work from the bottom up with soft plastics working very slow with lots of pauses.

[Deleted account]

I have a couple of spots like that, fish them on Wednesdays really early or really late, weightless plastics or large swimbaits, and top water, (or live bluegill).

[BrianMDTX]

Wacky rig

 

Weightless Texas rig (Senkos, Zoom Tricks, on spinning rigs; Fat IKA’s, Neko Macho’s on a baitcaster)

 

Jerkbaits

 

Squarebills

 

Whopper Plopper

 

Throw out and work back to the bank. Throw out and work parallel to the bank staying in the same depth (strike zone). 
 

I fish a lot of ponds. Those baits and presentations work well for me. 

[papajoe222]

The two areas I would concentrate most of my efforts through the season would be the sharp bend just below the outlet that has the sharp drop to deeper water and the point, peninsula, at the bottom. As the water is fairly shallow, a weightless T-rig and drop shot (especially when that moss is present) are good choices for finesse, vertical  presentations.  A spinnerbait will allow you to cover all depths as will a lipless crank.  Those would be my choices for horizontal presentations.

[Cody28]

Super fluke Texas rigged is all you need. Ideally with a heavy wire hook to help cast it a bit further and to help it sink a bit faster giving it a good shimmy. Twitch pause twitch twitch pause (just mix it up). Little known fact this technique can even be done with a senko type worm. It will dart pretty good as well. Let it fall to the bottom once in a while to get that shimmy going. Works wonders in ponds like these. Secondary options would be a Ned rig light enough that it doesn’t get caught in the muck or a running either a bladed jig or swim jig above the bottom. 

[BigAngus752]

Fish the season first. Then fish by the weather for the past few days while taking today's weather in consideration.  Then look at the map. 

 

I can show you the map of a lake that I have great success on.  You'll pick the wrong places if you don't take into consideration; the time of year, the preceeding weather, today's weather (especially the wind), and water clarity.  

 

These guys are giving you great advice based on assumptions they are making in their own heads.  If one guy tells you to fish a certain piece of structure but the wind is blowing baitfish against the opposite shore then you will think he is wrong because you won't get a bite.  He's not wrong, you just aren't taking everything into consideration that you need to consider first.  

[QED]

I fish a similar pond/lake and find that a drop shot rig works very well and keeps the bait above the muck on the bottom.  The sinker will pick up a little bit of gunk, but I'm using 1/16 oz pencil sinkers so it's really not much.  Use z-man finesse TRD stick baits which are more buoyant than senkos and the bait will stay above the bottom and remain clean.