fishing small ponds

[hydrasport175]

preparing for a tournament next week at a golf course pond i am used to a big lake and my boat so i am not sure how to approach thi tourney thanks

[CL]

are you allowed to pre fish?

[Hawg Fan]

I would throw whatever you have confidence in (which for me is a jig and pig). There are so many factors to look at when choosing your weapon of choice, but if I was just going out for the first time on a small pond I would just go with a good ole plastic worm of your choice. They seem to always produce when other cant, especially when waters are heavily pressured.

Good Luck,

Hawg Fan

[David P]

Senkos.

[Bassnbrett101]

wacky rigged finesse worm with a dropsot hook. slays em I promise!

[Big-O]

So does a 6" lizz, pond fish can't help themselves when they see little lizz. They gotta smack her. Use 1/8 to 3/16 oz and 3/0 hook. That and a drop shot wacky style like Brett mentioned will win you the big prize. Now go and make us proud.  

www.ragetail.com

[Popeye]

First off: WELCOME to the BR Forums - the BEST bass fishing site on the Net, IMO! Do you happen to know how big this pond is and how deep it might be?? Also, is there any structure and/or vegetation growing around the perimeter?? I assume that everyone will have to fish from the shoreline (sounds like a stupid question but some golf courses have some pretty good sized ponds that a small jon boat or rowboat'kayak could be used on). The other guys have already mentioned three great options for you - the Senko wacky rigged on a drop shot rig, jigs and trailers, and the lizzard. Another lure to try would be a frog. There are undoubtedly frogs/toads all around the pond and they would be a natural food source for residing bass. If the tourney begins real early in the morning, then you also might want to scour the shoreline with a few topwaters for the first hour or two. A smallish pond will allow you to cast pretty much the entire water area. You should do well using a combination of the baits suggested by all. How many rods are you allowed to use (have rigged and ready)?? Hope you do great and win the whole event!!

[hydrasport175]

thanks for the great tips your allowed to use whatever you can carry so i am thinking three rods and my tackle bag the golf course has about 4 small ponds and one large ponds and no boats but my co-angler/partner has fished this tourney before and had some luck on a zoom 7 inch worm but the rule in this tournement is they award points by length and no limit so i need numbers i do appreciate all the great info thanks again

[Marty]

I can't argue with any of the lure advice given, but I also know that any lure that works in big water, from boat or shore, will work in small ponds. I've seen plenty of large bass in small ponds and I don't worry about the size of the water. I choose (not that I'm particularly good at it) any lure that I think would be appropriate for the conditions.

[guitarkid]

Try dragging tubes along the weed lines/beds close to shore. You can catch some nice bass with these, however pond fish have a tendancy to not explode a lure they just pick it up and swim; however that is just what I have noticed.

                           -searoach

[.dsaavedra.]

i fish a small, shallow farm pond frequently, and Rapala DT Fat 03 is a killer bait in there.

i fished a pretty good sized pond today, and the top producer was an *** *** jr. in camo clolor. it caught my dad 9 bass and me 5 bass.

[Bassnbrett101]

caught 21 today in a pond fishing a 1/16-1/8 oz. shakey head with a green pumpkin zoom finesse worm.  it works good if the fish like to get a good look at it before they eat it

[X-Rap]

Start in the morning with a top water to get a feel for the bass.  I would go with a Rapala Skitter Walk, Booyah pond magic buzz bait, and (if theres any cover) a Snag Proof frog.  If thats not hot or shuts down you can either go power or subtle.  If the bass were crushing the top water then go with something faster such as a Booyah pond magic spinnerbait, Ratt-l-Trap, crank bait, or another agressive, reactionary, bait.  If they weren't so hot on the top water go slower and more subltle.  In a golf course pond you cant go wrong with a Senko, Zoom Finesse worm or Trick worm, Swimming Senko, or a lizard.  If the fish are pressured go with rigs other than Texas.  Wacky rig the senko and finesse worms.  Carolina or split shot rigg the lizard.  If the fish are really shut down you may even have to drop shot to catch 'em.  Remember this is just a rough guidline that i follow.  Your gonna have to change your game plan as the day goes on.  Just remember to listlen to what the fish have to say!

[jwo1124]

There is a small pond that I bass fish at a lot. Thi spond may look like a puddle to some people who are used to fishing lakes. The size of it is similar to what you may find on a golf course, but it is hidden on a small dead end street. Anyway, I have had good results with 1//4 ounce top water poppers, buzzbaits, wacky and weightless plastics, and jerkbaits. The problem I have is that this pond gets filled with algae mats so lure choices are left to topwaters and plastics.

Just remeber to down size your lures since small waters usually hold smaller prey items, look for good holding areas like wood, weeds, and the like, and just have fun and hopefully you catch a big ole bass.

[hawgchaser]

I fish a golf course pond that has some pigs in it. The bait that catches the most fish is without a doubt a black/red fleck gitzit, the strike king watermelon bleeding tubes, and 4" stick baits..

The bigger fish come on 10" Berkley Power worms.

Good Luck!

[natalex1208]

I grew up on a farm and we had 3 farm ponds with lmb.  A carolina rig with a leader about 13 inches long with a 6" lizard or a finesse worm is killer for numbers and size.

The wacky rig, drop shot rig or any other soft plastic presentation will do well.  I would be careful of crawfish imitators because many small ponds DO NOT have crawfish.

Now that said about soft plastics.  If you can catch them with a faster presentation I would try to do it.  I ALWAYS zip a buzz bait over a pond.  It doesn't take long and it will give you a good feel for the mood of the fish and you might catch a bunch of fish quickly including some really big fish.

One other tip if you want to catch a real big fish.  Use a baby bass swim bait = bullets.

[suede55bowtie]

Main thing to keep in mind with fishing ponds and small bodies of water is to downsize, thats in most cases. I fish off the bank alot here in southern Louisiana in alot of dredge canals and stuff. Alot of my bass come on broken back Rapalas and the smaller Senkos and jerkbaits (3"-4")

Good luck!!!

[TheBeast]

The weather should be right go find some Strike King Rocket Shad spinners, get the smaller 1/4 oz. ones.  With time being a concern this will put alot of fish in the sack in a short amount of time.  I have never been to a pond (and I fish alot of ponds around here) that these didn't produce.  They only make 2 colors white and chartreuse either will work but I get the best results with the chartreuse.  The only place I have found them is at WalMart, check the whole fishing section for some reason they don't allways put them with the other spinnerbaits.  

[glimmerblue]

FLUKES.. I fish ponds 5 days a week, I go out first lure on is Zoom Baby bass super fluke , after the fluke bite slows down(there will always be a fluke bite if fished correctly), I usually go with a texas rigged Gulp Blue fleck turtle back worm texas rigged or a 1/4 oz bitsy bug jig with a crawdad trailer. I fish the last two extremely slow. I could almost guarantee you fish with these.

[bassmedic46]

I would try tubes and plastics. Tight lines and good luck

[BassinBoy]

Good post X-Rap.  He made a good guideline to follow.  Good Luck, let us know how you do.

[lknbassman]

Flukes rigged weightless with a 5/0 red hook, Wacky Rigged Senkos with a 2/0 weedless wide gap finesse hook, Purple Worms w/a 1/16 bullet weight and 4/0 straight shank hook TX rigged.  Small dark water favorites for sure.

[roadwarrior]

Welcome aboard!

The only difference in fishing from shore (pond fishing) is that you generally cannot retrieve lures that get hung-up. So, if that is important to you, treble hook crankbaits are not a good option.

8-)

[BirdNestBen]

well you've got some great suggestions here already... I've fished a few of the golf course ponds and they usually have great fishing!!!!!!!!

Go to lures... or like my buddy says I guarannnnnnnnnnnnn-teeeeeeeeeee... are as follows....

Zoom fluke

Powerworm

And maybe the best of the best- Senko

... stick with these and add a couple more of the suggestions given by others and you'll have the winning combo.

[BirdNestBen]

I almost forgot... I've caught a lot of big bass in small ponds on the Tornado spinner baits in 1/4 and 1/2 oz. size.... and good numbers of fish...