Small Pond Approach

[Avid Angler FL]

I fish a local private lake, but on the side I also like to fish a few small private ponds. How should I go about finding the fish? It seems to be random. One day they're relating to cover and the next they may be roaming around as they please! Does anyone know what I should do?? Thanks, -Garrett

[catch anything]

lol i understand your pain try a small strike king crankbait in a sexy shad pattern or a swim jig

[endless]

When fishing small ponds especially when roaming I love my chatterbait. I had great luck with a mini white chatter with a live magic shad as trailer. I'm trying the full size chatter in both white/chartreuse and Black/blue, same trailer just the larger live magic shad in those colors. I haven't got the chance to try them at that pond I fish but do well on lakes and rivers.

Even this nice 1.5 crappie.

God I hate not having my bandana. haha!

[Avid Angler FL]

Yeah I've used small cranks, all the way down in size to the Strike King Bitsy Pond Minnows, if that's what you're referring to. I just don't know if I should cast a bait to the opposite side of the pond and slowly work back, or if I should work it at a fast speed, slow speed, etc. I just wish I knew how to think like a fish !

[Avid Angler FL]

Nice fish by the way Endless! I have a small black/blue Z-Man chatterbait. I should give it a try next time I'm out there.

[endless]

Nice fish by the way Endless! I have a small black/blue Z-Man chatterbait. I should give it a try next time I'm out there.

I would. I like to try every approach with a chatter too. I cast out and reel fast or slow or I might just let sink some or all the way and reel fast or slow. I might pause a few times but most of my hits come by a slow retrieve just enough to feel the chatter vibration in my rod. I would just cast fan cast too as I work around the pond and keep at it till time to go!

Believe me it's the only thing that works for me. My cranks keeps picking up grass. Shallower cranks no hits. Plastics I had only 1 hit on everything I tried. Senkos, Rage Tail space monkey and rooster, bush hawgs, curl tails. If I let the chatter fail to bottom I do sometimes pick up grass but I can easily shake that off with a twitch. My brother has landed a few on cranks at the pond we fish.

[Avid Angler FL]

Yeah I hear ya on the cranks pickin up grass part! That's how it is in the ponds I fish! I usually go with weedless plastics, Texas rigged. You just cast em into the thickest cover or right on the edge of a brushpile and let it sink, then twitch it a bit, pause, and keep slowly, S-L-O-W-L-Y working it back toward you. If you haven't already, I reccomend you check out Culprit worms! Amazing baits and well priced. I like the 6" and 7.5". A great go-to color by the way has to be Red Shad! Best of luck to you!

[Fishing Rhino]

Try a drop shot rig to get familiar with the bottom. Find the grassy/vegetation patches, and work them over. Small ponds can have big fish, but my take is that the size of the pond makes them cautious, if for no other reason than they don't have a lot of places to which they can escape. Often a subtle, finesse type of presentation will be more successful.

If you can cast across it, you can work it over thoroughly in a short period of time with a chatterbait. Our daughter has a small pond, only two or three casts across, and an old, eight foot Bass Hunter she uses for training hunting dogs. I use it for fishing, and finding the vegetation. There are many patches of short vegetation and stumps.

When I feel the sinker fetching up in the plants, is where I concentrate. Most of the fish are in the pound to pound and a half category. But small ponds can also accomodate a lunker or two.

Thanksgiving Day last year on a drop shot with the wacky worm bait a foot and a half above the sinker. Worked very slowly across the bottom. Gentle twitches or a slow pull when the sinker hangs in the weeds. The year before I got a four pounder from this pond, so it holds at least two nice fish. I suspect there are a couple of others since they were caught in the same vicinity.

Mix it up and give 'em something different to look at.

The boat was almost on the shore in this photo.

[roadwarrior]

Nice fish!

:Applause:

[Sam]

Garrett, first you do not let your shadow fall over the pond.

Second, you walk at least ten to fifteen feet off the pond when moving from place to place.

Third, use the "fan cast" method at every stop. This means throwing your bait from left to right and then back right to left beginning parallel to the shoreline, at 9 o'clock, 11, noon, 1, 3 and the bank. Add additional casts and repeat as necessary.

Fourth, study the pond. Know where there are dropoffs, holes, wood, brushpiles, rocks, bedding areas, grass, overhangs, etc. and make notes, mental or on paper, where you caught the bass and their size. Note the weather conditions and time of day, too.

As what to throw? Who knows? The guys will give you hundreds of suggestions but it is up to you to experiment to find out what they want and how to present it from day to day.

I suggest throwing a shaky head, jig, Carolina rig, Texas rig, split shot, mojo and wacky Senkos to hit the bottom with the colors and plastics of your choice.

Then move up into the water column with a drop shot followed by a spinnerbait, crankbait, Chatterbait, once again in the colors of your choice.

If you do not get any hits go for the topwaters, especially early in the morning and late in the evening, including the dreaded pink or white trick worm fished weightless on a light line spinning rig.

I would suggest trying the shaky head with trick worms first, followed by a jig or a Senko rigged wacky and then go with your search baits (cranks, spinners, etc.)

Consider planting some structure such as brush, tree branches, concrete blocks, tires, etc. to set up your secret places to fish. If possible, place these items about 10 to 15 feet off shore. And don't worry about getting wet or eaten by a big fish, shark or snapping turtle. Just get into the water and plant what you want. Wear shoes to protect your feet.

Make the pond your pond. Keep it a secret. Don't brag about what you caught as it will attract others. Of course, you can let us know and post some pics but otherwise it is your double secret pond.

If you want to check me out on this send a PM to hookingem on this site. He knows!!!!

Good luck.

[zachb34]

Try weightless flukes and wacky rigged senkos.

[PondBoss]

weightless cherry seed Zoom lizard, T-rigged fish it slowly back through and over the weeds. They can't stand it!

[Jigfishn10]

I usually start out with some type of reaction lure...spinnerbait, cranks - lipless and billed, etc in hopes that the fish are active and roaming as you menioned. In any case, I find that the smaller ones are more active than the larger ones in any case. If you think that they are relating to cover then go for the weedlines. Right now, up here anyway, they are relating to the second weedline, which from the bank is a long cast. Now you have to figure if they are on the edge or "in the weeds". When I decide that they are in cover, for me anyway, it's a jig, tube bait or weightless soft plastic stick bait, i.e. senko type bait. My tactic is a tube and or jig first and then soft plastic stick bait.

With that said, they throw you a deuce and you can catch one in 1-2 feet of water like I did yesterday:

The spot:

Got her right in the middle of the horeshoe shape of the lilly pads. I never thought she would be there on this day.

So in a nut shell, small bodies of water allow you explore all possible scenarios in a short amount of time. Use all your techniques at your disposal and just enjoy your time out there. These little green things will surprise you. Just take mental or written notes of those spots you caught fish on, quickly go over the less productive spots and start the process all over again as the season changes. The less productive spots may be the more productive spots later in the year as I'm finding year in and year out.

I tend to throw out all this info after my fishing season ends. The small ponds I fish at tend to change from one year to the next, for whatever reason.

Good luck and have fun.

[slaynbass365]

Just yesterday I fished a small private pond with GREAT success. Had excellent luck by fallen branches and low overhanging trees. Mainly using flukes, but they got slammed the whole time I was there. Just a quick hours worth of fishing got me 7 nice fish ranging from 2-4 lbs, the bigger of which came from heavy cover.

[Avid Angler FL]

Yeah these ponds are like 30-40 by 60-70 yards in area. they're not huge by any means but every now and then they'll kick out a decent fish. Another tip I have for everyone out there, LEARN how to use a fly rod, if you don't already know. A 5/6 weight would be perfect as it can be uased to fight large panfish to decent sized bass. Get an assortment of poppers, so when the fish aren't taking larger baits, or if they're pressured, try to land a small popping fly on the water and work it slow.

[astaf]

there are a couple small ponds in my area, I found that a jointed crankbait from rapala usually works for me or smaller minnow like crankbaits

[Avid Angler FL]

How well do the jointed Rapalas work? I've seen them before but never bought one.

[astaf]

I find them useful, a lot of fish bite at them, i try mixing up the retrieve with it, sometimes a quick retrieve or slow and steady, stop and go or just giving it quick jerks, mess around with it and the fish will tell you what they like

[hatrix]

LEARN how to use a fly rod, if you don't already know.

I have not fly fished for a long time but for a period while I was a kid it was the only way I wanted to fish ponds. I knew a guy who use to tie me these water spiders that were just deadly. Smacking the surface with the spider and ripping it back and doing it again would start a feeding frenzy. Some time BG or little bass would grab it and when you went to pull it back it would like launch them out of the air at you. Fish would like literally be shoving each other out of the way to get the spider. I watched the guy who use to make them for me catch one that was easily 5# on those little spiders like the size of a quarter.

[Avid Angler FL]

Yeah, fly rods are definately a different feel and have a whole other set of guidelines, but I think they're an important part of a bass fisherman's arsenal also!