Hey y'all,
I'm still new to bass fishing and I wanna know what the best lures are for bass fishing in ponds. I have used a topwater Jitterbug by Arbogast as well as a swimming minnow lure. If anyone has other suggestions or insight that work well, it would be much appreciated!
Depending on vegetation, I'll use a jig in heavy cover or a fluke or senko if it's not too heavy.
I use rattle traps (lipless cranks) when I fish a new pond that I havent fished before. They cast far so you can cover alot of ground. Keep them close to the shoreline cover but not too close to get caught up in the weeds. I would use floro or braid to be safe. I caught 27 in 1.5 hours today with this technique.
spinner baits and stickos
What are the Conditions? Any Structure or Cover?
Senkos work no matter what the conditions! I also throw swim jigs with some type of trailer whether it be a craw or a rodent
All I fish are local ponds. Naturally some are deeper than others. My go to lures are senkos and lipless cranks.
Soft plastics, soft plastics, soft plastics... Wether it is a senko, a t-rigged trickworm, or a creature bait, bass in small ponds love soft plastics! Can't go wrong with a wacky rigged Yum Dinger!!
On 6/18/2013 at 11:57 AM, ChasingBass said:Soft plastics, soft plastics, soft plastics... Wether it is a senko, a t-rigged trickworm, or a creature bait, bass in small ponds love soft plastics! Can't go wrong with a wacky rigged Yum Dinger!!
I have Dingers and can't seem to catch anything whether it be T-rigged or wacky rigged. Seconds later I can switch to a Senko and start crushing them. I have heard others say great thing about the Dingers, maybe it's just me.
On 6/18/2013 at 11:57 AM, ChasingBass said:Soft plastics, soft plastics, soft plastics... Wether it is a senko, a t-rigged trickworm, or a creature bait, bass in small ponds love soft plastics! Can't go wrong with a wacky rigged Yum Dinger!!
x2 agree with this.
I will suggest the Texas Rig to anyone looking to catch bass in known or unknown waters. Texas Rig gets em EVERY time for me. If you're not familiar with the Texas Rig just look it up on google. There will be lots of information. You can be set up with 5 killer Texas rigs for like 10 bucks or less. I use 4/O Z shank Gamakatsu hooks with a 7 inch red spinner tail soft plastic worm. Loving these red tails. Not sure of the size weight I'm using but I think it's a 1/8 ounce slipweight. Very good set up for any size bass in my experience.
A lot of people forget just how good the Texas Rig really is.
Another vote for the Rat L Trap.
If the pond is on the shallow side, I would say use a Mann's 1 minus.
Brian, open ended query that should give you enough information to scramble your brains.
When I go to my double secret pond where we catch five and up ladies all the time, here is what I love to throw during the year:
Jig and Pig - The big ladies love 'em but fishing is slow so unless you have patience throw something else. Baitcaster presentation.
Senkos - Great bait in a pond. Throw it wacky rigged. You can use a baitcaster or a spinning rig for Senkos.
Shaky Head - This technique is also outstanding. Use a green pumpkin or watermelon Zoom Trick Worm or a Swamp Crawler on a light shaky head jig head on a spinning rig and have some fun. Water is clear use watermelon; if stained go with the green pumpkin. Keep it simple.
Drop Shot - Rig it up and throw it out. No need to drop it straight down as if you are on a river or lake. Finesse worms in the color of your choice work great. Just remember to lift the rod softly over your head to set the drop shot hook.
Baby Brush Hogs - If the pond has any wood, grass or pads consider throwing a weedless Texas rigged Baby Brush Hog. Spinner or baitcaster.
Crankbaits - Bandit 100s style usually work great in ponds. Sexy Shad or Chartreuse with Blue Back for starters and then change colors as you wish. Baitcaster.
Shad Raps - Silver with black back or silver with blue back, depending on cloud cover. Spinning rig works them great.
There are so many baits out there that the guys will scramble your mind. Keep a log of each trip so you will know what was productive and under what circumstances. Check out the log when you go back to the pond, especially the weather conditions you memorialized in your report.
Senkos are so much fun to throw as they give you a rush when you see that line start to move. Same with the shaky head.
Remember to walk about 50-feet away from the bank when moving around a pond; wear your polarized sunglasses; always have your needle nose pliers to remove the hooks in your pocket or tackle bag; and don't go overboard with rods and baits.
Also leave a note at home as to where you will be and the time you are expected to be home. This is very important anytime you go fishing at a pond or in a boat. We call this our Float Plan.
Good luck and let us know what worked and post a few pics of the big ones you nail.
Soft plastic swimbait rigged weedless with a belly weighted hook.
On 6/18/2013 at 8:34 PM, BrettD said:Soft plastic swimbait rigged weedless with a belly weighted hook.
X2!!when I go to the neighborhood pond that my sister lives in.. All I bring is soft plastics.. I have been crushing them on a Little Dipper with a. 3/0 weighted swimbait hook.. Or a baby brush hog 1/8 weight..
i have a booyah pond magic spinnerbait in white with a little bit of red on the head of it, it absolutely kills pond fish. also, texas rigged worms are a staple for any pond fishing arsenal. also rage tail lizards and baby rage craws and rage toads are great pond baits. shallow diving cranks work wonders as well, someone mentioned the 1-minus above, id second that. plus a white buzz bait...
I always catch the most fish on a T-rigged zoom lizard. The bass love em
I've always done well in ponds with white spinnerbaits.
my best pond lure is a rebel popper, silver with a black back. ALWAYS gets hits. I call it old faithful, its the same plug I've been using for 10 years. My last pond outing I had bass from 1 pound up to about 7 pounds hitting on it. Even some larger bluegill were nipping at the tail hook.
LC
As most have already started, a Texas or wacky rigged senko is hard to beat. Watermelon with black flake is an excellent choice.
Okay thanks for all the feedback! Another question - what is the best colored Senko worm to use? I've heard good things about watermelon with gold flakes. Anyone else have some good luck with other colors?
Color all depends on the time of day you like to fish, and the water condition. Watermelon is a highly recommended color and is probably one of the most used colors. I, personally, use it and have had a lot of luck with it. A wacky rigged watermelon worm can be pretty enticing.
I've had alot of success with a rage rigged Rage Craw in pretty much any natural color. Caught my PB on that rig. Any type of creature bait or worm Texas Rigged should do pretty good. As other's have stated shallow running crank's are a good bet too. I also like to throw weightless plastic's just hook and lure.
I use some variation of watermelon, black and blue, or baby bass. I don't know if those are actually the names, but you get the idea.
On 6/19/2013 at 4:48 AM, JunkYard814 said:I use some variation of watermelon, black and blue, or baby bass. I don't know if those are actually the names, but you get the idea.
On 6/19/2013 at 4:26 AM, CarolinaBoy4Life said:I've had alot of success with a rage rigged Rage Craw in pretty much any natural color. Caught my PB on that rig. Any type of creature bait or worm Texas Rigged should do pretty good. As other's have stated shallow running crank's are a good bet too. I also like to throw weightless plastic's just hook and lure.
On 6/19/2013 at 4:24 AM, BadContrakt said:Color all depends on the time of day you like to fish, and the water condition. Watermelon is a highly recommended color and is probably one of the most used colors. I, personally, use it and have had a lot of luck with it. A wacky rigged watermelon worm can be pretty enticing.
Okay thanks for the suggestions! To provide a little more information, I fish in the morning to afternoon hours when the temperature is in the high 70's and 80's. The pond I fish is kind of murky, but not completely. Its kinda half and half. Also, theres a lot of lily pads that are pretty hard to get to, but also some shallow water with tree branches over it. Lots of fallen trees around the perimeter. Hopefully with this info y'all can make some more suggestions, and thanks to everyone who leaves a response! It's greatly appreciated!
i love a super fluke in a watermelon red or watermelon seed color, weightless.
I use the full assortment of lures because my theory is that the fish doesn't know whether it's in a pond or a lake. I pick a lure based on depth, cover, weather and other conditions without considering the size of the water.
I've been doing pretty good with weedless and weightless white flukes along with senkos and such.. If I want to pond hop and wanna cover the pond fast, i go around with the fluke fishing along shorelines, any type of brush/branches/woods/specks of weeds and such and on those hot days i normally find them close to structure or along shore.. I use white flukes mostly...
i always start with a texas rig with a U tail or a creature bait and color depending on the visibility. I also carry spro frogs, buzz baits, really any top water, jigs, and spinnerbaits but the T- Rig is my go to