Hard Pond To Fish 2025
Umair Faizuddin reply :
Hi! This is my first post so please don't judge me if I'm doing this wrong 
. Ive been fishing at this one private pond by my house in Hoffman Estates, IL for about 3 years. It's a slow pond (not much action) but I know the association stocks it yearly with LM bass, SM bass, pike, musky and carp. There is also perch and bluegill in there too. The pond is around 6 ft deep and its murky water and has no vegetation. I would say its almost the size of a football field. I'm more of a bass fisherman myself. So far I have only caught around 7-10 fish from that pond in my whole life. Pretty sad 
. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I don't really know what type of lure I should be fishing and what color. I just ask my friends what they use but I haven't really had much progress. Ive only caught fish in this one small pocket by the corner of the pond. There used to be a couple of willoew trees there that provided shade. Recently, they cut the trees down and I've only caught one fish since. Can someone please tell me what I should be using and what I'm doing wrong? Specific lures would be nice but my budget per lure would be under $10. Thanks!
Josh Smith reply :
Hello,
6ft? In Illinois?
Sounds like a really poor pond that pretty much freezes solid every year.
Over here in Indiana I don't know that I'd even try a pond like that.
Josh
roadwarrior reply :
http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/13845-guaranteed-to-catch-bass/
Preytorien reply :
I live over in Indiana too, and I fish neighborhood ponds quite a bit.
I'm no pond management expert but it sounds like almost every fish on the freshwater chain is stocked there! The number of fish might cause it to be that the abundance of food is so plentiful that lures would be tougher to use than other places. Additionally having no vegetation makes it tough. It's a hard call to make to deem a body of water a no-go.
That said, persistence is the only way to tell. Keep at it. Maximize your time at dusk/dawn for the more productive times for our region. With murky water, thumping blades, neon colors, and dark baits would probably work best. Myself personally, I'd hit the pond at dawn and dusk with a topwater anything....buzzbait, frog, spook, jitterbug, and work those until my fingers fell off. I hate fishing "chocolate milk" water.
Fishes in trees reply :
I say try for the biggest fish in the pond. Try this: First catch a bluegill. Then, on the heaviest gear you've got, rig a quick strike bait rig (this can be googled) and suspend the bluegill 3 or 4 feet down. If you can float the bait above a break line, where there is a distinctive change in depth, so much the better.
Right before casting, take your fillet knife and stick the bluegill 5 or 6 times, causing it to bleed & ooze.
Cast it out and lit it set at least half an hour before checking it. After half an hour, catch another bluegill & repeat.
If this doesn't work, try a different body of water. After a while, there is limited knowledge to be gained by smacking your head against the same wall over and over.
gulfcaptain reply :
If this pond has musky and pike stocked into it, then it probably doesn't have much else. You might not be catching bass there because there may not be much of a population if any with those two fish in the pond.
einscodek reply :
ya pike and musky arent real good for bass populations.. hopefully there are alot of weeds where the bass can hide
I'd look for them there buried in the weeds
gulfcaptain reply :
Murky water, no vegetation, pike & musky = few bass. Find another pond or try for the other two apex predators. Some places aren't worth the time to fish. But I give it to you, you have been extremely patent and persistant.
einscodek reply :
nothin wrong with pike or musky.. even bigger fish!
FishTank reply :
It sounds over stocked. Pike and musky in 6ft of water with bass?
I would guess that you need to hit the pond early when the fish are feading, pick up some 5 in Senkos (any dark color), rig it weightless with a 4/0 EWG hook (check out the Senko sticky), and if there are bass in there, you should hit something.
lmbfisherman reply :
On 9/5/2014 at 9:26 PM, FishTank said:It sounds over stocked. Pike and musky in 6ft of water with bass?
I would guess that you need to hit the pond early when the fish are feading, pick up some 5 in Senkos (any dark color), rig it weightless with a 4/0 EWG hook (check out the Senko sticky), and if there are bass in there, you should hit something.
You can also nail pike with Senkos!
timsford reply :
The live bluegill tip posted above is a great way to catch some really big bass. Ive used it quite a bit but ive never tried poking them with a knife. I catch one and hook it behind the dorsal and tie a balloon a couple feet above it so i can tell where it is and to keep it from diving in cover. The only problem i have with it is a lot of bass swallow it and die so i havent tried it in awhile. I started using bluegill swimbaits instead like the mattlures u2 bluegill. They are awesome in ponds and look just like the real thing but are a little more pricey than what you want to spend. Id also try shaky head worms and craws and squarebills. If you are willing to fish at night slow roll a black spinnerbait with a big colorado blade along the bottom. This time of year i almost always fish at night and only carry 3 lures. A black spinnerbait, black buzzbait, and black 7-12 inch worms t-rigged.
fishballer06 reply :
I agree with everyone else here. Way too shallow and it probably almost freezes solid in the winter. With pike and musky in there, they're probably eating everything else.
I'm surprised you haven't caught any pike or musky. Or at least been cut off by them yet. What exactly are you fishing this pond with?
I'd be willing to bet that if you threw a buzzbait or spinnerbait, you'd be able to catch any of the predatory fish that are in that pond (bass, pike & musky).
bigbill reply :
Before I really learned how to fish for bass here at every new place we used live minnows first. I used minnows to tell me what's there in the small ponds. Now I don't do that anymore.
Murky water conditions sends up a flag.
Brighter colored lures, larger in size, fished slower, having a rattle inside and using a bass scent is a plus. A slow steady reel, not too fast, slowest in murky, muddy waters.
Now I would try,
Joesfly 1/4oz bass size in firetiger apache.
Mann's 1/4oz spinner bait in chartreuse with Colorado gold blades and a characterised trailer and trailer hook.
Any small chartreuse spinner bait will do if the Mann's can be had.
Bomber crankbait model A citrus.
Adding a shot of yum shad scent is a plus.
I wash my hands before going fishing on every trip. I do not handle gas after my hands are clean from all foul oders.
I fish a small shallow pond like yours and the small bass are 3lbers now. It's a manmade runoff drainage pond for a mall. The small bass were only 3"/4" at first.
Josh Smith reply :
On 9/4/2014 at 12:05 PM, Umair Faizuddin said:Hi! This is my first post so please don't judge me if I'm doing this wrong
. Ive been fishing at this one private pond by my house in Hoffman Estates, IL for about 3 years. It's a slow pond (not much action) but I know the association stocks it yearly with LM bass, SM bass, pike, musky and carp. There is also perch and bluegill in there too. The pond is around 6 ft deep and its murky water and has no vegetation. I would say its almost the size of a football field. I'm more of a bass fisherman myself. So far I have only caught around 7-10 fish from that pond in my whole life. Pretty sad
This is what stands out to me:
• It has to be stocked yearly
• Largemouth, smallmouth, pike, musky, and carp are all stocked there.
• Pond is 6' deep.
• Pond has no vegetation.
• "There used to be a couple of willoew trees there that provided shade. Recently, they cut the trees down and I've only caught one fish since."
OK, so, a yearly stocking seems to point to a pond that has yearly kills going on.
As others have said, the pike and musky are eating everything else. Bluegill tend to be spread by water birds, and there probably are just not enough of them.
They were associating with the willow trees. Bass don't have irises that constrict light so direct light hurts their eyes. This is why they prefer shade.
They would have moved off to other structure, preferably some that provides shade. Underwater rocks and ledges, etc, are perfect for this.
To me, this type of pond is sort of like buying an aquarium, stocking it with fish, and fishing with one of these:
You're 190 miles from me. If you ever get over this way, I'd be happy to take you to a few local areas and let you catch bass critters.
Regards,
Josh
Umair Faizuddin reply :
Thank you all very much. After reading these amazing posts, I now know what to do. By the way I have caught 1 or 2 pike from the pond around 30 inches each.I'm kinda limited to to this pond because my folks won't take me anywhere else . I'm the only one out of all my relatives that goes fishing. I will definitely use these great tips you all have given me and if I'm still not catching anything, I'll try to go somewhere else with my friends. Thanks again!
bigbill reply :
30" pike? Fish harder.
We rode our bicycles to go fishing for many years or we fished in places we could walk too. We were happy to be fishing anywhere.
hatrix reply :
I would just try to find another place if at all possible to go besides there. Even though they stock it and lets just say no one ever fishes it hypothetical. Some places even though there is fish and never see any pressure just suck. I know a lot of places like that. They are never ever fished and there is fish for sure and some decent ones in there I would bet but they are just crappy and fish just don't bite well. Then on the other hand I know places that get hit pretty hard on the regular and you can go there and catch fish after fish. I can't really tell you why that is but both types come in every variety like clear or stained or weeds or no weeds ect.
Umair Faizuddin reply :
Yea I think the pond has been "overfished" and now none of the fish want to bite.
hatrix reply :
Like I said though it is weird how it works sometimes. You can say a place is over fished and that why its hard but there is places that are NEVER fished that are even harder? Why is that it really makes no sense. Then there is those places that get fished regularly and it is just a place you know you can go and stick some fish regardless of how much pressure it gets.
A perfect example is this place I had always wanted to fish off the side of the highway you can see it just for a few seconds and its of good enough size maybe 1.25 acre. Good enough that hey maybe I can pull a 5#er or 2 out of here. No one evvvveerrrrr fishes it. You have to stomp through this field of prickers and hitch hikers just to get to and all the stuff you go through is like 4' tall and its like a 10-15 min walk because of all the crap you have to get through. There is not a spec of garbage around it and I have driven by it 5897590285 times and never seen anyone ever. There is fish and I have been there like 5x and put in some time but only ever caught like 4 fish and I threw it all and threw it everywhere.
They on the other hand take my mothers house for example. It is like almost 7 acres and gets fished constantly. I fish it my brother fishes it my step father goes out there like almost every night for a little. He will just cruise around slowly on the boat toss some plastics or whatever maybe drink a beer or something and will catch fish. Then there is all the family that fish there. There is also 2 other houses on it and they fish it sometimes and if there is a little party or get together people fish it. It is not super big and over the years has been fished like crazy and these fish have seen some lures for sure. I have worked the hell out of it with everything and know every tiny little spec of that place yet I can go there and if I really really want to or have to I am 100% I will catch fish. Generally we just go there and goof off and throw whatever we want not really caring if it will catch fish or be the best possible choice just because I have caught thousands of 2# fish out of there and chances are you will catch something if you stick at it.
I know other places that are exactly the same as both of these but I used these as a example because they are such polar opposites yet and contradict what you would think it would be like.
You can fish big lakes or resis and say yea its super pressure and its a hard lake to get bit and that may be true and that might actually be the reason for it. But I know for a fact that places like that and places I fish there are fish that have never seen a lore and for sure not every kind of lure or presentation. Now my mothers as a example. There is no way there are any fish in there that have not seen a lure and most of them "the bass" have probably been caught at least a few times. You catch a fish there and there is a good chance it will have a hole in its mouth. It is not like they are hungry either. The place is swarming with BG all over and no one ever fishes for that except kids rarely. You can go out in the boat and literally see schools of like 50+ just chilling near the surface or something in the sun. You don't really see the bass to much though since they are down in the weeds waiting to grab something.
Umair Faizuddin reply :
Wow Hatrix you must be lucky to have so many ponds available to you that have a lot of good fish in them! It rained extremely hard last night and I was thinking to go early in the morning to fish. What lure should I use and what color?
hatrix reply :
On 9/6/2014 at 11:15 AM, Umair Faizuddin said:Wow Hatrix you must be lucky to have so many ponds available to you that have a lot of good fish in them! It rained extremely hard last night and I was thinking to go early in the morning to fish. What lure should I use and what color?
That is really totally subjective in a way and all depends on the place your are fishing. A good bet though for any place though is always "Low and Slow". If you want to catch some fish in even say a place you have never been plastics will probably be your best best to start. Also try to start off as small as you can like Ultra Lite status. The smaller it is = more fish can fit it in there mouth = more chance at catching one. Early in the morning though top water is a alright bet. it does depend though what you consider early. I mean like as the sun is coming up or before early. Maybe a small popper or something or a little buzzbait might grab a few. Every place is different though even if they share a lot in common. One lure or even down to how they want it like rate of fall might be super hot at one place and totally strike out at a place right down the road.
There has been plenty of time I have been somewhere and for example like I said rate of fall has been different. The first place maybe 3/8 was getting them good but then we go somewhere else and nothing. Switch it up to say 1/4 or 3/16 and all of a sudden your catching them again.
Its a puzzle that you are there to solve.
It is not that there is just tons of tons of places that are really good I just have weeded through a lot of the bad ones. The majority of places usually suck. Don't get me wrong here. You can catch some fish and some of them even decent size but it is not always great and some days it might only be a couple or even none.
As for color I don't really get into that much and just stick with natural colors usually. You really cant go wrong with natural colors no matter where it is. Although I have seen it make a difference in some instances more then others I don't get much into it. I am not one who will have 8 of the same model crankbait in all different colors. That's just not me. I will say thought for plastics even though its not natural purple is a hot color a lot of times around here. Purple power worms or baby brush hogs or whatever seem to catch fish and quite often. My step father swears by purple power worms no matter where he is and they work
Thats about it for un natural colors. Well things like jigs black and blue or even creature baits like a sweet beaver its good. Chartreuse is super common for things like spinner baits and tails of plastics and they work. White I guess also on things like spinner baits or chatterbaits. Natural colors are never a bad bait really. But going Low and Slow if your best chance at catching something and downsizing as small as you can.
Umair Faizuddin reply :
Wow! Using chartreuse caught me a 30 inch pike today! Never knew color could make such a big difference! The hard part wasn't catching the fish this time, but taking the fish off the hook lol.
CBD Fishing reply :
Maybe one of my videos can help I can talk about any subject you would like! just hit me on on my comments in any video or on Instagram at CBD_Fishing
https://www.youtube.com/user/Yurstruely44/videos
Umair Faizuddin reply :
On 9/10/2014 at 6:38 AM, CBD Fishing said:Maybe one of my videos can help I can talk about any subject you would like! just hit me on on my comments in any video or on Instagram at CBD_Fishing
Thanks a lot! Subscribed to ya too!
https://www.youtube.com/user/Yurstruely44/videos
Umair Faizuddin reply :
Hey everyone! I actually caught a pretty big fish! It was a carp that was around 18 pounds!!! I just used sweet corn and he fell for it! I'm so happy I finally caught a fish before everything freezes up. I also asked the owner of the private pond what the water clarity and depth was. The water is not as murky as I thought. It's actually stained because of all the dirt and guck inside of it. It has a cement bottom I think and is around 6 ft deep. Any tips on catching fish around this time of year? There are almost no trees surrounding it and its in the middle of apartment complexes. Over here it's kinda warm for fall and its warm enough that I can wear a T-shirt and shorts. Also, why do the carp in my pond jump out of the water randomly? Thanks!
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