Big fish in small pond?? 2025
Ksam1234 reply :
So I was wondering if you guys think a big fish can be in small pond/lakes. Or should I stick to the bigger lakes for that. We have this small lake/pond maybe about 20 acres big. The biggest fish I got out of there is about 2 1/2-3 pounds. You think there might be any hogs in here ? Has pretty good structure. Lots of old logs and dead trees sticking up. Weeds and cat tails. Or should I stick to the bigger bodies of water
HeavyDluxe reply :
It's hard to say... If you're seeing/catching a lot of middlin' sized bass, it's possible the competition for forage is heavy enough in that pond that it's hard for a big mama to grow. But, it's at least as likely there's something bigger in there.
I've caught my best fish out of very small bodies of water... So, I don't think one has to fish big water to get big bites.
One thing you can do is to upsize your presentation or use big-fish oriented baits (like jigs, for example) to try and ensure that you're not just hooking the aggressive, competitive little bucks before the bigger fish get a chance to munch on you. It'll reduce your catch rate, but might produce the size you want more quickly.
MBB Nate reply :
I fished a farm pond last week that was maybe 300x150 ft and caught 12 fish between 2 and 6 lbs in about an hour.
Im sure its shallow, and its never fished. There are literally hundreds of bullfrogs so im sure thats what is letting them thrive.
Yeajray231 reply :
Yes. Definitely. I fish several ponds and one that I frequent has a LM that is 24"...confirmed, and the pond isn't even 4 acres. And hasn't been stocked in over a decade. Genetics and proper (also abundant) forage are most key.
Not an opinion . This is fact.
Dens228 reply :
Caught this on a five acre pond in the middle of a suburban subdivision surrounded by houses.
david in va reply :
Some of the biggest fish are caught in small ponds or lakes. Here in VA anyway
OCdockskipper reply :
If you want to catch 1 big bass, your odds are better in a farm pond. If you want to catch 5 bass totaling over 25 lbs, your odds are better in a larger lake. Not that either can't happen in the other scenario, but typically there is one queen of a pond while larger lakes can usually support multiple larger fish.
I fished a 3 acre farm pond this March in Georgia, the owner wanted to see what amount & size bass were in it. Since the area near the dam was devoid of cover save for one brush pile, I went ahead and threw a Ned rig on 8 lb line in order to get as many bites as possible. First 4 casts resulted in 3 aggressive 10" bass. Fifth cast, the line tightened up, and I set the hook on the queen of the pond. She broke the surface, with a head that was as big if not bigger than my PB, and then pulled drag on her way over to the brush pile. I did a bad job of getting her turned, she went into the brush pile & broke me off. Now the queen has a lip ring.
Over the next 90 minutes, I caught about 20 more stunted dinks and a dozen or so bluegill the size of my face. From what I understand, that kind of dispersion (many dinks & large bluegill, a couple really large bass) is normal for small ponds that receive no pressure or management.
nstec reply :
I've caught many fish larger than 21/2 - 3 pounds in farm ponds smaller than 20 acres. The particular pond you're talking about may not have bigger fish, but the size of the body of water certainly isn't the limiting factor.
the reel ess reply :
The first bass I ever caught over 6 lbs was in a 3-4 acre pond.
Ksam1234 reply :
On 8/13/2017 at 8:17 AM, OCdockskipper said:If you want to catch 1 big bass, your odds are better in a farm pond. If you want to catch 5 bass totaling over 25 lbs, your odds are better in a larger lake. Not that either can't happen in the other scenario, but typically there is one queen of a pond while larger lakes can usually support multiple larger fish.
I fished a 3 acre farm pond this March in Georgia, the owner wanted to see what amount & size bass were in it. Since the area near the dam was devoid of cover save for one brush pile, I went ahead and threw a Ned rig on 8 lb line in order to get as many bites as possible. First 4 casts resulted in 3 aggressive 10" bass. Fifth cast, the line tightened up, and I set the hook on the queen of the pond. She broke the surface, with a head that was as big if not bigger than my PB, and then pulled drag on her way over to the brush pile. I did a bad job of getting her turned, she went into the brush pile & broke me off. Now the queen has a lip ring.
Over the next 90 minutes, I caught about 20 more stunted dinks and a dozen or so bluegill the size of my face. From what I understand, that kind of dispersion (many dinks & large bluegill, a couple really large bass) is normal for small ponds that receive no pressure or management.
Well I guess tomorrow I'm going to be fishing the pond! Thanks for the advice everyone.
On 8/13/2017 at 8:28 AM, the reel ess said:The first bass I ever caught over 6 lbs was in a 3-4 acre pond.
Yeah I would love anything 4 pounds and over! So I hope she is in there
On 8/13/2017 at 8:02 AM, HeavyDluxe said:It's hard to say... If you're seeing/catching a lot of middlin' sized bass, it's possible the competition for forage is heavy enough in that pond that it's hard for a big mama to grow. But, it's at least as likely there's something bigger in there.
I've caught my best fish out of very small bodies of water... So, I don't think one has to fish big water to get big bites.
One thing you can do is to upsize your presentation or use big-fish oriented baits (like jigs, for example) to try and ensure that you're not just hooking the aggressive, competitive little bucks before the bigger fish get a chance to munch on you. It'll reduce your catch rate, but might produce the size you want more quickly.
Ok I'll try using more jigs, I have a few nice skirted ones for punching etc.
the reel ess reply :
The cool thing about ponds is that, if you can get to all of it, you can present a bait to a big fish if there are any. They may not bite, but that's better odds than in a big lake.
Ksam1234 reply :
On 8/13/2017 at 9:42 AM, the reel ess said:The cool thing about ponds is that, if you can get to all of it, you can present a bait to a big fish if there are any. They may not bite, but that's better odds than in a big lake.
That's true , I wanna try a change on scenery to, been fishing the same like for about 2 months straight so a new pond would be nice. I have fished it before and I know it holds fish just wasn't sure if maybe there could be a hidden gem there
Bluebasser86 reply :
I could easily cast across the pond this fish came out of, probably not 20 yards across in any direction.
Ksam1234 reply :
On 8/13/2017 at 10:15 AM, Bluebasser86 said:I could easily cast across the pond this fish came out of, probably not 20 yards across in any direction.
Now that's a pig !
Catt reply :
Absolutely!
I have a friend who has a 20 acre pond that's 3 1/2-4 yrs old, it producing 6-7# bass.
#1 is genetics & second is food source
This pond is stocked with F1Tiger bass & it has become very difficult to catch anything.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 8/13/2017 at 12:05 PM, Ksam1234 said:Now that's a pig !
Thanks, it was and still is the largest bass I've caught on a swimbait.
Raul reply :
I caught my first 10+ lber in an one acre pond, that day I was on fire because I caught 2 more and lost another one right at the bank. Want to hear something interesting ? My friend Pedro and I had fished that pond for years and the only thing we caught were 10-12 inchers by the truckload.
wdp reply :
Small ponds & lakes can def hold big fish. My biggest 2 so far this yr have come outta small bodies of water.
This one came from a pond not much bigger than a football field. Around 7 lbs. Bank fishing with a popper.
This 9 lb 4 oz fatty came from a small 30 acre lake.
And this 8 lb 13 oz came outta of a small lake about 20 acres in size.
Sword of the Lord reply :
My biggest fish come out of unassuming ponds. My buddy has an 8 pounder on his garage wall; he caught it in a pond 10 minutes away from us.
Sam reply :
On 8/13/2017 at 8:15 AM, david in va said:Some of the biggest fish are caught in small ponds or lakes. Here in VA anyway
I have caught big bass in very small ponds.
The major pond I fish is a seven acre farm pond that is where I have caught my person bests.
I have caught big ones in small golf course ponds and in an office complex pond.
Of course, caught ones over four ponds in the Historic James River, too.
Go figure.
Dtrombly reply :
I fish a small farm pond regularly. Have caught many 3-4lb as well as one 6lb and lost an 8+ at the bank. They are in there
Rollincoal420 reply :
So with all this being said, how small of a pond is too small? I wonder about many little ponds I see. Somewhere around 20ft x 20ft, probably only a couple feet deep at most. Some are retention pond in similar square footage
roadwarrior reply :
Little ponds dry up occasionally. My most productive pond is a neighborhood around 13 acres.
I still catch some nice bass, but my "pet" was removed last year by some jerk. When taken she weighed 10.4 lbs.
Ksam1234 reply :
Well I went out to the pond.. got a couple smalls then this guy appeared !
Sword of the Lord reply :
On 8/13/2017 at 10:36 PM, roadwarrior said:Little ponds dry up occasionally. My most productive pond is a neighborhood around 13 acres.
I still catch some nice bass, but my "pet" was removed last year by some jerk. When taken she weighed 10.4 lbs.
I can't stand that. Catch and release the bass, especially good ones, especially from ponds.
LxVE Bassin reply :
My personal best came out of a pond that's smaller than a football field.
clh121787 reply :
I've hammered ponds for numbers. But never caught any real big ones probably 6 pounds or so
Chowderhead reply :
My PB (7.3) came while fishing from shore (middle of a rain storm) on a 13 acre pond in Massachusetts nearly three (3) decades ago:
http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dfg/dfw/habitat/maps-ponds/johnson-pond.pdf
MichaelCopeland reply :
On 8/13/2017 at 11:35 PM, Ksam1234 said:Well I went out to the pond.. got a couple smalls then this guy appeared !
There's one like that in a fairly small pond not far from my house. Planning on going there in a couple hours and hopefully catching it. Nice catch by the way!
WRB reply :
If the small or pond is deep enough to servive winters, has abundant food source and not over populated with bass, a bass can grow big as several photos prove. My 1st DD bass came from a rock quarry about 5 acres, spring and stream fed with water over 30' deep. Caught the bass on a 6" jointed Pikie #2618 using Langley Lure Cast reel, Connolin rod and 12 lb diamond back Dacron braid.
There were several big bass in the quarry lake and watched them for hours in the clear water. There was 3 quarry lakes connected by a canal, the biggest was about 20 acres, the smallest 2 acres and the middle where the big bass were in was the deepest and had a big pump for water supplying the sand and gravel plant we called the rock crusher. Fresh cool spring water and a stream from the river a about a mile way kept this pond full all the time. Ideal big bass envorinmemt with lots prey being replenished year around. The problem was it was on private property and as a teen ager a challenge to fish without getting caught by the patrol. The bass were northern strain in these small lakes.
The Castaic lagoon, Lake Dixon are small lakes less than 1/2 mile long, both are deep and have Florida strain LMB and legendary giant bass lakes. I don't know how long Montgomery oxbow lake was when Goerge Perry caught his WR bass in 1932, it dried up in the early 50's, couldn't have been very big or deep. Florida is full of small lakes with big bass as the late Doug Hannon proved by catching hundreds of DD bass.
Tom
Ksam1234 reply :
On 8/14/2017 at 3:15 AM, clh121787 said:I've hammered ponds for numbers. But never caught any real big ones probably 6 pounds or so
6 pound bass is big where I live.
BassObsessed reply :
As stated it depends on alot of things. My recent homestate PB of 7.5 was caught in a 2-3 acre pond and that's a northern strain. In Florida I have caught bass over 10 in about the same size waters. I have a 3/4 acre pond that has bass over 5 but I maintain it pretty frequently.
soflabasser reply :
Yes bass can get quite big in small waters if all the proper conditions are met and there are lots of people who catch +8 pound bass in ponds most people would drive by and not fish thinking the pond has no big bass in it.
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