Help Fishing In A Small Pond 2025
TheBigOne reply :
My neighbor has a small pond around 2-3 acres and I have recently started to fish in this pond. Lately I have been fishing for around 2 hours and only catching one bass. The pond has low visibility. I can only see around 1 foot on the bank. To fish, I use either a dark purple 4" worm or a square billed watermelon colored crankbait. There is no trees or any structure at the bottom that I am aware of although there are trees that shade the outside of the pond during some parts of the day. There are only largemouth bass and small bream. The bottom is lined with leaves making it hard to use crankbaits. On one side of the pond there are a bunch of small rocks that line the edge but still can't catch much there. I am aware that bass like weed beds and drop offs but I do not know how to find them. Would anybody recommend anything to maximize the fish caught?
Ozark_Basser reply :
They will hug the bank more times than not. Try topwaters at dusk and dawn. Dropshotting is also another good idea. Or swimming baits.
TheBigOne reply :
I have tried fishing up close to the banks with no luck the pond was dredged so the banks are super shallow. I also only have two topwater baits; a frog and popper. Which do you think is better.
Ozark_Basser reply :
On 6/17/2015 at 6:41 AM, TheBigOne said:I have tried fishing up close to the banks with no luck the pond was dredged so the banks are super shallow. I also only have two topwater baits; a frog and popper. Which do you think is better.
Hard to say for sure. One could be better on any given day. In my experience, frogs usually catch bigger fish though.
TheBigOne reply :
Will a bass still strike a frog even though there is no grass or lilypads on top
Ozark_Basser reply :
Yes they will.
Hurricane reply :
Throw a strike king Mini King Spinnetbait. .. Without a doubt you should catch fish..
TheBigOne reply :
Any specific color?
HoosierHawgs reply :
I would throw a black w/a Colorado blade due to low visibility? Maybe try night fishing? Check out the threads on it a few pages back.
fishballer06 reply :
You mean, you haven't thrown a Senko?! 
Meldawg reply :
I have a pond in my neighborhood that is similar. I know you get snagged on a crankbait but if you try the strike king 1.0 small square bill only runs 2-3 foot deep you should be able to catch a few. Doesnt happen every time out for me, but when they do bite I catch 5 or 6 in a two hour time period. Give it a shot. Also try throwing a sexy dawg jr, or zara spook, if you know how to walk them they are effective.
TheBigOne reply :
No, I have not thrown a senko. Are they expensive. Also, with a spinnerbait, would I need to buy some trailer hooks.
MrE1979 reply :
I would try top water baits at dusk into dark. A Zara spook or a jitterbug in black would probably produce well for you. Try different retrieval speeds until you find the right one. The big ones come out to play at night.
jiggerpole reply :
This is a pic of a bass my son caught the other day in a 2 acre pond. His friend hung a 4 pounder ??? that broke his line. The next cast my son got this one. Six + pounds. After that, they caught only a few dinks and he said the bite shut off.
Learn what you can about the pond. "It's only two acres". Try and make a lot of cast with the same worm and weight and draw a map to outline the pond. Count how long it takes for your worm to hit the bottom and mark the counts on your map. Doing this should give you an ideal of the depth of the lake and bass strongly relate to areas where the water is next to deeper water. After doing this, one approach you should remember is stealth. Bass spook easier in small ponds, even if the water is dark. I believe they can literally hear your footsteps around the pond. After you catch one you may have to let it settle down. Repeating a cast to the same spot over and over could make a bass mad enough to hit your lure or it could more likely deter them from striking again. Switching baits after a few cast to a known good spot may be the ticket. (Sometimes they just won't hit anything.) Aside from live bait. Think small baits that look natural.
One pond I take friends to fish, has almost without exception given up a bass on the first cast. After the second or third bass it becomes much less likely to give up a bass so easily. We always sneak up to it like sneaking up on a deer. Good Luck. and post your results.
TheBigOne reply :
Do you think a chatterbait would work good?
Ozark_Basser reply :
On 6/18/2015 at 9:04 AM, TheBigOne said:Do you think a chatterbait would work good?
Probably. Stained water and chatterbaits are a good mix.
Adleyfishes reply :
Use some Berkley baits also try just sitting some sort of bait that has a scent in shallow or deep water depending on the temp.
hawkoath reply :
If you haven't thrown a Senko worm that would be my first choice. Wacky rig it with a weedless hook and toss it to where you think the fish might be. Try Texas rigging it as well if you find any weed beds. Also, maybe try the Ned Rig that's becoming popular. Toss out a Football Jig and see what the bottom structure is like and find vegetation if there is any.
Yamamoto and Kinami Senko can be found for sale here I believe. I'm not sure if they still have the sale but the grab bags are still available for cheap.
http://www.overstockbait.com/yamamoto-kinami-sale/
nestor reply :
On 6/18/2015 at 8:32 AM, jiggerpole said:
Learn what you can about the pond. "It's only two acres". Try and make a lot of cast with the same worm and weight and draw a map to outline the pond. Count how long it takes for your worm to hit the bottom and mark the counts on your map. Doing this should give you an ideal of the depth of the lake and bass strongly relate to areas where the water is next to deeper water. After doing this, one approach you should remember is stealth. Bass spook easier in small ponds, even if the water is dark. I believe they can literally hear your footsteps around the pond. After you catch one you may have to let it settle down. Repeating a cast to the same spot over and over could make a bass mad enough to hit your lure or it could more likely deter them from striking again. Switching baits after a few cast to a known good spot may be the ticket. (Sometimes they just won't hit anything.) Aside from live bait. Think small baits that look natural.
If memory serves me correctly, depth can be determined by counting the seconds for a 1/4 ounce weight to hit the bottom after splashing down. Each second = 1 foot
Please correct me if I'm wrong on my units of time and weight.
The_fisherman reply :
On 6/17/2015 at 1:21 AM, TheBigOne said:I am aware that bass like weed beds and drop offs but I do not know how to find them. Would anybody recommend anything to maximize the fish caught?
I use this technique for carp fishing but it's a general technique that can be applied in any area. Attach a good size fishing float to the end of the line. On the line itself put a sliding sinker (I use 1oz bank sinker with a snap swivel). Put one foot mark on your rod with nail polish. (One foot from the bail of the reel). Cast this thing and start winding so that the float will go under the water until it hits the weight. Now feed the line out until you will see the float. This will give you the depth. Wind the line for the next 10 yds and repeat the process. Keep winding and measuring until you reach the bank. This way you can measure the depth at any lake.
To find the bottom structure drag the same weight along the bottom by lifting your rod tip (not reeling in). Feel for any irregularities. This gives you the information about the bottom structure (sand, gravel, silt, weeds, etc.).
TheBigOne reply :
Just got some 5" name brand Senkos and a Mini Strike King Midnight with Calarado Blades. Going to try them out in a small river, wish me luck.
hawkoath reply :
May the force be with you.
Fisherman) reply :
Try bright color rooster tails. At the pond in my neighborhood I catch around 8 bass and get tons of hits!
Fisherman) reply :
Try bright color rooster tails. At the pond in my neighborhood I catch around 8 bass and get tons of hits!
TheBigOne reply :
I have been reading up on spinnerbaits and am debating on buying some trailer hooks. I also have purchased a KVD white spinnerbait with two willow blades and am looking forward to trying them out.
Hurricane reply :
I love the booyah 1/4 ounce spinnerbait in white/chartreuse. .. My favorite spinnerbait ever.
TheBigOne reply :
Is white with two willow blades a good combination for murky water because the only other blades I have is a single Calarado that is attached to the mini Strike King. Or maybe one Calarado blade with one willow blade
Grizzn N Bassin reply :
Yeah chatter baits work great. Get some senkos, try buzz baits or some kind of top water. Everything that works in big lakes and rivers work in ponds. Try using some ribbon tail worms or a jig around those rocks. Good luck
TheBigOne reply :
I have been trying topwater for the past two weeks or so and nothing. I have a popper and a couple prop baits, frogs.... Nothing, not a single bite. I don't know what it is. Maybe the bass just don't like topwater in this pond.
TheBigOne reply :
But I have had great luck with Senkos
Neil McCauley reply :
If you're doing topwater, try a popper with a flyrod.
You have to be pretty discrete pond fishing...sounds are amplified and fish know the little environment well. They're also very wary of land predators like Blue Herons so they will shut down surface feeding if they sense splashing or shadows near the shore.
smr_hga reply :
I'd suggest a bucktail jig. You can get a pack of them for a dollar or two and they work very well for me.
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