Small Pond Fishing 2024

mistahubbs reply :

Its hard times trying to find a thread to post topics related to small pond fishing. Figured there needed to be a set place to post ideas and tips.

The small pond that I fish near my home in NC is murky water with a soft bottom. So far I have only pulled two bass out this year. I have tried just about everything mainly spinners and jigs. The pond has a defined shallow end and deep end and the bass are always tough to locate.

What are some good tips on locating the bass during certain times of the day, temperatures, etc. and what might be some popular lures and techniques to use for small pond fishing?

nboucher reply :

Welcome to the forum. There are lots of small pond anglers who are active members here. Try these threads for a sampling of the info that's been offered recently:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1172842226/0

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1162396013/0

Fishin49er reply :

Spinnerbaits are one of my favorite pond lures. I live in North Carolina myself and its about the time they are making beds or already on them getting ready to spawn. I went out the other day and could see them in the shallows and would pitch a senko right in front of their nose and they would look at it and swim away. So it might just be a tough time. Keep at it and you'l find them.

bassinandrew88 reply :

i started bass fishing ponds and small lake-like ponds and stuff that i could ride my bike to and stuff from when i was 12 to now im almost 19 and i've just started fishing bigger waters...ribbon tail plastic worms in red shad, green pumpkin, watermelon seed, and natural colored worms with a bright ribbon tails have been a "money bait" on every pond i've ever fished at any time of the year pretty much if you adjust your retrieve speed to how active the fish are you should kill them on plastic worms

PondBoss reply :

I've fished ponds all of my life and the best bait for me has always been a 1/8 strike king mini king in white or chartreuse. Buzz the sucker right under the surface. I"d been having hook up problems lately cuz the bait is moving so fast so what I did was turn the trailer hook upside down more likely to get snagged on stuff but if you can see your bait just under the surface the only thing you should snag is bass.

bannedforspamming1 reply :

My favorite has to be heavy salt sinking stick baits fished weightless. Either tex-posed or wacky riged. I fish a lot of small shallow ponds and get a lot of huge fish out of them. So throw some weightless soft plastics and you'll boat fish.

jomatty reply :

day in and day out nothing beats a senko in small waters (at least for me). they consistently catch fish and stay out of the soft mucky bottoms that are so common in these bodies of water. many baits are effective but just too much trouble when there is a lot of algae and much and what not.

Shakes reply :

It should never been difficult to locate bass in a small pond, that is... if there is any left for you to catch. At certain small lakes I've been to, fishing pressure is so high that people actually keep all the small bass they catch to eat them. It makes me sick. Depending on fishing pressure, its possible there's nothing left in that small pond.

Now if there is, a spinnerbait is definately the way to go. I've discovered a great spinnerbait that seems to work in all types of water. Its a Kevin Van Dam Spinnerbait. I bought it at BPS with an all chartruese skirt, number 3 colorado, and number 6 indiana blades both in gold. After a little bit of fishing, i switched the skirt to a white/chartruese to make it more versitile. Cost me around 4 bucks. I caught a 7 pound hawg yesterday in clear water. With double golds, and chartruese in my skirt. Give it shot, you might like it.

As for searching, if is murky water, throw something that attracts the fish a little more and something they can see. I'd try a firetiger or bright chartruese spinnerbait. Either way, throw double gold blades. If that doesn't work, try a chartruese rattle trap. Small ponds are the best spots to fish because you circle the whole lake and cover the water 3 or 4 times before you leave.

Randy Beasley reply :

spinnerbait, rattletrap, chatterbait, but my favorite is a wacky rigged finesse worm (but make sure the fish can see it)

bassinandrew88 reply :

lol guys i think we should just estabolish that in general you can throw just about anything that you can fish with confidence and have some degree of success...i was just reading this over again and thats the conclusion i've drawn...so whatever you can throw and fish with confidence will probably work.

hitormiss reply :

Maybe it's me but I have had no luck with spinners in the ponds I fish. Texas rigged worms and Carolina rigged lizards are my most successful baits. When it warms up a bit (cold today in G'ville, NC) buzz baits and poppers work in the morning. When in doubt throw a worm, bass don't seem to remember that they got hooked on one before. I've caught the same fish more than once, I know because he broke me off the first time and the second time I got my original worm and hook back.

skillet reply :

I qualify for the pond or small lake bank-beater as well as anyone and was thinking the same thing as bassinandrew 88 while reading. The only thing I don't throw is diving crankbaits and not because they don't work.IMHO crankbaits need to bounce off things like stumps, limbs, rocks, etc. to work best and in my advanced state of age I just don't like swimming to unsnag them anymore ;D!

I will and do throw anything else you would throw in a large lake...

As Ever,

Skillet

nboucher reply :

Small ponds are great because, not only are they pleasant places to be, they can function like fishing laboratories. I learn more by fishing on a small pond for one day than I would learn fishing a lake for a week.

Because you can cover an entire small pond in an hour or two, if you fish it often and get to know it well, you can try all kinds of lures and techniques that are unfamiliar to you. Jig not a confidence bait for you? Go to a small pond you know well and practice with it there. You don't have to worry too much about looking for fish, because you can cover the entire pond with it over a relatively short timespan. Then, when you do catch a fish on a jig, you know the habitat well enough to try to figure out why it worked in that spot.

Sure there are days when you want to just go out and use your confidence baits and catch fish, but I think anybody who regularly fishes a small pond should spend at least some time using exactly those lures and techniques are most unfamiliar and most uncomfortable.

fishingJ reply :

If I were you I'd try throwing some 3inch curly tail worms, you really can't go wrong. Just put one on a 1/8 ounce jig and cast it out, retrieve it close to the bottom somewhat slowly. I use this technique at my local pond and it never fails. Good luck, and keep us updated.

chs773 reply :

i fish alot of small small ponds in nc and what works best for me is texas rigged black grape trick worms, wacky rigged senkos, and try a road runner they work good for small ponds

jomatty reply :

i totally agree with the sentiment about small ponds functioning as labrotories. ive gained the confidence to use many lures at small ponds and then applied that confidence to larger bodies of water. i agree that anything can work well in a small pond but also agree with skillet that i stay away from things like cranks as it is just too frustrating to have to break off expensive lures without even really trying to get em back. sometimes if i see some cheap cranks on sale ill pick some up especially for pond fishing. only took me one lucky craft flat cb to realize that i could not throw these baits in most small ponds.

although anything can work i still think there are certain things that are very well suited to the often slimy, mucky conditions that are prevalent in small ponds. top on this list is senko or fat ika and another really good option is something like a ribbit or horny toad, especially if there is grass.

matt

moby bass reply :

There is a small pond in my area, where my son and I fish often. Our most successful lures seem to be inline spinners like Joe's Flies, Rooster Tails, etc. It also has a mucky bottom with alot of moss and weeds.

I frequently have to clean off the lure. Yesterday I got one bass out of the pond (on a Joes Flies inline),

and today one on a Strike King chartreuse Little Mr. Money. Having said that, last year I took bass out of the pond on a Senko Carolina rigged, black Jitterbug, buzzbaits, and assorted spinnerbaits, and some assorted Rebel lures like grasshoppers. Most anything seems to work but the spinnerbaits are by far the most effective. I haven't tried too many shallow cranks, I will this year. Deep cranks pick up too much muck.

fishingchef80 reply :

heres my 2 cents worth i primarily fish a small pond all summer. mister twister grubs work great 4'' double tails and when summer hits and the weeds get thick i'll throw texas rigged 5'' to 7''worms

New 2 Bass reply :

All I fish is small ponds and canals. Soft plastics rock. Sticks, lizards, worms. Dark and light colors. Slow, real slow fishin'. I finally had a killer day on the rat l trap but that is uncommon. > Try the plastics, they are proven. If all else fails, bluegills catch bass too.

Sam reply :

My suggestion is for you to locate where the fish are.

To do this, try a Rooster Tail.

Bream, crappie, catfish and bass will strike a 1/16 Rooster Tail.

I like the white/with gray blocks, number 206.

I also like the treble hooks but the single hook is OK.

Once you locate where which fish are where, you can then change your baits.

And one other suggestion. Uncle Homer says to boil about a pound of rice and let it cool. Then, take the rice to that part of the pond where you fish and throw it out using a large kitchen spoon.

The rice is supposed to attract minnows which in turn attract bream and bass.

I tried it last weekend but I have been so busy I have not had time to return to the pond and give it a try.

Good luck.

mossy500camo reply :

A nephew and I fish a large private pond. I use Crappie jigs white bucktails, and soft plastic shad. These jigs work better for me.

bass assassin121 reply :

I use a soft curly tail in the Electric Blue color. They are the cheapest ones in wal-mart but here in Maryland, they work better than all the rest.

Pond-Pro reply :

As someone else already stated, if the bass don't recieve much pressure, you can catch them on about anything you want to. Weightless softplastics work great. I prefer fishing topwaters a lot because there so much fun.

GatorBK reply :

I fished a lot of small ponds in NC mostly in the mountains , I used to do good with a purple worm till about june then a chartruese crank bait. From the 20 years I lived in NC I found the next 2 weeks are the best fishing for big bass , I caught an 11.1 first week of May in 3 acre pond in NC. my biggest bass ever .

I like to fish near deeper water in a small pond and near cover

try a black Jitterbug at night on some of those little ponds and see what happens.

armesjr reply :

I pretty much just fish small ponds, and typically catch the most fish using soft plastics: tubes, 10 inch worms, trick worms wacky ricked, and horny/ seismic toads. I also have been having a some luck lately fishing these soft plastic minnows form blue flox that have a spinner in the front, and a treble hook coming out the back. here is a link http://www.bluefox.com/products/vibrax_doubleheader.php to what they look like. They are really cheap and i got a couple from walmart, i just fish them parallel with the shore and have caught a decent amount of fish. I caught a crappie, a lmb, and a pike in about a 20 min span on these last weekend.

Also how are people fishing chatterbaits, i have trying them out recently and have only caught one fish.

LCpointerKILLA reply :

Its all about the senko, and I can prove it.

GC Pondman

12803

Small Pond Fishing 2024

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