TheLastRodBender

Suspending jerkbait - Husky jerk or variation there of. Smaller pond means the water is generally a couple degrees warmer then bigger waters due to the shallow water. I would vary my retreive. Deadstick it a bit, rip it hard a bit and everything in between. Flukes - Again, retreive about the same as the jerkbait. Weightless Stickbaits - I dont know what the 'cover' situation is, but i'd be throwing 4" stick baits around any cover on the water. Grass, Trees, whatever. I'd start with that and if none of that works i'd go deeper with a T-rigged worm, or that same stickbait, or even a fluke bounced around cover.

Rod - Abu Garcia Veritas Reel - Shimano Line - Berkeley Trilene/Flouro Soft Plastics - Strike King/Zoom/Yamamoto Hard Bait - Strike King/Bandit Storage - Plano

None of mine can stand up to these but it's worth a shot. My buddy and i are fishing a while back. Hitting a bunch of trees along a shoreline. All of a sudden we hear a "SMACK" on the water. We look around and see nothing and dismiss it thinking it was a carp. About 10 seconds later i look behind the boat and see a little head moving through the water, followed by a squarrel climbing out of the water and onto shore. Then shaking the water off and looking disoriented. I dont know what was so funny about it but my buddy and i were in TEARS laughing about a squarrel falling out of a tree. The drop was probably a good 25 - 30 feet and the little bugger ran off afterwards. Another one - My buddy and i were out fishing a couple weeks ago... he hooked into a fish and was bringin it in. I then asked him if he needed a net... as i do that i catch a glimps of her. She's a 4.5 lb HAWG and i scramble. I reach down to grab her (disregarded the net at this point) and cant lip her. I try to grab her with my hands, just as she flops and goes AIRBORN.... so i reach for her again... AIRBORN and she slides straight up in the air through my arms.... looked like something out of a cartoon. I ended up landing her and as soon as she was int he boat my buddy and i shared TEARS laughing...

T-rigged Flukes/Stickbaits weightless Spinnerbaits ripped across, literally to the point where they make a wake on the surface... Any floating topwater bait (popper, frog, spit-n-image) Just some thoughts? Also when you're retrieving, keep your rod tip pointed at the sky, it keeps the line from going underwater as much. When your line goes under water it sinks and gets 'involved' in the muck, thus bringing it straight to the bait you are retrieving. If you want to invest a little more money, look into line that floats, this will also help.

Hey everyone! Northern Virginia here, been bass fishing my whole life and have recently decided to 'up my game.' Tight lines and good luck!!!! ;D