primetime

I found a new Pond today...Its maybe 5 acres, soup bowl shape, clear water (3-4') visibility with the entire pond roughly 8-10' deep with a breakline that comes up pretty steep onto a 1-3' sandy flat on the shoreline. The shallow water is full of tiny 1-2" bluegills all schooled up, along with other 1/2" fry schools of likely tilapia and bass all jammed together. I only had about a half hour to fish it today, and in that time, I watched about a dozen good sized Bass come flying out of the deep water and ambush the baitfish. Not alot of shoreline structure, weeds are sparse and not much of an issue. I plan on going back over the next few days since I saw several 2-3lb solid bass, but in the time I fished, I only caught 1 on a zoom fluke in watermelon red, and focused on the dropoff. Any ideas would be welcome. I would imagine this pond has a few really good bass in it, so I am curious to hear some suggestions.

If not for the Slugg-0 we would not have the senko....First soft plastic jerkbait, and lunker City makes a ton of colors and a bunch of sizes which are all good. 3" up to 12". If you are looking for a good drop shot bait, the little fluke they make, Fin-s I think its called is a good bait, different profile. Lunker City baits are popular for Saltwater Surfcasters, I imagine more people still use them for bass, just do not get the press. You can often find them on clearance on the website. Lunker City has alot of good baits, swimbaits & Flukes & terminal tackle.....Texposer hooks are good. They are one of the few companies who truly offer unique designs different than everyone else.

I just add a split shot or bullet weight to my worm hook. I like to just crimp a split shot since its faster and easier. A pegged bullet weight on top of the hook does the same thing and i like my hook up ratio better with a bigger hook personally that many of the wacky hooks.

I would also vote for a Zoom ultravibe speed worm, or the paddle tail speed worm...You can fish either like a buzzbait or a crankbait etc.. A good way to fish it if not coming to the surface when buzzing it like a paddle tail keitech, is to add a light 1/16-1/8 oz sliding bullet weight. Cast it out and when the weight gets stuck in the grass (Not to deep, so the lightest weight possible), Rip it free & it often triggers strikes like when you rip a swim jig, rattle trap, jerkbait etc..... Swimming worms give them a different look/Profile. Many times you can just go weightless or peg a light weight and simpy buzz it on the surface or just bulge it and kill it in pockets. Flukes also make fanstastic topwater baits....If the caffiene shad is getting smaller fish, then upsise to the magnum size...Flukes catch big fish if you show them a bigger bait...Same with a stick worm, sluggo etc... Plastics are just easier to fish in weeds than most other baits when they are topped out. A swim jig is always a good idea as well if you can get the right weight to rip them out.

When I lived in NY, I would always do best in early spring with a 1/4 oz spinnerbait with a skirt that that has orange in it. For covering water, a Red or craw colored lipless crank is another great option, once you find fish, you can slow down and fish it with plastics.....Red Eye shad or a one knocker in red/orange is a safe bet. When in doubt...Throw a senko. You can always add a split shot in front or c-rig one if deeper, or rig your favorite plastic. If open water, you can't go wrong with casting a tube jig with open hook. Will catch fish any time of year.

small grubs and tubes, ned rig, small jerkbait like a rapala minnow etc. I would start out with a smaller plastic, tiny fluke size, 3-4" weightless senko, or split shot rigged small zoom finesse worm.... In creeks, spinners are never a bad idea....Mepps aglia will catch anything that swims. Same with a small road runner jig, maribou jig for crappie when its cold....

Whenever I fish ponds, and know I may lose a few lures, I only throw the Cordell super spots. They catch fish for me, I like the smaller model. When the Rat-l-trap first came out, the Cordell was the only other bait I remember being popular at the time. Its plenty good if they are hitting lipless cranks. I think the bait bonanza models are made for walmart, may have less expensive hooks, but since you are catching fish, keep throwing them.

I used to only buy nickel colored hooks for years, but picked up a few packs of red owner worm hooks on sale a few years ago, same with the red horny toad hooks....I actually have not noticed any difference in hook color. I had a blue hook that came in a bag of plastics from Gander Mountain once, and it also worked just as well. Not sure color matters, Red may help at times for contrast. Bronze should be fine.

Its tough to find a shallow suspender similar to the flash minnow in smaller sizes...I have an older discontinued (I believe) Max Rap saltwater jerkait which is very similar to the flash minnow, only dives a couple feet, but not sure if they made a smaller size. May have them on ebay. Reaction Strike has a jerkbait that suspends perfectly and is a bit smaller than the 95mm, it is xrm-80 and only dives 2-3'. Alot of reaction strike baits are considered "Cheap" but they are a large OEM, and some of their hardbaits are actually really good. I am not sure if this is still on the market, but it comes with really good hooks, suspends great, and perfect for fishing over grass. You may be able to find them online.... I imagine Strike Pro makes one, you can possibly find a good alterntative on there website as they make lures for a bunch of companies and have a huge selection of lures, They are not cheap, they typically have a link to underwater video to check them out.... Hope that helps.

Crankbaits will catch fish all year long, most people go with a wide wobble in summer for stained water, but I have also found that the Academy cranks work plenty well. I also use the Bomber Flat A all year long as it is really good for a different look and around spawning flats since it suspends and has a tight action, and is almost identical in shape to a young bluegill. I throw the older xcalibur square bills, Speed traps, Smaller Bagley B, KVD, Rapala DT's, and Bomber Fat A...Lately I find I do better with the smaller models, the little Bagley has been my best producing crank this year.....Most of my academy cranks have a rattle, but they are a steal for the price and come with good hooks, colors, and seem to work as good as the more expensive models....

The Manns hardnose Frog makes a great jig/chatterbait trailer or pitching bait. I actually throw Rage Craws, menace grubs, and other creature baits in place of toads many times, since I get a better hook up percentage and they give a different profile & sound. Bass have no idea what they are hitting when you buzz a toad over them, same thing when a heavy weight breaks through the top of cover and falls on them. If the horny toad or rage toad holds a hook well then it is essentially not much difference than the Gambler Burner craw, or any paddle tail flipping bait. I have been fishing in alot of ponds lately where they get alot of pressure from the bank, and most guys swim speed worms, toads and swimbaits over the grass....I will go behind and swim a 5" grub on the surface, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt. You never know until you try it. I remember seeing pictures of a Hollow body frog tournament that I think Live Target put on down here in florida a few years ago....One of the guys who did well ended up punching a hollow body frog, so outside the box can pay off.

Most Medium heavy rods are typically 1/4-1oz. Some are more specific, but I would focus on finding a rod that you like, in Medium heavy range, and you will be able to throw just about any jig size. If you get into the bitsy bug sized jigs which are 1/16-1/4, then you would want a lighter rod in Medium action, or maybe even a spinning rod. I tend to use medium heavy casting rods for just about everything I throw with exception of smaller weightless soft baits.... It is really the tip that matters for jig fishing imo...Its tricky to detect bites even with the right rod.

Mistertwister.com The bargain bin is full of 25 packs for $2....The stick worms are actually good, in fact all their baits are made in the same place as all the other baits...Main difference is the bag they come in.....and colors... That craw is being sold for $2 for 25 packs...Guys buy them off that site and then flip them on ebay for a profit this time of year.....Grab some phenom curly tail worms, and that swim sation creature/swimbait which are 2 of the best baits they have, but they will all catch fish and the colors are sharp from Mister Twister...... The reason they do not sell a ton of bass baits like other brands is they are more thought of as a walleye/Trout/Salmon company, they don't really sponser or advertise to bass anglers, but all the baits they make will catch fish as good as any. Sassy shads and grubs have been where they make all their money.

Good news is just about all of our soft baits are made in the USA, so if there is a shortage of tackle, I think I would be plenty good with what I have and plenty of soft baits to buy......

I found GYB grubs in all types on clearance years ago, and I texas rig them in the 4-5" size, both single and hula grubs and they flat out work. Just like GYB senkos, they sink with a really nice action. The twin tails make great trailers, and the stretch grub is essentially a swim senko with a curly tail..... Kalins makes really good smaller grubs in 2-3" size when you just want to get strikes. If we are talking paddle tails.....Then the Menace and Havoc devils spear.

Yum Christie Craws are 2.99 per pack at Dicks, so easy to find, and they also make some really nice colors. Can't go wrong with Speed craws from Zoom, Critter craw, or Strike King...I still have alot of confidence in the Berkley chigger craws. I do like the Rage craws, and when they are on sale, I buy them cause they do have a different action and texture. Mister Twister makes good baits, no doubt they will work well. You can often find really good bargain bin sales on the website, packs of baits for a buck.

Obviously 7.5" culprits, and Power worms....I think that is all I fished for most of my life until I started making money to buy more gear.... The only other lures I would carry in my High school and college days were a couple Rapala minnows, Rebel Popper, Few Stanley living rubber jigs, Gator tails & Mr. Twister phenom twister tails... Original Rattle Traps and Super Spots were the only crankbaits I threw......I owned a few packs of the creme scoundrels, but never really used them. I used to catch alot of fish on the creme Midget crawler which is the scoundrel with a spy bait blade in front, 2 open hooks you would cast out with a split shot in front and just reel slowly. Caught tons of bass on that rig when younger. Then the Mepps Aglia and blue fox spinners, beetle spins, and heddon torpedo has been my favorite topwater for as long as I can remember..... I started using the culprit ribbon tails in Red shad, grape shad, copper shad, and pumpkinseed for clear water again about 3 years ago...I now throw them as much as I do any other worm, including a senko or trick worm. I also discovered the Fat max for pitching and its another fantastic bait, and the incredicraw is probably my favorite creature bait to flip....I am convinced there is something about the colors being different than all the other baits. They have a different shine, look different in the water, and the shape of the tail with the flat bottom truly gives the original culprit a different look that I don't think pressured fish see much. For some reason Red Shad is considered "Old School" but that is a dynamite color in stained water for any soft plastic, but especially the red on the culprit. I would never hit a pond without a pack of 6" & 7.5" culprits, the solid purple is a color that will work anywhere.

I picked up some of the Gambler 16" worms, but when I fish them I have always cut off a few inches....Its a huge worm, really heavy, but guys down here in Florida do throw them. I have snaked them through pad fields in order to cover water quickly and find some strikes. It's alot of worm for a bass to take and then get a quality hook set in cover from my experience.

Thanks...I am going to look for one of the Daiwa Reels mentioned, regal, legalis....I used a friends Revros a couple of years ago for a few hours and it was also a really nice reel. Daiwa is putting out some really nice looking quality reels at good prices. I have kind of always been a daiwa guy for spinning reels. I try to find older models on clearance and have been lucky enough to score a Procyon 3000 as my main spinning reel, and a BG combo for fresh and salt in 2500 which I love. I like the Pflueger president for the value, but its a little heavy. I have a few Okuma reels as well, but they don't seem to hold up as long as I would like. Luckily I have plenty of time to look online for a reel....Ebay usually has some good prices.

Both make good reels, I have an SX and I really like it. I believe I saw one on sale at BPS website this week for $119 I think, I believe Bass Pro actually has a combo with the SX and they have good combos for the price. May be worth taking a look. Can't go wrong with either reel, I have never owned a Lews, but i know plenty who have them and even the $79 baitcaster holds up and is a quality reel. I would imagine any over $100 would be comparable to the SX.

I have an UL 7' Okuma EVX Guide series Spinning rod, and I currently have it paired with a 2500 size Daiwa BG spinning reel, which is to big/heavy now that I have caught the ultralight bug while pond fishing lately. I love the rod, but want to get a light weight reel in 1000 size to make it more balanced. I was looking to spend $50 ballpark, maybe $75, and was looking for some ideas. I am open to any brand, even if it is a store brand like Academy, but not familiar with their spinning reels. I was looking at the Shimano Sienna for $30, and Daiwa Regal, and I noticed they have new ones in that range. I am not familiar with many of the reels put out in the last year. ...Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. Rod is weighted 2-8lb.

Last couple of weeks I have been exploring new ponds and bank fishing, and i try to keep my gear simple so they fit in my pockets, this way I can move easier. Granted I jam my pockets full, and i bring baits mostly standard size, but also include smaller baits as well as I often do better downsizing, or if big fish, a 7" senko or 10" ribbon tail will do the trick. I mainly fish the same soft baits as I do in lakes Zoom Flukes, I like having standard and jr. size 5" & 7" Stick worms Zoom Trick worm & smaller finesse worm Culprit ribbon tails, speed worm, and pack or 2 of paddle tails, pack of horny toads. Rage Tail menace & craw. For lures, I bring a few rattle traps, rapala's, bitsy bug jigs, swim jig, chatterbaits and the micro chatterbait. I always carry some ultralight lures, little strike king crankbait, 1.0, little countdown rapala, rebel popr, and tiny torpedo. lastly, both sizes of the booyah pad crushers, and small grubs/crappie tubes..and always a small spinnerbait. Tilapia colors, and some chartruese colored baits, and then the standard colors.

The only lizard baits I have ever done well with are the old Yum twin tail Zemmnander baits which came loaded with salt and scent. I do well with the green pumpkin, especially rolling them slowly on the bottom behind a light weight c-rig. I am down to my last pack, but something about the shape and thin twin tails gives them a different look. Not sure why they stopped making that bait. I tend to use more brush hog style baits these days, but a black blue tail zoom lizard works well pretty much anytime in Florida.

If you believe that a really nice painted lure works better, then it likely will. Confidence is the key.

The lures that have lost most of the paint are the ones I fear losing the most. I have an old Yo-zuri Rattling vibe that is destroyed, and its still the first one I tie on. Any lure that loses its paint and is all scratched and scuffed, is a lure that catches fish. I dont like using new lures that have a ton of flash, they don't look natural to me, so I typically sand the sides of most of my hardbaits to take off some of the shine. If i want to use something bright, I will go with something orange or chartruese highlights.