MinnesotaAngler

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1156982174 Check out this link. It's from like yesterday or two days ago and it's all about fishing magazines.

Pond fishing must be all around slow...I went out to a pond today where I normally catch around 10 fish each time, and I didn't catch anything but a few bluegill... (Had to switch to smaller bait cuz the bigger ones werent yielding anything.) I have heard other people saying there pond fishing wasn't going very well either..I fished every technique that I know of for pond fishing and didn't get so much as a bite. > It was a bad day for me, too.

Does it rain a lot around that pond or not much at all? I know when I fish my normal pond in the rain back at home that the bite tends to slow and the fish get less aggressive. I've had the most success throwing larger profile baits with scent and sound to force them into biting. I wouldn't recommend "just throwing it into the middle" either. Read my last thread. http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1158295183 <--That should help out a lot. Tell me if it helps. p.s. send me a PM if you have any specific questions

Texas can't get to the National Championship unless Notre Dame and Ohio State blow it. No repeat for Texas as long as McCoy is playing QB. Brady Quinn wins it and takes the Heisman with him. 8-)

Before this can be answered, I need to ask a couple of questions. What time of day do you go out/did you go out? Was it really dark outside and pouring or was there still a good amount of light out and sprinkling? I've had to change tactics for both of these. Have you caught bass in this pond before or do you know of people catching bass in the pond? Background questions are always important.

Pond/Small Lake Fishing: Part 1 By: MinnesotaAngler Special Thanks to Roadwarrior for his contributions. I am writing this in response to the many questions that are asked about pond fishing nearly every day. This should provide a lot of the answers people are looking for. Please let me know what you think and if I need to add anything. Thanks. Most anglers have fished a pond or small lake sometime during their fishing career. A pond is deceivingly one of the best fishing opportunities there are. Some of North America's largest bass can be found in ponds and small lakes. These bodies of water are also much easier to fish due to their smaller sizes and higher concentrations of fish. If you have not fished a pond or small lake, you are missing out on some great fun and, normally, a great day of fishing. While ponds and small lakes all have their days just as lakes, reservoirs, and rivers do, they seem to not be as often. Alright enough background information. Let's get to the fishing. Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Just like you wouldn't, well I hope not, launch your boat in a large, unfamiliar lake without at least knowing where some good places to fish might be. Anyways, you may know of small bodies of water in your area that you would like to fish. Well how do you know those ponds even hold that giant largemouth bass you are looking to catch? There is not tell-tale way to know if the pond you are staring at holds any bass. There are a couple of ways to find out if there any bass in the pond. First, you can ask the locals. If there are houses near the lake you can ask the people who live there. That's the best way to do it. Another way is to go ahead and start fishing. You may catch bass, you may not. Don't give up after one day though. I usually give a pond at least two days before I give up on it. So you found out the pond does have bass in it. Great! Now we can get down to business. Now what we need to find out is the availability and/or amount of structure of the pond. Most of the ponds I fish tend to have some kind of timber in them, either being placed there or being thrown in during a storm. This is good. If not, it isn't a terrible thing. You don't need the timber to fish a pond. The good thing about timber is that it tends to hold larger bass or just bass in general. What better way to ambush something than in the shadows of a fallen tree? Ouachitabassanger, who is no longer a member on BassResource.com, put it the best with this quote. "Predators usually lurk in dark places if available. It's a great cover Mr. Bluegill to Mr. Crappie: "Hey, look at big ole Mr. Bass over there in the middle of town square. He ain't scarin me. I ain't gittin close to him." A minute later Mr. Bluegill passes by a stickup, and Mrs. Bass nails him outta the shadow. Mr. Crappie yells out "It's a SETUP. Run for yer lives." It's the way it is down there. Murder in the shadows." Fortunately, fallen timber isn't the only way to fish a pond. Most ponds have overhanging trees and weeds as well. The shadows of the overhanging trees and the cover of the weeds are also great places to find bass. Even when it starts to cool down, shadows are still a good place to find bass due to the ambush factor. However, when it starts to get cold, I wouldn't recommend fishing the shadows. I shouldn't have to explain this . Just like a normal lake, bass hold to weeds for two, well usually two, reasons. Weeds produce oxygen, and they also provide more ambush cover. This is why I like to cast parallel to the weeds and just drag my lure in front of them until, hopefully, a good ole' bucketmouth strikes it. Well that's it for Part 1. Hopefully this helps pond pro and pond rookie alike. In Part 2, I'll get much more in-depth. I'll bring up the kinds of lures to be used and the ways to use them. I'll also bring up some techniques to be used at this time of year. Good luck and Happy Fishing! - Jake

I go by weight. I know for other fish species such as Muskie and Northern Pike that it usually goes by length, but for bass I always go by weight. I carry a handheld scale with me, but I don't have a ruler normally.

I'm going to have to agree with Roadwarrior on this one. When I'm fishing a pond I fish it exactly the same way as I would fish a lake. I don't do anything different. When I catch my bigger fish I'm usually catching them on a 7" PowerWorm. The thing I don't like about smaller baits is the fact that you catch just about everything else in the pond. For spinnerbaits- I don't use these at all. I've never had any success using a spinnerbait so I just don't use them. I'm big on crankbaits and soft plastics. I've had more success catching bass with the 7" PowerWorms than anything else I've ever used. (I wanna try the 10" ones ). Those are my two cents.

lol...You've got one up on me everytime. I didn't think about because of the "small lakes" part. Oh well thanks again.

It's all good. I would have re-posted right away, but some of the discussion afterwards I feel is important. Let me know how it goes. Good luck and Happy Fishing! [edit]By the way, thanks for the link Roadwarrior. I didn't even think about that. [/edit]

If it was me, I'd stick to the weeds along the sides of the lake. My favorite strategy is to drop-shot a Strike King finesse worm that matches or gets close to the same color of the weeds. The other thing I like to do is T-rig a bigger worm such as a 7" PowerWorm and throw it onto the weed edge and drag it parallel to the weeds. I've had great success with both. I don't know why fish would just be sitting at the bottom. I think you are talking about the steeper drop-offs. Look for drop-offs that have some rocks. Bass will hold tight to those especially as it starts to cool down because the rocks will hold in some of the heat. I drag deep-diving crankbaits over those, mainly Bass Pro Professional Series cranks. They are advertised to dive from 5'-16'. Hope my info helps a little. Let us know how it goes. Happy Fishing!

I actually just did an informative thread on this subject. It was called "Good Small Pond Fishing Advice." It should only be on page 2 of this forum. If you can't find it, PM and I'll just repost for ya.

red shad, watermelon/green flake, and pumpkinseed

The thing that disappoints me most is the face that hundreds of fish die for no reason at all every tournament at Lake Minnetonka which directly affects me. Lake Minnetonka is only a few hours away from me. Something needs to be done for this because this could turn into a huge problem. The sport needs more funding, more technology, and educated anglers. People need to know that if this continues there will be no bass to fish!

I actually have that, and I forgot all about it. Google Earth is a great tool. As for that, it depends what you are fishing for. My buddy went with me last time I went and threw in a 3" PowerTube all day. He caught 16 fish (2-3 of which were LMB). I was throwing a 7" PowerWorm and caught a 4.4 lb largemouth. Thats the biggest bass in the pond. It just depends what you want to catch. I do find though that T-rigged worms and lizards perform the best though.

I'm in. My AIM is MinnesotaAngler1.

I wish I had some solid advice for ya on this part of it . Unfortunatly, there is no real way to tell (that I know of) if there are bass in there or not. The best way is to ask other anglers who fish there, especially people that live near by. Most of the time there are bass because bass are obviously the most popular gamefish. I fish a man-made pond that is similar to yours a lot when I go home in Iowa. It's probably a little bit bigger, and it runs anywhere from 12'-15' deep I think, too. The only way to find if bass are there is to fish. I was lucky because it happens to be my uncle's pond and he stocked it himself. Either way, the first fish I caught there was a 1 lb. largemouth. Just fish it for a day or two and if you don't catch any largemouths, well you get it. If there are cats and bluegill, I'm going to bet that there are bass in there as well. Don't ask me why because I can't answer why 8-). Just call it intuition. But, I hope there are largemouths in there for ya. Good luck with it and Happy Fishing!. Post some pictures of the largemouths you catch in it later.

I found this while I was browsing another site's forums. I wanted to see what everyone here thought about it. It was posted by a guy who calls himself Capt. Mike. I want to give credit where credit is due so after the reading his website and stuff is posted at the bottom..Well anyways here it is. "I recieved this email from some fellow conservation groups. Now do not get upset about it but do respond to with your thoughts. Also I know it breaks the the 20 line rule but give it try and read it all. Thanks Capt Mike The truth about delayed mortality By Tim Lesmeister """In the July 28 issue of Outdoor News there was a wire-service story about an FLW bass tournament on the Mississippi River where the delayed mortality was high. They discovered this because DNR and fishery biology researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point performed a delayed-mortality study. Here is what I find interesting. The comment by a tournament official was, clearly we re all concerned, about the fish deaths. But he adds, we have a lot to learn about how to conduct the study. I find this comment to be typical of tournament organizers. They should be doing more to make sure those fish don t die instead of blaming the study. There were two groups of fish in that study: a control group that had been captured by electroshocking that were penned, and a group of tournament fish that had a fin clipped to show they were part of the tournament weigh-in process. The 582 bass that were found dead all had clipped fins. It never fails. Every time there is a delayed mortality study the tournament fish show up dead and the tournament organizers always try to find fault with the study. The simple truth is that the tournaments are killing the fish. It s not the anglers that are killing those fish, at least not most of the time on the majority of the fish. Livewells in boats are now coming standard with oxygenating equipment and anglers know how to keep that equipment clean and running. There are times when the water at a weigh-in site is low in oxygen due to stagnation and temperature, but the livewells with oxygenation can negate that condition. There are seldom more than a few fish that were hooked badly that will cause death. The majority of the dead fish, almost all of them, die of suffocation from the boat to the scales. Tournaments love using bags to hold fish. These plastic bags hold a few gallons of water and a half-dozen fish and anglers are instructed to put the fish in the bag and bring them to the scales. Typically these fish can be in that bag from a minute to an hour or sometimes even longer. Studies and there have been lots of them show that the oxygen in this bag is depleted in less than two minutes. This means that from two minutes on those fish are suffocating. After about four minutes the fish is basically going to succumb to delayed mortality. From the tournaments I have attended in the past few years I would state that there have been no bag tournaments that did not result in a complete loss of the fish that were brought in to weigh. It s simple math. If the fish are in the bag for more than a few minutes they will die. I have yet to see a bag tournament where this doesn t happen. But why don t the tournament organizers understand this and quit weighing fish this way? It s too easy to use bags. And, organizers don t immediately see the mortality from their refusal to see the problem. When bass or walleyes are released after a bag weigh-in, they swim to the bottom where they eventually suffocate. They sit there to deteriorate and be eaten by turtles. Some might bloat and float but they ll get picked up by gulls or turtles or eventually wash away from the tournament site. Organizers are long gone and getting ready for their next kill fest. Are there long-range implications here? You bet. On Lake Minnetonka where there is a tournament nearly every week from June through August, the delayed mortality is having an effect. I was discussing bass fishing with two guides who spend four to six days a week on this west-metro lake and they say big bass are getting harder to find. One guide spent the entire month of July dragging leeches on the weedline and caught only one bass over four pounds. Just five years ago he was catching five or more a day that size. No, the big bass haven t moved or quit biting, they are gone, many killed by bag tournaments. What do we do? Require competitive events to make it mandatory that during any tournaments held in periods where the surface water temperature is above 75 degrees every boat must have auxiliary oxygenation equipment in their livewells. There are quite a few manufacturers that sell this equipment. No more bags for weigh-in unless they are fully flow-through, and holding tanks must be provided to set the bags in while waiting to get on the scales. Perforated plastic boxes have proved to be the best holding device when used in conjunction with holding tanks. The holding tanks must have water flowing through them or they must be oxygenated. Otherwise the fish-holding environment in those tanks is no better than a bag where the oxygen has been depleted. The fish should not be released at the weigh-in site but should be shifted to a live-release pontoon for distribution into deeper water, or they can be put back in the angler s livewell for release into deeper water or put back in the spot where they were caught. Smaller tournaments will say they can t afford this and will suffer. I say you can t afford not to do this. You can t afford the ill-will from the community every time carcasses of tournament fish float up onto the shoreline. You can t afford to have weekend anglers complaining about the poor fishing that is resulting from the constant barrage of bag weigh-ins. It will catch up to you. The DNR issues permits for tournaments. The above requirements should be stipulated in the permit. A couple of interns should be sent out with an oxygen meter to spot monitor the events and make sure they comply. If not; no more permits for them. I ve been to dozens of tournaments in the past few years and have yet to see a DNR biologist there. It s something that should be a top priority if the resource is valued. For those who think it s too much trouble to keep the fish alive, kill them. Fishing licenses allows you to harvest a limit. Kill the fish and give them to a food bank. At least they won t rot along a shoreline. But don t blame the data instead of the root cause. What s that old saying? When you point a finger, you have three pointing back at yourself?"""" Once again thanks for reading it and feel free to comment. Capt Mike" __________________ Capt Mike Starrett light tackle guide Potomac River http://www.indianheadcharters.com

Bass Ponds Many of North America's small ponds are home of our biggest and most densely populated bass. Here I will tell you the tricks in landing that lunker from small, and often overlooked, ponds. Farm Ponds: Farm ponds are usually a very small and featureless lake filled by runoff or it may be connected to a stream. On average they are around 15 feet deep throughout the whole pond with no shallow areas, In these type of ponds largemouth bass will usually stick to the very edge of the water. On sunny days, the larger bass will be sticking to the side with the most shade. For example, if the sun is at the east, then fish the east side of the pond which will give the most shade due to long grass or other land-grown vegetation. Since farm ponds are mostly featureless, look for any irregularities that exist. If there is an overhang tree providing shade, work the area very thoroughly because without a doubt there will be a big old bucketmouth waiting there to ambush its prey. If there is other cover (ex. flooded brush), again, fish it thoroughly. The thing about farm ponds is that cover is scarce and if you know of some, then the largest bass in the pond will be close by. If you do not notice any cover you should cast parallel to the edge of the pond. Since farm ponds are not usually a tourist to fishermen and are mostly hiding in the middle of nowhere they get fished seldom. Therefore, the bass are usually very active and will be willing to strike a wider variety of lures and colours. Mine Pits: When operations cease in strip-mine pits they often fill with runoff and can become excellent fishing areas for largemouth bass. The colour of the water can be as clear as clear can be and this may cause difficulties in bass fishing. Also, for some reason, they are full of vegetation. Some have sharp drop offs right off the edge, and others generally slope into the deepest part of the lake. For mine pits that have a general slope, clear water, and lots of weeds, I usually start the day off with a natural, or natural, coloured plastic worm rigged texas style with the lightest sinker I can get away with. What I like to do is throw it ut straight, let it sink to the bottom, and twitch it back towards the shore, or boat. You must reel in a little faster than you would normally fish a plastic worm in clear water. Long casts are a must in general sloping, clear water because it is, most often, a very shallow slope meaning 5-10 feet of water, where the big boys hang out, may be a fairly long distance from shore. Also, the bass in the shallows can see you and may spook them out of being catchable. For mine pits that have deeper drop offs, clean, and full of weeds I turn to the texas-style slug-go with no bullet sinker. I will flip this lure into open pockets, let it touch bottom and give it light jerks, just enough to make it dance. It is important to let the line off the real when flipping this lure in open pockets so that it goes down completely vertical, not allowing the lure to wrap around the weeds. Pond in General: Ponds are predominantly overlooked and definitely not over-fished, making them the perfect bass areas. But, these ponds are not always easily accessible. Some require knowledge of the area and a hike to get to. what I mean by "knowledge" is that you must know where some of these ponds may be hiding. There are not going to be any signs stating, "Great Bass Pond, 1/4 Mile East in These Woods." What you must do is find an aerial or topographic map of your area or, easier but less accurate, just go to a website such as www.mapquest.com and zoom-in on your area. This will show a lot of water but it is hard to tell what type of water it is. It may be a drainage ditch or the best bass fishing pond in the state (unlikely but not entirely impossible). And to top it off, most of these ponds have no other fishermen, leaving it to yourself. But what if it is on private property? That's no problem, just work up enough courage to knock on the owners door and ask politely if you can fish his pond. Make sure you look respectable, and maybe even bring along a six-pack.

It must have been that crazy Iowa strain bass . Well maybe someone snuck a few in, but it's highly unlikely. You can't see their pond from any of the roads except their own driveway...Maybe they bought Cali-strain bass ;D? That's even more unlikely because they don't have a lot of fishing knowledge. Oh well. I still caught my PB so I'm happy 8-). I just wish I could get pics up. I'll try to put the pics up on this coming Sunday. (It's on their camera...)

Well this is in Iowa, but the situation sounds very similar. While there are no gar, there are tons of bullhead catfish in the pond that try to eat just about everything I throw in. The last time I was there, my buddy who was fishing for anything threw in a 3" PowerBait Tube and caught anything and everything in the pond. He caught about 15 fish the entire time 2 of which were LMB flirting around the 1 lb. mark. The others were 8 catfish and 5 bluegill. I caught 4 fish the entire time, but I was using baits that were over 7 inches long. I caught 2 LMB and 2 catfish. I caught a 4.4 lb LMB on a 7" PowerWorm. I couldn't catch anything at all with spinnerbaits or buzzbaits, but there are no gar in there either . In small ponds different fish are everywhere so its tough to just find LMB especially since catfish will eat anything. I'd just try to throw something bigger, or something that only bass would eat. Hope this helps. Good luck.

That page didn't work...

hahaha

Alrighty, I'll let them know they need some trout 8-). One thing that got me thinking was the population of small bullheads in the lake. There are at least 50 6"-8" bullheads in the pond. Would LMB eat these?

I was fishing at my uncles pond the other day and I caught a 4.4 lb LMB. They only put the pond in three years ago, and they stocked it like 2 months after that with baby bass. Is it normal for a bass to grow that big that fast? For dimensions, it was 18 inches long, but I wasn't able to measure girth due to forgetting my tape measurer.. Durr.. So, I took a ruler and measured from the bottom of its belly to the top of its back and it was a little under 6 inches. I put her back in though so don't worry . I want to catch its babies and maybe that fish again in another year.