Mike Merder

Hi folks. I'm here in Southern Indiana and recently got access to a pond that's rarely fished. I normally do mostly Kayak and bank fishing and this pond is about 2 acres. Problem is that it's so full of fish, I'm having trouble getting to any good size bass. The bluegill are very aggressive and are tiny and in big numbers. I've tried my usual pond techniques such as drop shot, finesse, spinnerbaits, and mini topwaters. I haven't been able to catch a bass over about 10", and the channel cats keeps hitting my ned rigs. There's been zero interest in any topwater, even the mini buzzbaits and crappie tackle I normally get success with on small ponds. What else should I try? Am I right that all the fish in this pond are tiny? Any live bait gets stripped off the hook by the little bluegill in a matter of seconds. Thanks!