Hey guys, I am not 100% sure that this is worthy of a new topic, but I haven't found much in the forums touching on this subject. What are your thoughts on winter jig fishing in ponds?

My parents live on a man-made pond, that is about 20 acres. It is 20ish feet at the deepest point, by the dam. The bottom is fairly uniform, though the locals have dumped old Christmas trees, pallets, even some toilets for the fish to use as cover. I am able to drop my boat in the lake, so I am able to access the whole lake.

I have gotten a couple of hits with jigs, but by and large i get nothing. I typically fish a 1/2 oz. jig with a trailor. What are your thoughts on how to target fish in this type setting?

Thanks a lot, and I look forward to your responses.

Wind permitting I'd fish a lighter jig, like a 1/4oz, with a fairly small profile and you may want to try a real pork trailer for just a little added attraction. A bulky pork trailer on a light jig will fall slowly and give the fish more time to react to the bait. If you can find any kind of channel swing or drops close to a point or other area that fish might pull up to feed at that would be a good place to start. Drag the jig slowly and give it plenty of time to soak. Bass and their prey that live in the water move slowly when it's cold so you want your jig moving slow. Most of the time during the winter my bait won't lose contact with the bottom unless it falls off a rock or ledge. This is a great way to find cover and structure you never knew was there too.

try a strike king bitsy bug with a rage chunk trailer.

I fish a lot of small ponds all year long. By far my best jig is a 1/8 round or football finesse jig in all black. If you'd like, pm me your address and I'll send one out to you. I find the smaller jigs work better and black has never let me down. The deepest part of the pond in winter will hold the fish unless it's a real warm day.

I jig fish all year. The winter is a great time for it IMO. The heaviest I'll go is 3/8 in the winter, but usually 1/4oz. I was using the Berkley Finesse Gripper Jig the other day with a RI Sweet beaver trailer the other day and it worked well. The light weight with the big skirt and trailer seemed to give it a slower fall, but my bites really came from twitching it around riprap.

Thanks everyone for the tips. An additional question though. I have always struggled getting any distance on my casts with a lighter jig, which is one of the reasons that I fish a little heavier jig (3/8 or 1/2). Any tips on getting the jig a little farther out there?

What rod, reel, and line (lb test, type) are you using?

My "jig fishing rod" is an Abu Garcia 7' combo that I bought at Dicks. I think it is the Black Max combo, but I could be wrong about that. I am using 14lb test flouro on that reel.

I loosen up the spool tension knob as much as I can without the spool moving side to side. That increases distance a lot. Also turn the brakes down as much as you can. Get to the balance of where you're comfortable without backlashing but having as few brakes on as possible.