I live in an area with many small ponds. Max depth to about 8-10 feet. Average depth 3-5 feet. During the summer months much of the surface is

covered with pads and grass. Early season with water temps in the mid to upper 50's (March and April)  the bass haven't moved shallow and I find them on my electronics suspending over the 8 to 10 foot holes. I have tried about everything I know and cannot get these fish to cooperate. Any suggestions. I realize most articles on suspending fish are related to big water impoundments and rivers. I thought maybe someone could offer information on small water ponds.

Thanks.

What time of day are you hitting these holes?

NY is approximate to NJ and the fish here are sluggish .. winter baits are working better for me.

Jigs/craws + flies + jerkbaits .. they are not chasing much so fish slow.

I would expect a slowly presented soft jerkbait would produce for your suspended fish.

Else I'd wait for them to approach the shallows and throw craws at them.

A suspending jerkbait is ideal for the situation you've described. Some will run deeper than others, but you should be able to target the depth the fish are holding at with one or another.  The difficulty in catching suspended fish is their mood. Most of the time they will be inactive or in a neutral mood and a presentation that is designed to appeal to their feeding instincts (like a jerkbait) will be ignored.  That's the time to go for a reaction strike and this is where being able to keep a faster moving presentation at a defined depth is a must.  Counting down a spinnerbait or lipless crank will put it at the depth you want to target, but often that bait will rise in the water column during the retrieve.

A crankbait will maintain a constant depth for a good portion of the retrieve, but you need to be aware of not only what depth it will run with the equipment you're using, but how long it will take that bait to reach it's running depth in order to position yourself so that it will pass through the fish after it reaches it's running depth. Also remember that a crank's triggering effect comes from the bait changing direction or speed. When targeting suspended fish, there is no cover, or bottom to acomplish that for you.

Don't be discouraged, at the very least, you have a lock on where those fish will move when they do become active and that change can come anytime.