Any surefire way to tell if there are any bass in a small body of water like a lake or quarry. I have a few I knwo of that have sunfish and LARGE carp in them and I always see fish jumping in the distance, but I'm not sure if there are bass in it.

Well there are several ways to tell.

One is to wait a little while and see if there are nests being made in the shallows.

Another way is to throw rooster tails, and lipless crankbaits. *rat-l traps*

Also if the pond/small lake has alot of weeds, and stumps in the water, there has to be at least a couple in there.

You can also buy some live bait, or use a perch you catch, and try that way.

I have yet to see a quarry pond without at least some bass in it. Go there early in the morning, or late in the afternoon, and fish a topwater or in line spinner. If theres bass you should eventually get one. If you go during the day time, chuck a 3 inch grub around on a 1/4oz jig head.

Passion,

 I have several years experience teaching young beginners how to catch bass. The Texas rig is a great thing to start with. It is easy to put together and easy to fish. I also recommend you learn to rig up a Carolina Rig. The soft plastic baits mentioned are great; just let me add a few basic colors you should consider.

Red Shad

Watermelon

Green Pumpkin

Pumpkin Seed

June Bug

These are the "fab five" colors.  You should always have these colors handy.

But color isn't everything. I have found many times if something doesn't seem to be working it is better to change the style of the bait than the color. Good luck and have fun learning.