Hello all.  I'm a relatively new angler and new to this board.  But I've already learned a bunch reading some of the old posts.  Thanks!

So...my first question.

I've been fishing a small farm pond (in Central Illinois) the past couple of weeks.  I've caught bass every time I've been there, but only small ones (8-14 inches).  I've been fishing the weeds near shore (no boat) with a variety of lures (buzzbait, plastic worms, spinners).  Last night I tried a Tiki Stick, t-rigged weightless, for the first time.  I caught 6 fish in about 2 hours (and had a blast doing it).  

BUT, a buddy caught a 5 pounder in there last week on a Storm WildEye minnow.  I also saw a guy catch a 1.5-2 pound fish on a similar lure last night.  In both cases, it seems like they were fishing a little further away from shore, like 20-30 ft.

My question is this.  Is it possible that the bigger fish are hanging out further from shore while the little ones are in the weeds?  Or do big bass and little bass tend to be in the same place?  In other words, do you think the difference between me and the other two guys is where I'm fishing or the type of bait I'm throwing?

Thanks in advance!

Dan

Welcome to the forum.

Hookem

Matt

Welcome aboard!

I fish ponds from the shore several times a week. I fish parallel to the bank, 5-15 YARDS off the land. Target cover and structure. Your baits are fine, it's all about locating the bass and they may be in a little deeper water than you have been fishing.

First off WELCOME  I fish ponds and strippin pits a lot from the shore On some of them I use the Storm Wildeye Finesse minnow They pack them with Octopus hooks and split shot when I want to get it a little deeper I add the shot about 8 inches in front of the minnow and if you run it in shallow water first and jerk the rod you can get a good injured minnow action going. Then cast it deeper and use that action

Welcome!

Yeah the big girls in there will probably not be on the bank this time of the year....fish deeper as a general rule

Thanks guys.  Sounds like the consensus is that I should fish a little further out.  

RoadWarrior, you say to target cover and structure.  Well, that's mainly why I've stayed near the shore; cause that's where I know there's cover.  I suppose there must be some grass/weeds or brush on the bottom, but how do I find it?  Is it just a matter of throwing out the lures and looking for places where the fish seem to hit it?

Thanks again!

D

Further out doesn 't necessarily mean you will catch bigger fish, if you are trying to think fish then you are the first one to break the principle of thinking fish by thinking that further out you will find the bigger ones, those fish are there for a reason, there 's something there that attracts them to that particular distance. Let me give you an example, there 's a very nice irrigation pond close to my home, the biggest momma in the pond can always be found in the same place and that place is waist deep and 2 ft from the shore, why is the fish there ?

The answer is the priviledged location of that spot, there 's a willow tree that provides shade, one of the willow branches broke and landed below it so it provides cover, the well that feesds the pond is located 30 yards from it and spills right there so when the well is working the warm water and current it provides flows to that spot, all the minnows, baby bluegills and baby tilapia gather around the current generated by the spill so the current provides food, thinking like a fish I would be in that same spot because iI have everything I need: shade to conceal my presence, cover to conceal my presence, warm water flowing through the place providing me with current, highly oxygenated water and the current brings me food right to my doorstep, all I need is to be there and grab it.  

So before you start casting do an analysis of all the clues the place is giving you and ask yourself: why are the fish there ?.

Thanks, Raul.  That makes a lot of sense.  I guess what I'm trying to figure out, though, is whether big bass think differently from little bass.  I know the little ones are finding cover and food in the weeds near shore (cause that's where I'm catching them).  My question is would a bigger bass necessarily find the same place to their liking?  Or would they be looking for something better?  Maybe the big girls hog the best spots (which in my pond might be some structure further off shore) and force the little ones to poorer places, like near shore?

The alternative, I suppose, is that the big fish are in the same weeds, but they're too smart to take my bait.

D

For many years I was involved in setting, guarding, and collecting gill net fish for sampling. We sampled oxbow lakes, a river, backwaters, lakes and ponds. Except for the spawn the gill nets placed in shallow water caught maybe 2 out of 10 mature bass throughout the year. Most always came from deep water, as deep as they can stand it. We didn't study the data for this, but I really believe where a fishery has a lot of shallow water compared to deep acres AND fishermen regularly fish from the banks, more big fish spend more time deep during days, probably reversing that at night. They stay out of sight, prompting us to generally believe they don't exist, part of what lets them grow old. It's very little different than Boon & Crockett trophy deer that are rarely seen until the rut when they blunder all over roads, yards, open fields, getting shot at. The rest of the year nobody sees them, leaving does and yearlings for viewing along roadways where plenty of easy gotten grass grows.  Yes, the large bass prefer to stay deep, at least in light hours. So do larger prey fish the big bass eat, ignoring the shore minnows left for the small bass to chase. It's just simple nature concerning prey and predator. Fish deeper. Even during the spawn the largest bass tend to spawn deepe than the immature bass. The biggest will spawn as deep as possible and usually just out of sight.

Jim