There's a small one acre pond that I fish here in Florida and would like to know what kinds of lures I can use to catch the big bass. The problem is that everyone who fishes this pond uses t-rigged plastic worms in the 5-7 in range, and every single 10lb plus bass has been caught at least once on these baits. I have tried spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and topwaters, but I just can't catch the big ones. Even though the bass see plastic worms regularly, I don't think they have ever seen a 12in worm. Do you think I could catch one of the lunkers on it? If so, would a C-rig with a 12in worm work? I am also thinking of trying a Mattlures Baby Bass swimbait because I know the bass have never seen one and the locals have never fished one and probably don't know what it is. Please let me know of your opinions on how to catch these monsters.

T-Rig that 12inch worm. Stick a worm rattle in it and fish verrrrrrrrrrrrrry slow.

A "one acre pond" is tough :-?.  I assume you're fishing from the bank and though I've caught many a Bass including my PB, a 9 lber with a Matt's Baby Bass, I'd be leery of throwing one from shore unless you KNOW there's no wood or rocks to hang up on.

FM has given good advice 8-).

Dan

Its all about the subtle but practical changes from what everybody else is doing. Lighter line, lighter wt., smaller baits, bigger baits, etc.

Throw buzzbaits like a madman. But try some different skirt colors than typical. I use skirt colors such as sunfish on bright days as a last resort, black/blue in early morning and dusk, and my go-to color has been silver, chartruse,purple,with a little red or black thrown in. You can also fiddle with the blade for more or less noise and water displacement. Also try poppers and crankbaits without rattles in forage colors.

As far as a worm goes.black trick worms are good...On MH spinning gear, use a 4/0 or 5/0 worm hook and t-rig at least 10 inch worm weightless, but when hooking the worm rig the hook 2 or 3 inches down the worm. cast it as far as you can and fish it slow like a trick worm. It will look like a snake and big bass will kill it. Black shad, emerald green, junebug red have worked really well for me in the past.

Its all about the subtle but practical changes from what everybody else is doing. Lighter line, lighter wt., smaller baits, bigger baits, etc.

Throw buzzbaits like a madman. But try some different skirt colors than typical. I use skirt colors such as sunfish on bright days as a last resort, black/blue in early morning and dusk, and my go-to color has been silver, chartruse,purple,with a little red or black thrown in. You can also fiddle with the blade for more or less noise and water displacement. Also try poppers and crankbaits without rattles in forage colors.

As far as a worm goes.black trick worms are good...On MH spinning gear, use a 4/0 or 5/0 worm hook and t-rig at least 10 inch worm weightless, but when hooking the worm rig the hook 2 or 3 inches down the worm. cast it as far as you can and fish it slow like a trick worm. It will look like a snake and big bass will kill it. Black shad, emerald green, junebug red have worked really well for me in the past.

Why should I rig it 2 to 3 inches down? Won't it look weird?

Go with a Topwater. Something really slow and big if you're looking to catch the big ones. Anything that is long and slender a bass considers okay to eat. Keep that in mind. Slow speed is the key to bigger fish.

Sorry bout that I meant to say:

Slide the head of the worm an inch or so up the line.....This makes the long worm look like a snake coming through the water when you swim it in, letting it fall around structure.... Different presentation.

Oh, okay. I gotcha.

I'll bet your fish have never seen a Fat Ika.

That's my #1 bait for big bass right now. I think a big part of the success I have been having is that no one else around here fishes this lure or I should say, I have never seen anyone else using a Fat Ika. My best producing pond might be the most heavily fished pond in the region, it's the center piece of a public park.

I have been fishing this particular water for five years or so. I rarely see anyone catch anything except bluegill and I have never seen anyone catch a bass over a couple of pounds. My PB (27 1/4") and two other 10+ have come from this pond. I usually catch at least one bass over 5 lbs every week throughout the year and nearly everytime I fish there this time of year. Think about that for a minute.

Good luck.