ok i have a small lake is about 35acres. its a nice small unpressured lake up in North Jersey. its located right smack i the middle of all the larger northern good bass fish lakes. i know theres baitfish to suport the bass sometimes early morning they school and scatter all over the place .

the place is 30ft deepest. i always get bass when im there but i havent yet pulled anything oer 2lbs out. my uncle a better fisherman than me has told me about 4 and 5lbers they have pulled from there sometimes a bunch in one night when the bite was on. i dont understand what im doin wrong.

ive gone over the topo maps and i know where the drops are. the lake is round and is completely surounded by lilly pads for about 20 feet from shore. about 2/3 of the lake is around 23-30ft deep and 1/3 is about 12-16ft.  all of my fish are pretty much up in the weeds, ive had 1 hit from a pickeral on the drop. ive used topwater,worms,ikas and spinnerbaits.  all have produced but like i said nuttin over 2lbs. so what can i do. i dont know of any structure or cover out in the deep just seems pretty flat. just the drops and the pads and weeds.

If it was me, I'd stick to the weeds along the sides of the lake. My favorite strategy is to drop-shot a Strike King finesse worm that matches or gets close to the same color of the weeds. The other thing I like to do is T-rig a bigger worm such as a 7" PowerWorm and throw it onto the weed edge and drag it parallel to the weeds. I've had great success with both.

I don't know why fish would just be sitting at the bottom. I think you are talking about the steeper drop-offs. Look for drop-offs that have some rocks. Bass will hold tight to those especially as it starts to cool down because the rocks will hold in some of the heat. I drag deep-diving crankbaits over those, mainly Bass Pro Professional Series cranks. They are advertised to dive from 5'-16'.

Hope my info helps a little. Let us know how it goes. Happy Fishing!  

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1158032683/6#6

lol...You've got one up on me everytime. I didn't think about because of the "small lakes" part. Oh well thanks again.    

MinnesotaAngler,

I liked your thread. I wrote one a year or more ago in a series called "The Clinic", but I can't figure out how to bring it up (it won't come up for me using the search function). Anyhow, I fish ponds a lot and I like your piece.

MinnesotaAngler,

I liked your thread. I wrote one a year or more ago in a series called "The Clinic", but I can't figure out how to bring it up (it won't come up for me using the search function). Anyhow, I fish ponds a lot and I like your piece.

Hey, RW.  Is this the thread you're talking about?

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1108626008/

Here's a follow up to that one that might be relevant...

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1109697485/

i read through those links. i didnt see to much info in there so im not sure what you were getting at but anyway.

heres my usual arsenal:

7" motor oil power worm

chartruse spinnerbait

white tail inline spinner

torpedo

jitterbug

watermelon fat ika (so far the biggest and best number producer for me there)

as far as rocks i havent seen much for rocks in the place, the pads/weeds edge is about 10-13ft and then it drops to about 22ft from there on out

im not sure where u got fish sitting at the bottom, i certainly dont fish in the middle at the bottom i usually work the drops and the weed edge.

NJ--I fish a pond very similar to yours. The middle, deep portion of my pond doesn't have any cover to hold fish. I work that section briefly while I'm out here in case I happen to luck out with a roamer, but the odds are very slim, and I've never caught anything deep.

You're right to stick to pads and edges. If the pads extend 20 feet from shore and are adjacent to a steep drop off, you've got a great combo of good structure and cover. The pads probably sit on a pretty good shelf, and my guess is that the bass like to get up on that shelf to feed. Work those pads and edges hard. Drag a horny toad or a senko along the tops of the pads, letting the bait sink in between. Work them slowly. Then I'd fish parallel to the pad/weed edge with a senko, a super fluke (or Slug-go), or a jig. At my pond, I've caught four- and six-pounders that way, and the few feet on either side of the edge of the pads has been really really productive. I think those are favorite ambush sites in that kind of pond.

Wow, NJ, when I read your desciption of your lake, I thought you were talking about the lake I always fish at, lol.  Exactly the same.  Pads, 30ft max, small fish but rumors of big ones, all of it.  I've had the best success pitching a senko into the pads and pulling a horny toad over them just like nboucher said.  I'll pay close attention to this thread as it moves on for any more info, I'm also clueless on how to get the big 'uns.

Colin

well ive tried the frog a little on top but the pads are dense really cant even get anythig through then exept in open holes which i already fish. i havent used a senko there but i havent had much luck with them either.  hmm i gotto pull a hog from this plce someday