Bass fishing in pond advice!!!?!?!?

[Sligh1]

I am amateur at best on fish. But I want to get better for my boy or be able to get him better lures & pick when to go.
1) is there time of year or temperature changes/ barometric pressure that makes fish bite more like how it impacts deer movement ? Slow times of year and best times?
2) lure choices? Also- lures based on time of year? I used to have luck with this big white spinner along the shore lines. Tried it last night but iffy over all. What colors in farm ponds like this?
3) other factors like - what other fish in pond any changes to how approach? I would say all ponds have bluegill.
4) here’s one pond example from last night. Any info and tips appreciated!!
5) pond guys…. Willows growing on dam- need to take out or ok to leave?

Pics of pond & still fished a bit with my Frankenstein hand that just got surgery that kept attracting inch worms.

 

[Daver]

A few fishing tips from ol' Daver...

1. Regarding barometer, temps, etc...consider this, slightly less technical advice...Wind from the south, hook stays in fishes mouth. Wind from the west, fish bite best. Wind from the east, fish bite least. There...see how easy that was? But truly, I have found these little sayings to hold very true, especially as it relates to pond fishing.

2. For kids, and adults, fishing bass in a pond...nothing beats a Sluggo IMO. It is a plastic bait, often referred to as a "swim bait", somewhat worm shaped, that the technique for fishing it is easily mastered by a kid. Cast it out, let it sink a bit, maybe a 5 count, and then retrieve it slowly by pulling a couple of feet and then letting it sit still for say a 3 count. You will feel tension on the line when a fish picks it up, drop your rod tip to create a little slack for a couple of seconds, let the line tighten and then SET THE HOOK like you are trying to cross their eyes so hard that they look like they are from Kentucky. Fish on!

I also have good success from a boat by vertical jigging Sonars and Road Runners, see pics below. Find your structure or creek channel, etc, and drop one of these overboard and bounce it a little in the zone where the fish are holding and keep a grip on your rod.

Also, any type of spinner, easily retrieved for kids by just reeling it back in slowly, Mepps, Panther Martin (shown below) are good. Those are a few basics Spinner baits are also very good, which you already mentioned.

 

[Matthewfox_45]

Hard to beat a top water weedless frog for summertime bass. Cast it into the weeds, twitch twitch pause retrieve. And be ready, don’t set the hook when they blow up on it, it’s tough, but wait till you feel the weight, and give it the berries.

 

[Matthewfox_45]

And get rid of those willows, and any other trees growing on the dam. I’ve read that the root growth slowly eats away at the dam.

 

[Nrharris]

We just built our pond in 2020 and they want us to keep the dam mowed to keep any trees from growing on it.

 

[bigbuckhunter88]

Alot of this advice will depend on if the pond is weedy or mossy. But I will list some must have(in my opinion) lures for bass fishing.
Hard baits:
Shallow diving crankbait-Depends on pond depth but I like the 4 foot range
Some sort of top water baits-Spook, whopper plopper, buzzbait, chug bug, hula popper

Soft baits are my go to whether it's on a pond, lake or river. Get the boy some flipping hooks, quarter Oz bullet sinkers and then all sorts of plastics. 7 inch ring tail worms, creature baits, crawfish.. yamamoto, googan, zoom, all make baits that will work.
Also get him some wacky rigging hooks and the rubber bands. Those will outfish majority of other baits and can be fished in the weeds or open.
Hollow body frogs are another must have especially right now. Spro, live target, 6th sense. All have some good ones. Don't get caught up in colors. They catch the fisherman, not the fish. White belly or black is all that matters IMO. I will go into more depth in another post and take pics of my favorite baits

 

[Buckhunter92]

As others have stated senkos and frogs are very hard to beat for pond bass fishing. Dont rule out the all mighty TRD either or Ned rig as most people call it. Weedless swim jigs are a great choice also. If you get into the heavy vegetation the heavier the rod and reel the better his odds will be with landing fish especially on a top water frog. I personally throw a 7'6 extra heavy rod with a 8.1. gear ratio real with 37 inches a crank and 65 lb power pro line. Set the hook and just keep pulling. I was about his age when I started pouring and making my own jigs makes the catch that much more rewarding when it's something you make yourself.

 

[IowaBowHunter1983]

Small bluegill work the best for bass.

I'd get ride of the trees on the dam. Elsewhere is fine.

 

[cybball]

As for the trees on the dam, I would get rid of them. Roots will eventually cause you problems.

As for the bass, we always killed it on bass from the time I was a kid until now (in farm ponds) using a rapala thin minnow. We usually went with the blue/white combo, but I'm sure most will work just fine. Get the ones that float (we usually had the one with 2 treble hooks). You can work them like a top water bait over some weeds or just reel them in as they don't usually dive super deep and get snagged up. All the other baits above should work great too though. Hot summer days seems like when we did our best.

 

[JNRBRONC]

I've got a tackle box full of lures, jigs and spinners. It seems when I'm fishing the pond for bluegills and bass, I'm usually tossing a yellow headed jig with a red body/skirt. Seems to work for both species consistently. I've tried different colored bodies but red seems to be best.

Tossing Rapala floating minnows and having channel cats hit them was the revelation that there were just too many cats in the pond. I think that is under control now.

 

[sep0667]

I use to bass fish quite a bit, past few years Im lucky to make it out more than once or twice.

I'd say you can't go wrong with a Texas Rig worm. Use this set up right here. Cast it out, let it sink to the bottom, then bring up the rod tip and give it a real or two and repeat. Pair this set up with a medium-heavy rod and you can feel everything. You can feel the bullet weight hit the bottom, feel it lift up, you can feel the fish peck at it or smash it etc. If you can master a bait caster you will never look back. Nice thing about Texas rig worm is it is weedless, so you shouldnt get hardly any snags etc.

I'd also suggest to get a buzzbait. This is a topwater bait. Just cast it and and reel in fast enough to keep it on top of the water. Its fun for you to listen too as it comes in and if the bass are hitting top water they will smash it, sometimes even jump up out of the water at it.

For colors I have always felt I had the best luck with blue/black combination.

 

[Hardwood11]

Casting a #11 Rapala is deadly on bass. As long as weeds are not too high . Top water or slow retrieve.

 

[muddy]

As others stated, slow retrieved wormy looking baits. Alex uses those and "twiddle tails" and has great luck. He sys he's available to come guide any time.

Tree roots work down into the dam and then you'll end up with muskrat denning in the roots. Clean em up.

 

[203ntyp]

slow retrieved wormy looking baits.

I agree, always liked grape color the best.

 

[Sligh1]

Got tendon surgery after cutting through 2 in my hand from last fishing adventure…. Stabbed a catfish in head & hand slid off handle into blade. Took my splint off to fish last night. Tried pile of lures and all recommended caught bass!! Thx!!!!