# Bass FIshing a new Pond



## jstiene (Aug 14, 2008)

So I have a question regarding how to approach a pond where I have not fished in the pond. I am obviously going after bass. Aside from the obvious word of mouth on forums such as here, locals,etc, what is the best way to attack a pond for the first time in terms of lures,etc? Is there a quick way for an average bass angler to do this; start with plastic worms, cranks, spinners? Maybe like a top 3 lure approach? Or is more personal preference? I always seeem to fault to Texas rig worms, or sometimes spinners. Right now I am tyring to work a pond that is new to me. I happened to catch one large bass there a few weeks ago on a spinner, but I have no clue what the bass population is in the pond. Anyone have any suggestions on an approach when attacking a new pond?

thanks!
Joe


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## lacdown (Apr 25, 2007)

go to baits in the ponds i'd fish were:
mann's baby 1 crankbait
smithwick rogue jerkbait
texas rigged senko
texas rigged lizard

just depends on how deep and how much weed cover there is.


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## JignPig Guide (Aug 3, 2007)

Half of the work is already done while fishing a pond. Ponds are great training grounds for beginner anglers. And I certainly took advantage of this while my four sons where younger. When they were younger, they gained confidence on a variety of fish catching applications. If there are any fish in the pond, you've already found them. And the bass fish get pretty big in ponds.

*My answer to your post is as follows:*

1-Start with shallow running lures and work them through the upper part of the water column. Example - Manns Baby Minus-1, spinners, traps, Rapala minnows.

2-Next move to a mid-water depth lure that runs several feet deeper than your previous presentation. Example - Bomber Model-A, spinnerbait run a little slower than before, or whatever else that will run through the mid-part of the water column.

3-Finally move to the lower/bottom of the water column with: jigs, rubber worms, deeper diving cranks, or whatever you want that either hits or get near the bottom.

Remember that the bass want to relate to something whether in a pond or a lake. So if there is a laydown, or a creek channel, or a weedline, or a nice edge, or a brushpile, or anything else that stands out in the pond... fish it.

Good luck!


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## jstiene (Aug 14, 2008)

JignPig Guide

That was a great response. Ok, so next question. So I came upon a pond. Is there a way to tell what the population of bass is after fishing it several times? So as an example, I am working a new pond (new as in I never fished it, not new as in construction). So I have fished it probably 8-10 times. I trip resulted in a small bass on a spinner (last fall). So 2 weekds ago I catch my 2nd fish, this time about a 4lb bass. 3ft from shore right under a tree branch. Text book scenario. But nothing since. I typically fish about 2hrs at a time. So my question is how do I determine if there is a good population of fishi in this pond compared to others? It has nice bass coverage,etc...


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## JignPig Guide (Aug 3, 2007)

jstiene said:


> JignPig Guide
> 
> That was a great response. Ok, so next question. So I came upon a pond. Is there a way to tell what the population of bass is after fishing it several times? So as an example, I am working a new pond (new as in I never fished it, not new as in construction). So I have fished it probably 8-10 times. I trip resulted in a small bass on a spinner (last fall). So 2 weekds ago I catch my 2nd fish, this time about a 4lb bass. 3ft from shore right under a tree branch. Text book scenario. But nothing since. I typically fish about 2hrs at a time. So my question is how do I determine if there is a good population of fishi in this pond compared to others? It has nice bass coverage,etc...


If you're not absolutely hammerin' 'em in a pond after at least a half dozen trips, I would move on to the next pond. But then again, if there's a 4-pounder in there, there's got to be a bigger one huh?


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## 614-bass (Jul 22, 2008)

throw what you have confidence in too find out what the population is like then pick up things you never use and try to learn those lures......im fortunate enough to have a pond behind my house which is like a small lake its has everything a large flat, island, rocky bank weedy flat, lots of structure and cover and i usually take things out there that im trying to learn to fish for example i started fishing a jig there and even a swim jig now i have a ton of confidence with jigs and im still fine tuning it like jig n pig said there like training grounds


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## spfldbassguy (Mar 23, 2009)

if it was me i'd try a topwater(buzzbait,rebel pop-r) first.usually ponds get hit less than lakes around here especially if not very many people has access to it.i've found in my experiences bass in ponds tend to be a bit more aggressive.after that i'd go with a crank,spinnerbait,or jerkbait.finally i'd use my trusty jig n pig.just like jign pig guide said work your way down through the water column.not sure if i added anything to this discussion but wanted to drop in my "2cents".good luck next time out.


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