Farm pond baits and lures--KDFWR

Lazy days spent fishing a farm pond are some of the best times afield. Many old-timers got their start this way, while today’s kids often follow suit and catch their first fish from a pond. Stock your tackle box with a few well-worn favorites and you can also catch farm pond fish this summer.
“I always try to keep a good supply of some type of plastic worms,” said Andy Mowrey, an avid farm pond angler and stream restoration biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “I also like the good old-fashioned topwaters like Hula Poppers and Jitterbugs. Also, I keep some kind of jig-and-pig or crankbait; something that moves faster than a plastic lure.”
Southwestern District Fisheries Biologist Eric Cummins keeps topwaters in his tackle box when targeting bass in farm ponds. “A buzzbait in white and chartreuse or a Pop-R are always a good bet,” Cummins said. “If the fish are willing I always go the topwater route for bass.”
As summer progresses, many farm ponds become inundated with moss, or filamentous algae. Anglers should change up their lures when fishing these ponds.
“You can use plastic worms or a ‘do-nothing’ worm if the farm pond has a lot of vegetation,” Cummins suggested. “As the name implies, it’s not weighted. You work it slowly and can hook it a variety of different ways to give it the action you’re after. It will help keep you out of the moss.”
Cummins again recommends chartreuse and white for these baits. “You can go crazy and use pinks and such, but usually I keep it simple,” he said.
Live bait is a good choice when going after bluegill. Night crawlers, redworms and wax worms are bluegill favorites. Kids can even dig up their own worms or catch crickets around the bank.
Several artificial lures also work well for bluegill. “Beetle Spins would be an easy bet,” said Cummins. “Black is a good color, or even a black body with white and chartreuse.”
Mowrey casts flies tied a couple feet below clear teardrop-shaped bobbers. Some anglers call these casting bubbles. “That’s a lot of fun,” he said. “You can also catch a lot of bluegill on a fly rod.”
Catfish are another farm pond favorite, and good baits can be as close as the refrigerator. Mowrey recalls hooking a monster blue cat on a piece of hot dog as a kid. Cummins uses chicken livers, worms and grasshoppers.
“If you dare, you can use stink baits,” Cummins said. “But that comes at a price.”
Head to the water early in the day as the weather warms up this summer. The fish are biting and the best fishing hole may be as close as your favorite farm pond.
Author Hayley Lynch is an award-winning writer for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. She is an avid hunter and shotgun shooter.