Pond Invitation

[BurleyDog]

Hi Guys,
I got invited to bass fish a couple of trophy bass ponds on some upscale Lexington area horse farms this Sunday.
They are managed somehow so that they often pull 5+ lbers out of them.

I have a question.

1) what type of lures/presentation should I make to these fish? (I never have bass fished in the fall before and actually I don't bass fish much at all - usually trout fish)

[mybentrod]

1 Word for ya.....JEALOUS! Need some company? I would use a large Purple worm and crawl it on the bottom. Rig it weedless and hang on! In the morning or evening use a Pop`R topwater and parallel the bank cast about 3ft off the bank and use a pop/stop and go retrieve.

[lil skeeter]

i have a uncle that gets to fish some of the horse farms around fayette/woodford counties. he has alot of luck with shallow running cranks and with spinnerbaits. alot of these ponds have some really nice bluegill and crappie also, so if the bass arent biting, make sure and have sure and have your panfish gear along with you. good luck

[troutcrazy]

5-7 inch worm watermelon color, and if there isn't any vegatation then rig is wacky. Throw it out and let it sink...and set...and then start walking along the bottom. Patience is required.

If there is huge vegatation then go with a white fluke and work it similar to the worm...they will hit it.

I caught too many to count out of a large pond the last day it was around 50 degrees on a buzz bait with neon green and white skirt. Like the other guy said parallel to the bank and across any shallows or corners if the pond has any.

Good luck

[mhall]

If the pond is murky from all the rain and you get a little chop on top from the wind throw a half ounce rattletrap and or a spinnerbait and you just might get your arm broke.

[lroberts]

Ditto on the Rat-L-Trap or similar lipless. Don't overlook the obvious powerfishing techniques....a love fishing worms (especially 10 inchers for big uns') but if they'll hit fast-moving baits you might catch more!

[ElectricSLT]

Try a skirted Chompers plastic with a stand-up jig - slowly hop along bottom - keep firm grip on rod because I've heard those critters can pull a rod out of your hands when you least expect it...nothing I've experienced directly but a friend told me it can happen!

Those pond fish get spooky too so do your best horse imitation - try not to spook them!

[fishhound]

topwater,spinnerbait,shallowcrankbait.

[smljaw]

Worm or lizard with light slip sinker (1/16 oz or so). I've also had good luck this time of year with a tube fished rather quickly, kind of a swim hop swim hop retrieve. Just rig it with a standard tubejig head.

That big bass pond fishing is good stuff! Have fun!

[big wormy]

Dido on spooking easy. Pond fish will lock up if they are not use to people walking around. Wear light blue or white shirt and camo pants. Upper half like the sky, lower half like the grass. I like to save the topwaters and loud baits untill the end. A sinko is hard to beat on the first pass around a pond. If it is a huge pond they wont spook as easy. Also most of the horse farm ponds are shallow and will have some grass. If you want the big one use a pop eye jig and catch a small bluegill. slip a 5/0 circle hook behind top fin. and free line him, no bobber. Creek chubs work great to. I havent pond fished since I got my boat but I have had some of my best days ever on Central KY's horse farm ponds.
Good luck,
BW

P.S. Stay low and dont cast a shadow or your fishing will be over.

[bigrod]

Honestly burley I am the best pond fisherman on this entire board. You should just take me with you and allow me to show you what to do. I find you will learn more by watching the first while and then trying what you have learned after I have gone around these ponds a couple of times. Just kidding, good luck, ponds are a great way to build your confidence when it comes to bass fishing. Hook some big ones bro

[Col Forbin]

I love fishing ponds - everything above will work great. I would always start with topwater for the fun factor. T-rig would be my next option, or a shakey head. However, the ponds I have fished the past couple of years, it seems they cant resist a senko. Fish it slow, let it sit on the bottom for a few seconds, pop it up and let it sink again. I have caught fish on these in ponds while talking on my cell phone, where it has laid on the bottom for several minutes - just looked up and saw my line swimming sideways.

One word of advice, in lakes you get a lot of reaction strikes, and fish just grabbing at baits. It seems pond fish are very eager for a meal, so bring some long pliers, you will probably have several deeply hooked, or gut hooked. If they are really actively feeding, I will often take my pliers and smash my barbs down for a quick release. If you keep good rod pressure, or have a longer limber rod to keep the tension tight, they don't throw a barbless hook near as easy as you would think. But I sure would hate to lose a 7 pounder because of a thrown barbless hook. But if you are catching fish after fish in the same size range - I would definitely go that route - more time to fish, not wasting time un hooking.