Tiny pond with skitish lunkers

[damonspreng]

I have access to a tiny pond (couldn't be more than 30 feet across.

There are big bass in here and they won't hit anything because they are so skitish.. I have tried literally army crawling to the bank and tossing in all kinds of lures. Wear camp and everything. The only slight success i've had is a topwater frog at dawn and it hadn't worked since...

Any advise?

 

[tomriker]

drain the pond?:dance:

 

[damonspreng]

I heat your the pro tomriker you saying there's nothing I can do?

 

[tomriker]

i am far from, but with fish that, have you tried just a worm on a hook? cast it out there and sit still and wait and see what happens

 

[damonspreng]

Unfortunately yes I have I figured if that doesn't work nothing will? But I want these fish

 

[Spydeyrch]

Unfortunately yes I have I figured if that doesn't work nothing will? But I want these fish

Have you tried a fly? There a tons of different ones you could try. :think:

-Spydey

 

[damonspreng]

I have to an extent. I have tried Hoppers poppers and spydeys but the fly line hitting the water spooks them.

 

[Finneus Polebender]

Tried to sight fish 5 different fish tonight every time I would put a bait on em they would swim away. 30 min later found one sittin on a bed hit my jig 3 different times when I threw it on her, ran 20 ft the second time and still swam right back to the bed so I could catch her on the third .... keep workin them once they bed down they should go after almost anything that gets near them.

 

[chrisohm]

Don't use fly line. Take a chair and sit in one spot. Don't get up and walk around since it is so small. Use the thinnest line you can find but at least a decent lb test to reel in the fish. I had a moment on my boss' boat where my setup was just not producing at all. I grabbed my 2ft mini pole with its 4lb test, tied on a new hook, applied a worm and a split shot 2 ft from the offering. I cast out about as far as that pole could handle and let it just sink and sit. Pop it back every few minutes and reel in the slack. By the end of our fishing fun I had caught the largest smallie of my fishing career and outfished my boss. I don't think he was happy about that but my grin wasn't going anywhere. If all else fails, go to a pet store and buy some superworms, put them on a size 4 hook with a small split shot or tiny jig and just waste a few hours..

 

[bass]

I have fished ponds like that in Pennsylvania for about a dozen years and I ended up with four things that worked. First, an unweighted 6" red Mann's jelly worm. I would toss it in and if it did not get bit on the initial drop it would not get bit. A floating rapala site fished. I would throw it almost right on top of a fish and then burn it away with as erratic of a retrieve as possible. Third, a mirrorlure. This was a sinking jointed minnow plug. The key was to twitch it like crazy so that it almost wriggled in place. Finally, an uncle josh pork frog on a single weighted hook. Once again it was fished with continuous series of micro twitches to make it wriggle almost in place. Not sure if any of these will help. The thing is that the ponds I fished were public and received a lot of pressure making the fish quite skittish. It took a long time to refine these techniques. The key lesson is to keep trying, modifying and refining.

Out of curiosity. Have you tried a nightcrawler hooked through the nose with a single size 10 hook fished weightless? This is the one bait technique that worked. Taken from Fishing Facts magazine book "lunkers love nightcrawlers".

Good luck. You are faced with a challenging but rewarding problem.

 

[damonspreng]

I will have to try ask these techniques and see if any work I can't fish it till next week because work is so heavy right now but in time I will report back. Thanks to all.

 

[OnTheDrop]

I have fished ponds like that in Pennsylvania for about a dozen years and I ended up with four things that worked. First, an unweighted 6" red Mann's jelly worm. I would toss it in and if it did not get bit on the initial drop it would not get bit. A floating rapala site fished. I would throw it almost right on top of a fish and then burn it away with as erratic of a retrieve as possible. Third, a mirrorlure. This was a sinking jointed minnow plug. The key was to twitch it like crazy so that it almost wriggled in place. Finally, an uncle josh pork frog on a single weighted hook. Once again it was fished with continuous series of micro twitches to make it wriggle almost in place. Not sure if any of these will help. The thing is that the ponds I fished were public and received a lot of pressure making the fish quite skittish. It took a long time to refine these techniques. The key lesson is to keep trying, modifying and refining.

Out of curiosity. Have you tried a nightcrawler hooked through the nose with a single size 10 hook fished weightless? This is the one bait technique that worked. Taken from Fishing Facts magazine book "lunkers love nightcrawlers".

Good luck. You are faced with a challenging but rewarding problem.

Good advice. I also like sighting them on their beds and throwing baitfish imitating lures with a very erratic retrieve...

I think the best thing to do is get it right in front of them without spooking them first.. You SHOULD be able to get atleast one reaction bite if that is managed...

 

[tomriker]

Some people say you shouldn't be catching them off their beds because it just stresses them out when they're trying to spawn and make the next generation... But everyone thinks different

 

[BlackBass]

cast a 4 "senko from 50 feet away laying on your back at 5am , at around 5:15 make one small twitch to the worm, roughly 11 minutes later give a slow but not to slow, kinda fast but kinda slow reel. If that doesn't work try again the next day! All joking aside try a small finesse type bait 4" senko wacky rigged etc.

 

[bass]

The ponds I fished were clear and most of the sight fishing was for fish cruising the shallows in the summer. One odd thing I found was that the rapala thrown just behind their heads would often get a reaction bite. If I threw it in front of th they would spook.

The other point I was trying to make is not that the tactics I ended with would work for you but rather that you need to keep trying new things and revisiting old techniques with small changes until you figure out what works for you. Just because something does not work one day or one time of year does not mean you should quit trying it altogether.

The other thing us stealth. I would often crawl to the edge of the pond and then sit still for a good 15 minutes before casting. Even then I would reach back with my rod so that the movement of the rod stayed below the horizon of the fish during the cast. Try to find that inner calm that makes you one with the nature around you. Sway with the breeze, do not swat at bugs, etc.

 

[brandon4455]

I have to an extent. I have tried Hoppers poppers and spydeys but the fly line hitting the water spooks them.

you have to use a long leader and light line plus you must lay a very soft and long cast out so it doesn't spook em. fishing early or late in the day will increase your odds

 

[B.W.SINNER]

i had the same problem at a couple ponds i fish then i when and picked up some 2 and 3 inch senkos and that solved the problem for me