Ed Russell and I found a pond or two (see column, Tuesday, May 23,2006) ? now we have to figure out how to best fish them.
Think of ponds as little lakes that require delicate TLC in fishing technique. I learned this long ago when very young, very dumb and tramping around a pond. And I mean tramping ? the shows Rent and Riverdance wouldn?t have anything on me. All those wakes panicking towards deep water and away from the shoreline were bass I was seeking. I learned quickly.
Ponds, more than lakes, require stealth, scaled-down lures and a scaled-up level of delicate tactics. For example, as you walk the shoreline ? carefully ? hold your rod low to brush high grass and scare insects. This “chums” the water to mark spots to visit later to take a bass or sunfish that just told you where it lives.
It also helps to walk the shoreline clockwise if retrieving with your right hand; counterclockwise if using your left hand. The outboard hand makes it easier to retrieve any lure parallel to the bank where fish are hanging out looking for groceries. Stalking this way allows you to cast forward to new water as you scour the shoreline for fish and snake a lure along the bank.
Fan casting is another technique, systematically casting (just like a fan) from one spot to all available water and working the lure slowly back to shore before making the next cast. After completing fan casting circuit, switch to another lure until you “match the hatch” with what the fish are gulping down that day.
It also helps to fish the same type structure fished in a larger bass lake. Stumps, standing timber, overhanging trees along the bank, weed beds, lily pads, and springs that feed the pond are all key fish-holding spots.
Casting technique is also important for both spin and fly fishermen, so as to drop the lure or fly gently to make fish think of it as Wheels on Meals arriving.
The same lures used in lakes, but in smaller sizes, are also best for pond largemouth whichare typically a little smaller than the big boys in big lakes.
But there are exceptions. I once watched guide Gary Neitzey use a tiny lure and delicate tactics to land a bruiser five pound largemouth from a little farm pond half the size of a football field. Exceptions are welcome in farm ponds, especially when those exceptions are more or bigger fish than those expected in the first place.
C. Boyd Pfeiffer is an internationally-known sportsman and award-winning writer on hunting, fishing and the outdoors, and he has more than 20 books to his credit. He can be reached at [email protected].
