Fished a New Pond Today, and Need Some Tips!

[rrw4258]

I fished a new farm pond in front of a couples house... i went up to the house and they said sure go right ahead, we have largemouth bass, bluegill, catfish, and yellow perch. I went ahead and walked around the pond once and managed no bass... so i set up a stand up bobber for some bluegill with a 1/16 oz. white jig head and a 2" chartreuse grub. Bout five min. later the bobber shot down and i waited a few seconds and them boom.. 10 seconds later i had a nice yellow perch (11 inches with a huge belly)!!!! Threw him back of course to be nice ! The pond:

1. Very Clear Water ( 5 to 6 ft. visibility)
2. Bluish green tint to it.
3. About 1/2 acre!
4. The pond is lined with golf ball and baseball sized rocks.

My questions:

1. What should i throw for bass in clear open water with very little cover present.
2. What colors should i go with?
3. Any more tips on perch will be apprieciated!

Thanks

Ryan

[senko]

bass:try crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and plastics.go with natural colors for really clear water that matches the forage i.e.bluegill for that pond.

perch:try a red worm on a fairly small hook under a small or torpedo shaped bobber.




that sounds like a nice pond and good luck!!!

[rrw4258]

quick but prob. stupid question... how do you rig a slip bobber? I dont have any bobber tie stop things? Would a piece of tape work?

[senko]

they are very in expensive the bobber stops.just get some.that is a good question

[flbassman]

You want small for clear water, possibly even a flouro leader. Try a rapala glass shad rap. Flat out deadly.

[Marty]

Your water in Ohio may still be pretty cold, so things may not be representative right now. For perch, assuming you prefer lures, I'd go with small crankbaits, inline spinners or curly tails on jigheads.

I have very little cold water bass experience because the season opens so late here, but when the water warms up, considering it's so clear, I'd try to be there during low light conditions and try topwaters. Otherwise, I'd try some soft plastics crawled along on the bottom.

[bass kicker]

try soft plastics (senko type bait wacky rigged esspecialy)

[big redneck fisher]

an good old worm on a small small hook and light bobber , do u all not try good old worms here , thats what i catch my perch on or minows

[skeeter944]

try small worms rigged on a dropshot rig for bass.if you want more info on clear water bassin,you could try a search on here for it.hope this helps!

[lizardsrule]

Originally Posted by skeeter944

if you want more info on clear water bassin,you could try a search on here for it.hope this helps!

What a novel approach LMAO

I think Marty also hit on a good point, water temps, so really slow presentations for the cold. What do you use in Erie? It's also very clear, so what works there should also work in the pond. CRAWS/TUBES

Lizards

[bass kicker]

a small lipless crank should work good as well

[H2O]

Originally Posted by lizardsrule

What a novel approach LMAO

I think Marty also hit on a good point, water temps, so really slow presentations for the cold. What do you use in Erie? It's also very clear, so what works there should also work in the pond. CRAWS/TUBES

Lizards

Yeah, I got some lucks on TUBES when the water was cold. However, just wondering how to locate bass in cold water first, epecially fishing from the bank, like in this case I believed. What is the better lure that can cover more water in a cold situation? Thanks

H2O

[rrw4258]

well went out today again and had a spectacular day... went to the deepest corner fishing for perch and on the 3rd cast the bobber went slowy down, so i gave it a good yank and nothing, reel in put it back out in the same area... goes down again and wait a few sec.. then i had a nice bass and released him... caught 4 total today from the same spot... using a 2" Chartreuse Vibra King Tube on a 1/16 oz. jighead... i will be going again here very soon... prob. sat and sun!

Ryan

[senko]

cool that is sweet to have a pond like that!!!

[rrw4258]

oh yeah they were all between 11 and 15 inches!!!

Ryan

[senko]

now im jealous...

[H2O]

Next time try 4" Yum dinger! use 1/16oz T-rig or weightless wacky-rig. (you are not sure how to rig yum dinger, there are lots info. here )
Cast them at same spot you caught the bass. If the weather will not dramatically change, you 99% catch more bass.

Have fun!

H2O

[bass kicker]

are you going to keep the perch cause they are tasty

[lizardsrule]

Originally Posted by H2O

Yeah, I got some lucks on TUBES when the water was cold. However, just wondering how to locate bass in cold water first, epecially fishing from the bank, like in this case I believed. What is the better lure that can cover more water in a cold situation? Thanks

H2O

Some folks love cranks during cold water, and they also reel them quickly. I don't happen to be one of those guys though I try to work areas more thoroughly. I would say a jerkbait or spinnerbait would be good baits to cover more areas during cold water temps. I like to work a Fluke, and plastics, call me insane but I can almost always catch a fish on plastics, no matter what the temps are. If you have caught bass in certain areas before, then work those same areas. Many times the fish will come up on points to feed, because they still gotta eat, just not as much during the cold. And there are always, always some fish shallow, just may not be a lot of them.

Lizards

[H2O]

Originally Posted by lizardsrule

Some folks love cranks during cold water, and they also reel them quickly. I don't happen to be one of those guys though I try to work areas more thoroughly. I would say a jerkbait or spinnerbait would be good baits to cover more areas during cold water temps. I like to work a Fluke, and plastics, call me insane but I can almost always catch a fish on plastics, no matter what the temps are. If you have caught bass in certain areas before, then work those same areas. Many times the fish will come up on points to feed, because they still gotta eat, just not as much during the cold. And there are always, always some fish shallow, just may not be a lot of them.

Lizards

Thanks. I used to be the "crankbait" guy as you mentioned, . Crankbait was almost always my first casting lure when the water was cold! However, I didn't reel them quickly cuz every single time when I speeded the crankbait, somehow an excited pike always hit the lure first! .
I do use plastic at first when I fished the spot I was familiar with.
Any way, I got more confidence on spinnerbait. BTW, I got some pretty goodlooking spinnerbait samples from Japan. I gonna show you the picture later. I need your feedback as well. Thanks
Kinda jealous to see you guys fishing whole year long, while I have to wait for opening of even pike season here. I'm still thinking about to find a job SOUTHLY somewhere in United States after I graduate next month.

H2O

[rrw4258]

fished again today (2/22) and got 1 bass, bout 13 inches long... but i noticed on all of the bass i have caught here they all have a swollen red top lip/jaw. What does this mean? Also i saw some dead catfish (5) laying along the bank in dif. spots, do you think it is wise to keep the perch out of here or could something be wrong with them??? And i also saw a dead mallard female duck... what could all this be from?

Ryan

[lovinfishin9]

i think that means theyve been eating crawfish and stuff on the bottom, but im not an expert, someone here will tell you for sure.

[senko]

yeah thats true i think.the dead stuff sounds like a serious problem...you might want to have someone come and check it out.could u show some pics?

[JB]

a redness on the lip or tail usually means they have been pushing rock, sand, or gravel around , perhaps looking for forage, but more likely preparing to spawn. Seeing how you live in ohio like me, its way to early for spawning, but the redness is evident in the lips and also the tail when they are on the bed and fanning it with thier tail.
Other times that redness can be seen is due to sickness or a injury.
Watch in a month or so, when you catch a bass close to the spawning time, a redness"lipstick" appearance on their mouth, and also note a blood red quality on the tail.

[lovinfishin9]

i guess i didnt read the rest of the post, i wouldnt eat any of the fish out of there. It sounds like you got a problem going on with that pond.