Do you fish a pond different than a lake??

[Twinsprtsfan]

This is kind of long winded, sorry about that

Here is the situation:
There is a lake in my neighborhood that a few people fish, and allegedly, there are some big large mouth bass in there. When I started fishing (less than a year ago) I would go there quite a bit and fish but I would never catch anything. I got real frustrated and talked to some folks that were coming in and had a small jon boat. They pretty much told me I need to get a boat and get out to the deeper parts (I fish from the shore). I have seen a friend I met there catch a couple of 2 LBers from the shore before, so I knew fish were in there, I just could not get a bite.

Well, I stopped going there to fish and started going to a local pond that is on a friends property. I know fish are in there and I usually have good success there. Texas rig plastics, DT 4 crankbait, and a jointed shad rap is mostly what I had good success on. Well lately, the bite has been real slow there, which is kind of rare for that pond. But there is a drought going on.

Anyway, I went last week to my neighborhood lake to give it a shot just for fun since the weather is changing. Not expecting to catch anything, I threw out a 7" pink Zoom worm texas rigged near a stump. Second cast I caught my first fish out of that lake, and it was my personal best so far...6 lbs 2 oz. I was going crazy! that was the only one I got that day.

I have gone back 4 other times, and have caught at least 2 fish every time. Some real good sized ones too....3 lb 4 oz, 4 lb 6 oz. Only once has it been a bite you can really feel (tick, tick , tap). Most of the time I just feel real heavy resistance, so I give it a jerk. It is definately a lot different than how I am used to fishing at the pond, where you fell them tap at it. The lake has a lot of growth and weeds (not the slimy ones though) so when you are hopping the worm back, you feel resistance at all times.

So after my 1,000 word essay, my question is this:

Do you guys fish ponds different than lakes, or do you throw the same stuff in both?

I have been catching them at the lake on a large brushog, which I have tried several times at the pond with no luck. Is this normal?

I can't tell if the weather is making them bite or if I am getting a little better at fishing/more patient at the lake.

Thanks for reading.