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By Ken McBroom
For Rambling Angler Outdoors
These days bass fishing is a wildly popular pastime with big boats and fancy reels and we do our best to keep up with the onslaught of lures and lines, rods and reels. Sometimes these things can get in the way of the fun of fishing and we need a break. Don't get me wrong I have a boat with lures and plastics from bow to stern. I enjoy my boat and high tech gadgets and big lakes but sometimes small waters can provide a great day of bass fishing.
Locating fish on a giant body of water and deciding which lure to use based on water temperature and/or water clarity can be fun but can also be considered work and small waters can prove to be a great change in pace and who knows you might hook into the bass of a lifetime and locate a hot spot for you and your family when you just want to go have some fun.
I have found over the years that small bodies of water, whether it be an old farm pond or a water retention pond in the city, hold some great opportunities for some great bass action. Whether you use a small boat powered by electric trolling motor or choose to cast from shore these small bodies of water can be home to not only big bass but big aggressive bass and nothing is more fun than bass attacking your lure cast after cast.
Large lakes all across America are seeing more and more pressure from anglers as well as boaters. These activities can really affect the fishing on any given lake. While these larger bodies of water are bombarded day in and day out the smaller lakes that dot the landscape throughout the mid-west go untouched and the bass tend to be less weary of your presentation and much more aggressive than its big lake cousins which see so much pressure.
Baits for small lakes can vary just like on big lakes and a lot depends on the pressure that lake receives. Some small lakes get some pressure especially retention ponds in the city as many kids and grown-ups flock to anywhere that allows for fun in the outdoors. Bait selection in these ponds can be a bit trickier than one that is tucked away on the backside of a 200-acre farm and hasn't been fished in years.
If you visit a popular pond where there are lots of anglers you will notice that a couple baits stand out and these are usually spinners of all shapes, sizes and colors. These bass have been caught many times and have learned to avoid spinners, for the most part. My favorite bait for these small waters has to be a plastic worm. Plastic baits require more patience and can be tough to master compared with spinners and crankbaits. Most people just out to have a little fun are not going to take the time to even learn to use plastics so the bass have seen very few plastic baits in their lifetime. I assure you it makes a difference as it has been proven that bass can remember being stuck and what type of bait stuck them. Offer something new and your arm might just be tired at the end of the day.
Many ponds are fairly clear around its bank and offer little visible cover. Even without a fish finder, invisible cover, on the bottom of the lake, can be probed with a plastic worm, rigged Texas style. Work the entire pond meticulously as you feel the logs and other bottom cover with the weedless rigged bait. After a few trips you will know the bottom of that particular body of water like the back of your hand. This will help you locate and land many more fish.
There is still a place for modern technology on small bodies of water. In fact there is a product line now that targets small water anglers and it can add to the fun. A small boat with electric trolling motor is all you need to get around a small lake. Fish finders can come in handy too in plotting the makeup of a lake and locating either the fish themselves or cover where fish are likely to be.
One thing to keep in mind when fishing these small bodies of water is stratification. Stratification can be complicated to explain but it can cause bass to suspend, usually in spring and fall, as oxygen levels decrease on the bottom of the lake. If the plastic worm isn't producing you may need to go with a lure that stays high in the water column. A suspending jerk bait or shallow diving crankbait should do the trick. I tend to go with a topwater presentation during these situation. Again most people shy away from topwater baits, for whatever reason, and this presentation can be outstanding on small lakes and ponds.
A great choice on top is a floating Rapala. You need only to twitch the lure creating a small ripple in the water then let it sit for several seconds. This technique allows you to keep the lure in the strike zone longer, harassing the bass into striking and the strikes can be violent.
Remember the world record bass came from a small lake in Georgia and a once pending world record was caught from Dixon Lake, a 72 acre lake located in California. Bass can grow very large in small lakes as long as the forage is right so don't let the size of a lake fool you into thinking there are no big bass in it because you never know, when that retention pond you drive by every day and never see anyone fishing, might be home to the next world record bass. GOOD LUCK!
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