Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Sunfish-Including Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass Best way to catch LMB?

I am not a bass fisherman, period... Been fishing my new pond for bass and have not caught a single fish, not a single bite... I have used spinner baits, buzz baits, rubber worms, crank baits, rattle traps, and worms for BG..

The BG are feeding great and water clarity is good.. Have not seen anything in the pond but BG that I can positively ID...BG are ranging 2" to 7"...

Is there any other easy way to verify if other fish are in te pond?? Besides spending the money for fyke net or electroshock survey?

use a cheap cast net, minnow trap, or very small hook a earthworm, catch a 2-3 inch bluegill, and put it on a hook with a bobber in about 2-3 foot depth. chuck it out and wait...


I personally love to use roadrunners and crappie jigs for small LMB.



dustin

This time of the year up in this area, the LMB are more interested in spawning than in eating. Look for nests too.

Lot's of places it's the same here. Saw a couple of LMB "dancing" over a nest last week. It's a few weeks late, but obviously they're not done with the spawn yet.

I'd add topwaters and wacky worms to Dustin's idea.

If someone held a gun to my head and said "catch a largemouth bass," I would fish with a golden shiner about 3" long on a circle hook a couple of feet under a slip bobber.

If you're bringing in baitfish from outside your pond, I would recommend getting them from a reputable dealer and examining them to make sure that they are the advertised species and look healthy.

I would go with live BG. Hook it behind the dorsal fin above spine use a large cork, and a plastic worm hook. Put it 3 feet below cork if deep enough. Let it run for a good 5 seconds befor setting hook so it is sure to get the hook in his mouth.

Also if you feed BG the best place to fish is where you feed at the same time. The ruckus made at feeding time will draw in hungry bass. So be ready as soon as you cast.

Looks like I can come up with some BG for bait pretty easy..

Set the minnow trap in about 8 different spots around pond.. Nothing but small BG..

Stick one of those big with a size 4 hook and free line it... If you have a reasonable bass population, it shouldn't take long.

Fishing 2-3 hours on Sunday and an hour this evening, I have caught a dozen or so LMB in my shallow 1-acre pond on 2 and 3" silver Rapala floaters. The LMB have ranged in size from 8" to 22", with several in the 12-17" range. All very healthy. Pound for pound, the 16.5-incher I caught arounf 7:30 tonight hit and fought the most aggressively out of all of them. I have experimented a bit with a few other lures, but for whatever reason the silver Rapala has been working like magic for me this week. This coming weekend, I'm getting some live shiners and worms for the kids and am hoping the shiners give them some LMB action. If not, the BG in our pond will almost certainly hit the worms, as they have all spring. Good luck!

I have done this a few times at a friend�s pond and hooked into a nice one. Well I think he just held it in his mouth as when it released the BG come flying back at my face.

The same night I hooked onto a LMB about 8-10 inches and just as I was about to pull it in Monster LMB came shooting out and sucked it right off my hook. It had to be the largest one I have ever seen, and of course could not get him others that size to bite while fishing for them.