A lot of anglers have a bass pond within 10 to 15 miles of them and fishing on them is becoming more and more popular.
But why ?
Ponds are much smaller than lakes and as such allow you to really hunt down where the bass are hiding and adjust your bass fishing technique to suit.
The best bass lures for ponds are not that different to what you are already using, the major difference is that they may be slightly smaller in size and you have to use lighter tackle as you need to make you presentation as natural as possible.
Bass in ponds tend to spook a little easier than when on larger waters.
Being as stealthy as possible is the name of the game here and always approach the banks of the pond as quietly as possible.
Best Bass Lures for Ponds
1. Plastic Worms
For some reason bass seem to absolutely love small plastic worms.
They are the go to lure of choice when fishing for bass in ponds. Fished on lighter tackle I would generally opt for spinning rod for bass is this scenario.
You can use the usual bass rigs that you are already accustomed to:
- Drop Shot Rig
- Texas Rig
- Wacky Rig
Sizes can vary greatly from water to water you can go as small as 4 inches and all the way up to a massive 10 inch worm.
Color wise the most productive are either pink or white. These are the first colors to choose and if they are not producing then you can try a more artificial color that has some added reflective color running through it.
2. Small Spinnerbaits
Although spinnerbaits are in no way 'small' lures they are one of the few lures that will catch bass on any water and in any season throughout the year.
You can size down to the smallest sizes available and if possible try to opt for a weedless lure.
Although the look a little bit odd bass really do seem to love them, when fishing on ponds for bass your best best is
3. Swimbaits & Soft Plastics
Small plastic swimbait lures are great on ponds that have a lot of open water as you can cover a lot of it using a standard cast and retrieve strategy in a fan like pattern.
Look for neutral or muted colors on bright days and then brighter colors on duller or overcast days.
You'll need to drop down a few sizes from your regular lures as fishing large swimbaits on smaller ponds is rarely productive.
Soft Plastics like craws, tubes and toads mimic a variety of small sub-aquatic creatures that bass will regularly be feeding on.
This lures can be worked in and around thick cover, bass will routinely be hiding in these locations waiting to strike.
4. Jigs
Jigs will perform at basically any depth whether that's 30 feet or 3, they will also perform almost year round and are a go to favorite of ice fishermen for other species of freshwater fish.
Finesse jigs, swim jigs, grass jigs and casting jigs in all colors and sizes are available and to be honest the choice on offer is somewhat overwhelming.
Stick to a small casting or finesse jig when starting out and see how they perform.
5. Topwater Lures
Topwater lure fishing is one of the most exciting ways to fish for bass.
Seeing a bass engulf your lure and strike it hard from below will get the heart racing of any seasoned angler.
Poppers, chuggers and frog lures for bass are all big performers.
Working a weedless version of a topwater frog over thick cover with lilies or weed beds is one way to snag a lunker in the height of summer.
6. Spinners
Spinners make great bass lures for ponds as they can be retrieved at a variety of depths and speeds.
They have the added advantage of both vibration and flash which will drive summer bass wild especially when fished in the top of the water column.
In winter slow and deep is the name of the game and you can count down to gauge how deep the spinner has sunk before you start to retrieve.
When choosing a blade, a copper or pattern blade will work best on bright days and a silver blade is better on dull or dark winter days.
7. Small Crankbaits
Smaller crankbaits like Rapala's for example can be an absolute killer on ponds that have a lot of small bait fish already present.
You can work them in the topwater or down into the first 4 or 5 feet of water. These types of lures will rarely dive too deep and controlling the depth they will dive to is usually a matter of adjusting your retrieval speed.
Tackle Considerations
Given the fact that most ponds are relatively small you may well be doing most of your bass fishing from shore.
Casting very long distances is usually not required and you can use a slightly lighter Bass Fishing Rod and Reel setup to help with presentation.
The prefered bass spinning combo would be a 6'6" fast action bass spinning rod with a medium/light power rating and a size 2500 spinning reel for bass.
You really don't need super heavy bass tackle when fishing on a pond.
Line weight stick to roughly 8 lb monofilament which will perform really well on a light spinning setup for the majority of bass lures for ponds.
If you are running something like a frog lure over really heavy cover then you can use a heavier baitcasting rod with heavy braid.