08-09-2006, 03:35 AM
I fish a lot of small ponds in extreme weather, and I love topwater fishing...here's my advice for fishing topwater in a small pond:
1. downsize your baits - 1/8 oz or smaller will do wonders; or,
2. go natural - the more natural your baits look, the more likely they'll get bit; the thing about small pond fishing is that the fish are extremely familiar with the forage they're consuming AND, because the pond is so small they're able to inspect the offering quite well; or,
3. invoke massive amounts of patience to wait - a technique that's really paid off for me this year in clear water ponds is to cast out my offering, wait for all the ripples from the bait hitting the water to die down, then wait up to 2 more minutes without disturbing the bait, then give it ever so slight a twitch and hold on tight!
OK, that takes care of the hard baits...another tactic is not to actually go topwater, but to go just slightly sub-surface; e.g., Weightless T-rig a Tiki Worm with a 4/0 Gamagatsu hook and swim it just below the surface of the water...you'll still be getting what appears to be a topwater strike...
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1. downsize your baits - 1/8 oz or smaller will do wonders; or,
2. go natural - the more natural your baits look, the more likely they'll get bit; the thing about small pond fishing is that the fish are extremely familiar with the forage they're consuming AND, because the pond is so small they're able to inspect the offering quite well; or,
3. invoke massive amounts of patience to wait - a technique that's really paid off for me this year in clear water ponds is to cast out my offering, wait for all the ripples from the bait hitting the water to die down, then wait up to 2 more minutes without disturbing the bait, then give it ever so slight a twitch and hold on tight!
OK, that takes care of the hard baits...another tactic is not to actually go topwater, but to go just slightly sub-surface; e.g., Weightless T-rig a Tiki Worm with a 4/0 Gamagatsu hook and swim it just below the surface of the water...you'll still be getting what appears to be a topwater strike...
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