After getting skunked at seawolf park while other people we're just annihilating the flounder, I went to a pond close to me to redeem myself. I caught two decent sized bass (i'm getting better at this!). I didn't lose any fish I hooked up with. I waited for the weight of the fish on my rod then set the hook fast and I fought the fish with a high angle. The second fish fought for a good 3 minutes I had really light line 7 lb test and low drag; it was awesome. I caught the first one with a h2o express sunfish swimbait and the other with a wacky rigged roboworm. I caught the two fish in around an hour and a half, but I have to admit it was really hard finding the bass. I wasnt sure what structure to look for (I did get the first one at a spot with weeds). But there wasnt reall yanything obvious like lily pads or a dock etc. I walked around and kind of casted aimlessly, until I saw a boil then I cast right at it 4-5 times and I got bit on the wacky rig. I'm kind of lost on where to start on a pond with little visible structure (i guess maybe just fish the weedy areas)? also does a sunken shopping cart count as structure?

Also the bass were really, really easily spooked. Any noise or when I stepped in too close to the water and they would scat. Even when being "stealthy", I would never get bit after catching a bass and casting to the same spot. Is there any trick to catch these shy bass? Also how do I catch the other bass that are at a spot after I catch the first one?; i know this is kind of a weird question...

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Throw a BIG Rat...Then it hits the water wait 30second-1 min

Then POP it 2-3 times...wait another 30second-1 min and slow roll it in

You will be suprised

Your having fun and that is what fishing is all about. I know everyone wants to catch more; but sounds like your place has lots of pressure with other fisherman fishing for all species of fish.

The bass have learned that someone approaching the water's edge means trouble so they take off. Invest in a pair of hip waders. When you get in the water fish into the sun and into the wind if possible. Make long cast parallel with the shore. Fan fish from shallow to deep. Then slowly move forward just a few feet to overlap your cast. When Spring time gets here and they start spawning in the ponds this is one of the most productive methods I have found.

It is Winter time and fishing is really slowing down; so expect fewer fish on any given day. The warmest days will be the most productive. I like to throw a #3 Mepps Black Fury from now until the end of the spawn. Fish every warm day you can.

Why do people cast parallel to the shore? I do this as well, but i don't know why. in fact both the bass I caught today were caught doing this but that may be beacuse I did that most of the time. Do the bass tend to be close to the shore? Does this matter in a tiny pond ( less than an acre). Also why work from shallow to deep?I don't really know where exactly it is shallow or deep cuz the water is stained, but from fishing it today I would guess the outer perimeter is shallow and the center is deep.
I'm just fishing a pond by a couple of appartments. I don't believe the pond receives much fishing pressure. I've only ever seen one other person there, but also i've only been there twice so i could be wrong. It is super small, maybe 1/2 of an acre at most. The water is pretty stained not muddy but not clear. I dont' really understand why the bass are so timid. From now on I'll just keep my distance from the bank.It is actually very trashed up, being right next to a shopping center. There is even a submerged shopping cart and some broken bottles! So I don't think i'm going to go wade anytime soon; it looks pretty nasty to be honest. But hey, its only 5 minutes away and I live in inner city houston so whats there to complain about!

P.S. Oh I've tried a lure that looks a lot like that one; a friend gave me like 5 of 'em. For some reason it never gets hit, i don't know why. I tend to mainly fish realistic/life like swimbaits or worms now. But i might try that one out again.

I've never seen a rat in these ponds lol. Would it still work. Also is there a specific rat lure you're talking about there is a lot of them. I know rats live in ponds though when I was really young i think maybe 8 yrs old or so. I remember catching a MONSTER rat in a pearland pond. It scared the sh*t out of me when it charged at me. If my memory serves me right it seemed like it weighed a good 5lbs!

The reason for casting parallel to the shoreline is because pond bass often relate to the bank. When they're next to the bank or in/near shallow weeds (often the only weeds in the pond), fishing parallel simply keeps your lure in the "strike zone" longer (all of the time). Frequently, any change in cover (lily pads to no pads, underwater weeds/open water, wood/weeds, wood/rocks, rocks/sand, etc.) will be frequented by bass. Much of this cover is parallel to the bank. If nothing else works on your pond, try twitching a #11 original balsa Rapala on the surface near the weeds you mentioned. It'll require spinning tackle to cast it any distance, but there's nothing wrong with using spinning tackle. You mention that you're using light line, so perhaps you're already using the right gear.....and yes, that grocery cart is definitely cover that will draw baitfish, which in turn will draw the bass. Sounds a bit like the upper reaches of Buffalo Bayou. Good luck to you!

Since the lake levels are so low and it's cheaper, I've been doing a ton of pond bass fishing. Here's the thing. Bass in a pond are really no different than bass in a lake. They hold on structure or changes to depth. I shopping cart will be easy to get hung on and lose lures, but the bass will be around there.
When I fish a pond for the first time I look for anything on the bank that sticks out. If the bank line recedes, I know it gets shallower there so I'll fish both sides of the shallow area. If the bank has a cut in it, I'll fish it but keep a distance as they may be hiding in that cut. Always look/feel for rocks or trees in the water. Bass love to use those to ambush food.
This time of year the grass that they will hide in during the summer will start to die off some. This will limit their ability to hide so they will start looking for other cover. Lifelike lures are a safe bet as long as you match what they are eating as far as colors and size. If the bass are really that spooky, you will have to try more finesse techniques. I would try small jerkbaits as well. Don't count out a small pitching jig. I catch a bunch of bass on a 1/4 ounce jig.
All in all... I fish a pond the same way I fish the lake with one exception... I size down my lures. Example: Instead of throwing a 3/4 ounce spinner bait, I will downsize to 1/2 or even a 1/4. not to say the bigger sizes won't work, but I get more bites by downsizing. I do the same thing for my soft plastics as well. I still catch plenty of bass 3 pounds and over.

Mini Super Flukes work great for.pond bass

Long cast small senko or fluke bait 3-4inches natural colors need to resemble sunfish. Fan cast around pond and feel for structure. Might want to grab a casting rod with a 1/2oz sinker and just drag it around bottom to feel depth change and any cover

Fluke gets em everytime....or a jig -n- pig

I guess it depends on the pond. I usually throw a fluke or a wacky rig senko if the bite is tough. Have been experimenting with a drop shop just cause I want to get better at it and have had success. I've been to a couple ponds where it literally didn't matter what you threw, they were gonna eat it.

Thanks a lot for the tips.
I think I'll stick to using the finesse style plastics and the life like swimbaits. Next time I go there, I'll cast at the shopping cart & spot with the weeds first thing but from a distance.

What would you say is the best time to fish in the winter (well late fall but recently it's been feeling like the winter)? The warmest time of the day?
Also how do you use a flip/pitch jig? I have a chatterbait and a flip jig, do you use these two the same way?

I don't know that there is a best time at least on the ponds I hit up. A flipping jig usually has a pointy head that helps it get through grass like cover. Then bump it along the bottom similar to texas rig. Jig is pretty versatile so you can read entire articles of how people like to fish it. For me I fish chatterbait like a spinnerbait. Vary the retrieve speed, maybe pause, twitch etc.

Yeah boy, caught me a bigun once right next to a sunken newspaper vending machine in a pond by the road. In a smooth bottomed pond, just about anything that sticks up from the bottom will hold fish. Ponds full of grass, or with lots of natural sunken structure will have the fish scattered about more than a smooth pond with little, but some, structure.

OK, if you can stand to cheat......I can tell you exactly what to do. There are some, not many, advantages to being a fisheries biologist....one is being able to quickly figure out how to catch fish by cheating.

The first way is too easy and from the story does not apply here, but I have never fished in a place that had a "NO FISHING" sign that was a bad place to fish....if it was a bad place to fish, there'd be no need for a sign. But I din't hear nuthin' 'bout no no fishin' signs... OH, I fished most of those spots with the electrofishing boat....when fishing is work, it ain't cheatin' and I'll do all I can to get my work done quickly so's I can go fishing...where there are no signs.

In this case, a few other simple tools are necessary. A bucket, a dip net, and a cast net. The very best way to catch spooky bass in a pond is with light gear and live bait. Period.

So, you can try a nearby ditch with the dip net for some crawfish. If you can find a few big "softies" (recently molted) you got a shoe-in. But any crawfish will do. If there is a ditch nearby with water, use a cast net to catch a shad, a sunfish, a minnow, small carp, or anything else that moves. A frog (not a toad) will do if nothing else. Heck, big grasshopper will work most of the time.

Depending on the size and type of bait, set your gear up for the proper presentation, cast, and hang on tight...set the drag kinda lose.

A grasshopper on a #6 or 4 bare hook, light line, no sinker, spinning rig on a summer morning is pretty much a sure bet. So is a 9 inch gizzard shad with a 6/0 hook through its back tossed out there on some 20 pound test with no sinker and left to swim about.

If you find the bass congregated, you can catch as many as you got gizzard shad to toss their way.

Now if you get caught....REAL sportsmen fishermen with plastic an' rubber lures (jes' ask 'em they'll tell you how sporting they are) will call you a "potlicker."

Yep, that's me the potlicker over there with the gigantic bass I caught on a gizzard shad I cast netted up from a ditch, is all you can say.

newdrawde....you need to remember, bass are ambush predator's....they like to hide and when something gets too close, they will strike like lighting! You mentioned weeds or vegetation....the bass LOVE to hide in it, as some critters will be above them and WHAM! dinner is served! something you might want to try is a hollow bodied frog. in my local ponds we have a lot of vegetation, so its PRIME frogging grounds. Two weeks ago I caught this monster (my PB) on a frog. 8 lbs, 14 oz.