While water temperatures in big lakes and the Tenn-Tom Waterway have been slow to respond to the recent gradual cooling, those in smaller ponds, watersheds and the smaller state lakes have dropped enough to open the throttle on fall patterns for bass and crappie.
The smaller bodies of water cool off faster, so they’re ahead of the big water at this point and the fishing there is on fire.
Hot baits for these locations include square-billed crankbaits, topwater baits, flukes and Senkos.
Little frogs fished around grass, if there’s grass where you’re fishing, are working very well, or big bass minnows and a cork. They’re catching them like crazy with big minnows right now.
In their fall pattern, bass and crappie feed up more aggressively on baitfish in preparation for the winter, so fishing shad and bream colors is key. Additionally, crappie in small waters have been found in the four- to six-foot depth range lately, where crappie minnows work especially well.
Do the homework
The first step in fishing any new pond is making sure to give it the respect it and the fish deserve. Study it the same way you would a larger body of water. Locate the structure and get some idea of its depth at different places.
A point that extends out into the lake that puts shallow water and deep water next to each other, any small creek that flows in or drainage structure that flows out, stumps, logs and shadow lines that fall upon the water are areas that will hold bass every day.
Be quiet
The fact the fish are generally close is both the best and worst thing about pond fishing, because if you make a lot of noise you can spook enough fish in a short time to shut things down for the whole afternoon.
As you move from spot to spot along the bank, do so in arcs rather than straight lines if possible, walking at least 40 feet away from the water’s edge, then curving around to the next spot. Walking straight down the bank from one spot to the next is almost certain to spook fish that otherwise might not have been disturbed.
Needless to say, unnecessary disturbance of the water itself should be avoided too. A kid who plans to fish in the pond he just threw rocks into is going to have a bad time.
A handful of lures should be plenty for any small pond excursion. A pond that doesn’t have a running creek flowing into it and isn’t receiving runoff from erosion should be clear far more often than not, so color choices should tend toward the subtle end of the spectrum.
Use shad- and bream-like colors: whites, light blues, pale pinks, pale blues, jigs with very little color to them, pale pearls or even clear, see-through baits with a little sparkle in them.
Run deep
As with any water, lure choices are dictated by the fish’s depth and attitudes, but since ponds cut off a great deal of the variance found in big water, a handful of selections will do.
A small spinnerbait, a topwater bait, two or three plastic worms and a shallow-running crankbait should be enough for any pond expedition. Whether or not to take a stringer along is the fisherman’s personal choice, though.
Ready to go
The bigger bodies of water, like Pickwick and Bay Springs, are standing by for the fall pattern to commence, and the current cool snap should go a long way toward hastening that process. There are already anecdotal reports of some shad schooling action and positive response to the Alabama rig at Pickwick, though not yet from Bay Springs.
In the coming weeks, jerk baits and Rat-L-Traps are about to be on fire, as well as topwater baits. In addition to being good early in the morning, the bass will eat topwater baits when you catch them schooling.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
