Summer Pond Bass Fishing
by Ken Sturdivant
Southern Fishing Schools Inc.
The early of summer bass fishing
in ponds is a challenge for any angler. The high water temperatures and
the
long
sunny days together make for tough fishing. Catching summer bass is a
challenge that demands extreme tactics. Ponds and small lakes are void
of oxygen
during the months of summer below 10 feet. All the debris on the bottom
of small lakes and ponds extract all the oxygen from the water. Bass
must have oxygen to survive. Low or no oxygen will keep the game fish
in the
shallows all summer. Meeting the summer challenge in these ponds requires
fishing early and late or even at night. Live bait is a good way to beat
the summer fishing slow down especially during the day. Early and late
bass look for anything to eat and shiners, night crawlers and even live
crawfish will work. Use small hooks and light line to allow the baits
to appear natural to the bass. Even a treble hook can add extra power
to any
live bait. At night, bass come out to feed. If they are not successful
during the day foraging for food, they will roam in the darkness to make
up for lost feeding activity. Now is the time to catch not only number
of bass, but large fish as well. At night anything that lands in the
water is considered food to the bass. They will eat frogs, small animals
and
even snakes. Using big baits at night can result in big bass.
Besides
live frogs and shiners, plastic lures work extremely well at night. Large
plastic
worms look like snakes. Plastic frog imitations work very well. And the
old Jitterbug in the large and small sizes can provide heart stopping
strikes at night. Stick with the lures that are working and change when
the fish
no longer attack the baits.
At night using heavy line and bait casting
rigs is required. The bass cannot see the line at night and using as
much as 25 pound test can land huge bass.
