DRIFTWOOD OUTDOORS: Fun with farm ponds

All the fun of regular bass fishing on a smaller scale

The bass must have seen the spinnerbait flying through the air.

Within a split second of hitting the water, the bait was engulfed and my rod bent double. I aggressively arched back, burying the hook in the lunker's lower lip.

After a few acrobatic leaps, I had the chunky largemouth in hand. After slipping him back into the farm pond, I set out to catch another.

Farm-pond fishing is one of my favorite outdoor activities. I love the fact most ponds are like scaled-down versions of larger lakes. You have points, flats, shallow water, deep water, wood structure, weeds and more all in a confined little area. So if you aren't catching them in one spot, you don't have to go far to figure out where they are and what they're eating.

Brad Wiegmann is a noted fishing guide and outdoor writer. Even though he spends a lot of time on enormous reservoirs boating behemoth stripers, he still finds time to nurture his love of little lakes and ponds. Wiegmann's a great resource of information on any type of fishing, and here he explains fishing frogs for bass in farm ponds.

"Farm ponds are notorious for having aquatic plants growing in them," Weigmann said. "Some of these are desired grasses that assist in filtering the pond creating a stable environment, and some are invasive grasses taking over a farm pond.

"Either way, the grass is a place where predators and prey can be found, including frogs. For an angler fishing a farm pond, that's an indication to use frog imitating lures. There are two types of frog imitating lures. One has a hollow body and the other a solid body."

Any surface lure is a blast to fish in a farm pond during the hot summer months. Bass become more active at night as the water temperature cools. Even if the conditions outdoors are perfect, it can be frustrating to fish a farm pond with a lot of vegetation or moss. The hollow frog is one solution.

"A hollow-bodied frog, like the Bomber Booyah Pad Crasher, was made to be fished in thick or matted grass," Wiegmann said. "Its boat-shaped body floats on top of the surface and can be manipulated to zigzag back and forth. This is commonly referred to as walking-the-dog and gives the hollow-bodied frog a lifelike swimming action few bass can withstand.

"Hollow-bodied frogs come standard with a double hook rigged near the tail section and have two legs made from several strains of rubber jig skirting material."

Another nice aspect of farm ponds is they are usually fishable from shore. If they're not, a small watercraft - like a jon small boat, canoe, kayak or float tube - should be easy to launch. Farm ponds have many advantages, but one of the most advantageous aspects of these often overlooked gems is they are usually loaded with fish.

See you down the trail ...

III

Brandon Butler is an outdoor columnist for the News Tribune. Contact him at [email protected].