Hit the pond for bass

I have always loved pond fishing for bass.

And March is a great month for casting numerous types of lures while looking for lunkers.

If you’ve got access to fish a pond, it can be a game changer this month. With limited time to fish, thanks to March’s often finicky weather, anglers can drive right up to a pond and cast from the bank, cutting down on the time it takes to hook up a boat, haul, launch, and take out of a public boat ramp.

It’s one of the most simple forms of fishing. All you need is a fishing rod, a handful of lures, and enough time to make a dozen casts or so, although if the weather is nice and you’ve got some free time, you can spend a full day and not get bored. At least I can.

Pond fishing offers anglers a great way to get warmed up for the fishing season before they’re able to devote the time and resources they will be doing in the coming months.

Pond bass are a captive audience, with limited options of where to go to escape your onslaught of casting. They’re also becoming more active this month than most of them have been since the late fall, so you’ll find plenty of receptive fish.

Handful of lures

I like to carry just a handful of lures when pond bass fishing, but my favorite is the Rebel Pop-R. It’s tough to beat watching, feeling, and hearing a bass slam a topwater lure like the Pop-R, and you’ll find plenty of pond bass willing to hit one this month.

To the other extreme, a Texas-rigged soft plastic lure hops and glides along the bottom, and is irresistible to a fair share of bass. If the water is clear enough, and I see bass checking out my lure, but never taking it, that’s when I remove the weight and toss the same plastic lure out, then allow it to slowly drop down through the water column. This often produces some extremely aggressive bites.

Another lure I’m sure to have with me is a 1/8-ounce crappie jig. This may seem like an odd choice for bass fishing, but lots of bass are on patrol throughout the shallows this month, either building beds or guarding them. These fish will often ignore every lure I cast to them, but if I can land that crappie jig in there, then just let it lie there for a solid minute before bouncing it a time or two, that’s more than they can stand, and they’ll hit it with a vengeance.

Try your hand at pond fishing this month. It’s a great way to get the biggest bang for your buck.