Not every fisherman is as lucky as I am — blessed with a job that takes me to some of the best lakes in the country to catch largemouth bass.
When I think about writing this column every month, I try to remember that not everybody who reads it will have a big bass boat with a huge outboard engine, nor easy access to a great big reservoir. There are countless fishermen in South Carolina who are thrilled just to have a pond to fish.
That was brought home last month when I had a chance to fish a 40-acre lake on Patriot’s Plantation in Williamsburg County. It reminded me exactly how enjoyable it can be to fish somewhere the access is limited — or on a lake that you have totally to yourself.
I have my own little pond at home, and I have fished ponds as small as one-third of an acre all the way up to hundreds of acres, from little farm ponds to Ray Scott’s trophy bass lake in Alabama. All of them have their own characteristics, but one thing is consistent: they’re all a joy to fish.
Most of our big reservoirs in South Carolina are hydroelectric lakes; most of them area largely developed, with a lot of boat ramps and boat docks. When you fish a private pond or lake, it’s almost like you’re going one-on-one with the fish. You’re in a more secluded, private setting, and the bass don’t get nearly the pressure. And best of all, you’ve really got a chance to catch a trophy bass.
I think there’s a state record-sized bass swimming in a pond right now, one that’s bigger than 16 pounds, four ounces. I figure there are maybe a half-dozen of them alive right now, in small ponds or lakes. That always adds some mystique to pond fishing for me. Because of the lack of pressure, and because of the fertile nature of most small lakes or ponds, you have a lot better chance of catching a state record or even just a real trophy, than you do on a big lake where fish see plastic worms and jigs and spinnerbaits and crankbaits day after day after day.
A lot of smaller lakes or ponds will have a lot of matted vegetation at the end of the summer, and that makes them really fun to fish. That kind of cover is ideal for fishing topwater baits, especially frogs. To think about having the chance to retrieve a topwater flag over matted vegetation and have a bass between six and 16 pounds blow up on it, that sends cold chills up my spine.
The real nice thing about a small pond is its size. Fishing a real big reservoir can be overwhelming to a lot of people. You’ve got a lake that’s 20 miles long, with hundreds of miles of shoreline — that can be intimidating. But most ponds are 10 acres of less, a lot of them just one or two acres. You can fish the whole pond, and you can pattern fish a lot easier. One of the main things that makes one pro fisherman better than another — or distinguishes between a pro fisherman and a weekend fisherman — is the ability to pattern fish. They can figure out where bass are holding and how to catch them better than other people.
When it comes to fishing ponds and small lakes, bass are a lot easier to pattern, because your options are limited. What you’re basically doing is looking for the best-available cover — that’s where you’ll have the best opportunity to catch a big bass.
Here’s what I look at. Most ponds don’t have a lot of deep water, so the first thing I do is fish shallow. Shallow bass are the easiest to locate and pattern. I look for the best cover in the shallows. A lot of ponds in South Carolina were flooded with the timber still standing; that can be great cover. Vegetation, whether it’s matted grass or lily pads or gator grass, is great. I’ll fish the vegetation first, then the timber.
If the pond you’re fishing has neither, you have to figure out what the best-available cover is. It could be laydown trees or stumps or brushpiles that have been put in. You have to be able to fish the cards you’re dealt. Fish will be on the best available cover. They’re like people. I’d rather stay in a nice hotel than a pup tent, but if all I’ve got is a pup tent, I’ll stay in one. That’s the way fish act.
Once you locate the cover, you figure out what they’re going to eat. I don’t downsize my baits in a pond — which some other fishermen do. Most of the time, when you downsize your baits, it’s because fish are finicky — they’ve been pounded on and get heavy fishing pressure. You don’t get that in a pond.
In fact, I might even upsize my baits, because that’s a great way to catch a big fish. If I’m used to fishing a half-ounce jig or a 7-inch worm, I might jump to a ¾- or 1-ounce jig or a 10-inch worm. I might go with a shallow-running crankbait that has a big body over a small bait that dives to the same depth. And because fish aren’t pressured all that much — and because that 16-pound bass is always in the back of my mind — I’m going to use heavy, heavy line, probably 65-pound Spiderwire braid. If I get a huge fish hooked on a topwater frog or a jig or Senko in heavy, thick vegetation, by gosh, I’m going to use something that I can winch her in with.
Most ponds have bass, bluegill and catfish. For bass, sunfish and smaller bass will be the biggest part of their daily diet, so I try to use baits that are bluegill or baby bass colors.
I’m going to pay attention to two more things. I’m going to really fish the area around the dam carefully. And I’m going to fish the place where the creek feeds the lake. I’m going to fish the very upper and lower areas first, and the mid-lake section last. And I’m going to pay attention to where a fish feeder is, if there is one.
If I put everything together, I might find myself reaching over the side of a little boat, grabbing the lower jaw of the biggest fish of my life. You can find yourself in that situation just as easily, if you pay attention to some of these basic details.
Davy Hite is a 44-year-old native of Saluda who lives in Ninety Six. He was the BASS Angler of the Year in 1997 and 2002, and he has won the 1999 Bassmasters Classic and the 1998 FLW Tour Championship. He is sponsored by Triton boats, Evinrude outboards, All-Star rods, Pfleuger reels, Berkley Trilene, Yamamoto baits, Owner hooks, Humminbird depthfinders, Advance Land and Timber and Solar Bat sunglasses.
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