Click to Enlarge   Crappie Largemouth bass Channel catfish Click to Enlarge   Fishing a Pond by Tom Cwynar Farm ponds are just lakes in miniature, except that sometimes they grow larger fish. Farm ponds and small lakes produce fish at the same or better rates than big lakes, yet many anglers overlook them because they want to use their boats and electronic equipment when fishing. That's great because it leaves lots of fish for people who want to fish from shore. You'd better walk softly; maybe even sneak up to the pond. The thumps of heavy footsteps or running feet could scare fish away from the shoreline and alert every fish in the pond. You can talk but don't be too loud. Especially avoid banging stones or tackle boxes on the ground. Don't stand right near the water's edge. It's best to sit or crouch or hang back a bit from shore. Lots of things like to catch and eat fish, so they are naturally nervous. Many ponds have a deep end, where the dam is, and some shallow parts. A pond may have an old stream channel running through it. Points of land may jut out into the water. The parts of the points that are underwater are usually good places to find fish. So are any branches or trees, rocks or sticks or docks in the water. Fish often hang out near these things because they provide what anglers call "cover." Most Missouri ponds contain bass, catfish and bluegill. People also call bluegill perch. Many ponds also contain crappie and other types of sunfish. Bluegill, crappie and other sunfish are considered panfish because they are an easy-to-catch food fish that often end up in a frying pan. Panfish Panfish often hang around in schools or groups. This is important to know, because where you find one, you'll probably find more. A good way to fish for panfish is to put a worm or a piece of a worm on a Number 6 or Number 8 hook at the end of your line. Pinch one or two small split shot about 8 inches above the hook and add a small bobber about 2 feet above the split shot. Any kind of bobber will do, but don't make it too big. You want it to barely float. That way, it will move or "bob" whenever a fish touches your bait. Cast the rig near some brush sticking out of the water or alongside a downed tree, or next to the deep side of weeds that line the shore of the pond. You don't have to cast right into the brush. Unless spooked, the fish usually don't bury themselves deep in cover. Wait, but don't wait too long. If no fish bites within a few minutes, reel your line in and cast to another spot. Try fishing all around a brushpile or a downed tree, a dock or an underwater point. A distance of only 3 or 4 feet might mean the difference between getting lots of bites and getting none. Remember, where you catch one panfish, you can usually catch more. If they don't seem to be biting anywhere, slide the bobber up a bit on your line so that your bait hangs deeper in the water, or change baits. Panfish often like crickets and grasshoppers, too. Bass You might accidentally catch bass when you are fishing for panfish. However, it's a lot more fun to try to tease bass into striking plastic worms. For this kind of fishing, you'll need what's called a worm hook. A worm hook is larger than a panfish hook, and it often has barbs right below the eye of the hook. The barbs hold the nose of a plastic worm while the point of the hook is poked into the worm's body. This keeps the point from hooking brush or weeds. A 6-inch plastic worm is probably best. Black, purple, blue and green all work well. Add a small split shot or two anywhere from a few inches to a foot ahead of the hook. Cast the rig out near some cover and let it settle to the bottom. Try to "crawl" the plastic worm back to you. Bass are as curious as kittens and can be teased into striking. Work the lure slowly, sometimes letting it settle back and do nothing. If you feel a little "tap." lift the rod tip slowly until you can see it bend slightly with the weight of the fish. Then pull back on the rod to set the hook. Sometimes a bass will pick up your bait and rush away like a freight train. You won't have to do much more than hold onto your fishing rod when this happens. Just as you would when fishing for panfish, work all around the cover. If you're fishing the deep side of shoreline weeds or along a dropoff, cast well to the left or right, instead of straight out. Then your bait will spend more time in fishy areas as you reel it back toward you. Catfish Catfish can be monsters. They might grow to 10 pounds or more. Most of the time they swim in deep water near the bottom, but some spring and summer days they seem to bask near the surface, as if they just want you to see them and say, "Wow!" Fish for catfish near the deep end of the pond and keep your bait near the bottom. If you know the exact depth, you can set your bobber so that your bait hangs about 6 inches off bottom. Otherwise use a tight line. Put three or four split-shot about a foot above a size 1/0 hook. Let the weight settle to the bottom and reel until the line is almost tight. Thread several live worms onto your hook for bait. Catfish mostly locate food by smell, so people catch them on anything that has a good "stink" to it. Some people make their own catfish bait. The recipes usually include something rotten. You can also catch catfish on pieces of chicken liver and hotdogs. Worms almost always work well, however. Bites won't come as fast as they might for panfish, so you can lean your rod against a forked stick. Make sure to loosen the reel's drag and to anchor the butt of your fishing rod with a rock or log. You don't want a fish to pull your pole into the water. Catfish usually are more active at night, and it's fun to fish for them by lantern light or firelight. That doesn't mean you can't catch them through the day, though. Anytime you have your bait in the water, you have a good chance to catch a fish.