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Ponding 101 - A Winner with the Kids
By Jason Pence @ 11:46 PM :: 2293 Views ::
0 Comments ::  :: Learn How to Fish, Fishing 101
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| One of the most easily overlooked fisheries is that of the humble farm pond. That is in spite of the fact that they can be tremendously productive. The added bonus of it being a very simple watershed for kids to learn fishing techniques on make it a natural choice.
A definition would probably be a good place to start. A pond might be anywhere from less than an acre up to forty acres, or so. A body of water larger than that qualifies as a small lake in my book. Most ponds I have fished are in the one to ten acre range. The real key is that I can fish it on foot by walking the shore line with no need for my boat. However, the use of a canoe or small portable boat often adds to the fun.
  I was fortunate enough to be allowed to fish just such a pond this past fall. The owner said the bluegill and bass were a little overstocked and would like a few of them removed. My daughter was out on school break, my father in law was also free that day, so we were on that pond like walleyes chasing a mayfly hatch!
Pond fishing, especially with kids, is a very simple system to master. There are not any difficult or subtle techniques they have to learn in order to be successful. A spin cast reel and medium action rod in the six foot range will handle most every application. If a child is a little more advanced then by all means spinning and bait casting gear are excellent choices, but they are not necessary for kids to have success. That is good news for very young anglers who have yet to master more advanced systems.
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 Lures and bait are simple as well. You can’t go wrong with a box of crawlers and a bucket of minnows at a pond. At certain times of year the use of grasshoppers caught from the grasses surrounding the pond can also produce excellent catches of bass. A slip float with a small hook in the size range of 6 down to a 10 with a 1 ½ inch piece of night crawler is deadly on bluegill. A second rod equipped with the same small hook and crawler behind a sinker and no float allows you to cover the water column from top to bottom. The minnows set under a slip float on a size 2 or 4 hook are a dinner bell to every largemouth in the system.
If your young ones are a little more skilled at presentation then you may want to try one of the several artificials that shine at the pond. Small plastic worms, minnow baits, and small spinnerbaits can all produce well. A perhaps lesser known option are buzzbaits. The buzzbaits have produced two bass from ponds for me that tipped the scales at over ten pounds each. Therefore, artificials are an option but certainly not necessary. They are also often not as effective as the more simplistic approach.
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 If your young ones are a little more skilled at presentation then you may want to try one of the several artificials that shine at the pond. Small plastic worms, minnow baits, and small spinnerbaits can all produce well. A perhaps lesser known option are buzzbaits. The buzzbaits have produced two bass from ponds for me that tipped the scales at over ten pounds each. Therefore, artificials are an option but certainly not necessary. They are also often not as effective as the more simplistic approach.
On this particular trip we fished the morning until lunch time. We caught around 30 nice bluegills, half a dozen bass, and one very nice catfish. Actually, my daughter did most all the catching. Old dad mostly unhooked fish and rebaited hooks. We kept some of the smaller fish to eat and released the rest. The thrill of watching her excitement when a float went down and her determination in bringing those fish to shore made my day—no, it’s more than that. It’s those times and events that give spice to your whole life.
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 The pond—a place where kids can learn to fish, where there is much fun to be had and success can be high. The pond—a place where good memories can be made and relived. That’s about as good as it gets.
Good Fishing,
Jason “The Fisher” Pence
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