Bass fishing is at its best in Ohio ponds in the spring. Bass usually feed where small fish are numerous - around the edge of the pond or near the cover of water weeds. Feeding bass usually cruise within 20 or 30 feet of the shore.
Watch and listen for bass feeding. If you see one feed twice in the same place, move within reach and place your bait where it is feeding. If an hour of fishing produces no action, it's time to go home or try bluegill fishing.
Recommended baits include both artificial and live baits. Worms, small bluegills, frogs, and crayfish are good live bait. Take care not to introduce undesirable fish through the use of minnows. Artificial baits used with casting or spinning equipment or fly rods also will catch bass. The secret of success with these baits lies in:
Forage fish (bluegill and redear sunfish) should furnish more than 75 percent of the poundage of fish taken from your pond. They provide summer fishing when bass fishing is slack and are often easy to catch when spawning.
Equipment for catching forage fish need not be fancy. A limber cane pole with lightweight line, small sinker, cork or bobber, and size 8 to 10 hook are all you need. Good baits are earthworms, crickets, catalpa worms, leeches, and maggots, as well as artificial baits. Fly fishing is also a sporty way to take bluegills.
It is a good idea to start fishing for bluegills and redears a few inches off the bottom. For redears, jigging (twitching your line) often produces the best results. If one depth does not produce results, slide your float down the line, decreasing your fishing depth. If one bait doesn't work, try another. If one location doesn't work, move to another.
The channel catfish does not usually reproduce in ponds. Consequently, a stocking of this species can be fished out in three to four years and may need to be restocked. If channel catfish are to be stocked with the bass-bluegill combination, there are two factors to consider - the pond should be at least 0.5 acres, and catfish of the same size as the bass and bluegills should be stocked.
This species has a very good flavor and grows to a good pan size. You should be able to harvest catfish weighing 0.5 to 1 pound in the first year. If stocked alone and fished moderately the second year, 1.5-pound catfish may be harvested the third year.
Still fishing and bait casting are good ways to catch channel catfish. Worms, frogs, and crayfish make good bait, and for more sport, try a sinking plug. Allow the plug to sink to the bottom, then retrieve it slowly so it scrapes the bottom and causes a disturbance.