Pond Fishing
“Google maps – it is a hell of a tool.”
For those of us with only kayaks or that are fishing from the banks; local ponds can prove to be untouched goldmines of fishing fun. Owners often stock these ponds with bass and bluegill. Whether spring fed or man-supplied these ponds often have persisted (not gone dry) long enough for generations of bass to grow and flourish there.
It doesn’t take much to locate your home or place of residence on google maps and from there you can slowly zoom out or scroll around to look for small bodies of water. Give it a try below.
Once you have located a body of water there are a couple steps to take. First, see if the pond is on public or private property and if it is accessible by road. Ponds on public lands are usually small parks that have recently opened or that are under utilized and not well known. Fishing on public ponds is very straightforward as sings are typically posted as to what actions are permitted. If you find a pond a private property that may be a little trickier. It is never a good idea to trespass but you would be surprised at how nice and friendly many people are. As a suggestion, you could write a letter (yes, a good ole fashioned letter) to the property owner explaining that you are a responsible fisherman and that you would be respectful of their property and leave it cleaner than you found it. Be sure to include your contact information in the letter. To sweeten the deal (if the pond looks promising enough) you can offer to help out on the property once or twice a year in return for access to the pond.
Ponds range in size from less than half an acre to 50 or more. There is sure to be an untapped resource out there – now go find it!
