While driving in the Northwoods we all have passed those big pond or tiny lakes, right?  That do not have houses, docks or accesses to launch a boat, right? Did you ever wonder if there was any fish swimming in that water. I don’t mean the ones with a couple of houses or one old dock, I’m talking about those little lakes or run offs about 30 yards off the road surrounded by trees and no boat ramp. These big ponds if you want to call them that can be only a few acres to 5 acres.

There have been a few that I’ve passed for years, and I finally decided to give one a try. I parked my truck on the side of the road, walk maybe 45 feet to an area where I could cast my line. After spending close to an hour, I caught four medium size Bass. Nothing great but it was defiantly worth fishing. This made me a believer that these small waters can hold fish. Even though I have caught huge Bluegills out of a few of these tiny lakes that no one fishes, I have also spent over an hour and never got a bite on others.

Think about this. Have you ever seen anyone fishing on one of those lakes that you have been passing for years? Most of these small or tiny lakes get LITTLE or NO FISHING PRESSURE whatsoever, so if you decide to stop and try fishing this type of water, you won’t need a lot of equipment because most of them you can cast to the opposite shoreline. To find out how deep it is, you can use a jig under a slip bobber. Keep adjusting the knot at different depth until the bobber stands up, then measure the distance between the knot and the jig and this will tell you how deep certain spots are. I would say the areas to fish would be around any cover in that water, like lily pads, weeds, stick-ups or rocks and remember if there is a stream or inlet coming into that tiny lake, the water could be cooler, with more oxygen in that area if the water is moving. As for bait, personally I would use live bait at first to see if there are fish present, like minnows, leeches or crawlers and if you do find fish swimming in that water, you can switch to lures later, because most likely these fish have never seen a lure before.

So, instead of passing one of those tiny lakes, park on the side of the road to give it a shot. You might get skunked, but then again this could become you own little hot spot. But remember, there could be other people that have been passing that small lake and wondering the same thing. BIG TIP, if you start catching some huge Panfish or nice Bass and someone stops to ask if you are catching anything, tell them, NOPE, I HAVEN’T GOT ONE BITE.

PLEASE RELEASE WALLEYE OVER 24″. THESE BIG GIRLS PRODUCE MORE EGGS AND LARGER WALLEYE IN THE FUTURE.