[fish or die]

Never fished for bass before and went to the chatfield ponds with a buddy. both got skunked. didnt really know what to use or how to fish it. any tips would be appreciated.

 

[Big_Blue]

The only thing I ever caught there was a LMB on a silver and green kastmaster. in the first big pond. sorry thats all I got.

 

[bassunlimited]

I have caught bass there later in the year on crawdads and crawdad imitations but it seems the bite is inconsistent.
I have also caught bluegill on worms in the northern pond.
Can you put a small boat in those ponds? That would make it a lot easier to find the fish.

 

[raynman]

Yes you can put a manual powered boat.

No gas or electric motors.

 

[dtromp]

I've had great luck at the southernmost ponds (accessed via the waterton canyon road). Best method is to use a float tube and toss a weedless jig onto the bank in the thickest cover you can find. Slowly inch the jig back to you, pausing when you feel a pull. You will be able to tell the difference between a stick and a bass. I've caught a lot of bass in the 14-18" size, one 22.5" (but that was in the late fall...fishing for perch on a microjig in 42 degree water). Good luck, and please put 'em back!!

 

[lgombos]

Couple of my "secrets":

1) Small Flatfish under a fly bubble, worked slowly.
2) Rebel Pop'R in low light conditions (sun up, sun down, cloudy)
3) If you're not worried about losing $3-$5 lures, use a deep-diving shad-type crank bait and rip it throught the water as fast as you can, especially if the lip catches the bottom and stirs up the sand and mud. Make it look like a VERY scared little fish.

Good luck!

 

[fish or die]

I put back all my fish so no worries dtromp. thanks for the info