muddy bass

Question
I've been fishing since i was four and I am absolutely hooked.there is this pond about a mile away from my house.Up till about a week ago I was sure the only fish in there was carp and a few blue gill. the pond is probably only 3 or 4 feet deep and it is really muddy. the pond is connected to a creek that leads to Lake michigan. I finally caught 2 or 3 bass off a banjo minnow. I was just wondering if there was any lures that I might be able to use.

Answer
Grant; That pond sounds a lot like the pond that I caught my first bass in except that it was not connected to any other lake.  I first used live minnows because there were crappie in the pond too.  I just happened to catch a small bass while fishing for crappie.  I then began fishing with bigger minnows for the bass.  One day there were a bunch of yellow butterflies flying around the pond.  I caught one and put it on a hook and pulled it slowly over the water.  A bass grabbed it.  I then bought a fly rod and a fly tieing kit and began to make my own flies and bugs with which I caught more bass.  One day I was in a store where they were selling out fishing tackle and I bought a casting rod and reel along with some plugs.  These plugs were copies of Heddon Spook lures a sort of crank bait.  I then began catching bass on these.  None of these bass were very big but it was a thrill to catch them on artificial lures.

Today I would suggest a couple of shallow running crank baits since the water is not deep.  Also I would try some spinnerbaits. And of course some plastic worms, lizards, frogs, and crawfish type lures.
A 6 1/2 foot spinning rod and a $20 open faced spinning reel should do well here.  Use six or eight pound test monofilament line to keep the cost down.  A few lead bullet sinkers should about take care of your needs.  Oh no, you need at least one or two surface lures.  I would suggest a small Jitterbug and some sort of popper. Pick colors that you like.  For example I trend toward silver, green and yellow for many of my lures.  I don't think color will be as important in your discolored water as the action.

I now have a bag that weighs over thirty pounds full of lures but I really don't need that many.  Actually I use only about one tenth of the lures I have.

I hope this will help.  I can remember about 70 years ago when I was fishing in my little pond.  I hope you continue to love fishing.  I thank you for calling on me to answer your question.

I am
Jack L. Gaither       (JackfromSeminole)
Lake Seminole, Georgia.