Lake fished: New Ballwin Park Lake
Conditions: Partly Sunny, winds out of the south
New Ballwin Park Lake is one I have not been able to fish in several years. So when I found myself out in that area I took the opportunity to spend a little time walking around the small, one acre lake.
I started off by throwing a small, Texas-rigged creature bait on the southern end of the pond. On my first cast I had a bite when I targeted the middle of the pond. My lure landed right next to the bubbling aerator. After a few feet of dragging, it was a quick one tap and then nothing. I continued to fish down the southern end of the lake and then up the west bank without any luck.
I noticed another angler fishing up there with a Texas-rigged worm and he was also having no luck. Thus, I decided to change things up a bit.
I went ahead and tied on my trusty wacky-rigged worm. I have a love/hate relationship with the wacky worm this year. I love it because I’ve caught a ton of fish in various different conditions with it but I would prefer to be catching fish on more aggressive lures like a crankbait or spinnerbait. It just seems like the fish want something a little slower paced when I am on the water.
I started with my watermelon/chartreuse wacky worm and worked up the east side of the lake. Instead of casting into the middle of the lake, I tried paralleling the bank, fishing shallower. Once I got to the northern end of the lake, I got bit.
My first hit was a solid one. It came right after twitching the worm along a set of branches sticking out of the water. Unfortunately, when I set the hook, my line snapped.
I quickly re-tied and continued down the bank. Maybe three casts later, I got another hit.
This one did not get away. I was able to land a two-and-a half-pound bass after again casting my worm along the bank next to some woody cover. This pattern would repeat a few more times in a matter of 15 minutes. I ended up landing another two-and-a-half-pounder and losing one more. I had another fish follow my worm as I dragged it but no bite. Twitching the worm was key.
Looking back, it makes sense how these fish were caught. They were sitting on the windblown bank, lazily waiting for food to come to them. I’ll also add that I was fishing right after a rainstorm, which likely cooled the shallow water and pushed the fish close to the bank.
If you’re ever in the area, hit up New Ballwin Park Lake. It is a quick trip around a small pond but there are multiple big fish in that little pond.
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