If you live in areas where you have small lakes, ponds and rivers and streams to yourself on your fishing outings, consider yourself blessed. Most of the readers here are from cities and suburbs where it seems that any available fishing water is overrun, and sometimes shoulder-to-shoulder with other anglers, competing for a small section of real estate on some crowded bank. These waters can range anywhere from forest preserve waters, to local park ponds, state parks, small rivers and backwaters, with all experiencing the same issues: many anglers crammed into small sections of available shorelines.

While waters can become overfished, meaning the fish populations are becoming depleted, tht’s a very growing concern with species such as bass and crappies; many of these fish are going home for the deep fryer. Oher waters maintain decent fish populations, but due to the heavy angling pressure, their fish become less likely to engage with most anglers’ offerings.

A couple options might help your chances on some of these waters. One, if allowed, try fishing at night, or at the very least, at first and last light. Most anglers don’t venture out after nightfall, which would be a good option. Unfortunately, many waters don’t allow fishing after dark. I miss those night fishing excursions. Early light and last light on busy waters, before the crowds begin to show, can be somewhat better.

The above is a simple timing on the water attempt to up your chances. But what about tackle considerations? Well, a productive tip for many waters is switching your presentation to live bait. Live bait rigs are probably one of the easiest solutions to get fish to bite on pressured waters. But for those who like to make it happen with artificial baits, me included, let’s look at a few lure options that might surprisingly bring a few more fish to the bank for you while other anglers are struggling: micro baits.

For today’s column, the focus of our micro baits will be on scaled-down versions of normal-sized baits, rather than just tiny baits themselves. An example, and truly an efficient method on pressured waters, is micro jigs. I’m not knocking them as an effective choice, because they certainly are. But last year, I spent months proclaiming the virtues of jig fishing; so for this writing, we’ll be looking at some other bait options in the micro category. Just a quick tip: For my money, the best micro jig for small waters is the Cubby Mini Mite. I’ve tempted and caught every species of fish on this jig, but for this article, our focus will be directed on other offerings.

So, why micro baits? As waters become congested with anglers on the banks, with a barrage of normal- and larger-sized baits churning through these pressured fish’s territories daily, the local inhabitants become a bit more intrigued with baits that are outside of the normal presentations: Basically, smaller-sized portions become a bit less intimidating and actually stand out from the crowd. Tiny baits that appeal to these skittish fish will often make the difference in achieving success on these busy waters or going home skunked!

So, let’s look at some choices for micro bait presentations.

Crankbaits

Crankbaits are still one of my favorite bait presentations, no matter the species, and no matter the size of bait. Here are few suggestions. Tiny squarebills are favorites of mine; an inch to an inch-and-a-half are perfect sizes and make awesome search baits. Other crankbaits, such as deep divers, minnow baits, and lipless cranks are also included in this group I simply keep my baits under 2 inches for these micro presentations.

Spinnerbaits

I’ll include both armed spinnerbaits along with inline spinners, and we can throw in micro-bladed jigs as well. Mini versions of the bass-type spinnerbait are great on these small waters, as well as the much-underrated fish catching machine—the inline spinner— which is still producing after so many years. Lastly, I’ve been using micro-sized vibrating, bladed jig-type baits; their success has been overwhelming.

Swim baits

These are quickly becoming my favorites as they attract all species that call these small waters home. Use pre-molded baits or rig your own baits on micro jigheads. Baits 2 inches and under mimic most of the forage found in these small waters.

Ned rigs

Ned rigs are pretty much a no-brainer when it comes to stealthy approaches, and they work extremely well in small, pressured waters. There are even micro Ned Rig versions now for when the bite is extremely tough. These are awesome for local panfish.

Topwaters

Don’t forget the surface bite on these small ponds either. Often, the bite is a little better early in the day, and then again right before sunset. Micro poppers in the 1 1/2- to 2-inch range are awesome baits. Rebel and Rapala both offer micro poppers.

This is certainly not an all-encompassing list of micro baits, but just a good handful of fish producers that work extremely well. As mentioned earlier, small jigs are always a great option, as are drop-shot rigs, especially when targeting pressured bass. Drop-shotting is an entire article in itself and a story for another day.

As far as rods and reels, I’m set on light-action gear and medium-light rods; and smaller, but not-too-tiny spinning reels in the 2500 range. They work best with light lines, which for me is normally 6- to 8-pound braid. If you favor mono, stick with 4- to 6-pound, which is suitable for most smaller waters.

Small, highly pressured waters can be frustrating, both in what seems to be a lack of fish and overcrowding of anglers. While I don’t have a solution for the lack of peace found on the banks among fellow anglers, focusing on micro baits can be the answer for what many believe to be fished-out bodies of water. The fish are often there; you just need to give them what they desire!

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