I have no doubt I will get several answers here. Opinions and all. I have pegged out on 5 pounders. I am looking to catch a 10+ pounder for the wall. I am fishing a couple ponds that dang sure have big ones in them.

What is the best big bass bait for ponds?

Cork with a big shiner or goldfish 😁

That would’ve been my answer. Or just catch a bream and throw it on a hook

Yep that'll work to. I caught several in the 8 pound range using water bottles as floats with bream

big Texas rig crawdad and poppers have been good for me aint ever caught 10lb but sum 8s

10" plastic worms texas rigged, big spook, Jig w/ big crawfish trailer. A lot depends on the cover in the lake. Big Fish like big meals. My choice would be a big plastic swimbait. 6-8" with an 8/0 hook. Probably a Little Creeper trashfish.

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Lit...Trash_Fish_Swimbaits/descpage-LC8TF.html

Buzzbait first hour of day.

Beat me to it. Buzzbait will catch the biggest fish in there.

I dont think there is any bait that's better than ths next for big fish. I have probably caught a dozen 8 -12 lbers from ponds. I have caught em on a senko , rat, jog, spinnerbait, buzz bait, Texas rig. I think in a pond you just have to make a bunch of casts to get it in front of one of them and use tackle and hardware that can handle a big girl so you dont lose her once she bites

White willow leaf spinner-bait! Couple of 10lbs

Big Bass like Meat.

10-12” plastic worm.

Big fish like big baits.

5” bream below a float around a bream bed is hard to resist.

Burn 3/4 ounce rattle trap or slow roll a spinnerbait.

Pop-R drives them crazy in a pond. Plus it's super fun to see a 8-10 pounder destroy one on topwater

I think Perch nailed it. Robinhedd can flat catch em on those big Zara Spooks. I caught mine on Jigs with crawfish trailers.

Love bream or crayfish

If I was going to throw a spinnerbait it would be a big 3/4 oz one with a #7 or #8 Willow blade and a big trailer.

The two 10 plus I have seen were both caught on a 12" Culprit red shad.

This. Big cork with live shiner or bream.

Agree 100% with the weight and big trailer but I've found that big fish like a big indiana blade better than the willow. It gives off almost the same flash but with a lot more vibration/thump. I've always caught a ton of kicker fish on the old Mann's Classic with the indiana/colorado combination. Rick Clunn has a blade on one of his spbts that is a cross between the indiana and a willow leaf. It's a longer tear drop shape with a flat back rather than coming to a point like a willow. He won the tournament on St. Johns throwing it. Same principle. More thump bigger fish. You'll catch more on the willow but bigger on the indiana or a blade like clunn's .

I rarely if ever fish live bait for bass. Not a lot of skill involved. Too much like bream fishing to me. I want to fool them on an artificial. That said, an 11-12" worm works good too if you are patient and fish is slow in high percentage locations but at the end of the day, nothing beats a big free-lined live bait.

I watched a video following Clunns win where he described this very thing. Probably the same reason that a chatterbait seems to catch big fish too.

As Jerry once said, dynamite.