CORRIDORS
I Got a chance to fish a pond that I have not been to for a few years. I knew that there are a lot of small trees around this pond; way to many to try to cast, but there is room to roll cast. So I head out with one rod, an 8 foot 6 weight number, perhaps a little heavy for panfish, but easier for me to roll cast.
I got to the pond after about a half mile hike, and saw that it was rimmed with weeds out about 12 feet all around the pond. I knew that the water slopes out to about three feet deep at the point where the weeds stop. It then drops to about 5 to 6 feet deep and slopes out deeper from there.
I went to the far end of the pond so I moving closer to the truck as I fished. A yellow Only fly was on the rod and I roll cast it out so it was about 25 feet off the weed line. I wa about half way out in the weeds. I retrieved it in and thought that I would get a hit on the fly but no fish. This happened a few more times so I decided to change the fly to a yellow boa yarn fly and see what happened. With more yellow in the fly in the murky water maybe they will see it better.
On the third cast a nice crappie took the fly. The next few casts that are off to the side of where the crappie hit produced no fish. I cast to where I got the crappie and got another one. I cast out in that area again and got another fish to take the fly. This was a bluegill that cut several didos.
That was it for fish there; no more on any casts around that area. I moved about 15 feet to cast again. There was a break in the trees there that makes it easier to roll cast. On the second cast, with the fly a little deeper, another nice crappie took the fly. I tried a few cast on each side of the place the crappie came from and nothing happened. I cast back in that spot and picked up a nice bluegill. Over the next 10 casts in that area, coming in perpendicular to the shore, two more crappie and three bluegills came to hand.
I was beginning so see a pattern so I movee about 20 feet to the next opening in the trees. I tried some casts off perpendicular in this area and got nothing. Then I made the perpendicular casts and picked up four more bluegills and four more crappie.
I moved about 7 feet in the wide opening in the trees and tried again. This produced no fish so I moved and tried again. I arrived at the next place and did the perpendicular cast first. I picked up six nice bluegill in that place; each fish came with the fly down about two feet and coming in with long slow strips with a very short pause between. Then the casts to the side produced nothing.
I moved and the next place produced nothing. I tried about 20 casts and it appeared that this was not the place. I Moved about 40 feet to the next place. As the moves have gone toward the dam the water off shore has been getting deeper. I gOt a few fish, but they were very close to the weed edge. The fly still had to come in perpendicular to the weed line. There was a place about 15 feet to my right where the weed line cuts in almost up to the shore line. I knew the water was deeper there and I would not try to wade through it. I did make a few roll casts with my left hand, and it kept me away from the limbs and I picked up two nice crappie doing that. I moved to the other side of the pond and worked my way back toward the dam. I found places there where I picked up from 5 to 10 fish in a three foot wide corridor coming in perpendicular to the weed edges. It was possible to roll cast most of this shore line. I found some three foot wide corridors where fish would be. The rest of the area appeared to be barren. I got to near the dam and needed to take the fish basket out of the water. I did not remember catching that many fish.
It was a long hike out to the truck, but had lots of fillets to share.
Hope you can get out on the water.
Rick