ALGAE AGAIN
It was Sunday afternoon. My wife suggested that I needed to be out on a pond. I will admit it was one of the few times that I readily follow her directions. I decided to head back to the pond I had been to last time. This time I can get the canoe in and see what I can do. I got there and got all the stuff in the canoe. I got down to the shore and looked at the water but it had more algae in it than it did the last time. I am still going to try in this pond, but can I figure out how to catch fish?
I got the canoe in and saw that I disturb a few fish. They did not take the flies that I tossed at them. As I moved the canoe I noticed that many other fish are being spooked. I saw the swirls in the water as they leave the area, so I dropped an anchor and sat for a few minutes, no casting just watching. In a few minutes there were fish swimming by me, and they were about two inches under the surface.
I changed to some smaller un-weighted size 16 and 18 flies. I will be able to move them very slowly and see if that might help. Not a chance. The line on the water was spooking the fish.
Now it was becoming a matter of pride. My brain is bigger than theirs, but there is a question if it works any better. There are times that I might just agree with that.
Finally I decided to pull up the anchor and just drift across the pond. There was a light breeze that just moved the canoe. I let one line lay on the water and the other I held up so the tippet was straight above the fly. I held this rod out so the fly is away from the canoe. After moving about 40 feet I saw that the line in the water was spooking the fish. I reel it in so I can hold it like the other rod. I have one out on each side of the canoe. I saw fish as I go down the pond. I tried moving the fly so it would go by the fish, and it spooked every fish.
I decided to just let the flies move naturally and see what might happen. That worked to a slight extent, and I caught five gills with this technique. The fly had to be about two inches from them and they would take it. It had to move straight at them as they were facing it. If it came from behind or at any angle they were gone. If the fly was over two inches from them they did not seem to see it.
I made a few more passes across the pond trying other flies. Most of those flies were larger. I was hoping they might be easier to see, but they did not catch any fish. I tried the flies that worked before and did not get any fish on them. I was getting hot and thirsty, and all the water I had with me was gone.
I headed in and started putting the stuff in the canoe. There was an elderly couple fishing from the shore, and they came down to see what luck I might have had. They were not doing very well either. I told them what I had observed, and I gave them the fish I had caught so they could have a meal.
It was a good fishing experience since it made me think and observe. If there was a pattern I did not find it. It was not a great catching experience, but still fun.
Hope you can get out on the water.
Rick