STOCKING DAY
I was asked to check a pond and see if there were any fish in it. I did not even put a line in the water to know there were no fish. There were huge tad poles all over the place. Not just at the edge of the pond, but all over the place. Any pond that has fish in it will not have these critters swimming all over the place. I headed off to another pond to see if I could catch some fish to stock this pond. I was not sure since had got over two inches of rain the day before. I wanted to see if I could help the land owner, but even more there was an itch to put a line in the water.
Since it was so wet I walked into a pond again. I may never get the canoe out this year. But this is forcing me to become better caster. I have to keep the flies away from the trees, bushes and long grass.
When I got to the pond the water was up about two feet. I would not be able to fish the shallower part of the pond as I had not taken my waders with me. I walked toward the dam to see what might happen. I was hoping that some fish might have come up near the shore looking for food in the grass. I cast out and brought the fly in. Did this several times and had no interest from the fish.
It was time to change flies and go to the weird things to see if I could stir any interest from the fish. I have tied some flies with small propellers at the front, with multiple rubber legs and with some luminescent materials in them. I was hoping the sound or the glow from the luminescent materials might attract some fish.
By making a long cast and letting the fly drop a long way and then slowly retrieving it back I did manage to catch a few fish. I got a few bluegills and a few bass to take the fly.
I decided to move so that I could cast the fly along the grass that was on the side of the pond. If the fish were near the grass I might have some more success. It was a great theory, but did not work for me.
It was time to try another weird fly. I tied some Hares ears with luminescent flashabou for the tail. I was hoping that the luminescent material might interest the fish since I have also seen that some of the older variation of the Hares Ear had tail material on them.
The little bit of glow seemed to interest the fish. I picked up some more gills, not a huge number, but enough to keep it interesting. They took the fly with the luminescent material much better than the flies that did not have this on them. I did try both with alternating casts.
I ended up taking 12 bass from 6 inches to 12 inches long and about 25 gills to the other pond. In a year or two it should have a good number of fish in it.
While I was putting the fish in the pond I saw a midge hatch coming off the pond. In a few years this will be a good place for kids to come and try to catch their first fish.
Hoped you can get out on the water.