GOOD HOOKING – LOUSY LANDING
It has been another dry week that allows me to get into another pond. I like this pond as it has a good population of good sized crappie. I was able to head out while it was still dark and get to the pond before the sun started to come up. I had the canoe down by the edge of the pond when it just started to get light. I hope the crappie might be on more of a feed at this time. I had four rods again with a Goldie Jr, a white boa yarn leech, a Streamer nymph, and a Marabou Miss on them. I was out for crappie.
I got out and started casting into the areas where I have always picked up crappie before. It was a lot of casting practice. So much practice that I decided that it was time to change to other flies. A yellow boa yarn leech, and orange fun fur leech, a black furled tail leech and a flash back hares ear went on the rods.
The yellow and orange flies did not do anything for me, or more importantly for the fish. Somewhat out of desperation I went with the black mohair furled tail leech. Not the first time that black has worked for me on crappie. That is why black is always one of the colors I tie on in the second round of flies. I might have to consider making it a choice on the first round.
I cast the fly out and let it drop for a few seconds. When I started to retrieve the fly the line was heavy and I set the hook. Very quickly the crappie was up on the surface. I did manage to get this fish in and into the basket.
I was not so good on the next six fish. Each of them came up on the surface and flipped off the hook. It did not matter what I tried the fish came to the surface and tossed the hook. Can’t land what you don’t hook, but I wanted to land more of what I hooked.
I found out that the fish were keyed in on the black color and that there were not hitting it very hard. Although I hooked a lot of fish and did not get that many to hand. In fact only about 10% made it to the canoe.
The fishing turned off all of a sudden. I think the sun had come up far enough. In any case none of the flies I tried did anything so it was time to come home.
Overall it was still a fun day. I will admit that I have some more of the mohair leeches tied up on a longer hook so the point is nearer the end of the tail. The tail is not attached to about half of the hook shank. I need to get back to this pond and see if the fish still want black and if these flies will work better.
It was nice to know that I could figure out what the fish wanted, but the fish still got me as so many of them got off the hook. That means they will be bigger when I get back there.
Hope you can get out on the water.
Rick