ONE SPOT
It was still too wet to drive into many of the ponds I would like to get to, and I was not sure I want to carry everything back out from some of them either. So I picked one that is about a quarter of a mile off the road. I took two rods, a 5 weight graphite and a 5 weight bamboo, four hook boxes of flies, the fish basket and the lanyard with the forceps and nail clippers on it.
It was a nice day with a very gentle breeze, and when I got to the pond I saw that the water was fairly clear. I tied on a black and a white boa yarn leech, as I knew these flies work well on this pond. I also a good place to start as it is a dark fly and a light fly.
I started at the shallow end of the pond, and made a few casts with each fly and pick up a gill on the black boa yarn fly. I moved up the pond and got another gill on the white boa yarn fly. The fish did not seem to be in the really shallow water. I know that this water is only about three to four feet deep. I moved up the pond to a place where I know the water is a little deeper. I got another gill on the black boa fly. Then nothing more happened.
I moved again and decided to try another spot. If the flies don't work here then I am going to change to other things and see what will happen. I knew that the water is about 8 to 10 feet deep there, and there are several limbs from trees that are down about six feet under the water. I am really hoping the fish might be here.
I made a cast with the white boa yarn fly and got a nice crappie. Maybe this is working. I made another cast and had another crappie on the line. I made a few casts to each side and not fish. I cast back in the same area and got another nice crappie. Several more casts allowed me to defining the area where the fish were, and it was an area of about 10 feet by 10 feet. Anytime the flies went through that area there was a fish on the line, and most of the times it was a crappie and rarely a bass.
I was having a blast. Most of the fish were about a foot long, and a few are shorter and a few longer. The fun thing was that most of the crappie was jumping. I was having so much fun that I did not notice another fisherman come out. I finally saw him working down in the shallow end, and I waved to him to come to the deeper water where he would have a better chance to catch some fish.
I continued to get crappie out of that spot, but why that spot and not 10 feet to either side I have no idea. I wish I did know, but I was catching fish, and having great fun.
Finally a little sense started to hit. It was a long hike out and my basket was very full, and I decided that I needed to stop. That's a terrible to do with the fish are still biting.
As I was began to pack stuff up the other fisherman came up and ask what I was using. I showed him and he said he had nothing like that. I offered him a fly that he could tie on behind what he was using, but he was not interested. He said his wife wanted fish for dinner and had sent him out. He was more interested in getting some other things done. This is a thing that I am not sure I understand, or don't want to understand. I asked him if he would like some fish for dinner. He said that he would like some.
I made 15 casts and had 12 crappie for him to take home. There was one that was nearly 15 inches long. He did not want to take it, but my basket was full.
We headed out at the same time. I did not go as fast since I had to keep changing hands to carry the basket. When he got to his truck he came back in with a wheelbarrow and put the fish basket in it and wheeled it out for me. He told me that was his way of saying thanks for the fish, but I think I was more grateful.
When I got home it took me a long time to fillet those fish. I had 83 crappie and four gills. With the ones I gave away and the bass that went back into the pond it was another day in three figures. Crazy to have this happen twice this early in the year. So I had lots of fillets to share.
Hope you can get out on the water.
Rick
PS The land owners wife called to say she loved me. My wife took the call.