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I loaded my canoe and gear and headed out to a pond
on Saturday morning. I had received a phone call that
this pond was going to be pumped way down and that
several people would be fishing it over the next week
or two. This is a pond that I had not had access to
for a few years, so I decided to try it.
When I got out to it, I saw why it was going to be drained.
About half the pond was lily pads. These pads were very
thick and had a lot of other vegetation in with them. One
advantage with this might be that the water is kept clean.
I could see down about eight feet below my canoe.
I know that there are bluegills, crappie and bass in this
pond. I tied on a Marabou Miss and started casting. I was
looking for crappie. I started by retrieving the fly near
the surface and continued to let it drop a little deeper
each time I retrieved it. When I got it down about five
feet I would see flashes around it every once in a while
but still no fish. At this point I slowed the retrieve
down to almost a standstill.
This is when I began to catch a few fish. With this very
slow, almost a standstill, retrieve they would take the
fly in. I would have to wait until they would turn or do
something else before I would know that they were on the
line. It was still fun to catch them, especially after a
week or near 100 degree temperatures.
At this time another vehicle showed up with a small boat
on it. This guy got all his stuff ready and launched out
into the pond. He had watched me catch a few fish as he
was getting ready.
The next thing I knew he pulled in front of me. This meant
that I could not cast where I had been casting.
Wanting to keep my cool, I moved to another spot. I told
him that he could have that spot. As soon as I caught a
fish he moved to block me from that spot. I asked him what
he was doing? His reply was that he wanted to catch fish
and he could do it wherever he wanted on the pond. I asked
if he realized that he was being discourteous? He told me
"where to go and what to do with myself when I got there."
I moved again and he followed me. I then went to the one
side of the pond and let the wind slowly move me across
the pond. I cast in a random fashion and caught a few
more fish. At this point he pulled up about three feet
to the side of me and stayed there. This meant that I
could only cast to the side. I still caught fish as he
was getting nothing.
As I was going down the pond, I was casting into depressions
in the weed line and between the lily pads, wherever there
was an opening. I was catching a few fish from each opening.
At this point he decided to move his boat right over the
edge of the weeds.
I yelled at him to stop or he would hit the stumps that
were in the weeds. He told me to "shut up." He knew what
he was doing. I had already started paddling for the shore
when he high centered on a stump. This stump is in about
five feet of water and has two to three feet of mud under
that.
The owner wants to dredge the mud out of the pond, to
increase its capacity. He will then water some cattle
from it.
I was on the shore and starting to load my canoe when the
boater yelled at me. He wanted me to bring the canoe out
and pull him off the stump. I told him that I would not
be able to do that as he had run onto the stump with a
trolling motor. Also that he had not listened to me and
now he could take care of it himself.
I loaded the last of my stuff and left, with him still
sitting out in the pond. I did call the land owner and
told him that this guy was in trouble on the pond. I also
told him what had happened before that. He said that he
would go check it out.
After I had cleaned the fish and taken a shower the landowner
called me. He said they finally got the boat off the stump
with a tractor. It also made a hole in the boat. He said
that he got about the same story from this fellow. He was
uninvited from the pond.
I was mad enough at the other boater that I would not
help him. I do have trouble with poor behavior when I
am out fishing. That is why I try to fish a lot of small
ponds where other folks are not likely to show up.
It was fun catching the fish, but not a real fun day on the water.
Hope you can get out on the water, and have a better day.
~ Rick
ziegeria@grm.net
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