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I headed out early Saturday morning to see
if I could beat the heat some. It was supposed
to be hot again, but I really wanted to be able
to spend some time on the water. I was going to
a pond that I get to about once every two years.
It just depends on how the cattle are rotated and
when I can get a fairly straight shot into the pond.
But this time it was going to be straight across
the two fields with just three gates.
I got in and had everything loaded and was
ready to go at 6:00 am. I had watched the
pond for a few minutes and did not see any
surface activity. I decided to see if a leech
would work on this pond as it had earlier in
the week on another pond. I tied on a peacock
sword tail nymph on the other line and put
the canoe into the water.
I know that most of the water in this pond
is from about 6 to 8 feet deep. The last 40
feet or so near the dam is about 15 feet deep
and it drops to that depth quickly when it
changes. The pond is about 200 feet long and
70 feet wide. The edge is about three feet deep
and it slopes out to the 6 to 8 foot depth in
about 10 feet. This pond has bluegill, crappie,
bass and a few catfish in it.
I drifted out a little way, with no breeze and
cast the leech out. I let it settle for a few
seconds and then slowly started retrieving it.
I was moving it just an inch or two and then
letting it set. My thought was if the fish were
deeper in the water column this would let them
come up to get to the fly. I had moved the fly
about 3 feet when I felt a tug on the line. I
had the fish on for a few seconds and then it
was off. I started retrieving the fly again and
had moved it a few times when the same thing
happened. A hard hit, a few seconds fight and
then nothing.
My memory is starting to work now and I think
I might know what is happening. I bring the fly
in and make a short cast of about 15 feet. I let
the fly settle a few inches under the water and
then slowly start retrieving it. The fly has moved
about two feet when a crappie comes up and rolls
on the fly and takes it down. After a few seconds
it is off. Now I know that the fish were rolling
on the fly. I was hooking them in the side of the
mouth and the hook was tearing through that thin
membrane.
I decide to try another fly to see if that
will work any better and cast out the peacock
sword tail nymph. Again the fish come up and
roll on the fly and take it down. They are on
for a few seconds and then the hook tears out.
After losing about 10 crappie I catch a gill
on this fly. I decide to try some other fly
that gills may go for better.
I put on a green suspending nymph (Ricks
Favorite Bluegill Flies) and cast it out.
This one sets about a foot under water.
That is fine it is acting like a suspending
bait. I make a cast and let it set. I move
it about an inch and let it set again. I see
several fish slowly finning to come up and
look at this fly. Just as I move it again, a
gill attacks the fly and is hooked. I get him
in the canoe after he decides to try to act
like apiece of plywood and stay flat against
the water.
Out of curiosity I tied on a red peacock
sword tail nymph and cast it out the right
side of the canoe, I cast the green one out
the left side and just let them set. In a
few minutes I get a hit on one or the other.
Many times the fish are off in a few seconds,
which means it was a crappie. Other wise I am
getting a nice gill.
I will always try to do something to catch
crappie if there are any around, so I changed
one rod to a streamer nymph to see if that
will hook crappie so I can catch them. I hooked
them, but did not land any.
I went through another 6 flies trying to
find something that the fish would take
that would allow me to hook and keep them.
Nothing really worked for me.
I was getting ready to leave. I picked up
the rod with the nymph pattern on it. I
moved it just as a crappie hit the fly. I
think in the moving of the fly I moved it
just far enough that the hook caught on the
edge of the mouth and I got this fish into
the canoe. I cast out and tried this again.
I did not always move the fly at the right
time, but I did manage to catch another
crappie after several failed attempts.
I think the fish out did me about twenty
to one for the morning. I am still working
on a way to tie the flies so they will set
horizontally in the water. This way when the
fish roll I am setting the hook in the floor
or roof of the mouth. Let me know if you have
a suggestion.
Hope you can get out on the water. ~ Rick ziegeria@grm.net
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