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I went out to a pond on Saturday morning. This time I did not have to be in
as much of a hurry as nothing was really planed until about 11:00 am in the
morning. This is a pond I have not been to in a few years. It is one of
those that is not as fertile and can only be fished every couple of years.
I got the canoe loaded with all the stuff that it takes to have a fishing
excursion. The fly rods, fish basket, paddle, anchors and the water bottle
were all in. There are weeds out about 15 feet all around this pond. I
decided to launch the canoe before I did any casting as I was worried about
getting fish into the weeds and having the leader break.
I started off with a black boa yarn leech. I made the first cast just a few
feet off the edge of the weeds and started retrieving the fly with a very
slow short strip and a few second pause. The fly had moved just a few feet
when I felt some pressure and set the hook. I had a foot long bass on the
line that decided he had a pilot's licence. This fish spent more time in the
air than on the water. By the time I got the fish in and released I was sure
there was not another fish within 30 feet because of all the noise. But I
still tried some casts, just to prove it and to find if there were any deaf
fish in the area. No luck in that regard.
I moved about 20 feet and tried casting again. On the second cast I felt a
little resistance on the line and set the hook. It sure acted like I had a
bluegill on the line and that proved true. I got this fish in close and
started to swing it up into the canoe. That is when I found out the
fish was barely lip-hooked. As I was swinging the fish up the hook tore out
of the fish's mouth and the fish went swimming again.
This happened to me again in a couple of casts. I don't always learn very
fast. As I was trying to bring the fish out of the water the hooks were tearing
out and the fish would go back into the water, outside of the fish basket.
On the next fish that took the fly I was ready. I used the landing net
I always carry in the canoe. This fish flipped the hook off while in the
net, but I was able to get it into the fish basket.
I tried a few more times and then moved the canoe again.
What I found is that each place that I stopped I would manage to hook two or
three fish. The thing was that none of the strikes were really hard hits. It
was all weight/resistance on the line. And all of the fish were just barely
lip hooked. I lost many more fish in the water than I ever got anywhere
near the net.
I changed flies in the hope that the fish might hit another fly with a
little bit more authority. To make a long story short, I can tell you that
the fish hit every one of the twenty flies I tried the same way. None of the
fish hit with any authority.
I did catch several bass over the time I was on the pond and I did hook several
fish I never saw.
I ended up with eleven bluegills and one crappie. But it was a fun morning to be
out.
I hope you can get out on the water. ~
Rick
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