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I went out fishing again on a Saturday. Later in the
day because the weather was a little warmer and that
makes it a little more comfortable to be out. The other
thing was that I was walking in. To much rain had fallen
to try to drive in on the wet ground. It gets too slick
to be sure that you can get in and out.
I took two fly rods with me. I had the fish basket and a
fanny pack with three fly boxes in it. Not as much stuff
as I have when I am in the canoe, but enough to fish with
from the shore. There is a light rain going on so the
camera stays in the truck.
As I hike in to the pond, I find that I am glad that I
did not try to drive. The "road" in to the pond is
mostly dirt. It is slicker that snot on a doorknob.
I slid as I just stepped on it.
I quickly move to the grass and walk on that. It is not
quite as slick, but I don't gain the weight of the mud on
my shoes.
I get to the pond. I have a white boa yarn leech on one
rod and a blacklegged bug on the other. It was the fly
of the week a little while back. This way I can start
with a light fly and a dark fly to see if the fish are
more interested in one than the other. I always like to
start with contrasting colors when I get to a pond.
Several casts with each fly have not resulted in any action.
I decide to cast out the white fly and let it drop to the
depth of the end of the leader, about six feet. I will then
let the wind that is blowing in my face move the fly into
the shore. This is a slow, deep retrieve. I cast this fly
out and put the rod down.
I am changing the other fly to a Cyperts Minnow. This is
a flasher fly and might attract the fish. I am still
keeping an eye on the other fly line. I have cast the
Cyperts Minnow three times when I notice the end of the
other fly line moving. I grab it and set the hook.
There is a nice bluegill that does not like the idea of
being hooked. She stays broadside and makes some fancy
turns before I get her to shore. After a futile week at
the lake over lunch it is nice to catch a fish. I cast
this fly out again and let it come back in the same way.
I continue to cast with the Cyperts Minnow, but it gets
no attention.
The other fly line is about 20 feet off shore when I see
the end of the line dip a little. I grab that rod and set
the hook. I have another bluegill that dislikes being on
the end of the line.
I decide to cast the white fly out about 25 feet and let
it come in. Nothing happens as the fly comes in. I then
cast it again about 35 feet out from the shore. This time
when it is about 20 feet from shore the line begins to go
sideways. This time it turns out that there is a crappie
on the end of the line.
I think I see a pattern here. I change the other rod to a
white boa yarn fly and cast it out.
I then stand like a bump on a log and let the wind blow
the flies in. This is not fast fishing, but if it is what
the fish want, then it is what will happen. I get a fish
to hit almost every time I do this. I don't hook all of
them, but they are taking the fly.
I am guessing that the fish are deeper than this and need
to see the fly coming from a long distance so they can move
up to get close enough to take it. The shorter casts just
did not produce any fish.
I get a few fish at each place and then it is time to move.
When I get to the dam end of the pond I loose the wind in
my face. I try some casts off the dam, but I don't seem to
attract any fish there.
I move across the dam and get the wind behind me. Now I have
to decide how much slack to put in the cast to let the line
go out after I cast. I want to cast near shore and let the
wind push the line out from there. If a fish strikes the fly
I want to be able to hook it.
It takes a few tries before the combination seems to work.
I pick up some more fish on this side of the pond by letting
the fly go out from shore. The rain starts to fall harder and
I decided that it might be a good time to leave. I know it
does not bother the fish, but I have some running down my back.
I get home and find that I did much better than I thought.
The basket was heavier than I thought it would be on the
hike out. I ended up with 39 bluegills and 14 crappie when
I got home to take care of the fish. While I was getting a
drink of water, the weather radar showed that some heavy
rains were not far from town. I decided to work fast to get
the fish cleaned before I got rained on. So there are no
pictures. I just got the guts buried,, when the bottom
dropped out.
Made some good eating for several folks.
Hope you can get out on the water. ~ Rick
(Written October 22nd, 2007)
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