I got out of work a little early today, so I hit up the pond there at work. CalOkie had given me a couple bead-head nymph flies, so I decided to do a ?Pop-and-Drop? presentation, with a popper on the tippet, and a dropper tied to the hook of the popper, and a bead-head nymph on the dropper.
Once I got set up, I started false-casting to get some line out, then dropped the line to the water to present the flies. I got an almost immediate strike from this:
Followed by this chunky Hybrid Sunnie:
I then proceeded to put on a clinic about catching fish. To bad I was the only one watching:
I decided to move to the north about 10 feet, as I had seen some surface hits, and wanted to make contact with those fish to establish their identity. My first cast got a huge strike and immediately hookup. I realized this was a much bigger fish than the Hybrid Sunnie, so using my fingers as a drag, I let the fish take the loose line out until I had the fish on the reel. Then, it decided to run for a bit. I was able to start gaining line, when the fish jumped. I realized I had a NICE Bass on. It came to the bank within seconds. I guess the long rod tired it out quickly. It flopped once before posing for a picture, and a gentle release:
I went back to catching Bluegill, with one more Hybrid Sunnie thrown in for the mix:
After catching the last fish, I realized I had managed to loose the nymph on the dropper. I could easily have tied the second nymph on, but, decided it was time to head home and get stuff for dinner.
My casting is starting to really get better. I was getting some good distance, probably 30’ at least, and I was casting into a headwind.
Hopefully, this weekend I’ll get a fly-rod holder for my kayak. Then, it’s on! I’ve got a couple lakes to hammer.
GT171, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Are you from the Clinton Twp that’s in the Brooklyn Hills area? If so, years ago, I used to live in Jackson. My other half is from there.
