Post by reelteacher on Nov 7, 2009 22:56:02 GMT -5
Today, dad and I went to a private pond that is the result of a huge beaver dam on a small creek. This pond has been in existance for many years, but the floods last spring wiped out the beaver dam and most of the pond drained out during the early part of the summer. Dad and I fished this pond in June and caught only a few small bluegill, as we didn't have a boat and most of the pond was covered with a solid layer of moss.
Well, dad went back there yesterday and told me that the beaver had been working and the pond was once again back to its full capacity. And the fish were biting...
So back to my story, dad and I arrived bright and early and the pond shimmered in the morning sun. It is located in an old creek bed and many old tree stumps and stickups are now submerged in the shallow depths. The place just looks fishy.
We carefully and quietly loaded up the canoe with our fishing tackle and slid out across the calm waters. We anchored our canoe and began to cast and retrieve our flies very slowly. To our delight, each of us hooked up with a nice crappie right away! Dad was using an olive Christmas Bugger and I was using a charteuse and white craft fur streamer. We caught about 10 crappie in fast succession and then we decided to move.
We eased on around a corner and I cast my fly down the bank and began my slow crawl retrieve. About midway through my presentation, I felt a heavy weight at the end on my line. I set the hook into this fish which doubled my rod over and made a few slow runs in the cold water. I can only imagine how hard this bass would fight if it was mid-summer!
We worked our way around the pond and caught a few more crappie. Then at about 10:00 everything just turned off. We fished several other patterns and didn't get so much as a nibble. We worked new areas and areas where we had been successful and nothing. Different retrieves had no effect.
It had been a good morning and dad and I were reflecting upon the fish we had caught and decided to pack it in. As we were paddling back to the truck, I thought, it's such a beautiful day, let's just try this spot real quick and then we can go. We were right in the middle of the pond and there were many small tree stumps to the left of the bow. We lowered our anchors and I made a few casts out the right side, since I'm left handed and dad worked the left side, as he is a righty. Immediately, I saw dad's rod bend over and saw that he had yet another good fish. He pulled in a nice crappie, and then he caught another and another and another on 4 consecutive casts. Holy Cow, it was a feeding rampage!
I cast my white and purple dubceiver over in that general area and I too hooked up with a nice crappie...
Then I caught a few bass... about 10 from this one small area! It was unbelievable. Dad also landed a few nice bass. The fish just turned on for about 30 min. Every cast yeilded a strike. And then, as quick as it had began, they just left... I can't tell you how amazing it was when they were biting. But this is the stuff of dreams. And then, it was as if there was not a single fish in that whole place. They just stopped.
As long as I have been fishing, I have experienced this kind of thing. Sometimes, you just get lucky and blessed and you are in the right place at the right time. There are so many other times though, that you just can't buy a bite and you may think, "there is not a fish that swims in these waters".
I have no answers, no formula nor solution to this problem. Moon times, insect activity, frontal boundaries, air pressure changes, relative humidity, winds, sunlight penetration, you name it and it can all affect the fish behavior. The fact is, we just cannot predict when or where the fish will bite at any given point in time. So I suggest you fish as often as you can.
Today was a beautiful day, air temps in the upper 60's and sunny. The fish were going to bite today, luckily we were there, in the right place at the right time.
Here are a few more pics of fish that were caught. Sorry dad, I didn't get any pics of you.
And no, this isn't the same fish in each picture.
Now, get out there and fish!
Well, dad went back there yesterday and told me that the beaver had been working and the pond was once again back to its full capacity. And the fish were biting...
So back to my story, dad and I arrived bright and early and the pond shimmered in the morning sun. It is located in an old creek bed and many old tree stumps and stickups are now submerged in the shallow depths. The place just looks fishy.
We carefully and quietly loaded up the canoe with our fishing tackle and slid out across the calm waters. We anchored our canoe and began to cast and retrieve our flies very slowly. To our delight, each of us hooked up with a nice crappie right away! Dad was using an olive Christmas Bugger and I was using a charteuse and white craft fur streamer. We caught about 10 crappie in fast succession and then we decided to move.
We eased on around a corner and I cast my fly down the bank and began my slow crawl retrieve. About midway through my presentation, I felt a heavy weight at the end on my line. I set the hook into this fish which doubled my rod over and made a few slow runs in the cold water. I can only imagine how hard this bass would fight if it was mid-summer!
We worked our way around the pond and caught a few more crappie. Then at about 10:00 everything just turned off. We fished several other patterns and didn't get so much as a nibble. We worked new areas and areas where we had been successful and nothing. Different retrieves had no effect.
It had been a good morning and dad and I were reflecting upon the fish we had caught and decided to pack it in. As we were paddling back to the truck, I thought, it's such a beautiful day, let's just try this spot real quick and then we can go. We were right in the middle of the pond and there were many small tree stumps to the left of the bow. We lowered our anchors and I made a few casts out the right side, since I'm left handed and dad worked the left side, as he is a righty. Immediately, I saw dad's rod bend over and saw that he had yet another good fish. He pulled in a nice crappie, and then he caught another and another and another on 4 consecutive casts. Holy Cow, it was a feeding rampage!
I cast my white and purple dubceiver over in that general area and I too hooked up with a nice crappie...
Then I caught a few bass... about 10 from this one small area! It was unbelievable. Dad also landed a few nice bass. The fish just turned on for about 30 min. Every cast yeilded a strike. And then, as quick as it had began, they just left... I can't tell you how amazing it was when they were biting. But this is the stuff of dreams. And then, it was as if there was not a single fish in that whole place. They just stopped.
As long as I have been fishing, I have experienced this kind of thing. Sometimes, you just get lucky and blessed and you are in the right place at the right time. There are so many other times though, that you just can't buy a bite and you may think, "there is not a fish that swims in these waters".
I have no answers, no formula nor solution to this problem. Moon times, insect activity, frontal boundaries, air pressure changes, relative humidity, winds, sunlight penetration, you name it and it can all affect the fish behavior. The fact is, we just cannot predict when or where the fish will bite at any given point in time. So I suggest you fish as often as you can.
Today was a beautiful day, air temps in the upper 60's and sunny. The fish were going to bite today, luckily we were there, in the right place at the right time.
Here are a few more pics of fish that were caught. Sorry dad, I didn't get any pics of you.
And no, this isn't the same fish in each picture.
Now, get out there and fish!
