Wow! What a wonderfully warm day!! Breezy...but very enjoyably to be outside! With temps in the 60's, it was 30 degrees warmer than the previous day! Even the ducks, geese, and muskrats were happily enjoying the day (the muskrat is slightly down and right of the geese..the ducks are behind the weeds in the foreground):
I hoped to find some fish in the shallows on the downwind side of the pond, taking advantage of the much warmer temperatures today. They weren't as active as I'd hoped, but this was only Day 1 of warmer weather.
I was flyfishing, using a microjig about 18" beneath an indicator. I fished an area I figured would concentrate fish, and caught some bluegills and a smallish bass. I had something NICE on for a few seconds, but it threw the hook and made a decent-sized boil as it took off.
I moved along the shoreline, hoping to pick up a fish here or there, and I did. I had a nice bass on, @17", that shook free has I was trying to grab its jaw. That's the risk of fishing small hooks, but it was a nice strong fight. Next cast, Crappie!
I continued fishing along, then worked my way to my starting point. I picked up another small bass, several more Crappies and bluegills, and caught a really nice bass...probably the biggest I've ever caught from this highly-pressured pond. She measured 18.75".
Dave
ReplyDeleteGoing tomorrow, were any on top--nice haul. thanks for sharing
There was no visible surface activity. I was fishing 18" beneath a strike indicator for the bass, bluegills and crappies. One crappie hit about as soon as my indicator hit the water, so its possible some were pretty shallow to take advantage of the warming surface water. For most of the Spring season, 16"-18" seems to be the magic depth here. Deep enough that the fish aren't bothered by the indicator, and shallow enough they can rise up and take the fly back down. My local waters probably aren't nearly as clear as yours, Bill. They are reasonably clear for here, right now, though. The ice has recently melted and algae blooms haven't started, but the wind and waterfowl are stirring up sediment in the shallows.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info---I will the indicator a try today and see what happens.
ReplyDeleteVery nice...tells me I need to get out there around home and give some of my warmwater haunts a go.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! But your Spring Break trip resulted in plenty of nice trout and smallies. Its ALL good! :)
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