Fly Rod and Private Pond

[BrokenolMarine]

A friend has a small pond in his front yard, none too deep, not too big, but, large enough that it'll handle two kayaks without seeming crowded. He has been after us to come and fish the pond, I told miss T I would like to fish this week... a win/win. She took spinning gear and a baitcaster. I took a flyrod... a nice 5wt. We hit the pond about two... it was hot, ninety plus, but there was a light breeze, plus shaded areas around the edges.

Tina got out in the pond first, boom... hooked a small bass on her first cast. I was out behind her, headed around the shoreline in the opposite direction. I had tied on a large deerhair mouse... I worked the cast overhead a few times to build some line, then laid the brown mouse right along the shore in the shallow water... it boiled, I set the hook. Boom, the small bass jumped like it was a bassmaster's tourney and the cameras were rolling. It was going to be a great afternoon. I ended up with fifteen or twenty nice bass in the twelve to sixteen inch range, and missed the set on at least twice that many more. I also hooked a really nice sunfish as big as my spread hand, that put up a bigger fight than any of the bass.

I left the water after ninety minutes, back pain. Miss T fished a couple more hours. While she fished, I went in and chatted with my friend... he happens to be my shooting mentor, my law enforcement rabbi, who also taught me how to really shoot, after I left the Corps. It's always nice to sit and chat with one of my friends over a cup of coffee.

Thanks my friend, for the fishing, and the company.

Btw... we catch and release, but Miss T would have had a boatfull.. just so you know. I'm jus'sayin.

[JEBar]

great to hear such about such a good day .... my compliments for being able enjoy fly fishing .... I've got the equipment and can use it but when it comes to fishing, I'm a spinning rod guy ..

[Cofisher]

Great day. I know what you mean about the Mrs. catching more fish. In my family we just had to get used to it.

[BrokenolMarine]

She not only catches more fish...
They are usually bigger...
But! I know how lucky I am. My wife never complains when I mention going fishing. If I'm not careful... she runs me over on HER way to the truck. Bwah hah hah.

[Les]

It sounds like your friend has a little piece of fishing heaven right there in his front yard, BM!

I get the feeling that you and Miss Tina will be paying another visit soon.

[ditchparrot]

Excellent report! Small to medium-size bass are indeed a hoot on a fly rod.

[Henry88]

that's a great story BrokenolMarine,
Glad to hear about the catch and release.
I don't fish much since my boat broke down, but I love ultralight gear and pan fishing.
With the right gear, those small bass and blue gill can be an awful lot of fun.

[BrokenolMarine]

I would have gone with a four weight rod, but there are a few bigger bass in the pond now and then...
Next fishing trip will be the big pond at the black angus farm. Six weight there. Bass there come as big as twenty five and twenty six inches and the sunfish and crappy are VA citation size on a good day. Loads of fun on the fly rod...

Topwater blowups are like crack to me... can't get enough!

[daytime dave]

That sounds like a great day with the wife. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[BrokenolMarine]

24.5 largemouth 050510 compressed.jpg (286.12 KiB) Viewed 4854 times

That's the size fish we go to the Angus farm to catch. That one is between 24.5 and 25" and ran over 10 pounds. Caught and released... Tina caught her several times over the next couple years. I caught a fish in the 28" range a couple years after Tina caught this one. It jumped out of the water about three feet from the boat and spit the bait right in my face.

I tell this story and every single time, folks just Roll Their Eyes. Then I say the magic words... I have video. Yup, that get's their attention. A friend of mine who owns a major kayak accessories company, and just added a KAYAK company to his stable, asked for a copy of the video. He called later that day, and said that he had used the known size of the Ribbet Frog, visible beside the bass when she spit it, and measured the bass. Twenty Eight inches.