Beautiful day here in the Northeast after yesterdays scorcher. Decided to get out for some fresh air and wet a line for a bit. Read somewhere a quote by some well known fisherman maybe Lee Wulff but cannot really recall that you should fish where and when you can.
Light Northly breezes bluebird skies and a comfortable 70 degrees made it such that it wouldn't matter if you caught anything today. Just nice to be there. Small fairly shally little kidney shaped warmwater pond with enough lily pad coverage to have some decent size bass. Unfortunately most of the better coverage is on the far shore from the access and theres not enough time at lunch to get over there and really work it. So I am happy to have a nice break in the trees on the SW corner to allow for some nice lunch time casting practice.
Today I worked several long casts out towards the middle near the south end where the shade line is as I saw a fish moving on top. Sure enough the second cast to the area using Jack Gartsides Sparrow that he personally tied I hooked up with a nice Crappie. A couple more casts to the area after releasing him I decide to try working the limited shoreline to my right. I am just up from the bend at the lower SW corner of the kidney and cast parralell to the shore just out several feet still using Jacks natural colored sparrow.
The fly gently touches down as I am using my 7ft 5/6wt Berkley Curt Gowdy with a WF5wt trout line and the fly is pounced on by a nice spunky little bass the moment it hits the water. I work him around some of the lily pads along the shore and gently unhook and admire him for a moment.
Now gazing around I am trying to decide the next move. Do I try the shallow water to my left, cast out towards the middle deeper water, move further up the Western shore??? Decided to try the corner where the bass was and low and behold I am again surprized by an instant hookup. This time a beautiful darkly marked bluegill that fought even harder than the small bass.
So after releasing him I have to see just what the limits of this little 15 foot stretch of water really is. So I fire off another cast on my backhand as were the others the fly gently touches down a few feet from shore and I start to work the sparrow. Twitch, pause twitch twitch pause. Bang, tight again. This time a nice healthy little yellow perch. Well darn if it isn't a lunch break freshwater Grand Slam! Now I am excited as the fish seem to be in the mood to eat today. After releasing the yellow perch I work out some line and decide while lining it up for the backcast to drop it in right on the cover. The cast is released and goes according to plan. Lands right in the zone as opposed to the bushes
. I slowly work the sparrow from the shaded shallow corner along the edge of the drop off parallel to the shore and its about half way back when the line JOLTS tight and surges for deepwater instantly. The rod is instantly doubled but only for a brief moment and the line is quickly parted!!
PICKEREL!
So long Jack Gartside sparrow. Jack would be proud. He really enjoyed fishing from a float tube and liked to fly fish for Pickerel. So it was fitting really.
Back to the fly box. What to use now?? Well they seemed to really like that Sparrow and I just happened to have two more. I decide to save the other olive Jack Gartside tie for another day and fish my own natural tied sparrow. The action has slowed down now as the fish are probably starting to catch on to me but I continue to fan cast and work the area. I am successful in getting another very sharp looking bluegill.
Then a couple of casts later as I am working the fly again just along the dropoff parallell to the shoreline it happens, AGAIN! That gosh darn pickerel nails the fly and heads instant for deepwater with the line going tight long enough for me to know its a nice fish before it parts
. So now he has two Sparrows of mine.
So todays lunch party was crashed by mister Pickerel!
With just a couple minutes left to go I tie on a synthetic streamer to see if I can entice him again (and maybe recover my two flies). I worked the same routine hoping for a repeat. Second cast touches down and right where the bass slammed the sparrow earlier I hookup. Nice fish. Pulling and putting a nice bend in the 5wt. Hmmnmm, bass?? I wonder.....work him closer...and surprize a really nice fat yellow perch.
They love there streamers don't they....well thats todays adventure.
Get out there and tear em up!! Seasons going to be over before you know it....
