Local Confidence Builder

-- Good Day on the Water --

Oh forgive me bloggers, for I have sinned! It's been 4 months since my last post and I have no excuses. Summer has flown by, again with no vacation, but a couple of fun outings chasing local bass & gills.

Yesterday was definitely one of the highlights of the summer.

With the trout streams at record low flows and recent salt skunkings, I needed a confidence builder outing and decided to hit a local pond yesterday. I've had both good and bad days on this pond, but that didn't matter -- its 10 minutes from the house and has some decent variety of fish (pickerel, bass, perch, cats, and gills).



Ran some morning errands and got to the pond around 12:30. Overcast and cool, I was a bit worried about 30 degree temps from the night before turning off the bite. I strung up the 5 wt with a chartreuse clouser style fly and got a few bumps, but nothing to hand. Switched to a bead-head black leech and got a few more bumps and the first one to hand. Not big, but finally a fish after 3+ weeks.

Little Gill on a Beadhead Leech

Moved to my favorite flats area on the other side of the pond and switched to a Foxee Red recently won during TLTFF's Carp Week from Water's Edge Fly Company .

Foxee Red from Water's Edge Fly Co.

This fly was the meal ticket of the day. After a slow start, I started landing some small bass consistently by throwing this toward the shore and sloooowly retrieving. My better half had just got home from work and decided to join me for a few more hours of good catching.

Val was throwing a small dry and landing a blue gill about every other cast. I had a nice bend in the rod while she was releasing a gill and was very surprised to find this decent, healthy perch on the line. I've caught them in this pond before, but hadn't seen one landed in several years.

The Elusive Pond Perch

It was getting towards dinner time, so we decide to head home. I threw out the last cast just to straighten the line and put it back on the reel. As I reeled it in, got the largest bass of the day.

After a brutal work week and some recent skunked salt outings, this afternoon was just what the doctor ordered. We got home to celebrate with some Sam Adams Deconstructed Latitude 48 IPAs.

Cheers!!!