St Paddy's Day bass

It's still a little bit early and cold for top water bass here in Northern Nevada. I was able to get two, on top, on St. Paddy's Day. Not Bad.

New Eagle Claw 6'6" 5/6 weight Feather Light

I was able to make a Craigslist deal on a new (to me) Eagle Claw Feather Light fiberglass fly rod. With the super windy weather last weekend, I wasn't able to test it out until today. It was an absolutely beautiful day in Reno today. High in the 70's, no clouds, and best of all no wind. I went to my local pond expecting to catch a ton of bass. That's NOT what happened. The fishing was very tough, I tried my simi seal leeches. No takes. I tried quick strips, slow strips, let 'em sink, across the surface. Nothing! I was finally able to get one bass on a Arizona Wanderings mini hopper. That's right. First top water of the year, who would've guessed?

I enjoyed fishing the new rod. It was a little tough to throw the streamers into the wind, but when I switched to a light hopper with a longer leader, it cast like a dream. I was able to make long casts with a soft landing. That is key at this pond, these fish are super nervous, and won't eat a hopper pattern that plops too hard. I can already tell that this is going to be my "go to" rod this summer. The best thing is...it fits in my Suzuki Samurai strung up and ready to go.

My Home Pond

I have a pond. It's not mine. It's  public. It is the closest place to my house to catch some fish though. I feel like it is mine, it is only about seven minutes from my front door.

I occasionally share it with a bass fisherman, or a dog walker, or maybe just some beer drinkers.
This pond has some koi, some carp, a few bluegill, an occasional green sunfish, and a lot of largemouth bass.
The bass are very skittish. They're not like most bass. They're not aggressive. They are careful. They don't fight over flies. I have never seen one caught on conventional gear. I have watched many people try to catch them, throwing rubber worms, popper's, spinner baits, everything really, all without success.

I have had good luck catching them on flies, first on very small streamers, and then on small poppers. I never caught a bigger bass until dark, or just before dark.

 I recently tied up some mini hoppers from azwanderings.com. They have worked like a charm. These bass seem to only bite on relatively natural bugs presented subtly. I can flip these bugs to within about an inch of the opposite shore where the big boys are hanging out waiting for some small critter to fall in. I'm not sure if it's hoppers they're after, or caddis, or spiders, or what? There are definitely all three around this pond, and the fish are ready and willing to smack them.

Here are a few pics from the other night. A couple of smalls.

A couple nice ones.

And a monster green sunfish.