A great morning bassin'

With an impending sixty hour week looming ahead, I decided to get out for a couple of hours this morning.  I'm glad I did. I caught at least four nice bass, lost a couple more,  and landed a few smalls too.  I got them all on top, and all on mini-hoppers.  That's a great way to start a day.

 

  

Return to Mosquito Pond.

I went back to the pond the other night. This time I brought my kayak, and some bug spray. There were thunder storms all around me though so I didn't really need the latter.

After a hell of a drag and some serious bushwacking I was able to get my kayak into the pond. These tules are thick, and the sides of the pond are almost vertical. I was able to submerge my whole paddle before touching the bottom.

Once I got in and paddled around it was well worth the effort. I hit all the likely spots, and was rewarded with willing green sunfish. They smash a Hopper like nobody's business. I must've caught twenty or more.

This was the best one.

I expected to catch some bass as well, but not this time. I will be surprised if there aren't any in here. I did see about a fifteen pound koi,  so somebody has put fish in here. I hope they also put some bass.
The drag out was a nightmare. Did I mention vertical sides? I had to get the nose of my kayak on the bank,shimmy up to the front, and flop out onto the shore. At least the sunset was worth it.

Hoppers

Knocked out a couple dozen hoppers today. Quickly becoming my go to fly.

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.