I just had to get out of the house. It was a bit windy but warm and the evening promised to be comfortable. I drove less than a half hour to a local ranch pond/lake and got my kick boat and tackle set up. I walked over to a spot that overlooks a flat and found this good fish, maybe 4 pounds, clearing a spawning bed. Further search showed several others around the flat, ruling that area out for fishing...but the pond has plenty of other areas to fish.
As can be seen by these photos the topography of the pond is steep banks. Under water there are shelves that can hold significant numbers of fish. It ranges from 8 to 40+ feet deep. There are only a couple of places to access the pond for float tubing and bank fishing, especially with a fly rod, would be frustrating at best. These photos also show that the earlier wind had calmed and fishing conditions were close to perfect.
Got in the water with my fly rod rigged with a floating line and a popper. I finned my way out of the flats, leaving the bass there to their romantic duties to the first drop off. Casting into the shadow side of the pond resulted in this fish....
I only had about 90 minutes to fish due to some commitments so I hit the hot spots that I knew of. I had stopped on the way into the ranch and talked to the owner. He had hinted that he could put some bass filets to good use so I kept three of the seven I brought to hand for his dinners. I didn't catch anything over 3 lbs or so, missed several fish due to slow reflexes but I was far better than previously on the same pond. I would estimate I had 12 good takes and two half passes in the 90 minutes, so I was more than satisfied. Slept great last night too. Ready to filet.......
Tight lines all.......
Favoured: 0
