Buck Pond

Last Saturday I was able to get out in my kayak for the 2nd time (3rd kayak trip for those who are counting.)

I went to Buck Pond which is a pond that feeds into Lake Ontario. I've lived near these ponds for all but a few years of my life. Growing up I have memories of worm fishing there with my dad and siblings, and even once with my Grandfather on a rare trip to NY. I fished these ponds more when I was younger, and more when I was a lure fisherman. Since I switched to fly fishing over a decade ago, I don't fish those ponds much anymore...and that will now change since my trip last Saturday.

I loaded up my kayak just before 6pm and headed out. My wife picked me up some new straps to secure it to the roof and I was pleased how well they worked, and grateful for the peace of mind that they provided more safety than the way I first strapped it down a few weeks ago.

Strapped and ready

I put in at a small parking spot and got a play by play from some young boys fishing with their father. "He's got a boat. He's putting on his life jacket. He's getting in his boat. He's IN his boat."  It was nice having a fan club, and even better that I didn't fall out, since I'm new at this whole kayaking thing.

Google Street View, no weeds

I almost didn't stop at the pond because it was 80% filled with surface weeds. I decided I'd try it anyway and I'm glad I did. I was able to fish for about an hour and a half before I paddled back to the car before the sun completely set for the night. It took about 20 minutes or so, but I caught a nice 12 inch bass. Of course, there's no photographic proof because I'm still too worried about flipping to bring a camera. There were a few big fishing jumping around the pond, and I missed a ton of hits. I'm not sure if I need to set the hook differently since I'm sitting so close to the water, or if it was just bad luck. Either way, I ended up with another 6 inch bass bringing my total fish for the night to 2. I had one nice fish on but while trying to reel up the slack line to fight it off the reel, it went into the weeds and left me with nothing but weeds on a hook. It was big enough to try to get it on the reel. I really wish I had seen and landed that fish.

I got out of the water just before dark and 2 spin fisherman where on shore. We made small talk, about kayaks, and then he noticed my fly rod. He said I was crazy for trying to fly fish on a kayak. I said it's the only type of fishing I do.....and then he called me an elitist. I switched to full time fly because I was more successful...and I like tweed! Of course, I caught 2 fish, and from what I was told, they caught none. So, don't call me an elitist....I'm a "successful elitist!"

As you can see from the image below, I only fished a small portion of the pond, and there is plenty more to explore!

So much water, so little time