4 Ponds in 2 Hours

After being sick for a few days I was able to get out and fish.

With 2 hours before I had to be home, and no place for sure in mind to end up, I took off to just look at an old favorite pond. It was unfortunately weeded up pretty good and not worth fishing. I ended up about a mile away at a new pond I found just a few days ago. I rarely "find" new ponds because of the few hundred ponds in the area I've seen most in person or at least on Google Maps. This one however was new to me. I got there and had low expectations from seeing it in person a few days ago. Lots of weeds in the water. I found a few open spots and didn't catch a thing, and worse yet, didn't see a thing...besides a turtle. I suspect this pond might be one of the few that actually don't have fish.

There she is

A pond like this, apparently fish-less gets me wondering how much work it would take to clean it up and make a habitat for bass and panfish to survive in. Maybe someday I'll find such a pond that I have enough desire to clean up and try to make a good place to fish....but for today it was on to the next pond.

After this pond, I stopped by another favorite pond I've been fishing for a few years. With the recent rains the pond was muddy and not as clear as it usually is. I fished for about 15 minutes and headed out.

A quick stop at the corner store for a drink and some Combos and I was off to a tiny puddle that I fished 6 or more years ago and caught nothing then either. Caught nothing there again today.

The final stop was at a pond that again I haven't fished for probably over 6 years. It sits at the back end of a housing development and is one of two ponds. Both ponds are much bigger than the one pictured above....probably 10 or 20 times bigger. Big enough that if you lived right there a kayak would be a useful tool for fishing. Houses line one side of both ponds and a nice overgrown grassy field about 200 feet wide separates the two bodies of water. The far side of the ponds has a small section of woods hiding the next set of houses. To live on this water would be a wonderful place to live. Large enough to kayak but small small enough to be a pond, with enough woods and birds to almost make you forget you live so close to the city.

It was great to get out and fish 4 places and see a 5th one. Next time I hope the water is warmer and the fish more ready to bite!

Next week on Wednesday May 2nd I'll be tying at the Upstate Fly Fishers meeting. The Upstate Fly Fishers meet at the Pittsford Rec Center (Spiegel Community Center), 35 Lincoln Ave, Pittsford. Meeting starts at 7pm. This is only my second meeting with the group, but I understand this one will have a few guys doing tying demos but traditionally they have something after the demos, like a guest speaker. I hope to see some of you there. I'll be showing my bass poppers and some articulated streamers. 

A Sunday Hike and Exploration Trip

Having a delayed start to church this morning, we loaded up the kids and went on a hike. Being a former Boy Scout (who made it to Life, not Eagle) I only worried about the temperature (mid 30's) and the wind (almost nothing) and failed to check the threat of rain (threatening). So, as you can imagine, we got hit with rain about 1/2 mile from the car. Not a big deal, but we got wet and didn't make it the whole way down the trail. It was still good to get out and away from the TV for a bit.

All the ducks in a row

After a quick snack at the van we buckled up and started to just drive. We live close to Lake Ontario and some ponds that are just across the street from the lake. Those ponds have been there my whole life, and I've fished them a bunch, but since my recent adventures last year in a kayak, I'm more interested in the ponds. I see water that once was out of reach from the shore and now see water that my kayak can get me to, and hopefully fish that haven't seen a fly...ever.

I launched my kayak from here twice last year

On the drive we just scouted around and took a few pictures. I did find a nice easy, close, place to launch my kayak into Braddock Bay. Having never had a boat before I never knew it was there, and what I was missing. This summer I hope to get into a few of these places and see what I can catch. Of course, this will only fuel my "need" for a different kayak....the Diablo Adios is what I dream of someday.

Definitely heading here with the kayak this year

My First Articulated Flies

Here they are.....my first ever articulated flies!

Fish....you've been warned. We're coming for you!

Each of these have 2 hooks that are connected with mono, a few beads, and the connection is super glued. I've seen beads on the mono on many other flies like this, and I was told it helps keeping the back hook from fouling up on the front of the fly. I like the look and figure the practicality of it can't hurt either. I hope to try these out this week. I've only fished one other articulated fly and I really liked the action of it in the water.