Open Invitation

Tomorrow morning around 6am (that's Thursday May 24th 2012) my long time fishing buddy and I will be putting kayaks into Buck Pond to harass some bass. I hear by invite anyone that would like to join us...with no explanation to why I said "I hear by...."

Click this fancy link to see the place we will park and launch from.

The launch

Buck pond is only about 100 feet from Lake Ontario, so you can explore the pond or head towards the lake (something I might try for the first time tomorrow if the lake is calm enough.) The pond is pretty large and offers plenty of places to fish, but note there are weeds to work around.

While there is a lot of shoreline to fish from, the weeds in this pond are pretty extensive, so shore fishing might be an issue. So, while this invite is open to everyone keep in mind I'll be out in my kayak, and you might wish you were too.

If you make it, look for me in my yellow banana kayak, and my friend in his blue one. I'll be the one hauling in all the fish!

The forecast is for 60+ degrees at 6am with 4mph winds.....should be just perfect.

Early Saturday Morning

Yesterday I had my alarm set for 5am. Friday night I put my kayak on the car and left the straps loose but at the ready. My plan was to get up at 5am, eat, tighten the straps, and head off to one of my new favorite spots for fishing from my kayak. 5am rolled around and I jumped into action.

2 microwaved hot dogs provided my breakfast (good food choices are often thrown out the window when fishing is on the plate.) I grabbed my water bottle and wallet and locked the door on my way out. My kayak was slightly wet from the morning dew, but she was ready to rock.

I made the last few tugs on the straps to tighten everything down then started up the car and took off. It was 48 degrees and I was wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and a pair of sandals. The reason I was dressed for summer is because I have a sit in kayak, meant for river runs, and ultimately I get wet. Plus the foot rests were put in by the original owner who was considerably shorter than I am, and they are as far back as they can go...so even wearing sandals would make the cramped conditions even worse. It is amazing however how quickly being under dressed doesn't seem to matter when you are fishing. After the short drive I completely forgot about it barely being 50 degrees out.

When I went to bed Friday night I didn't know if I would end up at Buck Pond or back at Durand Lake. I took some time to think of the benefits of one pond over the other and realized the narrowness of Durand Lake and the high hill sides with trees keeps it shady longer than the openness of Buck Pond. So, in hopes to have the sun help warm me sooner than later I went to Buck Pond.

6:01am

 I put in just before 6am.....it was perfect. The water was completely calm and there was fog floating around. I paddled out past the shore fishermen and made my way out to the furthest point I've been on this pond, hoping to find new shoreline to explore. The shoreline is all pretty much the same, so I paddled around finding the biggest holes in the weeds. This pond is FULL of weeds. I brought my new weed guard flies and found this to be extremely useful in keeping the fly from getting weeded, and from having to de-weed (is that a word?) way too often.

Guarded Condition

Within about 30 minutes I had hooked a nice sized bass. I reeled in all my slack line and started to fight him. He took a few jumps to show off his skills and then tossed the hook. It always sucks to lose the first fish you catch because you never know if you'll get another shot. Thankfully, I got another shot. Just after 7am another bass hit. I reeled in slack line and he dove for the weeds......

This should have been a bass

....it also sucks losing your second fish, because you don't know if you'll get another shot. Thankfully, I got another shot. A while later another bass decided to play along and after a nice fight I brought him in and got him all dressed up for his photo shoot. Recently I got a waterproof case for my cell phone so I'm excited to have the chance to photograph what I catch while in my kayak. So I get the phone out, tell Mr. Bass to smile, he then says "Cheese" and I take the picture and let him go. Then I went to check out the picture of my bass.....yeah....I was disappointed. Here's the awesome photo I somehow screwed up.

For $500 I can photograph your wedding too!

Apparently my new, awesome, Bending Branches Slice Angler paddle photobombed this shot. Let me just tell you I love this paddle. It's only a few weeks old but I've used the hook removal slot at least three times and with the bass above, I was able to use the measuring marks. The bass was 13 inches.

It was a great time on the water and I'm already planning the next trip out...hopefully this week with a friend of mine. It will be his first time in a kayak but I think he'll love it too.

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