NJ can’t break free of winter. We’re on our 4th nor’easter in just a few weeks. Lost power in a couple of them. Out for a total of 6 days. I’m fortunate to have a generator and a snowblower, so we took it all in stride.
Of course this weather doesn’t make for good fishing but I try on any day that my schedule allows. This past weekend was in the high 30’s and sunny so I planned to hit a shallow duck pond a couple towns away. My gut said it would be the most productive.
On the way there I detoured to a pond I haven’t hit in a long time. Pounded it w. UL spin gear but no signs of life.
Back on the road to my original destination, I was once again lured to an area with a couple of interlinking ponds. Again w. UL spin I worked many areas of two ponds, walking miles through the snow, always hoping the fish would be on the next point. Not!
Finally moved on to my original destination. It’s a classic town duck pond, very shallow and all filimentious algae and weeds when things warm up. But it was cold so I broke out my Echo 3 wt, figuring I could keep a briminator off the bottom much easier than anything castable on spin, considering the slow retrieve that would be necessary.
Sure enough, first cast produced a black crappie. Two more followed before all the catches changed over to bluegills and I finally started taking pics. What a joy it was to catch even these small fish on a fly rod again.
Should have trusted my gut and gone straight to this pond.
One thing I’ve noticed with my pond fishing is that distance casting matters. On another duck pond a couple weeks earlier I wasn’t catching anything until I made a hero cast. Let the fly fall and fish on! A nice big gill. After that most casts at the limit of my abilities produced a fish. I was using a CGR 4/5 and casting into a stiff breeze. My 2 wt CGR wouldn’t cut it. Eventually laid my line out on the ground to measure it out and found that it was taking 70’ casts to catch anything. I’m sure many can cast further but on a 7’6” glass rod, it took everything I was capable of. Many casts just fell apart or were turned around by the wind.