Pond Appreciation

Eli (5) paddling big brother Nathaniel (16) on the upper pond.

Pond outings get discussed fairly frequently on this blog, so it seems maybe I should tell a bit more about the ponds we most often fish. I speak of going to "the ponds" almost as if they are ours, but only because the property owners are gracious enough to let us treat them that way. They allow us free access to the ponds and the canoes on them at any time, and Nathaniel often keeps his johnboat by one of the ponds. I'm very grateful for that privilege.

The property, which is only about 4 miles from my house, has three ponds on it, all fairly small. Two are man-made. One is a natural beaver pond. Each has a unique personality.

We spend the most time on the upper pond, which has good access to from the bank or from a boat. It has three houses on it and a small beach area, where my family also swims during the summer. It has plentiful bluegills with a good mix of sizes and big numbers of mostly small bass with a few big fish in the mix.

The middle pond is the smallest and just downhill from the upper pond. No boat lives there and it's a bit of a walk with a canoe, so we mostly fish it from the bank. It gets more grass (and this year dollar pads) than the others and has some flooded timber on the far side. We often scoot down to it for a while if the upper pond bite is slow and we usually can wrangle in at least a couple of bass.

The beaver pond is our favorite because it is natural and has a wilder feel, despite being on the same property and really not being that far from the other ponds. It's shallow and full of stumps and produces good fishing for bass and bream. However, it has been very low for several months now -- almost too low to get around and fish -- so we're concerned the dynamic could have changed and that it could be reverting to a swamp. Hopefully. Mr. & Mrs. Beaver will want more water again soon and will do some engineering work.

Starting to Look Up

Nathaniel and I only caught one bass apiece during yesterday's short evening visit to the beaver pond, but we saw good signs of the changing season.

Nathaniel caught his bass on a buzzbait, and I caught mine on a weightless swimbait, which I was swimming high enough in the water column to create a little wake. Nathaniel also had another blow-up on the same buzzbait, and I had a fish tease me terribly by pushing up a big bulge right behind my lure and following the lure almost to the boat before turning away.

I'm pretty excited that he fish were looking up to feed. I also like the fact that we could fish comfortably in short sleeves! I know we still have some cool days ahead, but it's beginning to seem more like spring.

One is Better than None

It might have been a stretch to visit the pond yesterday afternoon. Nathaniel and I probably convinced ourselves that it had warmed more than it had and that more afternoon remained than really was the case. Still, I'm glad we went. We were able to squeeze in one quick lap before dark, and I was able to convince one bream to eat flashy little minnow-imitating Ugly Bug. Nathaniel also managed one bite on a shaky head, but the fish didn't bite decisively enough to get hooked.

Of course, Nathaniel already had two species on his tally yesterday. He had spent the morning with a
friend trout fishing in North Carolina and caught his first brook trout and rainbow trout of 2014. He was really hoping for just one bass from the pond so he could add three species in a day, even with a cold- and warm-water mix of species. That wasn't in the cards, though.

One bonus of yesterday's outing was that we rode down to the beaver pond to give it a glance, and the water level appears to be creeping back up toward where it should be. It remains low, but it appears high enough to get the johnboat in and out reasonably. Sunny late-winter and early-spring days produced some of last year's best action on the beaver pond, so it might be almost time to move the boat back over there.

Beaver Pond Changing?

A couple of months ago Nathaniel and I moved his johnboat from the banks of the beaver pond where it normally resides to another pond on the same property. Rain had been a bit scarce and the beaver pond was really low. Already shallow and loaded with stumps, it was really too low to get the boat in and out very well or to fish effectively. The other pond is man-made and deeper, so while it too was down, it remained fine to access and fish.

It has rained a lot here lately. In fact, our rivers have surged near flood stage a couple of times, and they remain well above normal levels, and the other pond is actually a little above normal full pool now. With that in mind, Nathaniel wanted to return his boat to the beaver pond, which is more remote and prettier than the other pond and our preferred place to fish and to keep the boat. And once we moved it, we figured we could make a quick lap to see if the fish were biting.

So we rode over there on Wednesday, loaded the boat in the back of my truck, drove to the beaver pond and slid the boat into the water. As we looked at all the cover out of the water, though, we realized that it hadn't come up at all. We also realized that it would be seriously tough to get across a couple of flats with both of us in the boat and that the wind would blow us against a lot of stumps, were we to try to fish. After studying things a bit, we re-loaded the boat in my truck and toted right back to where we'd gotten it a half hour earlier.

I was a little disappointed to not get to fish a bit. More significantly, though, I'm concerned that our little engineer friends might have abandoned the dam they built or done some remodeling and that our beaver pond might have changed permanently. I hope it's a more complex watershed issue than I can wrap my little brain around and that some day soon the water will just be back where it was. However, it being so low when we've had so much rain doesn't make me very optimistic.

I sure would miss fishing in that beaver pond.

Evening Pond Double Header

As chronicled in yesterday's post, Roscoe the lizard, low water and minimal bass action characterized our Sunday evening beaver pond stop. The beaver pond has dropped so low this summer that getting in and out and getting around to fish have gotten pretty challenging, so we decided to slide Nathaniel's johnboat into the back of the truck and move it to the upper pond.

It wasn't quite dark when we did moved the boat, so I suggested that we might need to make one quick lap around the upper pond. "Oh, I was already planning on that," Nathaniel said with a smile.

Good plan.

Although none of the fish were very large, both bluegills and bass were shallow and active, acting the way fish ought to act on a fall evening. We didn't count fish (Sorry Asher), but I'd guess we caught about a dozen fish in about 45 minutes. If it was 12 fish, that was 11 more than we caught from the beaver pond, so making it a pond double header definitely was the best decision.

Rescuing Roscoe

"See, Roscoe. That's why we want you to stay in the boat," Nathaniel said in a parent-like tone to the lizard that had opted to join us on the water as I unhooked a bass and showed its big mouth to our new friend.

Nathaniel had noticed the lizard about 15 minutes into our beaver pond outing, so we assume he was on the boat when Nathaniel pushed the johnbaot into the water. At first he just hung out on the back corner, next to Nathaniel, but eventually he began moving about the boat and acting more nervous, seemingly realizing there was nowhere to go. On a few occasions, Roscoe jumped out or fell. We couldn't tell which, but on each occasion we rescued Rescue from the drink and issued a warning. I believe it was on one such occasion when Nathaniel dubbed the lizard Roscoe.

Toward the end our short outing, keeping Roscoe in the boat till we got him safely to shore became more of an effort. The water was exceptionally low, and Nathaniel had to push pole us across an inches-deep backwater to reach land. The only path to shore was surrounded by high emergent grass that Roscoe really wanted to jump out onto. That grass wasn't connected to shore, though, and we were pretty certain Roscoe would drown or become bass candy if we let him escape short of the bank, so we kept sliding him back down to the bottom of the boat until we got all the way to shore, at which point Nathaniel gave Roscoe a rod tip ride to dry ground.

The bite was slow on the beaver pond yesterday. In fact, that fish I showed Roscoe represented our lone hit. Therefore discovering a lizard aboard and keeping him in the boat really was the highlight of the beaver pond outing.

Where Do They Go?

The beaver pond bass left Nathaniel and me baffled today. We don't know where they went.

I'm never that amazed to not catch fish -- even in really good waters. Fish are fish, and sometimes they just don't eat or I just don't figure them out. We didn't see much sign of the fish at all, though. I caught one small bass, Nathaniel had one strike, and he saw one other fish swim past the boat. That was it.

What makes that noteworthy is that the pond only covers a couple of acres and it is extremely shallow, even at normal levels. It was ultra low and clear today, leaving the almost all of the pond less than two feet deep. As many fish as we catch from the same pond when the bite is going, it's hard to imagine where so many fish could go to keep us from even seeing them.

The pond does have some backwaters around it that we can't get to, and a passing creek does connect through brush, so maybe the fish somehow get into those waters where the boat can't go. And maybe they were simply laying low at the bases of stumps or way up under trees. Even so, it seems like there are more bass than available hiding places, so I really don't know where they all went.

Gear: Classic Meets Innovation in Ugly Stik GX2

Some things just can't wait.

The Shakespeare Ugly Stik changed the world of fishing when I was11 years old, and I got my first one soon after. So I've been fishing with Ugly Stiks (both my own and in other people's boats) from time to time for most of my fishing years. Therefore, when a new Ugly Stick GX2 arrived at my house yesterday, I knew I had to slip out to the beaver pond for at least one lap. I felt a need to cast the new Ugly Stik and hopefully feel it bent and wobbling. So I spooled the reel with Spiderwire Stealth Glo-Vis Braid (also new and very cool, but that's another story), tied on a Daiichi 2/O Catch and Release circle hook and grabbed a package of Berkley Havoc Subwoofers. Then Nathaniel and I headed out after dinner for a quick evening outing.

Time was short and the fish weren't going wacky, but I'm happy to report that a couple of fish did choose to cooperate, allowing me to feel the new rod more fully in action.

As billed, the GX2 looks and feels mostly like a classic Ugly Stik, and while no situation tested this part, word is that the new rods feature every bit of the toughness that has always been the signature of an Ugly Stik. New features include far improved guides, which are insert-free, a new construction Shakepeare is calling Ugly Tech and a blank-through-reel-seat design. The result of the latter two changes is a little lighter feel and a better balanced combination.

Like Classic Ugly Stiks, the new ones are black with a clear tip section and with the traditional gold markings near the handle. However, and embossed logo on the foam grip and some red accents give them a slightly newer and more dressed up look.

I've only got to try out the new Ugly Stik for about 45 minutes so far, but you can trust it will get used to catch a lot of different kinds of fish.

Pond Play

It's tough for Nathaniel and me to resist a quick trip to the pond on a nice afternoon, and we rarely regret the decision to go.

Results vary a surprising amount from day to day, considering we fish the same couple of small ponds most of the time. Sometimes the action is great; occasionally they are really tough. Typically we land at least a few fish and miss a few others.

Saturday sort of fell in the middle. We probably spent an hour and a half fishing, making one lap around the perimeter of the beaver pond, plus a pass through the center, and I believe we caught seven or eight fish. All except one were bass. I caught a single chunky bluegill on a Bobby Garland Stroll'R. The most productive single bait, which Nathaniel was throwing, was a 1/4-ounce BOOYAH Buzzbait.

Most days, one good lap around the pond is enough to get the fish sort of used to us being there and the bite slows. The beaver ponds holds out a little longer than the other ponds because it has cover throughout it and the fish are as likely to be in the middle as on the bank most days.

Fortunately, the bite typically wanes about the same time as I get ready to abandon the johnboat seat and to head back home to settle in for the evening. I'd keep fishing if the fish were really hammering our baits, but an hour or two typically is just enough to make for a very nice outing on a summer afternoon.

Bugs & Rain Won

Yesterday afternoon's pond outing was pretty short. It didn't take long to figure out that the mosquitoes were far more apt to bite than the bass or the bream, so when a drizzle arose and then turned into a steady soaker, we decided to steer it toward home. That's a nice thing about having ponds nearby, I suppose. You can decide on a whim to fish for a while and if you decide to quite early, little is lost.

Nathaniel Asher and I did manage a few fish (one apiece, actually). Mine was a bluegill, and it actually came from the house pond, where we picked up a canoe for Nathaniel to use. Nathaniel and Asher each caught one bass from the beaver pond. I had several surface hits on a Rebel Bighopper, but they seemed to be from bream that were a little too small to fully engulf the bait.

A week or so ago Nathaniel and I fished the house pond for bluegills and the bite was really good, with the fish all over little grubs. I might need to slip back out there with Asher one day vary soon so that he can experience some of the same.

Popping Bugs & Croaking Frogs

"You don't hear any passing cars from here," my friend Mark observed with a smile.

I realized he was right, and it struck me that those sounds you don't hear -- and those you do hear -- say so much about why I cherish evenings on the beaver pond.

Sounds we did hear? A chorus of chirps and croaks from various frogs; insects and birds; one another's words; two of my sons laughing from a canoe accross the pond; Marks popping bug popping ; my Crickhopper gurgling; and an occasional big splash when a bass or bream took a liking to one of our surface offerings.

All sounds I really like to hear.

Simple Spring Fishing Fun

With the sun shining warm and bright and fresh memories of the fish biting well on Saturday when Asher and I visited the beaver pond, Nathaniel and I had to slip back over there for a while after I finished a story yesterday afternoon. The spring bite doesn't last forever, and there only so many days that lend themselves well to pond outings.

The fish behaved exactly as we hoped, readily taking moving baits, and we landed a baker's dozen largemouths, plus one bonus bluegill, in maybe an hour and a half of fishing. We also lost a few fish partway back to the boat and had a quite a few other short strikes.

Nathaniel even got to catch a few fish on a buzzbait -- something he had been waiting to do all spring. The topwater bite will only get stronger as the water warms. Our best-producing bait was a 2.75-inch YUM Money Craw rigged weedless and weightless on a 2/0 Daiichi Bleeding Bait Offset Worm Hook and swam steadily just beneath the surface.

My bluegill, which was fish species No. 5 on my 2013 catch list, hit a Money Craw.

If you have small waters that hold decent bass populations close to home and can get out when the spring bite gets good (right now in North Georgia) don't miss those opportunities Even if you only can fish for an hour or two after work, when the bass are shallow and aggressive, the fishing is just plain fun.

You don't have to think a lot. Just cast to obvious shallow targets, keep a bait moving steadily and enjoy the fish-catching fun. I like to swim weightless soft plastics that have a lot of action such as a Money Craw. Soft plastic jerkbaits and square-bill crankbaits also do really well for the same style of fishing. When the bass are shallow and active, they really don't have to be that big to serve up huge fun.

Asher's New Favorite Pond

We hadn't fished more than 20 minutes before Asher announced that the beaver pond had become his favorite of the three ponds on the property where my children and I often fish. It was Asher's first boating trip to the beaver pond, and despite the fact that we only had an hour or so to fish, the pond made a good first impression.

The spring bite obviously was a big factor. We'd already caught a few fish and missed a handful of others. The bass were seriously aggressive, and he caught a couple of nice bass. The beaver pond's appeals go beyond its bass population, though, and it is also my favorite of the three ponds and Nathaniel's. It's a true beaver pond, with no grass-covered man-made pond dam, and it's bounded by woods and little marshy backwaters. The entire pond is shallow and loaded with stumps, and there are no houses on the pond's banks. It's wilder and seems much more remote (despite being on the same property as the others and right at the edge of town), so fishing out there even for an hour or two seems like much more of an adventure.

Asher also said that if he gets to go camping on his birthday this year, he'd like to camp by the beaver pond. It seems possible that we might be able to make that happen!

Spring Trying to Spring

 

Waning writing productivity on Friday afternoon and a forecast for Saturday rain convinced Nathaniel and me that we needed to make a lap or two around the beaver pond to see if the fish were acting springish. Recent days have been chilly for the latter part of March in Georgia, and the radar even showed a few flurries near us yesterday morning. Still, some days have been quite warm, nights have been less cold overall, and flowers around the yard suggest that spring is trying to happen. 

 



Our test was admittedly quick. We had a little more than an hour of fishing time. Still, we found evidence that spring fishing might be trying to awaken. Despite it having been cloudy and only in the low 50s while were were out there, the fish bit fairly well and seemed to be in ambush mode. We caught five fish -- three on weightless plastics and two with a square-billed crankbait -- and missed a handful of others.

The next few days are supposed to remain damp and cool, but after that we're forecast to climb into high 60s and stay there for several days. My best guess is that we are right on the edge of the fish getting substantially more aggressive, and that soon Nathaniel will be creeping around the ponds' edge looking for fish he can target by sight.