In the clear

Richard works the lake shore at Gopher Hole.

Today I used an 8’6 Edwards F-18 paired with a Hardy Uniqua spooled with a Type 3 sinking line.

Richard Hayashi and I met this morning at 6:30 to fish Gopher Hole, a local pond also known as Polio Pond due to the clandestine chemical machinations of some of its residents. The water has been extremely clear, and we hoped to get some action before sunrise. Unfortunately, the bass didn’t cooperate, although we saw huge bass rising and boiling. Richard observed that they may have been feeding on chironomids. I fished a black Woolly Bugger on a Type 3 sinking line at first, and then switched to a Muddler Minnow on a silk floating silk line. I may try some dry flies on my next visit. It will be a good opportunity to fish the silk line, which I first used today. It’s drying on a line winder now.

We agreed to fish Lake Murray tomorrow. It was slow the last time I was there, though I did catch a brutish 14-incher hell-bent on smashing my L.L. Bean “Bean’s LL” bamboo 6-weight. Tomorrow I’ll pack a 9′ Granger 9053 with a 7-weight sink line. It weighs more than five ounces, but has a lot of backbone. It horsed in my biggest bass, seen above, during a recent foray to Gopher Hole. One can always count on good memories to pull one through lean times.

Sluggers

Gopher Hole, the pond close to home, is teeming with fingerlings and young bass; big, sow-bellied fish cruise the deeper waters in ominous schools. However, the water has cleared considerably, and catching bass has become a bit more challenging.

The pool near the dam, however, is murkier, and I decided to focus my efforts there this afternoon. I had an 8’6 L.L. Bean “Bean’s LL” bamboo rod, paired with a Pridex reel with 6-weight Type 3 sinking line, and was stripping a black leech pattern instead of my usual Woolly Bugger.

That pattern was killing: I had a plump 12-incher within the first half hour, and shortly afterward a 14-incher that struck like bricks, bowing my rod. It made a dramatic leap before I was able to corner it near the bank.

I am a bit particular about the number of fish I catch in this beloved pool, so I broke down my rod after that lunker. I also had to leave early: Tomorrow I will fish Lake Wohlford, which was stocked again today and has been producing trout exceeding 10 pounds. On Friday, I will be tubing Lake Murray, along with Jimmy Cannon, for the first time. Later that day, I will have a touch-up casting class with Peter Piconi in preparation for my return to the Lower Owens in June.

You could call it work.

Hot stuff

Largemouth bass are spawning in San Diego, and a short jaunt to a local pond yielded two nice fish that fought hard and put a nice bend in my 8’6 5-weight Edwards cane rod. I was having no luck at the usual spots until I keyed in on the bulges and rises in the weed cover near shore. I could see fish finning and making loud splashes.

Making 40-foot casts from the side of the weed line, I was able to place my black size 10 Woolly Bugger two times in the precise spot where the bass were bedding, hiding under dense cover. Both casts brought consecutive fish. There were several anglers nearby and none were having luck. As I pulled in my first bucketmouth, one remarked that I must be good.

I just knew where to find fish. Frankly, I thought I would get skunked. Horny fish, it seems, like bushy flies.

I caught my evening brace on an 85-year-old rod paired with an equally time-worn Hardy Uniqua. Who said old men don’t get around?