Silent Ocelot
Well-known member
Lately due to the increased rains and skyrocketing temps I have been exploring some ponds. Thanks to a new fishing buddy I have located a reservoir relatively close to me that has some real monsters in it. I'm talking 10 inchers. My first time there I hit two 9+ inch bluegill on a size 16 black beetle. The second actually broke me off by diving under some vegetation. Imagine being broken off by a bluegill! My friend also caught one that was maybe a lb. Needless to say, I have found a great summertime fishery that doesn't seem to get attention from anyone else. I went up two more times and caught one close to 10 inches on a small chartreuse Booglebug (flat nose). My last outing, done with another fishing buddy, I was unable to get any big ones but my buddy took two on a small black Booglebug (bullet nose). I was quite envious and now have to go back for a rematch. On my first outing I tested a new 3wt 8'4" that was better for the delicate dry/dropper rigs I was tossing but insufficient for driving poppers. One thing I find interesting here is there are a lot of bluegill, they're practically the only species in the lake, minus grass carp because I caught two tiny grass carp on my last outing. The bluegill population has a ton of small ones but there's occasionally a larger one that comes along. I would think that the pond would become all small bluegill due to food scarcity due to the increase of the bluegill population. There's also snappers that follow me around, expecting me toss them a hand-out (sorry sir, not catching brown trout at the moment). It is weird how the snappers sit at my feet and stick their heads out. On my last two outings I have been using my favorite rod, a high-powered 9ft 4wt that can really get the flies out there. Not as fun to catch fish on the 4wt as opposed to the 3wt but I'll take the performance advantage. I have found that in the evening and night time the bigger fish come out to play and can be caught towards the shoreline. I have decided that a popper is the best way to fish this pond as it tends to bump off smaller fish, although I am still catching fish in the 4 inch category, and loving it. The bluegill in this reservoir are ferocious and seem to just be good at sticking to one's hook. I may bump back down to the 3wt just for more fun and to have a more delicate presentation.
All and all this is a very fun pond to fish and I am glad that I have found out bout it. I look forward to putting in serious time here and will start measuring fish to see who can catch the biggest fish. The friend who showed me the reservoir is a bass/trout/catfish angler who says he can't believe he's going for bluegill now hahaha. I enjoy catching them, in fact some of my best memories are catching big bluegill. They're good fighters for sure! Any other panfishers like to share their experiences?
All and all this is a very fun pond to fish and I am glad that I have found out bout it. I look forward to putting in serious time here and will start measuring fish to see who can catch the biggest fish. The friend who showed me the reservoir is a bass/trout/catfish angler who says he can't believe he's going for bluegill now hahaha. I enjoy catching them, in fact some of my best memories are catching big bluegill. They're good fighters for sure! Any other panfishers like to share their experiences?
