Yesterday afternoon was warm with a light breeze out of the north. I decided to take the afternoon off and make sure that I had everything I needed to guide fishing trips. There was not a lot of sun but there were bright blue patches in between the clouds and of course a few rain showers (it is April after all). I fished Seven Tree Pond and Round Ponds in Union. The water level has fallen pretty quickly from the flood levels of only a couple of weeks ago.
Wildlife sightings were a big part of the afternoon. I saw dozens of ducks mostly wood ducks with a few mallards and black ducks mixed in. My first osprey of the season, a loon and a muskrat made up the sightings.
I was trying out some new flies from a fly tier in Connecticut (thanks AJ) that I hope will take advantage of the pickerel panic I enjoyed last fall and possibly the pike that are starting to show up in the Saint George drainage. I fished for a little better than two hours. The flies worked perfectly as did the repaired trolling motor on the Lund. I was easily able to move along the shallow weed beds and cast right up to the shoreline.
Several pickerel were more than willing to take a fly. Most amazing were two of about ten inches that attacked the five inch pike fly. One even managed to get hooked after multiple attempts. I did have one nice largemouth bass on and rolled what I think was a large pike in very shallow water. Very exciting and yes I was not paying attention, too busy looking around at the scenery and wildlife.
I loaded the boat and headed for home before the sun and temperature started to fall. Every day will bring warming water temperatures and improving fishing for the rest of the season. I am delighted to be back on the water and looking forward to sharing an afternoon outing with you soon.
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