06-15-2006, 04:36 PM
Hadn't been to Salem Pond in a few weeks, so I decided to make the 15-minute drive with the boat in tow and hit the water after work. It was about 6:30 p.m. by the time I got the truck parked and locked, hopped in the boat, and began paddling across the pond.
I decided to try fishing new stretches of shoreline last evening, so I began prospecting around promising-looking stands of bullrushes and other vegetation with a wacky-rigged Senko. After 20 minutes or so, nada, except for a couple of good hits and pickups that I missed.
As I drifted along, fishing as I went, I noticed one indented, cove-like pocket of shoreline that was about two feet deep and featured some submerged branches and twigs. In and around this structure where dozens of small bluegill. They certainly weren't dinner-plate size, but they looked catchable, so I threw down the anchor and rigged up a worm-tipped 1/16th oz. jig head about 18 inches under a balsa wood bobber.
It was game on after that. [cool]
I caught and released about 15 of the small but very scrappy guys and gals in quick succession before they got tired of me and would have no more of the small bits of worm I offered. They ranged in size from about seven to nine inches or so, with some of the males sporting bright breastplates of firery orange that faded into lighter hues up their sides. They're certainly pretty little fish. (I need to start snapping some pics with my digital camera!)
Some of you are probably thinking, "Big deal, a bunch of seven-inch fish," but I've always been impressed by how fiesty little panfish can be, especially on a St. Croix ultra-ultra light spinning rod. They were actually a lot of fun. Again, all are still swimming around merrily in the hole I found them, or so I presume.
After the gills told me to get lost, I continued to probe the shoreline. I saw one nice 14-inch largemouth shoot out from under some cover when my boat got too close, but he/she was the only largie I had an encounter with last evening.
As the sun was about to dip behind the distant horizon, I thought I'd call it a day, but as soon as I had that thought, I looked down at the nearly full container of worms at my feet and thought about catfish.
Now, I'm at the point in my life where I can take or leave Salem Pond catfish. I'm pretty sure I've caught enough out of that particular body of water to last me the rest of the year--but it's very, very difficult to leave a proven honey hole when one knows that big fish, whatever the specie, are just waiting to bite.
So I paddled over, threaded two big night crawlers on a big Gamagatsu hook about four feet below a weighted, white-foam bobber and gave it all a heave into the spot that has produced time and time again for me.
Honestly within just a matter of seconds, the bobber plunged below the surface, and the tussle that ensued between me and that fish was one of the best I've had in some time. At one point, nearly half of the seven-foot rod I was using was tugged beneath the surface of the water as the big kitty took a run underneath and to the opposite side of the boat. Once I landed the big guy/gal, it measured 26.5 inches and looked all healthy, fat, shiny, and sassy.
Here's the problem though, it had swallowed that big Gamagatsu hook clear down to its belly. Normally those big hooks will catch right on the corner of the mouth, but not this time. Not wanting to keep the fish, I cut the line and let it swim away. What do you think? Do you think the higher-quality, coated hooks like the Gamagatsus ever rust out? I doubt it. I probably should have kept the fish.
Anyway, not wanting to send any more fish back to their homes with big, sharp pieces of wire lodged in their internal organs, I tied on a heavy black marabou jig and tipped it with a whole nightcrawler and tied this ensemble to the four-foot leader beneath the bobber. After another 15 minutes or so I landed four more kitties, each taking only a matter of seconds to plunge the bobber under the water after it hit the surface.
All of these kitties, not as big as the first but still respectable, were safely released after the black jig was removed from the corners of their mouths.
All said it was very nice evening. The cold front that moved in made the temperature very pleasant, and with the exception of a few light breezes, the surface of the pond for most of the evening was like glass. Nice to get out!
[signature]
I decided to try fishing new stretches of shoreline last evening, so I began prospecting around promising-looking stands of bullrushes and other vegetation with a wacky-rigged Senko. After 20 minutes or so, nada, except for a couple of good hits and pickups that I missed.
As I drifted along, fishing as I went, I noticed one indented, cove-like pocket of shoreline that was about two feet deep and featured some submerged branches and twigs. In and around this structure where dozens of small bluegill. They certainly weren't dinner-plate size, but they looked catchable, so I threw down the anchor and rigged up a worm-tipped 1/16th oz. jig head about 18 inches under a balsa wood bobber.
It was game on after that. [cool]
I caught and released about 15 of the small but very scrappy guys and gals in quick succession before they got tired of me and would have no more of the small bits of worm I offered. They ranged in size from about seven to nine inches or so, with some of the males sporting bright breastplates of firery orange that faded into lighter hues up their sides. They're certainly pretty little fish. (I need to start snapping some pics with my digital camera!)
Some of you are probably thinking, "Big deal, a bunch of seven-inch fish," but I've always been impressed by how fiesty little panfish can be, especially on a St. Croix ultra-ultra light spinning rod. They were actually a lot of fun. Again, all are still swimming around merrily in the hole I found them, or so I presume.
After the gills told me to get lost, I continued to probe the shoreline. I saw one nice 14-inch largemouth shoot out from under some cover when my boat got too close, but he/she was the only largie I had an encounter with last evening.
As the sun was about to dip behind the distant horizon, I thought I'd call it a day, but as soon as I had that thought, I looked down at the nearly full container of worms at my feet and thought about catfish.
Now, I'm at the point in my life where I can take or leave Salem Pond catfish. I'm pretty sure I've caught enough out of that particular body of water to last me the rest of the year--but it's very, very difficult to leave a proven honey hole when one knows that big fish, whatever the specie, are just waiting to bite.
So I paddled over, threaded two big night crawlers on a big Gamagatsu hook about four feet below a weighted, white-foam bobber and gave it all a heave into the spot that has produced time and time again for me.
Honestly within just a matter of seconds, the bobber plunged below the surface, and the tussle that ensued between me and that fish was one of the best I've had in some time. At one point, nearly half of the seven-foot rod I was using was tugged beneath the surface of the water as the big kitty took a run underneath and to the opposite side of the boat. Once I landed the big guy/gal, it measured 26.5 inches and looked all healthy, fat, shiny, and sassy.
Here's the problem though, it had swallowed that big Gamagatsu hook clear down to its belly. Normally those big hooks will catch right on the corner of the mouth, but not this time. Not wanting to keep the fish, I cut the line and let it swim away. What do you think? Do you think the higher-quality, coated hooks like the Gamagatsus ever rust out? I doubt it. I probably should have kept the fish.
Anyway, not wanting to send any more fish back to their homes with big, sharp pieces of wire lodged in their internal organs, I tied on a heavy black marabou jig and tipped it with a whole nightcrawler and tied this ensemble to the four-foot leader beneath the bobber. After another 15 minutes or so I landed four more kitties, each taking only a matter of seconds to plunge the bobber under the water after it hit the surface.
All of these kitties, not as big as the first but still respectable, were safely released after the black jig was removed from the corners of their mouths.
All said it was very nice evening. The cold front that moved in made the temperature very pleasant, and with the exception of a few light breezes, the surface of the pond for most of the evening was like glass. Nice to get out!
[signature]
