Fly fishing in a shallow pond

[MatchT]

Hello everyone,
I am a novice to fly fishing this year and I have been successful in a locally stocked pond feeling the thrill of having a fish on with a fly rod.
I initially tried fishing streams and rivers with a dry fly using a walmart combo fly rod. (8 foot 5/6 weight). This type of fishing is way to difficult for me as a novice so i changed my technique lately in the past two months.

I bought and used 6 weight type II wet cell sinking line in anticipation of fishing Henry's lake. I never made it to henrys but I have been using green caddis nymphs or leach patterns in a cast out and strip in method. Since the line sinks i figured I might as well be stripping in the wet flies. I typically tie two flies linked from the bend of the hook of the first fly and 12" of leader to the next fly. The fishing has been great and what I do works.

My question to fellow fly anglers, how would you fish a pond that is typically 1-3 feet deep on the edges and about 5 feet in the center. I am tempted to put my floating line reel back on and add a dry fly (hopper type) linked to a nymph and do more of a wait and see fishing method instead of stripping in all the time. I might use a float indicator as well but I have seen some surface activity so I think they might go for the hopper.

any feedback would be great.

this pond I fish is fed by springs and does not freeze over. In 30 degree weather it is great because your fly rod eylets do not freeze over too much.

thanks for any feedback or tips,

Match
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[tailgrabber]

A lot will depend on your target fish. In some of the lakes I fish I used a small clouser. You can use it on floating line especially in only 5 ft of water. It can be stripped or let to sink slowly giving the line a short strip and some rod movement. This fly has proven itself to me on many different species. But I will say the Crappie in most of the lakes I used it in really liked it the most. I have sent some of these flies to some other anglers and they had pretty much the same success, Even in states half way accross the country.
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[flygoddess]

DO I know this pond?
Anyway, I agree totally with tailgrabber. A streamer with lead eyes or a Tungsten cone on a floating. It will shoot up on the strip and then dive on the pause.
Try a Red & Yellow if it is the pond we talked about.

Also, try a Griffith, or Caddis on top with a small Midge Pupa dropper like a Serendipity, or Zebra. And of course my favorite....RENEGADE and Prince Nymph

Suspending a haresear and PT under an indicator with an occasional twitch can work also...
But guess what, this stuff works on the rivers two.
Tried Tilden (s/p) Bridge?
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[MatchT]

thanks for the suggestions,
its crystal springs pond. IDFG stocks this pond and it is primarily 6" catchable trout. I guess its refferred to as a put and take pond.
I like this little pond because the recent freeze here in Idaho has forced me to park my boat. The naturals springs prevent the small pond from freezing. Since it has been really mossy this fall I have not tried really used this place for fly rod practice. Mostly I have only done fishing here with my kids using worms. I consider this pond pretty much a Kiddie type setup by IDFG suchas the one in shelley next to the snake river. Only stocked with trout.
The sinking line has been good for me in other nearby lakes. this little pond has shallow banks that let me wade in and cast. I just kinda wanted to probe others thoughts and Ideas since the stripping method works great, I figure I need to change it up and use other methods that use a floating line and/or indicators.

I have yet to see a fish strick my flies so i want to see if maybe I can take a closer look if I slow down my retrieve and bring my fly into view. problem is that my current setup if I retrieve to slow, i pull in moss. Will try floating line next time I go and post results. Hopefully next saturday.

Match

Match
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[dr.veha]

[quote flygoddess]Also, try a Griffith, or Caddis on top with a small Midge Pupa dropper like a Serendipity, or Zebra. [/quote]

I will second this. I too recently got into fly fishing and was struggling on the river (Provo). Then about mid-September, I started going up to Tibble Fork Res. and had better success with the browns and stocked rainbows. My favorite time to fish is about the time the sun goes behind the mountains or about an hour before sunset. I tie on a black-bodied Elk Hair Caddis (or Royal Wulff) with a Zebra Midge below it. I will cast near the moss islands and let it sit. I'll count to twenty and then start stripping it in. Usually, the fish will hit the Zebra before the twenty seconds are up. If not, they will hit either hit the EHC or the Zebra during the strip more often than not.

As a newbie, I enjoyed this kind of fly fishing because I was able to practice my casting, have the possibility of catching fish on or below surface, and catch fish on an fly that I tied, which is the Zebra Midge with a flour. pink collar (see YouTube link).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9jSjEdvvgU
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[flygoddess]

dr. veha, first off, welcome to BFT.
That is a very cool video. If that last one works, you ought to try the Pink Floyd:



By the way...this fly was killer at the local pond
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[Dryrod]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000]Hi there dr.veha - thanks for posting on the Fly forum.[/#008000][/font]
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[dr.veha]

Thanks for the welcomes! FG, I will look into tying the Pink Floyd. It kind of looks like a Starling & Herl, except with a pink thread body and a black bead head tied on curved caddis/scud hook. I tried Googling for the recipe, but with a name like Pink Floyd it is hard to get the fly pattern and not the rock band.

Do you fish it like a soft hackle wet fly?
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[Dryrod]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000]And I'm not a real fly fisherman I only think that I am. lol[/#008000][/font]
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[macfly55]

uhmmmm if you only think you are.. then what does that make me... LOL..

MacFly [cool]
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[flygoddess]

You are right all the way, but the hackle can be Starling, Partridge, and my favorite CDL.
The name is just my one name for it.
The pink however needs to be Danville's, as all others, including floss, change and go darker when wet.
I like to coat the thread with Sally Hansen's first then add Peacock and collar.

Good eye, going to be nice having you here.

I fish this as a wet, a nymph and even under an indicator like a Chironomid.
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[Dryrod]

[font "Comic Sans MS"][#008000]Likewise I will coat the thread first for it sets a sound foundation for the rest of the material and it won't spin when tying.[/#008000][/font]
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[macfly55]

you also use Sally's on your midges (like the ones in the video) dont you sis.. and your chironomid's

MacFly [cool]
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[flygoddess]

I do.[cool]
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[macfly55]

see ... I am learning.. LOL..

MacFly [cool]
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[dr.veha]

[quote flygoddess]I like to coat the thread with Sally Hansen's first then add Peacock and collar.

Good eye, going to be nice having you here.

I fish this as a wet, a nymph and even under an indicator like a Chironomid.[/quote]

Glad to be here. Was lurking for a long while, but decided it was time to join in on the fun. I also lurk at utahonthefly, but some of those folks are too rough for my sensitive self.

Any ways, I have heard about coating with Sally's before finishing up but always forget when I get going. I guess I get so excited about doing a whip finish. []

As for fishing it, I love a fly that can be fished in a number of ways. Recently, I was up on the middle Provo and had an EHC on top with a nymph below it. Did okay, but when I put a split shot above the EHC and added an indicator, the rainbows went crazy, especially during the lift near the end of the drift. I landed my biggest trout of the year, a 20" rainbow, on this setup.
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[MatchT]

Wow,
you make fly tying look pretty easy. I do have array of zebra midges in my fly box including the pink floyd rendition. I will try these for sure.

I have been using green caddis nymphs bucause of the high visibility, almost neon green.Not to mention it has been working. I am eager to try my floating line setup again and break out the zebra patterns I have. I have red and black versions, some with bead heads and some not.
thanks everyone for the tips!

Someday I hope I can give back as much knowlege as I have gained here.

match
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[Jim_T]

Match,

When I'm fishinig any pond/lake less than 6' deep, I like to use a clear intermediate line. It sinks very slowly but allows me to pull steamers/nymphs slowly without worrying as much about keeping it off the bottom. Even if I'm fishing the surface, it keeps the line from bowing as much when it's windy since it drops just below the surface.

Jim
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[flygoddess]

Intermediate is definitely a good answer. Plus you can do the count down.

I agree on shallow lakes. But, if it is windy and I am in my tube/toon, I will switch to the Type II or III to stay in the zone.
And if it is really warm on those shallow lakes, I will use a faster sinking line to get to the bottom past the little guys faster.
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[MatchT]

OK,

Hit lake "S" today and not hits on anything for an hour.

We then went down to the crystal springs pond and my wife did well with a spin rod using blue fox spinners and panther martin.

I landed several with my wet cell II using a scud followed by a red zebra midge. Most of them were landed on the scud. I am always surprised to see that the can be landed on the first fly and the line tied to the bend of the hook does not get in the way to set the hook.

I decided to try the floating fly line with a hopper and a zebra dropper and not luck at all. I would let it sit a while then strip and nothing.

I am a true believer in the sinking line for sure. It really makes a difference.

Match
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