In yesterday's post, I referred to Watkins Mill as "waking up". Well let me tell you something friends, northwest Missouri farm ponds have both eyes wide open and have had a cup of coffee! I was able to hit a couple of these ponds and I bet I caught close to 30 bass total. The first fish came on a spinnerbait. Yes, I threw a spinning rod for a little bit but the reason was that these farm pond bass just can't resist a spinnerbait in the spring and I wanted to boat a few bass "the easy way". Oddly enough, my spinning rod snapped when I set the hook on the first fish. I ended up landing the fish and then looked to the heavens and said "Okay. I'll throw a fly rod today if that's what you want." As divine intervention would have it, this change worked out nicely!
The next fish was caught on a pattern that learned from Luke Langton's book titled Temperate Bass Flies. Luke is a buddy of mine and if you're reading this, thank you for the pattern Luke! I had been wanting to catch a bass on a Watkin's Special and was fortunate to make that happen. I can't wait to fish this fly for white bass and hybrids this spring and summer as well. This fly has a great profile, good flash to it, and will imitate shad well. After a few more casts, I decided to switch things up. The bass seemed to be a little deeper and I wanted something with a faster sink rate. I had also seen some bluegill in the shallows so I decided to throw on a bluegill-themed fly. When I went through my fly box and ran across a Lunch Money in bluegill colors, I had a good feeling about what could happen.
I would be remiss if I didn't lead off by giving Ryan Walker of Ozarks Smallmouth Alliance all of the credit for what happened the rest of the day. Ryan not only introduced me to the Lunch Money but also taught me proper strip setting for bass. While my education came from a day with him on a fly fishing for smallmouth trip, I was able to take what I learned and apply it to other avenues. I would not have landed about 28 more bass without the fly and the strip sets that he showed me so if you're reading this, thank you Ryan!
All of these fish were off the bank and most bites probably came at about 3 feet deep. Some takes were aggressive but most of them were subtle. I had to watch my fly line closely to see if it was moving or changing directions. Most of the time the fish would take the fly and then keep it as it swam off. It was almost like setting the hook on a plastic worm. That fish wasn't letting go anytime soon which meant lightning quick reflexes weren't necessary. Hook sets were solid and deliberate which yielded only missing 6 fish over the course of the day. I would let the fly sink after hitting the water for a few seconds and my retrieve was slow strokes with pauses. This would give the fly action but also get down as well. I threw an eight weight all day and can feel it today. My right side is a little sore and that is not a complaint!
It has been a long time since I caught that many farm pond bass with a fly rod! Sure, I know farm pond fishing is almost cheating to a degree, but this is where I was introduced to fishing and it's nice to be spoiled once in a while. It's almost like going to a pay to fish place like a trout park or a private stream. Sure, it's not the "real world" but sometimes the real world stinks and these places just flat out fun. That's exactly what yesterday was...fun! Thank you again Luke and Ryan for helping make yesterday possible. Also thank you to the gracious land owners that let me fish their ponds. I'm a lucky guy to get to fish these spots and that reality is never lost on me.
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