David Lee
04-02-2009, 08:53 AM
Wandered out to Rancho Murieta yesterday w/ club buddy Jack Ramos .....
Met up w/ Friend/Host Coach Ossolinski , and ran into roostersgt Steve (nice to finally meet you !) - started fishing the infamous MUD PUDDLE !!!
The MUD PUDDLE is probably my favorite pond ever - Largemouth the size of small children , great cover , no-keep (recycled water , stinky and nasty ....) , little shore access = my kind of place !! Casting to the cover , raising BIG fish .... never needing to drag a fly behind the tube to find a bite .....
For whatever reason ....... I tend to have that subconsious need to define the word EPIC at this time of year - I always seem to be waiting for THAT day , the day where I break ###'s records , land a Bass ( or , land SEVERAL Bass) that are over 10 Lbs. , or generaly clean-house in a way that'll change my perception of what great fishing will be forever .
The water's cooler than I'd like it to be . Not a good omen ....
Start with a Slime line and honkin'-big Chart/White Clouser - toss to the weed edge , let sink...... RIPPPP !! A few hard strips , let sink , repeat . I like this kind of fishing because it has a lot more to do with hunting ..... and because the LMB usually can't pass the fly up . I work 100 yards this way , and I get blanked .
No problem !! I have a backup plan of course - dig out the 1495 1/2 w/ the floating shooter and tye on my favorite Dahlberg . Did I mention the wind has come up ?? Yup ...... droppin' that bug @ 30 feet into sandwich-size openings just became difficult . No worries , though ....... I stop and remember that I'm REALLY GOOD at this stuff , having done it for a long time . I'm on the up-wind side , and it's getting really shallow (imagine sitting on your arse in smelly muck/thick weeds and perhaps 2 feet of water ....) . There HAS to be a Bass up there in that nice , warm water ....... !!!!
45 minutes later , throwing 'loops' that you could drive a Car thru ........ no biters . Drifted half-way downlake (downpond ? downmuckhole?????) , switch back to the I line and 8 wt. Craw ..... my little hands shaking like a Crackhead after a week awake . I think "Ohhh , boy !! They're gonna GET IT now !!!!" . Bill has found a dropoff near a spawning flat and has landed a nice fish !! We can't possibly miss now !!
An hour later ....... downlake/pond/muckhole ...... no bites . Bill has to take care of stuff at noon - it's 11:00 now and still nothing . Bill hooks a MONGO Bluegill on a I line/Bugger combo .... guess I'd better get with the program . Make a slow , up-wind troll ..... drop a bite . Not happy with that , at all . Drift back down and change fly ....
30 minutes to go , another slow troll up ...... TAPTAPTAP ! Feels like a dink , but I'll settle - strip hard ...... ZAP !!
A rather unremarkable Bass , perhaps a hair under 2 lbs. . I fight the urge to burst into tears with joy (uncool to sob in front of your Friends , right ?) . I would have much prefered a microwave-sized Bass but I kept the skunk at bay , and at the end of the day .... that's ALL that matters .
On with the search !
David
Met up w/ Friend/Host Coach Ossolinski , and ran into roostersgt Steve (nice to finally meet you !) - started fishing the infamous MUD PUDDLE !!!
The MUD PUDDLE is probably my favorite pond ever - Largemouth the size of small children , great cover , no-keep (recycled water , stinky and nasty ....) , little shore access = my kind of place !! Casting to the cover , raising BIG fish .... never needing to drag a fly behind the tube to find a bite .....
For whatever reason ....... I tend to have that subconsious need to define the word EPIC at this time of year - I always seem to be waiting for THAT day , the day where I break ###'s records , land a Bass ( or , land SEVERAL Bass) that are over 10 Lbs. , or generaly clean-house in a way that'll change my perception of what great fishing will be forever .
The water's cooler than I'd like it to be . Not a good omen ....
Start with a Slime line and honkin'-big Chart/White Clouser - toss to the weed edge , let sink...... RIPPPP !! A few hard strips , let sink , repeat . I like this kind of fishing because it has a lot more to do with hunting ..... and because the LMB usually can't pass the fly up . I work 100 yards this way , and I get blanked .
No problem !! I have a backup plan of course - dig out the 1495 1/2 w/ the floating shooter and tye on my favorite Dahlberg . Did I mention the wind has come up ?? Yup ...... droppin' that bug @ 30 feet into sandwich-size openings just became difficult . No worries , though ....... I stop and remember that I'm REALLY GOOD at this stuff , having done it for a long time . I'm on the up-wind side , and it's getting really shallow (imagine sitting on your arse in smelly muck/thick weeds and perhaps 2 feet of water ....) . There HAS to be a Bass up there in that nice , warm water ....... !!!!
45 minutes later , throwing 'loops' that you could drive a Car thru ........ no biters . Drifted half-way downlake (downpond ? downmuckhole?????) , switch back to the I line and 8 wt. Craw ..... my little hands shaking like a Crackhead after a week awake . I think "Ohhh , boy !! They're gonna GET IT now !!!!" . Bill has found a dropoff near a spawning flat and has landed a nice fish !! We can't possibly miss now !!
An hour later ....... downlake/pond/muckhole ...... no bites . Bill has to take care of stuff at noon - it's 11:00 now and still nothing . Bill hooks a MONGO Bluegill on a I line/Bugger combo .... guess I'd better get with the program . Make a slow , up-wind troll ..... drop a bite . Not happy with that , at all . Drift back down and change fly ....
30 minutes to go , another slow troll up ...... TAPTAPTAP ! Feels like a dink , but I'll settle - strip hard ...... ZAP !!
A rather unremarkable Bass , perhaps a hair under 2 lbs. . I fight the urge to burst into tears with joy (uncool to sob in front of your Friends , right ?) . I would have much prefered a microwave-sized Bass but I kept the skunk at bay , and at the end of the day .... that's ALL that matters .
On with the search !
David