Thanksgiving Fly Fishing
Today is Canadian Thanksgiving - a spectacular autumn day. i have lots to be thankful for including the fact we celebrated on Saturday so today is post celebration time and conveniently a good day to go fishing. While Donna is not interested in fishing she was up for a trip to a local pond so long as she could sit by the shore, read a book and take a few photos. So off we went with previously acquired directions since I had never been to this spot before.We arrived shortly after 10 in the morning. Although the pond is very accessible, there was only one other couple fishing and they left shortly after we arrived.
The fish were clearly active with several surfacing near us. There was no hatch going on but the fish seemed to be feeding on something relatively close to the surface. Impatiently inflated the float tube, strung my rod and generally tried to get organized as quickly as possible. Despite the surfacing fish, I decided to go with a clear intermediate sink line and a small streamer. And within minutes I was rewarded with a hit. First fish to the tube was a small but energetic rainbow which was quickly released. The hits continued at a fairly regular pace throughout the morning. Most fish caught were in the 11-12 inch range. I'm not sure if they are the product of late fall stocking but whatever the case, they seemed hungry.
Just before noon I hooked into a much larger fish. Immediately airborne, it showed bright red along the side and was clearly larger than any of the fish caught to this point. Sadly after working it fairly close to the tube, I was a little over enthusiastic and he slipped the hook without me getting another look. However, it was good to know the pond also has some larger fish.
This was confirmed after a lunch break when I hooked into a very nice 15 inch fish which was quickly followed by a fat 14 incher.
The pond is not large, the product of an old quarry but it must be fed by cold water springs to support trout. The water is clear and in many spots it was possible to see to the bottom which was in excess of 20 feet.I packed it in around mid afternoon, thankful for the time on the water and cooperative fish!