Farm Ponds

It has been way too long since my last post but at least I have a weak excuse. Between changing jobs, moving and a little remodeling this has taken a back seat Well it wasn't even in the back seat, it was left behind. So we're back and ready to make a better run at this blog. I wanted to start with a killer afternoon on a farm pond in Ocala, Fl last summer. Those long summer days in the land of no lakes were terrible for a fly fisherman but luckily I never had any time off from the shop, so most of my bitching fell on deaf ears. Finally, one hot Sunday evening we dropped the canoe in a one acre farm pond that we had seen bedding fish in previous weeks but were nervous about jumping a barbed wire fence. After, a little research on the property owner and lessor phone calls were made and we were in! Armed with "Bea Bea Bugs"(more on them later) and my own fly, "Project Hopper", we glided across the lake to an area that looked like a bombing range. The Bluegill had fanned beads the size of truck tires in a 400sq foot area on the South end of the pond. I eased the small mushroom anchor in the water and we went to work with our four weights. We landed 15 Bluegill in about 25 casts. It is incredible how these fish turn on right before the full moon and their spawn. The first few fish were smaller but we could see multiple fish racing for the hopper as it settled on the water. As we weeded through the little fish we finally landed what the locals call a "titty bream". As a local Marion County man put it, "Dey get so damn big you gotta' hold 'em against yer titty to get the hook out". Well, excellent. We had found the local "titty bream" we were searching for! After it was all said and done, 31 Bluegill came over the side of our canoe in about an hour and a half. It was a Sunday I will never forget. Although not glamorous those "titty bream" sure can be a blast.