Trout Where You'd Least Expect Them

I had visited the pond on two occasions after work since the ice went out a week ago; there were signs of life on the pond but only a couple fish had come to hand.  Working on the coast has its downsides when you live in the western mountains but for the last four or five years I have seemingly by coincidence, found myself working within striking distance of a pond that has become a new favorite right after ice out.  There is a legacy about this water in the fall but it has so much to do with timing that I haven't been able to strike it rich since I live two hours away.

I am nearly as excited to hike into this place as I am to drive into the great north woods, as it produces fish that very few places in the state can rival.  Morrell and I were talking on the phone and I explained my previous outings; he was skeptical I could tell but he told me he was going to investigate with his float tube last Thursday.  I held my breath that the intel provided would put a fish or two into his net.....he would understand all the hype as soon as he held one in his hand.

As luck would have it, Hammond Lumber flubbed an order for pine flooring on my job and I was out by noon.  I notified Morrell and each of us pointed our vehicles in the direction of the pond.  We rigged up, hiked in, and unlocked the canoe that I have graciously been given permission to use.  A few casts in and we each had enjoyed a follow to the boat and I could tell that Chris was becoming a believer.  "Drop me off on that Goose shit covered rock" he barked.  I obliged as I watched the flip flop wearing Brunswick native step into the mine field.

Morrell went tight, landed a beefy specimen but the camera was with me in the canoe 40 yards away.  He whooped it up and stated that he couldn't believe a fish of that magnitude could be caught outside the northern corridor of Maine.  The two of us went fish for fish over just a couple hours, landing six, hooking a few others and watching in amazement as a huge trout came an attacked one of the 17" Brookies we were working to the boat.  Chris found his salvation on a pond that few would expect to find such burly specimens. 

The season is still so young!

the pond

when i began my relocation to Bainbridge Island, a co-worker put me in touch with a couple who had a room for rent in the basement of their home. it was furnished, cheap, and available immediately, meaning it was perfect for a broke and homeless fishing guide who was about to re-enter the real world. in one of my last email correspondences with the landlord before arriving, she mentioned that there was a pond on the property that she thought had some trout in it too. i was intrigued by this statement but questioned the validity of it. i arrived, moved in and found the pond.
shortly thereafter, i found its inhabitants.
the pond is maybe half an acre in size. according to the landlords, the pond has never been stocked, which would mean the cutthroat living in it now came are of a coastal variety, becoming landlocked some time ago. very cool. there are even rumors of salmon reaching the pond on spawning runs of the past.

i've got to know a handful of waters pretty well by visiting them often and i'll add this one to the list. it's a pleasure to get to know a water, and this pond is no exception. on windy days, the leaves and duck weed flow across the pond and back, opening and closing areas to cast to. sometimes on windless days, rise rings dimple the pond all day long.
the fish aren't the most sophisticated i have dealt with. to use a phrase of Keith's, the fish are very agreeable to most fly presentations. any small mayfly will work. hoppers will rise fish, but the fish have a hard time getting their jaws around bigger bugs. small streamers work well also.

picky eaters or not, they are very beautiful.
when i first arrived i was fishing with my 490. it obviously over-gunned the fish, but it was fun to launch 70 foot casts across the pond to risers. at some point it occurred to me to size down my stick. i was able to find a perfect tool at work, and i've had it on loan for a while now.
what fun. a fiesty, 11" native coastal cutthroat will put a good bend in a double-aught!

from my seat at my computing/tying/dining table, i have a perfect view of the pond. ducks frequent the pond, as does a heron. last week while James and i sat outside on my patio eating breakfast sandwiches, a blacktail stag walked out of the woods, down to the pond for a look, then continued on his way.
when the rises become too frequent to ignore or when i just feel like fishing, i grab the double-aught from its perch and in 50 steps or less, i'm there. i'm lucky to have the pond there. hopefully i'll get lucky again someday.

Float tubin'

After a few months at port, The HMS Fun Diaper set sail yesterday afternoon for sea trials in the Jackson area. Fishing big terrestrials with midge droppers in the shallows was the ticket. Halsch, if you can get your hands on a tube for next week, bring it!!!

Coastal Brookies After Work 4/27/11

Working on the coast is nearly a two hour drive for me in one direction each day. I've grown accustomed to the drive; I drink coffee, decompress, and dream of fishing. The drive doesn't exist in my mind when I know I will be fishing just down the street when the work day is done.

This trip found three of us in my canoe rolling refugee style. We were freighted, and two of these men in the boat were new to the sport. One of them was fortunate enough to get his first fish on the fly on our last visit and the other was eager to do the same.






Four nice Brookies came to net, one of which was the first fish tied into by Max. There is something to be said about that first fish that any of us first landed. We never forget it, the panic during the battle, the hours that seem to pass as the fish nears the net and darts away for the fifth time, and the feeling of just having had a quality roll in the sheets when you've landed it, pictures are taken, and the fish released. This battle had it all and I knew that as Max sat and enjoyed a smoke after the battle that he would never forget.

April has been solid for all of us.