Tuesday, March 22, 2011

3/20 - 3/21 Hillsdale Lake / Farm Pond " The Many Virtues of Spring"

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Spring is here and at this point I have mixed emotions as to whether I like it or not. I know it brings with it a few perks such as the warmer weather , great bug hatches and in some cases better fishing, but as I sit here taking a breather from raking the front yard in preparation for some lawn renovation I'm not all that crazy about Spring. I've noticed a lot more people out on my last couple ventures into the great outdoors as well , of course I havn't been out as much as I was in the winter because of all that damn yard work Spring brings with it. I guess it's a trade-off of both good and bad when it comes to the changing of the seasons.
I got off work Sunday night at 10:00pm and needed to wind down a little before having any chance at sleep so I stopped off at the house and grabbed my seven weight along with a box of flies and the dog and I were off to Hillsdale Lake to check out the dam for any walleye action.
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I heard that the state had already put their nets along the face of the dam so I figured the timing had to be pretty close. I got to the lake at 11:30 and couldn't believe my eyes...there were 13 vehicles still parked on the Northeast side! I didn't want to fight any crowds so I drove across the dam and parked on the opposite side , where there wasn't another car , probably due to the inconvenience of a longer walk. I fished for about two hours and covered a couple hundred yards of riprap using several different flies with no success. I heard a few fish rolling farther off the dam but I never saw any fish up shallow. I spoke with one spin-fisherman who said he hadn't done any good either so it just wasn't the right night I suppose. It's not far off , could be tomorrow or next week but they'll be there before long.
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A beautiful night with a great big moon to light the sky , only thing better would have been a fish..or even a bite!!
The next day after working around the house all morning I was still thinking about getting skunked last night at the lake and had this unwavering urge to do something about getting that mental picture out of my head. Hell , I'd been working too hard anyway it was time for a lunch break.
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I grabbed an apple for me and a handful of dog biscuits for Joe and we hit the road for a little farm pond I know of that has a few bass and crappie in it. Only a 10 minute drive from the house and I'm standing on the edge of the water in a pair of flip-flops soaking up those 80 degree rays coming down.
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This is the part of Spring I have to admit I kind of like. The pond wasn't "going" yet so to say , I caught about half a dozen small bass on a deceiver but it was still too early for much action.
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I don't know, I'm still torn on this whole Spring thing....it's gonna take a few more trips like this to outweigh the list of chores that came along with my spring package.
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1 comment:

  1. I totally understand your mixed emotions about spring. On one hand it's great that winter is giving way to warmer temps, but high water and the ethical issues of fishing for spawning fish (bass primarily) leave me feeling a bit torn about my feelings for spring.
    I can say for sure that my favorite season is fall... pleasant temps, leaves changing color, and often willing fish, what more do you need?

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