After using the 8wt outfit since September it’s time to downsize for the spring and summer. The steelhead are all but gone, and after months of throwing big streamers and weighted nymph rigs it’s time for the lighter rods. I’ll be hunting smallmouth in the Lake Erie tribs, and trout in the Shenandoah Valley using a 4wt and 6wt. Since those outfits are much lighter, I need a practice session to regain the feel of a lighter setup after fishing for chrome. Last year, on a trip Virginia I wasted the first hour on the water trying to get some feel for the lighter rod. I guess my skill set isn’t good enough to just pick up a light rod and cast correctly.
To work out the kinks I make a short drive to a great little pond at Lake Metroparks Veteran’s Park. There’s something about getting there early just when the sun is rising. Catch a windless morning and the water gets that mirror look. Add in honking geese and pileated woodpeckers, and you’d think you were in a wilderness area.
Water with a mirror like appearance makes an early morning worth it.
(Click on image for larger view.)
Catching a fish during these practice sessions is a bonus, so I have no expectations of landing many. But, as the day warmed up the fish started to become active. I couldn’t get anything to show interest in a woolly bugger so I switched to a small, yellow popper. That did the trick, as I was able to land a few small sunfish, and make a new friend at the same time.
A small sunfish fooled by a popper.
The pond is probably 60 acres, and dotted along the banks are herons, always looking for a meal. I landed a sunfish, and all of a sudden a heron glides in and lands about 5 feet from me. He knew I had a fish, and he wanted it bad. If he was going to get it, he was going to work for it. I placed the fish back in the water and the heron, in a blink of an eye, scooped it up. I didn’t think they could move that fast. He stood a few feet away from me for the next 20 minutes. Unfortunately, he and I were both shut out.
My new friend. He was hoping for seconds.
Go out and fool a fish!
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