A Walk In The Park

Yesterday was one of those summer days that you just had to be outside. Blue skies and comfortable temperatures make for a great combination to pick a park and go for a walk. My wife grabbed her camera and told me to take a rod and do some fishing from shore. These trips are more about getting out and enjoying the scenery, and not necessarily about catching fish. If I hooked into something it would be a bonus. To travel light I picked my 6 wt. along with a popper and a woolly bugger. And off we went to a couple of parks out east.

We started at the Harpersfield covered bridge. It makes for some great photos. Whenever we go to the bridge I’m amazed at the number of people fishing from it. The bridge has to be 20’ above the water. Yesterday there were seven people, young and old, tossing live bait under bobbers. If you are familiar with the bridge there is a pool that is about 75 yards long. Some of the fishermen were drifting their offerings right to the tailout of the pool. Unfortunately, it was a quiet day, and there wasn’t any catching going on.

Harpersfield Covered Bridge, one of 19 covered bridges in Ashtabula County. A great spot for a walk or wetting a line.

As my wife and I walked downstream there were egrets, herons, and belted kingfishers perched on their favorite rock or tree waiting for a meal. I think they were having about the same kind of day as the fishermen from the bridge.

This egret stood motionless for minutes waiting for a meal.

(Click on image for a larger view.)

My wading boots were purposely left at home so I found a spot with enough room to cast from shore. I worked a stretch of water with the popper with no action. I guess not catching was contagious.

I worked this nice stretch of water downstream from the bridge.

The second stop we made was to Hidden Valley in Madison. We try to hit this park at least once a year but realized we hadn’t been there in two years. There’s plenty to see and enough room to cast. The portion of the Grand River that runs through the park has probably the most tannic water in the system. I always think I’m standing in a cup of tea when fishing there. I worked the popper and woolly bugger but couldn’t buy a hit.

The Grand River through Hidden Valley has some of the most tannic water in the system.

Even without catching anything it was still a great day. Sometimes it’s just about taking a walk in the park.

Go out and fool a fish!

Time To Shelve The 8wt, For Now

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!