Looking for stillwater advice..

[Drewcastic]

Hello,

I plan to do some pond flyfishing this Friday - a few things to mention...

1. I'm pretty new to flyfishing.

2. I will be fishing a 2.3 acre weekly-stocked pond with a 2 limit creel take (I plan to do catch/release)

3. I'm guessing water temperatures are more dynamic in pond; this particular pond has a stream running to it, so it's not completely land-locked. I don't know what the current water temp is, but it's going to be mid-80s for the next few days - definitely don't appear to be optimal conditions - my guess is the trout will be sitting deep in the water column.

4. Any recommendations on fly types (was going to use cahill dry with a sulphur nymph dropper?) Or is sinking line a must?

Much thanks,

-Drew

[biscuit]

Drew, not much of a still water guy myself but have listened to a few good podcast's on the subject. Check out askaboutflyfishing.com and scroll through their previous podcasts and you will find a few that deal directly with still water situations that I found very helpfull.
ps: Nice avatar, I am a big Fish fan myself. Don't find too many people that even know who he is let alone using him as your avatar.

[AaronJasper]

Those fish will be right at the mouth of that brook. I am guessing that this is a trout park? If it's not a holdover trout lake, you might be doing them a favor by taking a few!

I am sure that the pond is shallow. Some small buggers in black and olive should work. If you can get them with a tungsten bead to help it sink, that would help. Let the fly sink for 10 seconds and slowly make short jerky strips. Remember the type of retrieve that you catch a fish on. Try using two or three buggers at the same time. Space them out about 30 inches.

[Drewcastic]

Heya Biscuit,

I'm listening to some audio on their website now- thanks for pointing it out..

Yeah, I saw Fish at the Paradise in Boston in 2001 - awesome stage presence.. I'm just bummed I never saw him while he was with Marillion. I understand they headlined for Rush in '86, I believe; that would have been an awesome show.

Thanks again!

[Drewcastic]

Heya Aaron,

Thanks for the tip, I'll pick up some black and olives..

My current setup is a 7 ft 4x 6# leader nailknot tied to my fishing line, and then 4x 6# tippet to the fly... can I maintain that setup and just hang the flies off the tippet as I normally would? or should I set it up a bit differently?

I had some good practice casting out a white zonker at another pond near me, and definitely had fish interested.

This might be a good opportunity to practice double-hauling, although perhaps the weight of the tungsten might help as well with casting distance.

Thanks


[quote author=AaronJasper link=topic=4488.msg35260#msg35260 date=1275442716]
Those fish will be right at the mouth of that brook. I am guessing that this is a trout park? If it's not a holdover trout lake, you might be doing them a favor by taking a few!

I am sure that the pond is shallow. Some small buggers in black and olive should work. If you can get them with a tungsten bead to help it sink, that would help. Let the fly sink for 10 seconds and slowly make short jerky strips. Remember the type of retrieve that you catch a fish on. Try using two or three buggers at the same time. Space them out about 30 inches.
[/quote]

[northcountryman]

Ther's a couple of catskill ponds I tried a fews yrs ago but besides catching bullhead, never had much luck on. When I get there, the size of the water, depth etc. seems too overwhelming and I don't know how to approach fishing it. When you cast your flies out, do you want them to sink to the bottom always? 1 pond in particular I fished is probably 20-25' deep in the middle so that's a ways down. do you want to try the mid depths as well? What about streamers?

Thanks,

Northcountryman

[AaronJasper]

That's a seasonal thing. Right now the fish would still be in the deeper water due to the stratification of the water. However, in the spring and fall when the temperatures in the upper water column are more suitable for trout they will be found cruising the shorlines and other structure looking for food.

The summer is tough, unless you plan on killing every trout that you catch. Hooking then in deep water near springs in a lake and then bringing up through the hot surface water is a sure death sentence. You can do very well if you plan on doing this. However, I would fish until I caught my limit and then quit since it's pointless to release the trout.

When it cools down these are the two big rules:

Fish the side of the lake that the wind is blowing towards

Look for current seams in the lake, (calm spots next to rippled water) The fish will cruise these lines looking for an easy meal.

For flies I would have a bunch of buzzer or chironomid patterns, hares ears without beads and pt's without beads from a size 10-14. For rigging a long level leader of about 16-20 feet with about 8 feet to the first fly and then 4-5 feet between the other two flies. Use a floating line and retrieve it slow enough to keep the slack out. When a fish takes the nymphs you will know... it.

Also, do a good search on stillwater fly fishing. There is a lot of good stuff on the UK websites, especially for someone starting out.

[northcountryman]

Aaron,

Thanks for the reply , could you tell me what type of flies the pt's are you mentioned, not sure if I know what that stnds for. Thanks alot,
northcountyrman