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Hand Bass on Black Foam Spider
I watched this bass come in to the take.
The bug lands right in the pocket, branches all around (hooray for casting practice and hand-tied soft leaders!)
I let it settle, while i fidget. The ripples die away, and still I wait. Then, take up slack and the fly quivers. A small tug, and it twitches.
From the right comes a swell. It swirls to the back side of the bug and fades - the bass examines this thing in the water.
Another micro twitch and pause.... And the line moves half an inch to the right.
That's it; that is all you get, here.
It is The Signal - your fly has been taken.
No splashy blast the others long for. None of the grandstanding that marks the later season action. All that is left is to lift your rod tip a few feet.
The fish is on, the mini battle is afoot. No barb on the hook means the fish needs to be landed soon. It is in, while you hold your breath. Unhook it in the time your breath holds out.
The picture is captured in a hurry, the fish is released.
This is the pond. Life goes on.
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Comment
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Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on March 24, 2014 at 6:55am
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LOL Mike!
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Comment by mike martinez on March 24, 2014 at 6:50am
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What Jeffrey said..............:)
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What isn't obvious, Jeff, is this is one dinky pond. It really is a micro-cosm, it's own, sequestered little world.
Outside, the bigger environment of lakes, large ponds and streams is another matter.
I do notice, though, some comparisons can be drawn. Water temps here, for example, are about 5 degrees higher than the large BOW's. I'm seeing the pollywogs starting to appear, here, while at the big lake, they are still weeks away.
So watching this small pond unfold through the season is like having my own personal classroom. I think of it as an intimate view into the way fish operate.
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Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on March 23, 2014 at 3:50pm
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Keep having fun with the bass until the gills start responding David......
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"Which fly did you use? I'm sure that one put a bend in the rod. You should have all the fish in that pond named by now...........Don"
Pretty close! The bass anyway... The bluegill are few and far between.
BUT the bass are keeping things stirred up. Lots of swirls and splashes on the far flat. I think it may be
Time to breakout the Cyperts....
PS I found your hemostats at the pond. Apparently you dropped em. They are coming in very handy. LOL
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