The beat goes on.

[Zig]

It's getting dark here much earlier now. I continue to hang onto the thought that I have until 9:00pm to get some form of time into a fishing trip........................the honeymoon is obviously over.
I also seem to have contracted a new disease - AllIseearefeedingbluegillitis. It's an extremely horrid infestation. The only relief seems to come when I stand beside the water with an ultralight in hand.
So, seeing as how my fever spiked last evening (measured by the knee-jerk invitation to my neighbor to spend about an hour panfishing), I took my medicine.

On the short ride to the IWLA pond, I did nothing but elevate the expectation of catching handsized 'gills to my guest. He has only recently found sheer enjoyment in the art of angling; however has only been able to spend most of his time trout fishing. I feel it's my obligation to invite him to the dark side of panfishing.

As we walked across the grass hill to the pond, I could see it starting to happen again - surface feeding fish.
I offered suggestions as to how to start working the pond, based off it's physical make-up, then picked up where I left off last time - a 1/64oz. jighead tipped w/a yellow Honey Worm under a foam strike indicator. My trout fishing guest started throwing an inline spinner.
The clock continued to count down our 45 minute adventure. Had it not been for the distant laughing I heard from time to time, I would have completely forgotten I had brought a friend along. (It was nice fishing with an adult - the sense of responsibility was at a much lower level)
While I was being blessed with enough action to keep me busy, I realized I had actually stopped fishing for a few minutes.

I was mesmerized.

The water clarity does not allow an angler the ability of spotting any fish unless they are directly at surface level. yet these fish had the ability to key in on minute bugs that would get stuck in the surface film when they flew a little too close. Then there was the occasional fish that would completely clear the water not a rod lengths away from me to take a bug in flight.
I found it to be quite amazing.

My guest found his way to my side, grinning from ear to ear, holding a "I didn't think they got this big. This is a blast" bluegill. He had found that a small twister allowed him to experience not only the pond's bluegill population, but also a few largemouth thrown in for added flavor.
He had a great time, making my time just as enjoyable.
The ride home had us comparing notes, and if I did my addition correctly we managed to handle a baker's dozen of fish within those 45 minutes.

A quick check of the conditions showed a barometric pressure reading the same as a few days ago. While tonight's trip differed from the previous by being a steady pressure (last trip was the peak in a rising barometer), everything else remained the same.
I have a flyrod in the vehicle..................just in case I get a few free minutes tonight.

[Frosch]

Thanks for the enjoyable read. I'm afflected with the same disease. I just sliced open the back of my hand at work today and had to get stitches. I really wanted to get after some gill this weekend but that will have to wait a while. I will just have to read your blog this weekend and use my imagination.

[Ethan Lovelace]

wow you write amazing articles thanks for all the details.