So, in my green rainjacket and my fishing hat I made the short drive out to the pond, strung up my 5 weight St. Croix Reign, and began to fish, using the red/yellow/purple marabou streamer I'd been using the last time I had it out. The end of that day saw me hook into a large, fiesty bass that was well-hooked and nearly played out....only to have the hook come loose just before landing the thing. This is a problem I've had since day one with my 5 weight, so, while frustrating, it wasn't terribly surprising. To that end, since I got my 3 weight, I rarely use the 5 around here for anything other than throwing bigger flies and streamers. If and when I get a heavier rod, possibly a 7 weight for steelhead, bass, and pike, I may even consider selling the Reign, and possibly looking into a softer, slower, lighter 5.
In any event, the rod performed well today, hooking into about fifteen bass and bluegill in about an hour, landing every one. In fact, my first two casts in a row both landed respectable bass. The first cast, in particular, was satisfying. The marabou streamer, still dry, was still trying to float on, or in the surface of the rain-dimpled pond. As I slowly stripped the fly back in, hoping it'd eventually submerge, I saw a second wake forming just behind it, and moments later a hungry bass helped me wet the fly, striking in a splashy take then diving deep.
From the time I got there, until darkness, action was regular, both with the marabou streamer and also with a modified double bunny in chartreuse and fluorescent orange, with some black crosscut wound at the nose (Triple Bunny?) that I hope will pass for a perch among some Conemaugh river pike in a few short weeks.
Before I knew it, though, night had fallen all around me, and I headed back for the car, grateful to note that the rain must have dampened the egos of the pair of geese that are raising a clutch of peeps on the north-east shore of the pond; as I walked by, they simply kept their distance anc cluck-honked softly among themselves. A year ago, in that circumstance, they would have wanted to rip me to shreds for being on the same half of the pond as them.
Well, that's it for now, see you later!
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