Welcome to The Bluegill Pond

Warm days coupled with lengthening periods of sunlight convinced me that the crappie population would be staging at fishable depths at my favorite reservoir. Based on past experiences, I knew the fish would be located 8 to 15 feet deep and awaiting warmer water to...

For the second consecutive day, the air temperature rose into the 70s, which prompted a trip to a small pond with the hope of encountering active bluegills. A persistent breeze convinced me to leave my favorite 3-weight rod encased in favor of a 9-foot 6 wt. A yellow...

Recent weather patterns have the fish as confused as anglers. A sunny 73-degree day followed by an ice storm the next has frustrated both of us. A quick check of my fishing log reveals that a year ago, on this date, crappies were located in the upper branches of...

As I watched the Winter Olympic Games, it occurred to me that the athletes must think that riding through a tunnel of ice on your rear end at 90mph (luge) or doing a triple backflip with boards strapped to your feet (mogul) are great thrills. Those events are...

The overnight temperature had dipped into single digits, and the gauge in the SUV still only registered 17 degrees at midmorning as I parked downstream from the emergence of a spring branch. I expected smallmouth bass to move from the river into the warmer spring...

Snowflakes swirled near the window beside the tying bench as tea steeped in my steaming cup. My ritual cleaning process began by removing four seasons of dirt, moss, and unidentifiable debris from my rods, reels, lines, and fly boxes' contents. I used a small bowl of...