Another gully-washer transformed the rivers into raging torrents, so I loaded the float tube for a pond trip. Sunny skies normally send the fish into deep water, but today the stained water neutralized the brightness. A 7-weight rod, floating line, and 3X tippet were chosen to enable casts of size-2 streamers for bass as well as Bully Spiders to bluegills. The plan was to probe the edges of the shallow flats with Bully Siders until shade begins to find the west side of the pond, then change flies to target the bass. Cajun Bullys (black with a red butt) were regularly hit on the vertical drop. Two dozen bluegills of 7 to 8 1/2 inches were released before it was time to pursue bass. Our newest original fly, the H.O.T. Streamer (an acronym for Hold On Tight) in the bluegill pattern was allowed to sink to the bottom in 6 to 7 feet of water before an aggressive “lift, drop, strip” retrieve caused the imitation to replicate the actions of an escaping baitfish. Fourteen bass of 10 to 16 inches fell for the tactic. All were released including the “long-distance release” of an 18 to 19 incher that avoided capture with a headshake at arm’s length.
PLAN B . . . and C, and so on
