Just to be clear, I actually love small bass and panfish. They are a ton of fun, especially on poppers. But this turned out to be a lot of work...
So a couple of buddies told me that they hit a local pond and had a blast fishing for 1-2lb bass on poppers. The only drawback is that this pond gets notoriously choked with lily pads and weeds. So they had to work their ass off getting through them in their float tubes. I'd never actually gotten around to fishing this pond before, but given how excited about poppers I've been recently, I decided to head out there this morning. However, I though I'd be clever and take my kayak so I didn't have to deal with the weeds. Sure, paddling in weeds is still annoying, but it's a lot easier than flippers in a float tube.
The morning started out with a surprise, I bought gas for less than $4/gal for the first time in a while.
Like I say, I'd never been to this pond before an I'd heard there was a hike involved to get there from the parking lot. But Google maps made it look like there was a road that came a lot closer. So I was thinking I'd stash my kayak, park the truck, hike back, then roll the kayak the rest of the way to the pond. As often happens, I was wrong to trust Google. That "road" was actually gated and gravel. So I had to roll the kayak all the way to the pond, which turned out to be about a mile of rolling hills. That was....tiring. My kayak is 60lbs empty. Probably closer to 75lbs with all my fishing gear and the dolly.
But whatever, I got there eventually. And yeah, the pond was exactly as advertised as far as the pads/weeds. Holy moses.
One thing that was annoying was that my kayak paddle has a "notch" in it that is supposed to be for helping to retrieve fishing lures. I've never really used it for that, but it also hasn't been in the way. Oh boy was it in the way here! I picked up so many weeds you'd think I was running a lawn care company. But I did make my way over to the more open water on the other side and it was absolutely easier than it would have been in a float tube.
There were SO MANY fish smashing the surface in this pond. It was actually a little distracting. I'd be fishing one spot and keep hearing splashes all around me. Should I move to where I saw the fish feeding? Keep fishing here? Man that was a big splash over there! Anyway, I caught a few and while exactly the size that had been reported, they were enthusiastic and smashed a popper. That said, the bite dwindled off as the sun warmed everything up. Though I could still see fish feeding on the surface, they just weren't as interested in what I was throwing. If I could have figured it out, I suspect I could have caught 2 dozen of them. That said, I had fun and also caught my first fish while standing up in my kayak, so that was kinda cool.
I eventually fought my way back through the pads and loaded up for the long hike back. It was more uphill than down and the sun was hotter than it had been earlier. I was pretty tired by the end. But on the plus side, the blackberries are getting ripe.
All in all, I don't think I'd take my kayak there again. It was a lot of work for a few small bass, even if I do love catching them. Maybe if I had one those cheap-o walmart kayaks that weigh like 30 lbs. Perhaps this is the kind of thing where something like a Fish Cat Scout IGS would shine? Or maybe just a float tube earlier in the season when the weeds aren't so thick.
So a couple of buddies told me that they hit a local pond and had a blast fishing for 1-2lb bass on poppers. The only drawback is that this pond gets notoriously choked with lily pads and weeds. So they had to work their ass off getting through them in their float tubes. I'd never actually gotten around to fishing this pond before, but given how excited about poppers I've been recently, I decided to head out there this morning. However, I though I'd be clever and take my kayak so I didn't have to deal with the weeds. Sure, paddling in weeds is still annoying, but it's a lot easier than flippers in a float tube.
The morning started out with a surprise, I bought gas for less than $4/gal for the first time in a while.
Like I say, I'd never been to this pond before an I'd heard there was a hike involved to get there from the parking lot. But Google maps made it look like there was a road that came a lot closer. So I was thinking I'd stash my kayak, park the truck, hike back, then roll the kayak the rest of the way to the pond. As often happens, I was wrong to trust Google. That "road" was actually gated and gravel. So I had to roll the kayak all the way to the pond, which turned out to be about a mile of rolling hills. That was....tiring. My kayak is 60lbs empty. Probably closer to 75lbs with all my fishing gear and the dolly.
But whatever, I got there eventually. And yeah, the pond was exactly as advertised as far as the pads/weeds. Holy moses.
One thing that was annoying was that my kayak paddle has a "notch" in it that is supposed to be for helping to retrieve fishing lures. I've never really used it for that, but it also hasn't been in the way. Oh boy was it in the way here! I picked up so many weeds you'd think I was running a lawn care company. But I did make my way over to the more open water on the other side and it was absolutely easier than it would have been in a float tube.
There were SO MANY fish smashing the surface in this pond. It was actually a little distracting. I'd be fishing one spot and keep hearing splashes all around me. Should I move to where I saw the fish feeding? Keep fishing here? Man that was a big splash over there! Anyway, I caught a few and while exactly the size that had been reported, they were enthusiastic and smashed a popper. That said, the bite dwindled off as the sun warmed everything up. Though I could still see fish feeding on the surface, they just weren't as interested in what I was throwing. If I could have figured it out, I suspect I could have caught 2 dozen of them. That said, I had fun and also caught my first fish while standing up in my kayak, so that was kinda cool.
I eventually fought my way back through the pads and loaded up for the long hike back. It was more uphill than down and the sun was hotter than it had been earlier. I was pretty tired by the end. But on the plus side, the blackberries are getting ripe.
All in all, I don't think I'd take my kayak there again. It was a lot of work for a few small bass, even if I do love catching them. Maybe if I had one those cheap-o walmart kayaks that weigh like 30 lbs. Perhaps this is the kind of thing where something like a Fish Cat Scout IGS would shine? Or maybe just a float tube earlier in the season when the weeds aren't so thick.
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