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by Curt Kuester
When streams are too high, turn to pond fishing
My pickup rattled down the rough dirt road. My two sons wanted to get in some trout fishing, but with the rivers and streams loaded with run-off, we had to look in other places. As is typical for our area, the weather was beautiful, with just a few clouds floating by.
Our destination was a series of small spring-fed ponds that hold some cutthroat. After a quick bite to eat, we rigged our rods and started to fish. The fish in these ponds are not particularly big, eight inches will be a monster, but they are always more than willing to jump on a small nymph fished slowly.
After a few missed fish, we had gotten the timing down again and started to hook fish. Of all the ways you can fish a fly, this way has to be one of the most frustrating when it comes to the hooking part. Several more fish later, we decided to try some other areas for some other fish.
So the day went; a little driving, some fishing and about the average when it came to catching. Throughout the day, we caught some big fish and some little fish. With the smaller ones, we would sit and wonder if their mouths were actually big enough to get the tiny fly in.
And so it goes, this part of the year, for a lot of fishermen. This is the season when the kids are out of school and the fishing bug starts to bite. For some of the fishermen, they sit and watch, waiting for their favorite stream to clear up so they can get back on the water again. For the rest, we wander from pond to pond to beaver pond, looking for fish.
The high beaver ponds can have incredible fishing this time of the year. After shedding their ice covering, the fish are hungry. With the short time that the ice will be off, the fish use every available minute to gorge themselves on anything that resembles food.
Fishing these places requires stealth. On the small spring ponds and beaver ponds, a guy cannot just charge up and start fishing. Often one has to sneak up, hiding behind the brush, or cast while kneeling to catch fish. The fish in these small ponds are often spooky, and any shadow or fishermen standing in plain sight will send all the fish scurrying for a safer place.
When the right pond is found, the fishing is done with small nymphs. Cate's turkeys, Lingren's olives, and mosquito larva patterns are among my favorites, but just about any slender bodied mayfly nymph will catch a lot of the trout that reside here. Whatever you choose, make sure that it is small. Nymphs in the size range from 14 down to 18 bring the best results.
There is a technique that I learned years ago in Henry's Lake, Idaho. Tie on a number 14 elk hair caddis dry fly. Add to that an 18-inch dropper and to the dropper line, tie on your nymph. As the rig is fished, watch the dry. If the dry fly is creating a wake as it is retrieved, then slow the retrieve down. Not only will the dry fly serve as the strike indicator, but it gets very exciting when a fish comes up and hits that fly.
Even after the rivers have started to clear, I usually can be found fishing these small ponds. While the fish are usually not as large as the ones found in the rivers, they will be hungry and willing to take your offerings.
