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"Anyone can be a fisherman in May.” -- Hemmingway
How true that is.
May is a month of rejuvenation. Many plants come to full bloom this month. Birds are nesting or raising their young. And many of the fish species we seek are actively spawning or recently finished. They are famished from their efforts making them easy targets. Add mild temperatures to the mix, and being on the water in May is a wonderful experience.
I know that many on this forum concentrate on tidal waters seeking stripers after local regulations denied them that opportunity in April. Success may be sporadic -- especially as kayakers with our limited range. We must be where the stripers happen to be. We cannot run far (like a charter captain) to find them. In June before the real heat of summer arrives, their numbers will increase in the tributaries. Fishing for stripers should be easier then. You will even catch them while fishing for white perch. Then in July through September they will retreat to deeper waters only to return within our range as waters cool in fall.
But on a 25 to 100 acre freshwater pond in May, fish cannot hide or outrun our kayaks. We know where they are and what stage of spring activity their species is in. And given it is May, they are incredibly susceptible to our efforts to catch them. Hemmingway was right. I am an expert pond angler right now!
Further, I fish ponds on the fly which I believe is the perfect way to approach those waters. A fly rod is lightweight yet able to subdue the strongest bass or pickerel. The reel is present only to hold line. The sensation of the strike, setting the hook and the fight therefore occurs in my fingertips, not with the aid of a reel. And the cast is perhaps the most fun, whether laying out a long 50 footer or deftly curving the line under overhanging branches to a shady spot where I know bluegills are waiting.
May has been very good to me. I have visited three Eastern Shore ponds in four outings this month and left each one satisfied with the scenery and the action provided by the fish. Counts are unimportant but they have been substantial. The species variety has been good also. However, the real fun is enjoying the totality of what ponds offer at this time of year – the closeup views of nature, the calm waters, and the willing fish.
Here are few photos of those outings:
P1050631.jpg
An audience of turtles is a common sight.
P1050641.jpg
These pads have made a pond within a pond -- a perfect place to cast a topwater fly.
P1050642.jpg
This little bass was waiting for my gurgler fly inside the pond within a pond.
P1050625A.jpg
That fly is ruined but picks will do that. The good news is that I landed the fish. I use a light tippets when I am not specifically pickerel fishing. This time the fish did not bite through it.
P1050619.jpg
Yellow perch -- Another colorful pond inhabitant.
P1050686.jpg
This bluegill hit a small streamer fly.
P1050695.jpg
This one took a bluegill standby -- a simple foam spider surface fly.
P1050701.jpg
This flat bellied bass probably recently spawned. It fell for the white bluegill foam spider.
P1050711.jpg
A redear sunfish. Also known as a shellcracker. They hit harder than bluegills and fight like a bass.
I'll continue fishing the ponds until mid June. By that time, some of them get infiltrated with surface algae/slime/duckweed. They still fish well, but the surface covering is not conducive to fly fishing.
So, I will shift my focus to tidal waters for white perch.
But I will certainly miss the month of May when the pond fishing is so enjoyable and productive.
Again, Hemmingway knew fishing. He knew it well.
How true that is.
May is a month of rejuvenation. Many plants come to full bloom this month. Birds are nesting or raising their young. And many of the fish species we seek are actively spawning or recently finished. They are famished from their efforts making them easy targets. Add mild temperatures to the mix, and being on the water in May is a wonderful experience.
I know that many on this forum concentrate on tidal waters seeking stripers after local regulations denied them that opportunity in April. Success may be sporadic -- especially as kayakers with our limited range. We must be where the stripers happen to be. We cannot run far (like a charter captain) to find them. In June before the real heat of summer arrives, their numbers will increase in the tributaries. Fishing for stripers should be easier then. You will even catch them while fishing for white perch. Then in July through September they will retreat to deeper waters only to return within our range as waters cool in fall.
But on a 25 to 100 acre freshwater pond in May, fish cannot hide or outrun our kayaks. We know where they are and what stage of spring activity their species is in. And given it is May, they are incredibly susceptible to our efforts to catch them. Hemmingway was right. I am an expert pond angler right now!
Further, I fish ponds on the fly which I believe is the perfect way to approach those waters. A fly rod is lightweight yet able to subdue the strongest bass or pickerel. The reel is present only to hold line. The sensation of the strike, setting the hook and the fight therefore occurs in my fingertips, not with the aid of a reel. And the cast is perhaps the most fun, whether laying out a long 50 footer or deftly curving the line under overhanging branches to a shady spot where I know bluegills are waiting.
May has been very good to me. I have visited three Eastern Shore ponds in four outings this month and left each one satisfied with the scenery and the action provided by the fish. Counts are unimportant but they have been substantial. The species variety has been good also. However, the real fun is enjoying the totality of what ponds offer at this time of year – the closeup views of nature, the calm waters, and the willing fish.
Here are few photos of those outings:
P1050631.jpg
An audience of turtles is a common sight.
P1050641.jpg
These pads have made a pond within a pond -- a perfect place to cast a topwater fly.
P1050642.jpg
This little bass was waiting for my gurgler fly inside the pond within a pond.
P1050625A.jpg
That fly is ruined but picks will do that. The good news is that I landed the fish. I use a light tippets when I am not specifically pickerel fishing. This time the fish did not bite through it.
P1050619.jpg
Yellow perch -- Another colorful pond inhabitant.
P1050686.jpg
This bluegill hit a small streamer fly.
P1050695.jpg
This one took a bluegill standby -- a simple foam spider surface fly.
P1050701.jpg
This flat bellied bass probably recently spawned. It fell for the white bluegill foam spider.
P1050711.jpg
A redear sunfish. Also known as a shellcracker. They hit harder than bluegills and fight like a bass.
I'll continue fishing the ponds until mid June. By that time, some of them get infiltrated with surface algae/slime/duckweed. They still fish well, but the surface covering is not conducive to fly fishing.
So, I will shift my focus to tidal waters for white perch.
But I will certainly miss the month of May when the pond fishing is so enjoyable and productive.
Again, Hemmingway knew fishing. He knew it well.
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