Trap Pond Report

[Mark]

John Veil and John Rentch and two members of the Free State Fly Fishing club joined me at Trap Pond, Delaware on Monday, Tuesday this week. I stayed Tuesday night and also fished there this morning.

We did well despite turbid and cool water conditions caused by May’s abundance of cloud cover and rain.

John Veil and I both had the “Trap Slam” of Bass, Crappie, Pickerel and Bluegill. These are my contributions to the Slam, each caught on the fly:

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I caught 10 bass on the trip and most were the size of the one above. Each hit a popping bug. I’d eat this if I was bass:

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My fly fishing mentor years ago said this about bass and fly rod poppers: “Bass don’t miss”. What he meant by his succinct statement is that largemouth bass don’t play around with a popper. They attack it once and savagely. Here are two examples:

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My largest bass was 15 inches and I caught 3 others at 14 inches.

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By far crappies were my most numerous catches. I caught at least two dozen. Most hit poppers but some hit crystal buggers like this one.

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Bluegills were surprisingly scarce, again I think because of the dirty water and the cool temps. I caught only 6, each hitting a bass popper. Normally they’re my annoyance catch when I am seeking bass. But this trip crappies fit that bill.

Techniques:

This was a cast to shoreline/structure trip. Trap Pond is shallow making it ideal for top water baits. Plus the pond is loaded with bald cypress trees and lily pads. The targets are endless. The best bite occurred at dawn and dusk. During high sun the bass were in the shade. The crappie on the other hand didn’t mind the midday sun.

I used a 5 weight and 7 weight rod, both with floating line.

Special thanks to the guys who joined me on this trip. Good food on the grill and good company. Even the weather cooperated. We did not get the rain that was expected on Monday.

Lastly, I caught this fish on a Clouser Minnow but I don’t know what it is:

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Can anyone tell me please?

[J. Rentch]

Had a great time with the guys at Trap. Very different fishing than saltwater. Lots to learn. One thing-smallerer is better. Caught two nice Pickerels one 1/16 jig with a small black/yellow plastic. Also good for the small crappie. Looking forward to next year.

[DanMarino]

Excellent report and photos Mark! Thanks for showing the flies you used and technique.

[whenican]

Mark, your mystery fish is a golden shiner. I caught one
in Seaford, DE, about 2 months ago when crappie fishing.
It sounds like you had a great time out there fishing!

[Mark]

Excellent report and photos Mark! Thanks for showing the flies you used and technique.

Thank you.

One thing I should add is that the bass preferred a slow presentation with the popper -- subtle instead of aggressive movement worked much better.

[Mark]

Mark, your mystery fish is a golden shiner. I caught one
in Seaford, DE, about 2 months ago when crappie fishing.
It sounds like you had a great time out there fishing!

Thank you.

One of the FSFF guys caught one also.

He didn't know what it was either.

We did have a good time, thanks in part to our grill master:

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[wfauby]

I would like to get into fly fishing from my yak. my place on the eastern shore has a nice pond w big bluegills. Can you recommend a good typical flyrod weight / length? what do you spool onto your reels? Thanks - Wayne

[Mark]

I would like to get into fly fishing from my yak. my place on the eastern shore has a nice pond w big bluegills. Can you recommend a good typical flyrod weight / length? what do you spool onto your reels? Thanks - Wayne

Wayne,

I would recommend you start with an 8.5 to 9 foot , 5 or 6 wt. spooled with 100 yards of backing and a weight forward floating line. Now, in all honesty that rod would be too heavy for strictly blue gill fishing but it will allow you to learn to cast in windy conditions and will let you evolve to heavier and lighter rods as you improve your casting stroke and expand your fly fishing horizons. You can also use the 5/6 wt. for SM and LM bass and even for white perch and schoolie stripers.

You’ll learn however that one fly rod will not suffice for all situations, just like conventional tackle is optimized for the fish species you are seeking.

You may find this article helpful:
http://chesapeakebaykayakanglers.com...y-fishing.html

Good luck,

[imagine29028]

Props to getting the Pickerel to sit still on the board. Also the bass eating those flys is called 'choking it' in bass circles...

[Mark]

Props to getting the Pickerel to sit still on the board. Also the bass eating those flys is called 'choking it' in bass circles...

Interesting. I had never heard that term. It's very appropriate. There's no mistaking that a bass has hit a popper. No finesse at all. You know what's on the end of your line well before you see it.

The good news is that the fly rod bugs are easily removed from the bass. They swim away, still hungry but unhurt.

[bignose]

Very nice report, it sounds like you guys did real well.

I used to be a flyfishing fanatic, but these days, I have a choice: paddle the canoe and be a little sore in my shoulders, or cast with the flyrod for an hour and not be able to raise my arm over my head the next day.
Still, if we get that big cicada hatch as predicted, I may have to risk it just because!
It seemed a little odd catching that shiner on a clouser, but catching crappies on a surface popper is kinda unusual, too.

[Mark]

Very nice report, it sounds like you guys did real well.

I used to be a flyfishing fanatic, but these days, I have a choice: paddle the canoe and be a little sore in my shoulders, or cast with the flyrod for an hour and not be able to raise my arm over my head the next day.
Still, if we get that big cicada hatch as predicted, I may have to risk it just because!
It seemed a little odd catching that shiner on a clouser, but catching crappies on a surface popper is kinda unusual, too.

I understand your passion. Take some aspirin and give it go for as long as your arm holds out when the cicadas arrive.

[EMSer]

What a great trip for the 5 weight! I am glad you all had a good time. It sounds like you had a blast.

Congrats to you and John on your Slam

[bunnielab]

Looks like you guys had a great time.

How far in advance do you find that you need to reserve the yurts? I have an unpredictable work schedule so it is hard for me to plan stuff far in advance.

[Mark]

Looks like you guys had a great time.

How far in advance do you find that you need to reserve the yurts? I have an unpredictable work schedule so it is hard for me to plan stuff far in advance.

Before Memorial Day short notice on weekdays usually works to reserve both yurts and cabins. Weekends on short notice are tough to get starting in June. For example all the yurts and cabins are booked for the weekend of 3 June. I checked because I am returning on 4 June with the Free State Fly Fishers. But there are many tent/trailer camp sites presently available for that weekend.

You can check availability on-line:
http://www.destateparks.com/camping/trap-pond/index.asp

By the way: John Veil also posted a summary of this trip. I didn't see it before posting mine. While I was flinging a fly rod he discovered the secret of small jigs and plastics on light spinning tackle. He did very well as you might expect. So Trap offers good fishing for conventional tackle as well as fly rodders.