bluesbill

West Side Pond 10 August 2011

A beautiful day. Clear 80s with warm sun and low humidity and as I drive up toward Litchfield and beyond, the day gets cooler and windier and even better. Clean clean air. Not sure where to fish, I drive up back roads, some for the first time and wind my way toward Dog Pond and overshoot it winding up north of Goshen and finding West Side Pond.

A tidy little pond, smaller than a lake. Clear clean water--remarkably free of weeds. A small little put in area between a couple of homes--only four or five homes at one end of the pond. I put in around 4 p.m., taking a very discreet piss into some bushes within earshot of locals. No harm no foul. In my little Nunu kayak I was the only boat on the pond. Strong winds carried me out and down to the end.

I started fishing with worms I had dug. Nothing. Beuatiful clear water with some lilies and weeds around a few of the edges. Tried a woolly bugger with a big fat artificial slug that had worked in other places for bass. Nothing. A noteworthy absence of sunfish. After 35 minutes or so I put on a silver blue max and cast out near end of the pond and on the second cast and BOOM! A big hit and a fierce fight and the presumed bass, felt like biggest fish of the year, got down into the weeds. I used method Bobby from Ball Pond taught me kind of jerking end of rod like getting ketchup out of a new bottle and finally freed him up, practically breaking my old rod. I was glad I had 10 lb. test line, thanks to losing big fish at Ball Pond. And lo, I bring him up and it's a long not at all that huge catfish!! A catfish of all things! Long and muscular and not fat at all. What a fight for a non-monster fish. But, a very nice fish. Other than a couple huge line snaps at Ball Pond, this is the best fish landed of the year.

Rest of the evening was slow fishing. I had a couple very nice strikes and good big fish on the line near the East shore and put in point, but landed nothing other than a couple small sunfish. Brought the catfish home still breathing and moving when I put him in the freezer for my wife.

Left West Side Pond with 90 minutes or so of light left thinking I might try Dog Pond, but missed the turn and drove through Litchfield where they were having a concert on the Green. What a beautiful evening. Much cooler now with almost bracing low humidity while most of the rest of the country swelters.

Other wildlife seen on the pond: beautiful Great Blue Heron and many minnows at put in.