Today is the first day fishing on Opperman's. I brought my fly rod, spinning rod and my litter picker upper. Now, I am not a great fisherman. It is another activity that allows my mind to wander. That mind comes quickly back into focus if a fish strikes and my only thought is..."Now what!?" As a kid I used to ride my bike to Ridder's Pond on Long Island with a ball of dough wrapped in tin foil, my fishing pole, a PB&J and a Yoo Hoo. Dough seemed to work well for whatever was biting. Yoo Hoo always worked for me. It was still a rustic pond when I first fished there (1965ish) then it was encircled by cement and brick with a pavilion added. Real restrooms, too. Took away some of that "roughing it charm" even though you were only 1 mile from the LIE and shopping centers.
www.pondfishingbass.com/pond-fishing-bass/fishing-for-shiner-carp-at-ridders-pond-park
Back to recent times...the day didn't start in an excellent fashion. My 1st cast with the spinning rod ended up with the Rooster Tail in a tree and my 3rd cast with the fly rod ended with my English Pheasant Tail pulled off by a fence. I attribute this to a winter of minimal sportsperson activity as I will later attribute losing many golf balls to the same issue.
Re-tying another Rooster Tail for the spinner and switching to a Beadhead Hare Ear Nymph for the fly rod (I texted this to my friend, Bob, so he could tell me what it was).
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| Beadhead Hare Ear Nymph |
The luck and my casting abilities improved over the next hour or so. I caught 4 Pumpkinseed Sunfish - 3 with the Hare Nymph, 1 with the Rooster Tail. Also photographed a Great Blue Heron which is in the background of the blog. Cleaned up a couple of bottles - good day.
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| One of 4 |
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| Had to Verify |
