 |
As a
guest of
Maryland State
senator, Allan
Kittleman, Tom
D'Asto, my son
Jeb and I fished
his farm pond
for a few
hours this
afternoon. The
pond is part of
an un-named
headwater
tributary of the
Middle Patuxent
River and is
both stream and
groundwater fed. |
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The
pond
receives
little
fishing
pressure, so
we were all
able to
catch &
release
nearly 20 to
30
largemouth
bass each.
I used all
soft plastic
baits
including
the YUM
Wooly Bug,
YUM Dinger
Worm, YUM
topwater
Buzzfrog,
YUM Craw
Papi, YUM
Vibra King
Tube and YUM
6-inch
Lizard, all
of which
caught
fish! |
 |
Tom
was
primarily
using a
lizard soft
bait, and
was
obviously
having a
blast! |
 |
Just
like a kid
in a candy
store. |
 |
We
fished this
pond once
last summer
and the pond
was crystal
clear,
filled with
hydrilla and
other
submerged
aquatic
vegetation
and just as
productive.
We noted
several bass
on beds
today,
primarily
along the
dam face. |
 |
The
backside of
the pond
includes a
mature,
mixed oak
woodlot with
rock
outcrops and
spring
seeps. The
forest floor
contained
spring
beauty,
skunk
cabbage,
mayapple,
cutleaf
toothwort,
jack-in-the-pulpit,
buttercup,
emerging
jewelweed
and invasive
barberry and
garlic
mustard. I
did note two
spring,
ephemeral
wildflowers
at peak
bloom. This
photo is of
rue anemone
(Anemonella
thalictroides),
a delicate,
native
wildflower.
The word
'anemone'
means 'wind'
in Greek. |
 |
This
flower, a
cousin to
the rue
above, is
called wood
anemone or
windflower
(Anemone
quinquefolia),
which is
ideally
designed to
bear the
brunt of the
strongest
spring
winds. It
has a stem
so slender
and pliable
that no wind
blast can
break it. |
 |
I'd
bet that in
the course
of two
hours,
nearly every
third or
fourth cast
generated a
fish. It
doesn't get
any better
than that! |
 |
I
practiced
loading-up
my rod to
set the hook
and I lost
three or
four long
distance
strikes
because my
monofilament
can be so
stretchy. |
 |
Jeb
did his best
fishing on
soft
plastics but
landed a few
on a BooYah
spinnerbait
with an
attached
stinger
hook. |
 |
Just
before Jeb
went out on
this
floating
dock I
caught a
handsome
three-pounder
from the
forward edge
of the
deck. I was
able to drop
the lure on
the deck and
twitch it
softly into
the
water. The
hit was
instantaneous. |
 |
My
line snapped
when I tried
to set my
hook on a
fish. I put
on the same
Gamakatsu
offset shank
worm hook
and YUM
pumpkinseed
colored Craw
Papi on to
my line and
threw back
to the same
spot. I
immediately
caught
another fish
and when I
reeled him
in he had
two Craw
Papi's in
his mouth.
What a
glutinous
fish! Lucky
for him I
was able to
take out
both hooks
and release
him back
into the
water so
that he can
grow and be
caught again
another day. |
