Just from looking around the various blogs and forums, you will see that some anglers have been absolutely crushing it fly fishing in ponds and lakes. I have always struggled fishing the stillwater, but I’ve been doing better as of late. Here are a few things that have worked for me, and tips that MA anglers have told me about recently. I hope to have a guest post lined up on this soon too, because the truth is, most anglers are closer to stocked ponds than rivers.
- It’s hard to beat a streamer if there’s some wind. A sink tip helps if you are fishing kettle pond, but a surprising amount of the trout in each pond are right below the surface.
- Get on the water early to catch a hatch. Bugs and dry flies are not only on rivers… almost every morning you will see trout rising on stocked ponds. Have a good assortment of generic dries and emergers.
- Everyone local that’s given me reports has sworn by the San Juan Worm as of late. Couldn’t hurt to have a few.
- A boat is a game-changer. When I started bringing my kayak stillwater fly fishing, I caught a lot more fish. Being able to cover a lot more water and locate fish helps, not to mention the added casting room and possibility of being able to stand up (depending on boat type).
- Look at contour maps. Drop offs and sheltered coves are key.
And a lot of fly fishers, including myself, started out spin fishing with bait and lures. A lot spin fishing techniques can be converted to fly fishing techniques, and the same location aspects often apply. So ask the other guys you see lining the shore powerbaiting and chucking spoons how they’ve been doing, and what’s working… most are nice guys and will share what’s going on.
Shoot me an email with questions regarding specific MA ponds if you’re having trouble, or leave a comment. While I didn’t do a lot of fly fishing in them, I did a lot of spin fishing, and hit almost every pond in northeast MA and the Cape in this time, and kept detailed logs. I can help you with where to go on these ponds.
So don’t leave the ponds behind in favor of the rivers every trip you make… the ponds have some good potential too!
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Finally someone that writes about our ponds and the amazing fishing happening.
I have been having beautiful late afternoons on White Pond myself, midges and big ones(16's and 18's) are flying in big swarms on some key spots around the pond when there's no wind blowing, and the fish know that and will be right there feeding like crazy.
Love to read the blog, keep going with the good work.
Congrats
Rui Machado
Two weeks ago when I was at a local pond that contains trout, there was some kind of hatch going on that the trout were leaping completely out of the water to snatch some kind of bug out of mid air. This was going on all over this sizable pond with some trout leaving the water by a full three feet. I didn't catch any, but enjoyed watching the aerial display going on.
I am new to MA and have developed a new fondness for the ponds and especially small brooks. There were very few where I can from. Any recommendations would be great.
I live just south of Boston but will travel