Forge Pond - March 24, 2013

I got out on Forge Pond with Darren Mikula today in pursuit of largemouth bass, pickerel, and crappie. 

Launched to 38 degree air temps and a strong northwest wind that was blowing at about 15 knots. I like a northwest wind on forge - it makes for a good drift across the flats. I didn't bring the fishfinder so I don't  have a water temp.

I fished from 11 am to 2 pm. Darren stayed on after I left, and looked to be exploring the upper Peconic River when I pulled away from the launch to go home.

The fishing was slow, but I did catch a fairly large pickerel that was almost 22". She looked a little beat up, with orange marks around the fins and tail. This leads me to believe that the pickerel spawn may have begun.

I caught the pickerel jigging a crankbait. The hit came on one of my final jigs, right next to the kayak about 1' down, so I got to see the pickerel take the plug - it came up from the right, and swung left hard with its head before the take - I saw it all happen, which was one of the highlights of the day.

Prior to catching the pickerel, I had a heavy fish on that broke my line. It didn't break it because of weight - I think it was an abrasion issue because I noticed an odd shaped cut at the bottom of the line (unless it was a pickerel that inhaled the plug) - angler failure! But, it felt like a good fish, at least as good as the pickerel I caught later. This fish swam off with a Rapala Tail Dancer in its mouth that was 15 years old - that hurt, and I cursed for a few minutes as a result. Rapala no longer makes that particular plug . . . . major bummer - that lure saw heavy service time over the years.

Throughout the day, I threw the tackle box at those fish - X-Raps, Floating Rapalas, Gold Mepps, Silver Mepps, Johnson's Minnows - the only thing that worked was the Tail Dancer. The two fish I described above were the only hits of the day for me. I thought that the X-Rap would be killer to jig through the flats . . . . but the fish didn't like it today.

With the stagnant cold weather, the conditions were about the same as the beginning of the month and the fishing has deteriorated a little with most nights in the mid-20s. This week will be warmer and I believe the bite will be better as a result. A few warm days and the pond could explode.

It was good fishing with Darren as always. Even if the fishing is slow, the conversation is always good. I'm hoping that he nailed them on the upper Peconic after I left.

A 21.5" pickerel. The pickerel's fins and other extremities look a little orange, which may be part of the transition

to the spawn. 

Darren Mikula plying through a wintery Forge Pond in search of largemouth bass and pickerel.