It's Hard to Make This Place Difficult to Fish

Not 15 minutes from my place is a very metropolitan lake. It's even in St. Louis County. Most that know my fishing habits would take one look at it and say, "Oh, he won't fish there."

In fact, I have a lot of fond memories of this place. I'll admit, this place is better kept and groomed more than one of the gazillion dollar properties in Ladue. Complete privacy is a no go. Walkers and dog walkers lap this place on the walking trail about as often as race cars at one of the famous tracks. Surprising to me, it's one of the best managed lakes for fish-up to a point to be discussed shortly-of all lakes that I fish. But the crappie need managed. Decent size bass and catfish, and evolving the last couple of years, regular 7 inch plus bluegill, and the occasional giant red ear can be caught. Hundreds of crappie can be caught-probably in a day if you stick with it. But keep this in mind-the eater ratio is about one to every 10 punks. This lake needs shocked, the punks scooped up by the hundreds and turned into coon food. Still, it's a great lake to "test" theories, techniques, new flies or lures, and practice the gentle hook set required to land crappie. One can argue that just because small crappie can be caught on a certain lure of a certain size and a certain color, doesn't mean larger crappie will eat the same thing. But catching the smaller ones will at least tell you if you're in the zone.

This year for reasons unknown, I've been extremely fickle with all of my lakes. I usually put a lot of thought into evenly distributing visits to each. But for instance, this year I hadn't visited this lake since...September...October? Until I decided to perform some fly fishing "lab tests" with the bluegill, almost three weeks ago. Well groomed, a lot of open area-fly fisherman's dream, but "Noooo..."! I immediately went to locating the largest bluegill and as with most fish, the largest live in the gnarliest, thickest, most difficult areas. For a reason!

I was fishing with 4 1/2 foot spinning rods until the lakes became so low with water that I had to cast for miles to reach fish trying to find the last deep water. The lakes are up again, and I've quickly retreated to a 7 1/2 foot fly rod versus the standard 9 foot rod. Thinking I probably wouldn't need a shorty for this lake, a few hours scouting and my choosing to fish where I usually choose, I was kind of wishing I'd put more work into finding a shorter fly rod than the 7 1/2 foot.

Not new to me, I've spent more time with all the fly line rolled onto the reel and just the 7 1/2 mono or mono/fluoro combo if I constructed the leader, doing the work. I noticed long ago a mountain stream fly fishing YouTuber spends most of his time doing the same, so I wasn't bashful about executing the strategy.

Today, I was fishing dries. Every few casts those things need "dried". That's the whipping back and forth you see some fly fishermen doing when they're fly fishing-they're drying the fly before presenting it on the water's surface. But all of my big fish places are a hot mess of overhangs, ragweed taller than me, and other brush the fly fisherman usually side eyes and avoids. This spot being the best for big bluegill on this lake, I can't just drop the fly in front of me to the bluegill lying right on the bank, in the eroded cut out, or weedy overhang. They see me and spook. So, staying about 15 feet away, I have to go through motions never taught in fly fishing school. The usual backcast, waiting for the line to straighten and loading the rod all has to be done a couple of feet above the water. Add to that, the drying of the dry flies has to be done the same way and I have a "cast" represented by the red line in the picture. Kind of looks like I'm practicing for a fencing match. Next problem-setting the hook. There is no lifting the 7 1/2 foot rod-I'll be picking it out of leaves and branches the next five minutes. Even worse-missed hook sets and 7 1/2 feet of leader with that fly I worked so hard to tie for today's adventure, may be 7 1/2 feet high in the tree limbs. So the hook set has to be a perfectly timed dip-to allow the fish to hopefully run the right direction not detecting his mistake-while at the same time moving in the direction away from the overhanging limbs and finally sweeping upward in an inverted arc to achieve a hook set. The blue line. It's not a sure deal every time. And it's not pretty.

A family was fishing across the lake. Mother, father, and the female gene runs rampant in that family, I guess. All girls. Mom, and one of the girls noticed the thrashing going on under the two trees of my choice opposite side of the lake. This lake is notorious for fish sitting in those cut out banks and under overhanging brush, honestly any time of the year except the ice over weeks. The family was having a lot of fun "just fishing"-but I also heard the mission to "catch supper". Several times, when the girls had reeled in to what they thought was the "no fish zone, they caught small bluegill. But dad would quickly be on it, "Michelle, cast back out there about 30 feet!" Where they never caught a fish. "Hey...cast into that shade." (About 15 feet from the bank-where I couldn't even catch a fish.) When I was leaving I had to walk around the lake and pass near them. Dad asked me, "Any luck?!" Don't know why I blurted a number when I'd only seen a total 10 or so caught between nine of them but I replied, "Yeh-caught 52." Dad began laughing as if to enjoy with me, my joke. But I guess the look on my face made him rethink it and ask, "Really...really?!" Still, I thought he may say something to the daughter walking with him. Something like, "I don't believe that guy." I'd already told the me on my shoulder, "I can't believe that guy watched bobbers dance with fish action next to the bank, hooted and hollered about it, and then told his girls to, "...cast back out there about 30 feet!"