Another Hidden Gem Close to Home

When it comes to locating new water to fish, I turn to Google Maps and Google Earth a lot.  Roughly 4 miles from home is one of my favorite local lakes with a great carp flat that I love to stalk.  Recently, I had noticed on the maps for the area, which includes some public hunting ground, there's a secluded pond at the edge of an old overgrown field.  From the looks of the map, it would be a little under half a mile's hike from the closest parking area.  Only having a few hours to kill Saturday morning, I left as early as I could and tried to make the most out of my limited adventure time.  As I started up through the old overgrown field, I quickly realized this was not a path often traveled.  There was no path.  There was lots of chest-high weeds and briars.

Once I got through the worst of the briars, my legs taking a beating even through long pants, I then had to be on the lookout for the many large Yellow Garden spiders calling the deer path I found to walk on home.

I finally reached the pond and was pleasantly surprised.  The water looked good, there was good clarity, good depth, plenty of cover, and room to cast around most of the banks. 

Early on, throwing a size 6 deer hair frog, I had a very large (for SE Ohio) bass come hard-charging at the frog, only to refuse it when it was inches away.  It was a heart-stopping moment for a guy with a 3wt expecting small fish.  After I saw multiple 4+ pound bass, I realized I was severely undergunned and not prepared with large flies.  With the bass ignoring my smaller streamers and topwaters, I turned to the large sunfish I could see cruising around.  I picked up a few bluegills and multiple redears that put a good bend in the Shadowcast glass 3wt.

Although I came home with lots of cuts and scrapes, and no bass, it was still a pretty good short outing.  It's nice to know I have a good pond option close to home that should handle rain well. I saw no signs that rain runoff should greatly affect the water clarity.  Next time I go back, I will be properly prepared with some large streamers and my 7wt, and hopefully tangle with one of the big green bass I saw on Saturday.