Two Crazy Warm Water Days: Crappie, Mega Turtle, and Topwater Pickerel

I fished some stillwaters over the past couple days....
Here are some highlights.

First off, I went to my favorite little farm pond hunting for some of the huge slab bluegills that live there. In the early spring these fish are tricky. You have to sight fish for them, making delicate casts with light tippets and very small nymphs. I hooked up with one big old slab dinner plate. I LOVE ME A BIG OL' GILL!

The next pond I fished that day was loaded with spawning crappie. I interrupted them occasionally with a little jig style fly. They were dark and beautiful.

There is a pair of big snapping turtles that call that pond home. I have been trying to land one of them for years. I got a shot today when I cast into what I though was a bubble patch being created by one of the pond's catfish. I hooked the big female's back foot, and after a laborious battle I was able to grab her the the tail and the front of her carapace. I was pretty happy, she is the biggest turtle I have handled that wasn't out of the water for egg laying. She was not so happy, and had I give her the chance she would have torn off my hand.

The Bell pond was not too productive as the carp were in a lazy mood or a stressed out mood. None were really feeding. I did manage another crappie.

I fished my favorite lake on Sunday. I wasn't expecting much, so after a pumpkinseed and a pair of small bass I went to the pickerel pond. There the smaller fish were chasing hatching caddis, so I skated around a panfish bug and they slammed it like there was no tomorrow! I even saw a few chilling out in they little creek that feeds the pond.