Nara Park - 8/21/2012

Tuesday, 8/21/12. 3:30 - 7:00PM. Jeffrey, Brendan, Kevin, Nima:

Today we decided to head to our usual fishing place: Nara park. After catching a few fish yesterday at Nashoba with my fly rod, I decided to bring along both my #4 and #8 fly rods with me to Nara for bass. The twins had their usual gear; 7' medium spinning rods and Mepps #4 spinners. Nima had his ultralight gear and some Trout Magnets.

The water at Nara has been very low the entire summer, making fishing a lot easier because you can now access deeper water without having to cast your line out very far. The water was very clear, with 15ft+ visibility, and the sun was shining overhead. We started out by the tents with large, flashy spinners and we got several hits. All of the bass were 12"+, but when they were within netting range, they all managed to dislodge the hooks in their mouths. I got some takes on a Hare's Ear Nymph but all were from sunfish. We decided to move towards our best spot, an exposed boulder near the bridge area.

I switched over to a Conehead Wooly Bugger that I hand-tied, and immediately I hooked up onto an 11-incher. The other guys didn't get many bites, but Brendan tossed a Dressed #4 Chartreuse Black Fury spinner towards the bridge and immediately something huge latched onto his line. Not sure of what it was, we grabbed the net and waited for Brendan to bring the fish in.

To say Brendan struggled with the fish is an understatement. The monster on the end of his line dug itself on the bottom and attempted to go for the weeds, but Brendan steered it away. The mystery fish never rose to the surface to jump, and no matter how hard Brendan tried to pull the fish towards the surface to be netted, it refused to rise. After circling around the net, the fish finally gave in, and we immediately noticed the characteristic gaping jaw of a largemouth bass. Once landed, we all knew that Brendan had caught a trophy. The goliath that we had just landed measured 22 inches, and weighed in on an electronic scale at exactly 5.5 lbs.

Measuring 22" and weighing in at 5.5lbs, this beast was no ordinary bass.

Afterwards, we caught average-sized bass on both flies and lures, and later, we packed up and headed home. The fishing trip was very exhilarating for all of us, as such a large bass hasn't been caught by an Acton Angler in over a year. Fishing at Nara Park always has surprises, and this was no exception.

Happy fishing,

-Jeffrey

Nashoba Brook near Milldam Rd - 8/20/2012

Monday, 8/20/12. 4:00 - 6:00PM. Jeffrey, Kevin, Brendan:

It hasn't rained much over the past few weeks, so the water levels everywhere have been very low. Today we headed out to Nashoba Brook near Milldam Rd to see if the fishing was still okay. I brought my #4 fly rod and Brendan brought his BPS Microlite combo and some Trout Magnets.

The water had actually risen since the last time we fished there. The stream was actually flowing, compared to the drought-like conditions just a week ago. Last week the stream was just a bunch of pools and no flowing water. The source pond was a few inches lower than usual, so there was no water flowing over the dam. Today, you could hear the water crashing down from 50 feet away. Also, the water was very clear, and much, much colder than before. The water clarity has also improved, so now you can see every individual stone in the stream bed.

We started out at our usual spot: A small pool below some rapids. First fish was a 4-5" shiner caught on a transparent/silver flake Trout Magnet. I had a few takes on my micro popper, but none of the fish were large enough to inhale the whole fly.

Later, we moved upstream to a longer, slower stretch that usually produced pickerel, catfish, shiners, and panfish. Today, we got no hits so we decided to move further upstream to the bridge, which sits over a rocky area of the stream. Here, I decided to switch to a Hare's Ear Nymph, and immediately eager pumkinseeds and sunfish began feeding.

After maybe 10 minutes of consistent fishing, the fish stopped feeding, so we headed to the source pond. There was clearly more aquatic vegetation growth over the past few days, as new patches of lily pads had sprung up all around the pond, and existing patches had formed huge green carpets over the water. The glare was very bad, and our polarized sunglasses didn't help very much, so we were fishing blindly. I got a few takes on the same nymph, but were all from panfish. Brendan also got a few bites, but only from sunfish. Usually we would hook up with a pickerel or bass, but today we got nothing larger than a hand-sized sunfish.

Overall, I would say that the fishing at Nashoba Brook has improved over the past few weeks. The rising water levels has cleared up the water significantly, but it has also allowed fish trapped in pools to be able to move to other parts of the stream. Next time we will have to try fishing downstream, as that may be where all the larger fish have congregated.

Happy fishing,

-Jeffrey