| Since the water is slow, clear and shallow, the fish | | | | Whatever the case, plan on losing lots of flies. |
| seem to be extra skittish. This means you need | | | | I will never forget the time I hooked a large |
| to practice extra caution to have any luck. If you | | | | native cutthroat trout in a small beaver pond in |
| can see the fish in a beaver pond, more than | | | | Colorado. Again, I approached the pond just under |
| likely they can see you, too. All but the very small | | | | the dam and hooked it on my first cast, which is |
| and gullible fish will retreat to safety. Avoid the | | | | often the case in beaver ponds. After a rather |
| overwhelming temptation to walk up to the pond | | | | lengthy battle, I finally got the fish within arm's |
| to spot the fish. | | | | reach when the unthinkable happened. The fish |
| Instead, keep a low profile and delicately cast to | | | | made one final run, but this time dove below the |
| any rising fish or bulges you see in the water. Be | | | | dam and tangled itself around large piece of wood. |
| sure to concentrate your efforts on the pond's | | | | I tried my best to untangle the leader, but to no |
| inlet, the main stream channel, the deeper water | | | | avail. I had to snap the tippet. With a long branch, |
| at the dam itself and any other good holding | | | | I reached the line and pulled the fish up to the |
| water you may notice. Since beaver ponds offer | | | | surface of the water. |
| such an abundance of food, the majority of trout | | | | Besides a sly approach, the key to successful |
| will feed on the surface only when there is a large | | | | fishing on beaver ponds is to give them a break. |
| hatch in progress. Some of the smaller fish may | | | | Unless it's a huge pond, don't plan on fishing more |
| feed on the stray bugs, but for the most part | | | | than 10 to 20 minutes before all the fish are |
| they will be eating nymphs under the surface of | | | | spooked. Instead, catch a few trout, give it a |
| the water. | | | | break then come back. I usually fish a beaver |
| I like to stand just below the actual beaver dam | | | | pond pretty heavily when I first get there and |
| and cast into the deep water behind it. It's easy | | | | then break for a half-hour or so. During this time, |
| to sneak up on the fish from here and you don't | | | | I usually have lunch, take a nap (ah, fishing!) or |
| need much line to present your fly. This will usually | | | | more likely fish my way up the creek until I hit |
| yield a fish or two, but it is a tough place to fish | | | | another pond. If there are several beaver ponds |
| (although there really aren't any easy places in a | | | | in one area, as is often the case, some of the |
| beaver pond). Most of the time, you will either | | | | best fishing can be in the channels that connect |
| snag your fly on a piece of wood or hook a fish | | | | them. Concentrate on these channels while you |
| that beelines to its shelter under the dam. | | | | give the ponds a break. |