Weekly Pond Fishing
Currently on hold until the weather warms up.
A few reminders:
Who can participate? It’s meant for fly fishers who are new to the sport or relatively inexperienced. We’ll have a few experienced club members there to help “coach” you on your casting, fly selection, and knot tying in a real fish catching environment. It’s a great opportunity to learn and practice. If you are a more seasoned fly fisher, you are certainly welcome to participate, but we need to be careful not to “pound” the water too much… On the other hand, if you are an experienced fly fisher, help coach!
Where is the pond? It’s in the Woodlands neighborhood of St James Plantation. The Woodlands Pond and Amphitheater is on Park Ridge Drive
Do you have to be a member of St James to participate? No, but if you are not a resident of St James, you’ll need a guest pass to get into the plantation and hosted by a St James resident while you are there.
How to get a guest pass: If you are not a St James resident, and intend to participate, please reach out to coordinate a guest pass with the person who sends the weekly announcement email.
If you are a guest, here are directions to the pond: Enter St James at the Seaside Gate on Middleton Ave. If you are coming from Rt 211, it’s a mile south of Rt 211 and the first street to the left – Seafield Drive. If you are coming from OKI, it’ll be the second St James entrance off Middleton on your right. Continue past the guard shack straight through the roundabout onto Pine Forest Drive…continue to the next roundabout (Entrance to the Woodlands) – continue straight onto Park Ridge Drive. Continue past the covered wood bridge the park/pond will be on your right. The first street after the park is Pepperbush Drive – turn right and then right again into the parking area.
What to bring: If you have your own rod/reel, it’s always best to use it. Any size will do (after all, it is practice), but 5, 6, 7, or 8 wt rods would work best. We recommend a 6wt. If you have leaders and tippet, bring it along. (2x or 3x tippet will be plenty strong, won’t spook the bass or panfish we’re going for and is easier to see for knot tying than trout tippet (4x or 5x!). A pair of forceps and nippers (or fingernail clippers) are useful, especially if you plan to tie your knots. Forceps are good for getting flies out of the fish’s mouth, especially panfish! If you don’t have these, no worries. The coaches are there to help! The Rev will have extra rods/reels if you need one. If you have any flies you’d like to try, bring them along. The coaches will have flies and extra tippet materials. Other than that, I’d suggest wearing closed shoes as the pond is ringed with pine straw and some grass. I prefer long pants and a long sleeve shirt to protect against the sun and bugs, a hat, of course, and sunglasses (preferably polarized). Water, bug spray, and sun lotion are good to bring as well.
What will we catch? Woodlands Pond has some nice size largemouth bass and panfish. Also, plan on catching plenty of moss and some trees! Remember the “fishing” will always be good, but sometimes the “catching” doesn’t follow through…
Is there a cost? Nope!