6/29/11 Chestnut Hill Reservoir
got out there around 8pm. within the first 20min caught two fish: 7.5in yellow perch and 9.5in crappie. the crappie was a feisty sucka'. he went airborne several times while reeling in and splashed violently when i was putting him back into the water. both fish were caught on a rooster tail. continued fishing until 9:45pm without even a nibble, which was a bit frustrating since plenty of fish were breaking the surface of the water. i tried a popper and jitterbug without any luck. in fact, when i would start to throw the popper in the general direction of the noise, the fish would stop breaking surface there, but continue to do so some 30-40ft away from where i was casting. could the rattle of the popper have scared them off?
thanks for the info!
Bluegills will feed on the surface for insects but the perch, crappie and the pickerels stay deeper down.
The birds feed mostly during the day time but I have seen some otters hunting in the water on an overcast and rainy day.
they were breaking the surface of the water at this time. maybe they don't have to worry about birds preying on them at night? could they have been doing something other than feeding at the surface?
The water in Chestnut hill is very clear and predatory birds frequently prey on the fish..so the fish do not approach anything on the surface.
Most of the fish lie in the middle or at the bottom of the water column. The pond bottom is very rocky so be prepared to lose some tackle if you work the bottom of the pond.