We went up to Crystal spring pond yesterday and caught fifteen rainbows. Most were over 12 inches with the biggest measuring 15. they were biting very well on nightcrawlers but I was unable to catch any on my flyrod using nymphs and wolly buggers. However, there was a man on his float tube who was having great success with his "long line". Does anybody have any idea what pattern might work (he was using a dry fly)? The kids and I are planning on returning this weekend and I would really like to redeem myself.
happy fishing!
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Sorry, but where is crystal springs pond?
I'd bet a small chrinimid (midge) patter would work great on the flyrod right now. Maybe a size 18 adams (on top), or a 16-18 copper john or bead head hares ear. Think small.
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It is near McTucker Ponds in Springfield. We only discovered it thanks to advice from a friendly game & fish officer who was doing license checks in Springfield Sunday.
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I love it when a F&G guy tells you the secret hot spot. They usually know what's really good, and what isn't. Good luck!
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I have always enjoyed talking to those guys.
Thanks for the advice on patterns.
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me_and_myboy,
Thanks for the report. I've had The Crystal Springs Pond on my list for about a year now and still haven't taken time to fish it. The Crystal Pond will be a good place to catch rainbows in open water year round. The F&G have been planting it heavily since they aquired it about a year ago. All of the trout they use to put in the McTucker Ponds are now put in the Crystal Pond.
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How big is it? Can you float tube it? I have been thinking about getting out in my tube soon.
Windriver
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Yeah it is big enough to float. There was a man floating it on Monday afternoon and he was doing very well.
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It's a pretty small pond, but tubable. You can google earth it, about a mile straight north of McTucker Ponds. It gets stocked heavily so it's a great kid friendly fishing spot. Since F&G has it set up as a "put & take" pond it gets a little crowded at times. But there are plenty of 10"-12" planter rainbows, a few bigger. I've found it a good place to practice and get better at all aspects of fly fishing. When you've been out all day and haven't done any good anywhere, it's a good place to end the day by remembering what a fish on your line feels like.[cool]
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I had an extra couple hours so I headed out there this afternoon. Only made 6 casts but was able to catch three planters. One was about 16" and made a short run on my ultra light. I will probably give Sportmans Park and Crystal Springs Pond a try tomorrow.
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It's interesting, I've been there two sometimes three times a week since winter set in. I found it's best when the weather is real cold and I have the place to myself, 'course anywhere is probably that way. One of the disturbing things I've seen there lately is several groups of fisherman hauling five gallon bucketfulls of fish away, obviously overlimit. I was glad to see a F&G officer there one evening this week handing out citations. These guys were non-Englsih speakers, but I figure if anyone casting a line ought to know and obey the regulations just like everyone else.
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How are most people fishing . do you use a nightcrawler under a bobber , or just cast it out and let it lay on the bottom . Is there one area of the lake that is better . Thanks Curt G.
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Curt,
I fly fish it mostly. Usually I'm trying to get in some practice with different patterns and experimenting. I see some people bait fishing with nightcrawlers, rainbow powerbait nuggets, worm and marshmallow. My brother in law uses a single light colored salmon egg. Mostly people fish it out in the middle. Anywhere is good.
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curt69,
Crystal Springs is a small pond that is a “put and take fishery” so catching will be greatly affected by what has been planted recently. If it was recently planted you should be able to catch fish on just about any thing you wish. If it hasn't been planted recently the fish that are left will be more difficult to fool. You just need to give them something different to look at. If you have made a couple dozen casts without getting a bite try something different. We tried bait for a short while but it only had a couple bites and that day wasn't as effective as flies or lures. Next week bait could be the ticket. If your bobber or bait sitting on the bottom hasn't had a bite in 10 minutes try casting a small lure. I've generally found slower retrieves work best for planters but I've had a few days were a fast retrieve with some erratic jerking gets their attention. If you fly fish, try smaller dry flies and nymphs. Smaller flies resulted in quick results for us the other day.
Good luck.
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Thank You for the information . I have a two pole permit so I think I will chunk out some bait on one and cast spinners with the other . I plan on being there Wednesday morning right after work . Thanks Again Curt G.
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Me and Brandon Moon got to do some winter tenkara fly fishing here today, nice to have a warm spring to provide some winter fishing.
Thanks for your post . I didn't know they opened it back up to fishing . It was closed while they were building the new hatchery .
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I think they just started stocking it in October this year.
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