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Date: March 22, 2020 Body of Water: Horn and Walker Ponds - Woburn, Massachusetts Moon Phase: New Moon minus 2 days Boat: None, Shore fishing With: Alone Target: Stocked Trout and Chain Pickerel Time: Noon - 4 PM Conditions: Sunny and clear, with light winds; 32 - 38 degrees F; approaching Nor'easter The high skies and cold night did not bode well for fishing success, but I hoped that the warmth in the afternoon shallows might get something going. And, fishing quietly by oneself is a Social Distance-approved past-time during these times of COVID-19. With almost a dozen lively minnows in the garage and a variety of other baits ready to go, why not give it a shot? I set up on the eastern side of Horn Pond, at what I will call Dead Baby Memorial Point. In addition to some parking and access here, the former lock system touches the shoreline here, and I thought the structure and deeper water might funnel some fish right by me. I was smart to bring my waders; this let me bypass a 30-foot strip of too-shallow water right along shore. Standing up to me knees in the water, I could see the dredged hole and adjacent stone wall of the locks; this provided a nice target to work over with my baits. In a couple hours of effort, I had several tentative pull-downs and periods of harassment with shiners. No other baits were disturbed. Unfortunately, none of the fish committed to eating the shiners, and so I chose to look for more fertile and warmer water at nearby Walker Pond. I'd run across Walker Pond during some errands earlier in the week, and it certainly reminded me of my childhood haunts. Small and distressed, but perhaps overlooked; and it seemed to be shallow, dark-bottomed, and likely further along towards Spring than Horn Pond. I'd be trading my pursuit of trout for chasing pickerel; but equipped with shiners, I was okay with that. The access to this pond is a little less than scenic, but I noticed right away that some pads were reaching for the surface (already!), and green, filamentous algal growth had started on the dark, soft bottom. I had to adjust my floats to keep my shiners out of this muck, but once I did, they worked hard for me. At least three were harassed and/or hit by fish (small bass? pickerel?), but once again, none of these predators committed to actually eating the bait. After an hour of this, I returned to Horn Pond, hoping to catch the last of the day's "warmth". I tried a different spot, over by the Water Works ramp. Relying mostly on shiners and spoons (but still offering worms, Gulp! and waxies, too), I continued my string of skunks. A small boat trolling with an electric motor caught a nice rainbow a hundred yards from me as he returned to the ramp to pick up a buddy. He excitedly reported "Silver spoons!" as he picked up his friend and turned back to the small cove to the west. There, he reportedly had a group of "900 brookies" located. So, the fish are there for the taking; just not from my selected spots. What do I have to say about this? There are much worse problems at the moment than not catching fish. This was a pretty pleasant way to spend the afternoon. Walker Pond will "weed up" by early Spring, but probably has some potential for bluegills, Senkos and topwaters, and maybe even for ice fishing. I saw and heard of a couple of folks catching some trout on Horn, so that's certainly possible. The addition of my waders made my trip more comfortable and productive, and I've been able to maintain the shiners with aeration in the garage. So, Hey! It's still March!, but I'm already prepared for the next trip! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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