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Date: November 6, 2022 Body of Water: Worthley Pond - Peru, Maine Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous Moon; Full minus two days Boat: amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Brown, Brook, Rainbow Trout Time: 9 AM - 2:15 PM Conditions: About 65 degrees, mostly cloudy and a strong (15+ mph) southerly wind. Rain showers in mid-afternoon. Water was clear but tannic and 53 - 54 degrees. I headed north to try to escape the negative effects of the fall turnover. Based on just a bit of reliable intel and knowing the ramp location, I chose Worthley Pond in Peru (Oxford County), Maine for the day's expedition. It's about 75 minutes from home and so within a reasonable radius for a day trip. Plus, I wanted to scope it out before attempting to ice fish here. The ramp proved to be marginal, but still okay for my small skiff and given my willingness to get wet. Next time I will bring waders; but now I know what I face, here. Soon enough, I had picked up the drop-off and was heading north along the eastern shore. My initial baits included F7 and S7 Rapalas in Brown Trout and Silver-over-blue patterns, respectively. Moving along the edge between 8 and 20 feet of water, I always have confidence that these baits will find active trout! When I reached the lake's wind-blown north end, I switched things up and moved off the edge a bit. A J7 Rapala in orange/gold trailed 100 feet or more behind, while I also presented a small firetiger Wolverine spoon off two colors of lead. I'd just marked a couple of targets 45 minutes into the session when the lead-core rod jumped! But it was a swing and a miss, and as the day progressed, I started to doubt that I'd actually had a hit. I kept changing things up, though, and I relocated to the south end of the lake. Here, I picked up the drop-off and presented a small, orange-with-black-dots DB Smelt off two colors of lead on a very light rod. Fortunately, this set-up got slammed and I stayed hooked up. This fish had come from about 28 feet of loon-occupied water right next to shore. It looked fishy above the waterline and below via sonar. I finally landed my first trout of the fall. Even though it was just a small rainbow (12 inches or so), it had hit the bait with gusto and I was pleased to welcome it aboard! I then made the best move of the day; both hits had been on "hot" colored baits and so I replaced my long, flat-line with a J9 Scatter Rap in a fire- tiger/trout pattern. Both hits had come in 25+ feet of water, too, and so I aggressively zigged and zagged between the edge in 12 feet and 30 or so feet of water. These tactics paid off with three more trout and another drive-by miss between 11:45 and 1:15. The fishing wasn't hot and heavy, but it sure was better than the previous day or earlier in the morning! The trout weren't big, averaging about 14 inches and topping out at 15 or 16. But they were all individually aggressive, and fun on my light tackle. All came between 20 and 30 feet of water, and all ate that same J9 Scatter Rap. What do I have to say about this? Are these the fish I can expect, or are other, bigger trout readily available? I don't know yet. Of course I was spoiled by Lake Michigan and connecting lakes, but my scaled-down tactics are still fun, and I will take whatever trout come my way while I learn and recalibrate. I'm still looking for that hit where it's difficult to get the rod out of the holder, though! I've got a 3-day weekend on the horizon and the weather is taking a turn to cooler conditions. Maybe that will jump-start the trout fishing. I've got plenty of ponds to try, but I can see myself returning to Worthley very soon! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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