Golf courses are a great place to practice your fly rod fishing. In fact, the week before Ben had taken 7 Boy Scouts to these same ponds to help them on their way to earning a fishing merit badge. They need to catch 2 different species of fish, harvest one of them, clean it, cook it, and eat it. Now before you get too excited, we always let golf course fish go. Kids grow too fast as it is today without all that extra nitrogen. But 7 young men that day began learning an artful and effective form of fishing. And yes, all 7 caught bass before the morning dew had dried. They will be working on fish species number 2 next, most likely bluegill. But back to Ben and I. I knew Ben had the edge with knowing the pond, but I had the Big Bass Favorite, The Snake, with several nice bass from larger waters under my belt. I thought he might catch more, but I knew The Snake is noted for being “the closer”. When you need a big fish, bring out The Snake. We came to the first pond and Ben gave me the first cast. Like any other body of unknown water, you use the same skills, whether on the shore or on a boat to locate the most likely area to hold bass. There were clusters of tree roots and limbs to my left. I threw the black moccasin beyond them, let it settle, and began the slow twitching process of reeling it back. Remember, think like a snake. As soon as it reached the roots, a swirl and The Snake had been inhaled by a nice 2 pounder. That was the last courtesy Ben gave me that morning.
 We moved on to the other ponds, catching fish. Ben had made friends with the grounds keepers and they waved as they motored by preparing the greens for the onslaught to come. They have even shared with Ben were the holes are in the ponds and the general contour. Like I said, he had the edge. The low raising sun at our backs was casting long shadows on the water and the bedding tilapias were being spooked as we walked. Suddenly I saw my spot. Ahead of me was a small peninsula, surrounded by lily pads with a large open hole to the bank. I stopped walking a cast over more land than water so as not to give myself away. I use braided line when fishing The Snake. I like it because it telegraphs activity so much better from the bait to the fisherman. No sooner had The Snake hit the water before it was gone. I was advised to count to 3 before setting the hook. On 3 I popped the rod and out of the water, tail thrashing as only as bass can, came the big the big bass of the day. She weighed a solid 5 pounds. After we practiced CPR on the fish, I noticed that the opening had been created by a large cement connector pipe to one of the other ponds. A pipe flowing into any body of water is a great ambush point for bass. Ben knew that today, The Snake ruled. Not to mention he lost 3 flies to the lily pads, while the practically weed less Snake maneuvered through them time and again.
Even before the first cry of “fore”, we were done. The primeval yearning to catch a nice bass had been satisfied and I had more items on my to-do list (the most important accomplished). So give golf courses a try, get permission, and let them know you will be in before or out after the golfers are there. I would imagine some of the week days have less golf traffic early in the morning. It was made for them, so be courteous, and if you are in the way, call it a day. And never litter, take it home with you. Make friends with the grounds crew, they know the place. Only fish from private homeowners’ property with permission. I know it sure is tempting, some of the best looking spots are out of reach from the course on their property. Take one or more young folks with you, the reward is great. If you are fortunate, you will see more than fish on your trip. I watched as an otter played and as an osprey caught its breakfast, which by the way was a snake. In addition several species of long legged birds fished for their morning meal and ducks swam about the ponds. What a great way to start or end a day.
And oh yes, don’t forget “The Original Fishing Snake”, “No Dinks Allowed”.
Bass Bustin Billy T.
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