Nine Mile Fish

A day at Ninemile Pond

I don't get to fish for trout a lot in the summer, but I do get to do a lot of warmwater pond fishing. We have one pond in particular that's a real gem of a suburban oasis - Ninemile Pond in Wilbraham. This is a small 30 acre spectacle pond (two joined kettle ponds) on a busy highway. Here's a link to the PDF pond map at MassWildlife.

Despite the almost constant traffic going past the pond on Route 20 (the Boston Post Road that crosses Massachusetts from the Berkshires to Boston), the pond gets very little fishing pressure except right after the spring trout stocking. The true beauty of the pond is not the stocked trout (which can barely survive the summer), but the large number and variety of warmwater species.

This is a good example of a Ninemile bluegill. Note the bright orange belly and the black spot on the gill plate. This one has been eating well - see the big bulge behind the head. This one was about 8 inches long which is about as big as a bluegill gets in Massachusetts.
[Click for larger image]

The pumpkinseed is one of the native Massachusetts sunfish (unlike the bluegill which was introduced early in the 20th century). This is a favorite species for kids fishing with worms, because they live in shallow water near the shoreline. These fish are beautiful, and this one was particularly colorful. Note the red eyes, the red spot on the gill plate and the blue/green and red striping on the face.
[Click for larger image]

Jim Lafley, my fishing buddy for the last 30 years, flipping bugs under the branches.
[Click for larger image]

The fly I use most often when warmwater fishing these days is a variation of Jack Gartsides' Gurgler. I tie it on a size 8 dry fly hook, using a pair of grizzly hackle feathers for a tail, a body of green Estaz (like cactus chenille), and a green foam back and head. A really simple tie that is very successful. I think the hackle tail made a big improvement over attempts using marabou and various hairs (snowshoe rabbit, woodchuck, bucktail). The hackles flared out to the sides while the fly was resting, and tucked in when I popped it. I think it must have looked like a small frog swimming. I finally lost the fly after about 4 hours of fishing - hung it on a tree.

[Click for larger image]

One the night I caught these two, I must have caught 40 fish, including dozens of bluegills, two largemouth bass (nine inches and 14 inches), and a 12 inch white perch that jumped 6 inches out of the water as it took the fly in the lily pads.

This is a good example of a Ninemile bluegill. Note the bright orange belly and the black spot on the gill plate. This one has been eating well - see the big bulge behind the head. This one was about 8 inches long which is about as big as a bluegill gets in Massachusetts.	[Click for larger image]

The pumpkinseed is one of the native Massachusetts sunfish (unlike the bluegill which was introduced early in the 20th century). This is a favorite species for kids fishing with worms, because they live in shallow water near the shoreline. These fish are beautiful, and this one was particularly colorful. Note the red eyes, the red spot on the gill plate and the blue/green and red striping on the face.	[Click for larger image]

Jim Lafley, my fishing buddy for the last 30 years, flipping bugs under the branches.	[Click for larger image]

The fly I use most often when warmwater fishing these days is a variation of Jack Gartsides' Gurgler. I tie it on a size 8 dry fly hook, using a pair of grizzly hackle feathers for a tail, a body of green Estaz (like cactus chenille), and a green foam back and head. A really simple tie that is very successful. I think the hackle tail made a big improvement over attempts using marabou and various hairs (snowshoe rabbit, woodchuck, bucktail). The hackles flared out to the sides while the fly was resting, and tucked in when I popped it. I think it must have looked like a small frog swimming. I finally lost the fly after about 4 hours of fishing - hung it on a tree.	[Click for larger image]