Village Pond Park Bluegill Fishing 6/1/2013

As the day gets longer and the local ponds get more sunlight, the plant life in said ponds grows rapidly and it become very easy to catch sunfish.  One of the most enjoyable places in Orange County is Clark Regional Park where the water is crystal clear and only about a foot deep. You can watch the fish swimming about midday and if you drop some food in, you can watch as they swarm it.  This Saturday, I walked to Village Pond Park which is less than a mile from my house with a telescoping travel rod, 2 pound test, a small bobber, a size 20 hook, and a small piece of rubber cut from an old jig.  Sunfish spawn rapidly and are not picky eaters so they will bite at most baits and lures.

Village Pond Park is known more for the bird population than it’s fishing.  At any given time, there will be more than one hundred birds: mostly geese, ducks, and loons.  There are some fishing birds too that will watch you and try to grab any fish that you drop on the grass/sidewalk.

I only had about fifteen minutes, so I cast a few times and caught a three-inch bluegill that I released immediately and a seven-inch bluegill pictured to the left.  My wife took over and caught a five-inch green sunfish and a five-inch bluegill, pictured from left to right below.

We kept the largest bluegill and returned the rest of them.  The bluegill will be used in a crayfish trap in one of the coming weekends.