A previous client got in touch with me this spring and wanted to book a trip but wanted to fish some new water, some where he hadn't been before. I liked this idea. There were a few places that I had not been but wanted to try too. We settled on Labrador Pond and met up around 8:30.
Labrador has a nice hand launch in a little cut out and parking for a few vehicles. I got Mike all squared away and he paddled out to the main water. By the time I launched my kayak and started paddling, Mike was already reeling in a 14" largemouth. We had a little laugh because a few minutes earlier we were discussing a concern that the long, cold winter and thick ice might have caused a fish kill. This had happened in smaller ponds all over NY. Labrador Pond is only 5-6 feet at its deepest point, so the fear was that we would see dead fish along the shore and on the bottom. But Mike's first fish proved that was not the case.
We surveyed the pond and the bank. There was all kind of "fishy" places. We saw lay downs, stumps, lily pads, weeds, and bog clumps. After a quick discussion, we decided to paddle to the south end where there was a little inlet and started to fish. Mike was using a 1/4oz Colorado blade spinnerbait and I decided to pitch a 3/8oz Blk/Bl jig around the bogs. The water temp was in the 60's and most of the bass would be looking or on spawning beds. In shallow soft bottom ponds, largemouths often spawn on the roots of bog clumps, lily pads, stumps, or any other wood.
Well they were right where they should have been and we caught a mess of them. Labrador only has largemouths and we were catching mostly males but they were all very healthy looking. We fished the bogs. We fished the stumps. We fished the lay downs. We fished the pads. We even found a stretch that had a rocky bottom.
This rocky stretch was where we caught the largest bass of the day. A classic spawning and staging area. The bottom gradually sloped from 1 to 3ft, about 10 yards from the bank. Then there was a distinct drop-off into about 5ft. Now a two foot drop-off doesn't seem like much but when the whole pond is 1-6ft, it was significant and it was rocky. It wasn't a monster but probably 3.5#, maybe pushing 4#. We didn't stay long on this stretch because there was a lot more to go explore.
Everywhere we tried, we got bit and it turned out to be a great day. The sun was out, the winds were kind, and the hills that surround the pond made you feel like you were in the Adirondacks. A very cool place . . . and one that I will be back too in the summer. With a frog tied on! Thanks for reading.
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