Spruce run reservoir- an educational post

[robmedina]

Well the education is purely for me I would suspect. I started the day off right. I woke at 3am. Checked the weather, everything looked promising. In the wee hours of the morning I struggled with the decision on the destination. Should I go to Spruce run.....or Merrill Creek??? Merrill Creek looked promising with an abundant small mouth population and a smaller lake (250 acres) I would easily cover all the ground I wanted to from the yak. There are also trout in the lake- rainbows and browns- that would be nice to catch. Yet, I was really after a larger prey- the Northern Pike.

In the end, my prey convinced me to settle on Spruce run. Now I have fished Spruce run before with the HOW event. I did not really get to fish that much as I was chaperone to a vet. I found the water stained and fishing tuff for what little I did fish and it was a concern as I contemplated my return to this lake.

I arrived at 6:00 to flat, calm waters.




I met an older gent who was preparing to launch his yak. I asked if he might help me with some insight on where to find pike. He told me it would be tough but my best chances were to go back right of the lake. as we were talking I noticed a lot of activity in the lake to our right. The Gent said , oh those are carp. Hmm, Carp is another species I have never caught. Maybe I will give them a try on the fly. A backstabber fly to be exact.

Carp were jumping everywhere. I tried stalking them but the stained water made it difficult. I stood in the yak and used my paddle to push through the water as silently as I could only to see the puffs in the mud where a Carp was. I would blind cast and re cast to where a fish would jump but my efforts were un rewarded.



The water temp was 80 degrees. The shorelines consisted of mostly rock but some mud/ rock flats were also present. This looked like a mecca for smallmouth bass (another species I have not yet caught) I worked my way around the lake covering maybe 6 miles or so. I met up with the older gent from the launch- he said he was into a half dozen smallies by this particular spot- I went there and came up empty.

I worked my way back towards the launch and met up with another yakker- he said he caught some smallies on a spinner bait right at this point that I met him at. I tried throwing my spinner but not even a bump.

Admittedly I had doubts that the older gent was telling the truth, but after I met the other yakker and he had the same story of catching smallies I started to think about why they caught fish and I did not.

I could rule out that the Spruce Run Reservoir was completely devoid of life, other than the carp. So what was it? Why did I not catch any fish? I came the only conclusion that was reasonable.

I did not have confidence that I would catch fish. I reflected on my attitude the whole time I was on the water. I remember saying to myself- there are no fish in the lake. This place is barren. I had no confidence I could catch anything in this lake and I succeeded in that goal!

In the end, besides the great workout, I learned a valuable lesson.