Fly fishing The Meer

Back fishing at The Meer for the first time this year.  The water is in so so shape.  This means
vegetation has started to grow and algae will cover the lake by the end of May.  This is not what
 I had hoped to find. My plan was to catch a carp here for the first time.

The first thing I noticed as I arrived was a big grass carp about fifty feet from the shore.  It appeared to be feeding.  My opinion is that the lake needs a few more of these mammoths to control the water plants that cover The Meer.  If  the weather is spring like, the lake is almost unfishable before
summer arrives.

I have been doing some volunteer work for The Healing Waters Program.  The program takes veterans and teaches them the sport of fly fishing.  It has helped veterans deal with war related injuries and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

We had planned to bring some vets to learn to fly fish at this lake.  But in spite of the fact that fish
are here,  I would not call what I did today to be fly fishing.  There is so much vegetation in the water
that your fly has to be cleaned after each time the line is retrieved.

My chief complaint with The New York City Park's Department is it's ineffectiveness at keeping
the ponds and lakes algae free.  Lakes should not smell during the summer months!  

I had a pretty good day of fishing with nymphs.  The fly of the afternoon was a #12 Zug bug.
Bluegills and Golden Shiners were very active along the shore line.   Warm weather usually causes fish to spawn.  However,  I did not see a lot of  bass or panfish sitting on their beds.

The shiners were especially large; almost 12 inches long.  Normally, I catch shiners with size
#14 flies because their mouths are so small.

My Thinkfish Bold semi automatic fly reel has returned from a spell in Spain.  I got this reel in 2010  and the drag was not working properly.  I discovered that Thinkfish appears to be out of business.  It took some detective work to locate a fly shop that could fix  the drag.  The reel sat in customs until I could demonstrate that this was not a new purchase.  I fished a 2 wt fly rod.

Yes I did chum for carp just before I left.  I'll be back.