Mark D. Williams

You've fished beaver ponds and you've caught fish. Maybe you caught a lot of fish, probably brook trout with most of them in the seven- to nine-inch range.

What if I showed you how to catch even more fish and some tips on catching big fish, even the biggest fish in the pond?

Beaver ponds make step-across streams worth taking the time to hike into. These dammed ponds often show up overnight. Many have the characteristics of a small lake, sort of a holding pool with little current.

Others have tiny chutes feeding the pond with multiple braids feeding it; others are in a series of beaver ponds laid out like blue pearls on a necklace. But they all call for similar fishing methods.

Most beaver ponds hold brook trout, but many are home to rainbow, brown and cutthroat trout, and even grayling. Beaver ponds are also great places to view wildlife — moose, deer, elk, bear and, of course, beavers.

You might have heard some conventional wisdom about how to fish a beaver pond. Fish from the dam side first. Use long leaders (12-foot). Use small flies (the smaller the better). Don't discount these time-honored adages but be open to other suggestions.

I have three principles to keep in mind when fishing beaver ponds: stealth, observation and position. Here's how to put these three principles into action:

Be Stealthy

The overriding thought in your head when fishing a beaver pond should be"STEALTH." More than in any other trout-fishing situation, the fish can see you and feel your vibrations.

The importance of stealth

No false casting. Not unless you have an open meadow behind you. In that case, you can false cast over the meadow, then turn and cast to the pond. Clumsy casts will put an entire beaver pond down.

Your footfalls in the spongy bog surrounding the beaver pond carry vibrations that spook the trout. Move delicately, slowly, deliberately. Keep low, stay hidden behind trees and brush.

Fish early and late. High noon sun makes you, your shadow, your line, your tippet and your offerings easy to spot. If you do fish in the middle of the day, fish to any cover and be even stealthier than normal.

Hide behind trees and brush. Get on your knees to lower your profile.

Observe Everything

Watch for cruising trout. Are they little or big? Where are the edges and lies? Where is the best spot to reach the best fish or most fish? Beaver-pond trout typically stay in one area, even if they are in a cruising pattern.

Classic beaver pond

Observe the rising fish. Find the biggest fish rising. Sounds simple, right? Then why do so many anglers cast to the nearest one?

Concentrate on any currents in the beaver pond, especially where the stream enters the beaver pond at the head of the pool. Some currents are difficult to detect, but any current carries food and offers shelter.

Concentrate on cover. Beaver ponds are open and trout will look for any hiding places they can find. Fish to submerged timber and brush, rocks, undercut banks, the edge of the dam, and especially in the old stream channel and in any shade.

Move on to Fishing Beaver Ponds, Part II

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