Today is Christmas! Merry Christmas. Standing shoulder to shoulder casting into a netted off portion of a man made basin to stocked rainbow trout didn’t seem so exciting to me. I have lived in Korea for five years and not once did it cross my mind until the winter of 2018. The late fall bass bite was partly to blame. I was fortunate to have a couple of good days fishing for bass partaking in their fall feast before winter, so come December- I wasn’t ready to put down the long wand. The first two trips to the pay ponds were a complete bust. I got a couple of fish to take my size 16 dry fly, but failed to get them to the net. On the last cast of the first day; I managed to hook a fat rainbow on a red san juan worm. I had to give it another shot after touching that fish, which was is great shape with all its fins and a sagging belly.
The following weekend was brutally cold. So cold in fact, the guides on the fly rod would completely ice up every other cast- forcing the fisherman to dunk and wiggle the rod in the water in an attempt to deice. In turn, the rod would freeze up again- creating a never ending cycle of dunking and freezing. This particular pay pond , Deokbong, was recommended to me by a local fly shop owner. He said the water was clean and the fish were big. He was right. But on that cold day, I didn’t catch a thing.
I had a day off from work that next week, and I decided to venture out in search of yet another pay pond. It was within walking distance of Oido Station. It was big. The weather was warmer. I was determined to catch another stocked bow in Korea. The owner of the pond was very friendly and offered me a small cup of instant coffee. This pond had a lot of fish. I went two hours without a bite. A friendly local helped me out with my fly choice. He suggested an emerger pattern. I took a size 16, K.I.S.S and clipped the bottom half of the hackle off so it would sit a little lower in the water. Sure enough it worked. I landed two within 10 minutes. Satisfied with my catches and struggling to unhook them, because I didn’t have a net; I decided to change up the patterns. Several hours latter and no fish, I went back the clipped hackle dry and landed another sixteen inch trout to end the day. As I was leaving, the owner of the pond came out and started throwing pellets and you could see the plethora of fish that were there- the potential that it had. Fishing these pay ponds was a challenge though as the fish get more and more selective as the winter rolls on. There isn’t a day in the fall and winter where these fish don’t see a lure or fly. I think if it were easy- I would have had enough. But I needed more.
I went back to Deokbong, in Anseong. This time I was ready. I had the patterns figured out and I knew the depth at which I needed to fish them. All the ponds fished differently- by the way, but I was ready for Deokbong. It wasn’t all easy. I had to watch the fisherman next to me catch half a dozen before I keyed in on his pattern, a black and peacock marabou jig. With my indicator set at the right length, 8 and a half feet, and my black and peacock jig- I caught two back to back. Of course as is my way, I fiddled around with the flies after a lull in the action. I should have stayed with the black and peacock. I went back to it at the end of the day and landed three more. All healthy, colorful, hard fighting rainbows. I was surprised when a local fisherman recognized me from my Instagram. We exchanged tagged posts and left.
Fishing the pay ponds in Korea isn’t a walk in the park. They are a tough place for beginner anglers to cut their teeth. Be prepared for some frustration and chilly temperatures. It provides just enough of a challenge that each fish feels like a reward. The cost for all the ponds was the same- 25,000 KRW for catch and release and 40,000 KRW to keep three fish. All the ponds also have restrictions such as, no power bait, treble, or barbed hooks. I’ve definitely got the bug and will be going back soon.