We've all probably done it.  I know I have. I'll turn up my nose at local water in favor of driving three hours to fish in somebody else's local water. We went down to Wilmington, NC to visit the Basswife's parents for Christmas.  All her sisters were there as well, so it was a mini-family reunion.  On Christmas Eve, the sisters hit the mall for some last minute shopping, leaving me totally unsupervised.  As I looked for something to do, my eyes fell upon the very, very small pond that is behind the condo in the assisted living community where her parents live.  It features a little water fountain, a walking path and benches.  The idea was to give the residents a nice water feature that would break up the housing area and provide a nice view out of the community restaurant.  The Basswife's Dad had told me that there were fish in the pond, but he had not seen anyone fishing.  What the heck.  I swallowed my pride, grabbed a rod and headed out.  Six hours later I came back inside.  Yes - six hours.  The pond was full of big bluegills and bass!  I worked every inch of the pond with terrestrial patterns, the small crappie plastics I discussed earlier and, of course, the trout magnet. It really turned into a pleasant day.  The sun was out and it took the chill off, there was plenty of room to cast as the lake was surrounded by a small open area, and the fish did not seem to mind that the water temp was only 50 degrees.

Given that this is a retirement community, I also got the chance to chat with some of the residents as they did their morning rounds.  All were interested in the action, none indicated that they had ever seen anyone fishing before - maybe they will now. I knew I had had a good time when on Christmas morning the Basswife suggested that I go out for another hour (to get me out of her hair) and I jumped at the chance.  I had to tear myself away from the pond when it was time to drive over to her sister's for dinner. Bottom line:  While the venue may not be really scenic, your local pond may be just the ticket for a quick fishing fix.