Tony Murphy Park Pond

Before picking up my son from summer camp, I had an hour to spare. And you guys know exactly what I was going to do with that hour. You bet — find a nearby fishing spot. I didn’t want to travel too far, and I wanted to keep the drive back to my son’s place within 20 minutes. With that in mind, my choices were pretty limited. I knew a few ponds in Markham that had produced fish for me over the years, so the goal was to pick the one that would give me the best chance. Even with only one hour to fish, I still treated the outing seriously. I wasn’t just looking for a place to chill and kill time. I came prepared, and I came with a purpose. I set myself a small, achievable goal and went for it. The destination was set: that small fountain pond by Unionville Library. A lot of my friends have laughed at me for fishing such an unpleasant-looking place. The pond is small, the water doesn’t look great, and there’s often garbage and debris floating around. They say fish don’t live in dirty places like that. Of course, the people laughing have probably never caught a single fish from this pond. Today’s goal was simple but still challenging: 1. Don’t get skunked. 2. Catch two different species. With that in mind, I brought two kinds of bait in my tackle box: corn for the vegetarians and nightcrawlers for the meat eaters. As the hour passed, I started reeling in fish after fish. First, a bass went for the crawler. Then a carp came in for the corn. But the action didn’t stop there. Not only did I complete my goal of catching two different species, I ended up landing a whopping five species in total — plus one bonus variety that really surprised me. I included all the pictures in this post. This is one of those short outings I’ll never forget. It reminded me that even with limited time, if you set a clear goal, prepare properly, and go all in, you can still get results.

I need to pick up my son from summer camp, and on the way, I’ll pass by my favorite fishing pond. So, I decided to bring my fishing rod and try to catch a few fish before heading to the camp. I’ve allocated about 15 minutes for this stop, so I need to search the water’s edge quickly. I cast my line near the weed line and, to my delight, immediately catch some small fish! They may not be big, but my goal is to land at least a few before picking up my son. Mission accomplished! #CatchKing

Bassin’ around! #CatchKing

Little fella wanted the worm #Catchking

My first carp! After seeing these little brutes in the magical tiny pond here last year, I decided to pop over yesterday for a try with bread. I wasn't patient enough yesterday and didn't hook up, while seeing them eat the leftover bread in front of me. Today I headed back after a morning of failed pike fishing and learned from my mistakes yesterday. Fight was fun on the UL rod

I have no idea what this thing is. Can anyone tell me

Summer is officially drawing to a close, but the kids are eager for one last adventure before school begins! So, over the weekend, I took them to my secret spot—"the Pond of Cozy"—for an exciting fishing session. This was their first time visiting this charming location, and they immediately fell in love with it, having a blast as they caught a variety of fish. We also encountered two other groups of anglers who were also enjoying great success throughout the day. Everyone shared their experiences and fun stories about the pond, creating a wonderful sense of camaraderie. It’s such a relaxing setting that I can already imagine next time I bring along my lawn chair, some coffee, and a good book while watching the kids fish.