Since I elected to identify myself as a bass fishermen in the name of this blog, whenever I blog about trout I always feel compelled to even the score with a bass entry. This morning I risked the label of the jackass Dad who fished on Easter Sunday. Thanks to some help from a few extra ounces of formula little zachy slept long enough for Dad to score at the neighborhood lake and get home before the family awoke.
I almost folded while sitting on two bluegills. After the Rainbow yesterday this seemed lame. But thanks to help from my handy dandy yellow popper I was able to land a trademark Lake Royal Bass: small, but fly worthy. I had exhausted use of an olive BH wooly bugger, and went for a small popper in a bright color because the water was moderately clear and the sun was out. If it were cloudy I would have gone for a dark popper. Stained water: big popper. It's that simple. Rock On!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Love Them Rainbows!
I hit the trout stream for about an hour and a half this morning. I hooked the largest trout I have ever pulled out of this stream on my second cast. I have simplified my trout fishing to a beaded wooly bugger first approach. That is if the wooly bugger doesn't score then I will change colors or nymph, and I will attempt to "match the hatch" as a last resort. This simple approach is really all you need when dealing with stocked trout. Tackle wise I have adjusted to the presence of some larger trout in this stream by moving up to a 5 wt with a 4X leader.
Overall, I got three rainbows. Two were quality and one was small; but I had a blast this morning!
Overall, I got three rainbows. Two were quality and one was small; but I had a blast this morning!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Fly Gills
Fly fishing for bluegills must be the most underrated angling technique. Wait, I said that about bass. OK, second most underrated.
I tried unsuccessfully to reconnect with the Lake Royal bass population this morning via the brown wooly bugger. One of the great things about fly fishing for bass is that when things are slow you are always poised to pick on these little guys. On my way back to the car I attempted to add to the two gills I got on my wooly bugger. A black foam popper with a yellow wet fly dropper was worth another seven in about fifteen minutes. These little guys really pull. They are the smallmouth of the bream family. What they lack in size they make up for in scrappiness.
I tried unsuccessfully to reconnect with the Lake Royal bass population this morning via the brown wooly bugger. One of the great things about fly fishing for bass is that when things are slow you are always poised to pick on these little guys. On my way back to the car I attempted to add to the two gills I got on my wooly bugger. A black foam popper with a yellow wet fly dropper was worth another seven in about fifteen minutes. These little guys really pull. They are the smallmouth of the bream family. What they lack in size they make up for in scrappiness.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Fly Bass
Fly-fishing for bass must be the most underrated angling technique. While trout have a mystique of their own in this sport, bass are awesome on a fly rod. Of course, smallmouth may be the ultimate Virginia native freshwater species on a fly.
I fished the lake in our neighborhood four about an hour this morning. I committed to wading and fly fishing for bass. The bass on this lake tend to be small, so fly fishing is a particularly good technique. Now that we are getting into spring my strategy was to wade the outside edges of a creek channel where it empties into the lake. The water was stained so I used a large brown BH wooly bugger, which looks more like a marabou jig than a fly. The fishing started slow, but I eventually got two small bass. Although the fish were small, they were still a lot of fun to catch. Bass are hard fighters on a fly rod and you never know when you are going to hook the five pounder.
I fished the lake in our neighborhood four about an hour this morning. I committed to wading and fly fishing for bass. The bass on this lake tend to be small, so fly fishing is a particularly good technique. Now that we are getting into spring my strategy was to wade the outside edges of a creek channel where it empties into the lake. The water was stained so I used a large brown BH wooly bugger, which looks more like a marabou jig than a fly. The fishing started slow, but I eventually got two small bass. Although the fish were small, they were still a lot of fun to catch. Bass are hard fighters on a fly rod and you never know when you are going to hook the five pounder.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Another Quick Release
Two words crystallize how bad the fishing conditions were this morning: flood advisory. The rain continued to alternate between drizzle and down pour. The stream was stained and running high. I had every reason in the world to stay warm in my house. But my friend Duane said he might be able to meet me on the stream so I was out at sunrise.
I worked the stream with no success for about an hour and a half. I was walking back to my car demoralized, wet, and defeated when I ran into Duane. He gave me some insights on how to approach the stream. Just when I was prepared to call it quits I felt a tug on my line. I set the hook on what turned out to be a large brown trout. I was giving him line and just about had him on the fly reel when he started jumping. As the fish leaps from the water we can see this beautiful brown trout in the 2lb range. He leaps again and breaks the tippet. “That was exciting, ” proclaims Duane. Yes it was exciting. But it also continues my abysmal record landing big fish. In this case my fatal shortfall was in preparation; I had tied on an unmarked leader that turned out to be way too light to land the fish. It now seems obvious. If you are going to fish stained water that may require heavier flies, bringing a 4WT Rod with a light tippet is probably not the way to go.
My Uncle Leroy used to say that fishing is best when the conditions are bad. In my experience this is true if you define success in terms of small numbers of big fish. Larger fish are often associated with a stained water condition. This is because fish are more reliant on their lateral line when visibility is poor. When Bass fishing I adjust to this by going for larger lures that make vibrations. When fly-fishing for trout I go for bigger flies. These tactics tend to draw bigger fish not just because of the bait size, but bigger fish have more developed lateral lines that give them an advantage in locating the lure or fly.
Lesson learned: be particularly prepared to land a big fish in a stained water condition, it may be the only bite of the day
I worked the stream with no success for about an hour and a half. I was walking back to my car demoralized, wet, and defeated when I ran into Duane. He gave me some insights on how to approach the stream. Just when I was prepared to call it quits I felt a tug on my line. I set the hook on what turned out to be a large brown trout. I was giving him line and just about had him on the fly reel when he started jumping. As the fish leaps from the water we can see this beautiful brown trout in the 2lb range. He leaps again and breaks the tippet. “That was exciting, ” proclaims Duane. Yes it was exciting. But it also continues my abysmal record landing big fish. In this case my fatal shortfall was in preparation; I had tied on an unmarked leader that turned out to be way too light to land the fish. It now seems obvious. If you are going to fish stained water that may require heavier flies, bringing a 4WT Rod with a light tippet is probably not the way to go.
My Uncle Leroy used to say that fishing is best when the conditions are bad. In my experience this is true if you define success in terms of small numbers of big fish. Larger fish are often associated with a stained water condition. This is because fish are more reliant on their lateral line when visibility is poor. When Bass fishing I adjust to this by going for larger lures that make vibrations. When fly-fishing for trout I go for bigger flies. These tactics tend to draw bigger fish not just because of the bait size, but bigger fish have more developed lateral lines that give them an advantage in locating the lure or fly.
Lesson learned: be particularly prepared to land a big fish in a stained water condition, it may be the only bite of the day
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