They grow up fast. David has joined the elite ranks of fly fishermen. Mom called me at work today and said David was "dying to go fishing." I came home on the early bus and grabbed a spinning rod for David and a fly rod for me. Trouble was he wasn't interested in the spinning rod this evening. I pleaded with him to use it to no avail; he had to get a fish on the fly. He has developed an unorthodox, but effective back cast. Within a few minutes he had hooked a nice little bluegill. Way to go buddy!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Still Waiting
I guess last weekend was my opportunity to get a big bass on a fly rod. This morning was my only shot this weekend. I caught a bunch of chunky bluegills, and two small bass. Although this was only bank fishing, I am still unsatisfied.
I really want to score a big bass on a fly rod, but I will have to wait for at least another week. I will retool; lay off the wooly buggers, poppers, and wet flies and buy some clausers and deceivers. I believe that a large streamer pattern may be the ticket for largemouth. The action should be hard for them to resist and they don’t see the patterns often.
I really want to score a big bass on a fly rod, but I will have to wait for at least another week. I will retool; lay off the wooly buggers, poppers, and wet flies and buy some clausers and deceivers. I believe that a large streamer pattern may be the ticket for largemouth. The action should be hard for them to resist and they don’t see the patterns often.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Dad Scores!
Way to go Dad! What a great western NC smallmouth caught eastern NC style: plastic worm pitched into heavy cover. We'll call this Lake James bronzeback at two pounds. Having recently hooked smallmouth and largemouth I can say the smallie fights twice as hard pound for pound. Dad says that electro fishing shows smallmouth in lake James up to twelve pounds. That is world record material; good luck Dad.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Lake Braddock
I hit Lake Braddock the last two mornings. This is an excellent fishery with large bream, crappie, and bass. Yesterday I hooked a bass on a yellow slider that looked to be about three pounds. He popped off in about four inches of water. This morning I had an absolute monster roll on my large black popper. He looked like one of the stripers they pull out of the Chesapeake: absolutely huge! The bluegill action is non-stop on a wet fly. These are real chunkers that fight like palm sized smallmouths. I caught about fifteen bluegill each morning, plus a handful of small bass, and some very chunky crappie. The big one awaits. Great fishery!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Not To Be Outdone
We got back to Virginia, and David wanted to fish at our lake. We managed about a dozen bluegill and a crappie in about forty minutes. There is no place like home. David managed to score a nice gill on a crankbait. Not bad for a three and a half year old.
Boys Weekend Wrap Up
We had a fun weekend even if the fishing challenged us. Lake James is tough to fish, and fishing with a 3 1/2 year old requires short bursts of fishing separated by hours of Spongebob and Power Rangers. David did great. He was patient in the boat and listened to his Dad and Pop-Pop. Unfortunately, the weather socked us in for a while, when we got on the water it was too windy, and Dad's electronics are fried. On Lake James, no trons: no fish. That is unless you can inexplicably pull smallies off the dock with a fly rod.
While the bite was slow, the smallies were fun to catch, and the few bream we got were huge. The bite producing baits this trip were my Dad's TX rigged plastic worm, and his white curly grub. I had one strike on a blue tube, and a yellow popper (off the dock); but the only bait that hooked smallmouth was, of course, the wooly bugger (green, and brown). Good memories; we'll do it again some time next fall.
While the bite was slow, the smallies were fun to catch, and the few bream we got were huge. The bite producing baits this trip were my Dad's TX rigged plastic worm, and his white curly grub. I had one strike on a blue tube, and a yellow popper (off the dock); but the only bait that hooked smallmouth was, of course, the wooly bugger (green, and brown). Good memories; we'll do it again some time next fall.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Another Smallie Off The Dock
Once again, boating a Lake James smallmouth bass eluded us. We docked, once again, windblown and biteless ; I tied a wooly bugger and caught another day saving smallie. I got out the tape on this one: 12"...on a fly rod. Wooh hooh!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Boys Weekend: Day 1
David and I arrived at my Dad's house in western North Carolina yesterday afternoon. We got in a few hours on the lake. We returned to the dock wind blown and biteless. At this point I had tried just about every style of bass bait in my tackle box: jigs, craws, tubes, spinnerbaits, and swimbaits--nothing.
We tied off to the boat dock and I grabbed my fly rod and tied my confidence bait: the wooly bugger. Hooked a 12" smallmouth...great fun on a 6 wt fly rod.
We still have 2 1/2 days to fish. Lake James is a very tough mountain lake; it is cold and deep. But it holds smallmouth, largemouth, walleyes, a few Bodies (local vernacular for hybrid striped bass), and tiger muskies. Even with slower action, fishing with your Dad and your son is always a great time.
We tied off to the boat dock and I grabbed my fly rod and tied my confidence bait: the wooly bugger. Hooked a 12" smallmouth...great fun on a 6 wt fly rod.
We still have 2 1/2 days to fish. Lake James is a very tough mountain lake; it is cold and deep. But it holds smallmouth, largemouth, walleyes, a few Bodies (local vernacular for hybrid striped bass), and tiger muskies. Even with slower action, fishing with your Dad and your son is always a great time.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Accotink Triple
Scoring at least one rainbow, brown and brook trout in the same outing may not be much to some. Landing a triple within the limits of Fairfax County is up there with a no hitter in my book. Well, maybe if the VDGIF hadn't stocked our stream this week it would be like bowling 300; but I will savor this small accomplishment even if the odds are seriously stacked in favor of the angler this week.
As it turns out, the new trout have the same weakness for the wooly bugger as their winter stock brethren. Surprisingly, even the normally stingy brown trout are strung out on streamers lately. I wish them a slow recovery until the bass hit their spring beds.
Final tally: 4 browns, 2 rainbows, and a brookie...in an hour and a half
As it turns out, the new trout have the same weakness for the wooly bugger as their winter stock brethren. Surprisingly, even the normally stingy brown trout are strung out on streamers lately. I wish them a slow recovery until the bass hit their spring beds.
Final tally: 4 browns, 2 rainbows, and a brookie...in an hour and a half
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