Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Rock Wall Fishing with the Boogle Bug Popper

In the hot summer months with the heavy humidity and soaring heat is not the time to be on the lake for me. Saying that statement makes sense to me but when you are a fishing enthusiast like I am you will go if the forecast is 100 and the heat index 107. That is what I did yesterday. I do have enough sense to know when to leave and I think that comes with age, and knowing when the bite is over. Summers in the south and southwest can be brutal. I never fish during the day in the hot summer beyond 9 AM, and I never fish in the sun. Those are two golden rules I have when it comes to combating the heat. As always for this time of year I was on the water and making my first cast by 5:30. I have a fishing window with the 5:30 start of about 40 minutes and if you don’t catch your quota by then it is pretty much over. Once the sun hits the rock wall you can leave that area. In the first 30 minutes of fishing the wall yesterday with the #6 black Boggle Bug I had landed 10 nice bull gills, and to round out the 40 minutes on the wall I added a decent spot.  I knew the minute the sun peeked through the trees that wall was history, and I would have to look for an east wall with shade. At 8:15 in a shaded area under a rock ledge I landed a 15" largemouth with the bug, and that was the end of the hit for the day. I did hang around for half hour more but it was no good, no more fish to be had.
I was fishing today an area I had never fished on Ryan Creek, so I really didn’t know what to expect, other than the steep walls and deep drop offs of 30 to 40ft. down. In the hot summer months the fish are always deep during the day and only feed close to the top at daybreak after the water has had time to cool a bit over night. Even the late afternoons will not produce as well as the daybreak because the surface temps are still warm late in the afternoon.
Fishing the popper can be a heart throbbing experience especially when the hits are the smacking kind, and today I got some of those hits. You just got to love this kind of stuff to know what I am talking about, and there are a lot of you guys and gals out there that are in the know.
The end result of the trip. I threw numerous smaller gills and two bass back to fight another day.
Last fish of the day, sorry for just one live shot of the fish, but I was so pressed for time that I completely forgot at times to take shots of what I was landing. I was in such a hurry to cover as much water as I could while the bite was hot.
To warm water fish in a place like this is special. This is one beautiful lake. The fish are always right at the wall. To get the hit you have to bonce the popper off the wall and let it fall to the surface in a natural way. The Boogle is perfect for this type casting against the rock wall because of the epoxy finish the popper has. This is one tough popper. One will usually last me all season, if I don't get a break off.




11 comments:

  1. Hopefully I can get another rock wall fishing trip in with you before winter. I'll have my BoogleBugs ready.

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  2. Jay
    Bring Kelly next time and we will not only fish the walls, but we will fish the tailrace for some rainbow. I think you guys will be impressed with what has taken place below the dam.

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  3. Way to take advantage of the small window of opportunity. I think I will have to give that Boogle Bug a whirl for sure. Great Stuff. Tight Lines.

    Trout

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  4. Trout
    The advantage of the Boogle Bug is its durability. The size keeps the dinks away but yet is not too big size 6 for a monster gill to vacuum it in. Really a great popper with an amazing epoxy finish. Thanks for the comment.

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  5. It's fun when you find a place like that. Very cool!

    I like the bounce it off the wall technique...we do the same thing for smallies up in Canada, works like a charm.

    Looks like a nice mess of gills (and the bass)...enjoy :-) I've been craving a good old fashioned fish fry lately. Might have to head out to some of the ponds and try that popper!

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  6. Sanders
    The bounce off technique is what will get the spots hitting too. The bonus here was the bass, which has been picky lately from the walls.
    @ Riverwalker
    I know the feeling, because I have seen some catches here on the blog circuit that makes me wish I could be in on that.

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  7. ive been adjusting my schedule with all the heat we have been having here in the midwest. nice fish bill, stay cool

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  8. Blake
    The heat out that way has been like here, the only time to be on the water in at daybreak,for me. Catch one for me this weekend.

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  9. Nice mess of gills Bill. On those blistering days I'll cast from knee deep in the river or creek.

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  10. John
    Thanks for the comment, I too love to fish a river setting using the fly, in fact I have a trip planned in three weeks, wading for smallmouth.

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