Showing posts with label Walker County Lake Jasper Alabama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Walker County Lake Jasper Alabama. Show all posts

Thursday, April 6, 2023

A Challenge Landing a Carp

 Guys, I had to share a catch of a lifetime regarding landing Carp. I was fishing for bluegill on Walker County Lake this morning using my 7 1/2 ft. two weiight flyrod rigged with a tiny Bream Bug. I was casting the small popper next to the weed beds when this Carp just sucked the fly under like all the bluegill had been hitting all morning. The minute I set the hook, I knew the fish was enormous from the feel of the headshakes. I thought it was a largemouth bass, but after noticing how it raced to deep water, I knew it was a giant catfish. I was wrong guessing on both accounts; it was the largest Carp I had ever landed on any lake. 

What transpired next was the fish pulling my Pelican boat a hundred yards across the lake---which was actually in my favor. I knew if I could get the fish near shallow water, I would have a chance to land it. My little shorthanded bluegill net would never encompass the length of this fish. So I headed out with my little two weight in hand, bent to a U-shape for the entire ride across the lake, thinking my 6X tippet would pop any minute, but to my surprise, it completed the fight. So for the next 35 minutes, the Carp and I were having fond, at least I was, don't know about the Carp. Once we reached the launch, I knew I could get someone with a long handle net to net the fish. The caretaker's grandson was the help I needed. He was as excited as me when he finally laid it on the grass. He said he had never netted a fish. It was quite a thrill for the fly fishermen and grandson!

Moments like this morning make me thankful my Dad taught me how to use a fly rod all those years. The Carp weighed 8 1/2 lbs and was 27" long -----Tight-line guys!!

This little bluegill popper got the Carp's attention and stayed hooked in the upper part of its mouth for the duration of the fight. Tiny flies or poppers do catch big fish!

Monday, March 1, 2021

My Second Home Lake

 This post was supposed to be about learning the Euro Nymph fishing technique fishing the Sipsey Tailrace. That trip got washed away with heavy generation occurring on the tailrace below the dam on Smith Lake. This time of the year is a tuff time to try to fish the tailrace or the lake because of generation. So I loaded the Pelican Boat in the back of my truck and headed for Walker Lake. I seldom fish this lake with my Bass Tracker because it's much easier to navigate the small nooks that make up the body of the lake. My fishing season always starts each year on Walker Lake because its waters warm up much quicker than a large lake the size of Smith. 

Cold and clear lake water was what I was going to be fishing for today. The water temp was 55 degrees, which is the coldest I've ever fished here. The county is still recovering from the 12 to 15-degree temps we experienced the week earlier. I knew today was going to be a challenge but I was up for the task and just glad to be on the water!
A quality bass on the Yellow Gant, which was the last one I had in my fly box. This fly brings back a lot of memories because it is a fly my brother, who passed away a couple of years ago had tied for him and me some years ago. He also had the same pattern tied in black and red. I've written posts concerning this fly over the years. I like to fish the Gnat using a slow retrieve while watching for line movement. Even in the cold water, this bass put up quite a fight against my 7 1/2 ft. Redington 2wt.
A better view of the fly with red added as an attractor. 
The bass and this Shellcracker are two fish I seldom catch on this lake, but today I got to touch both species. I got my best fight of the day from this fish. As quick as it hit the Gnat he headed for deep water making me think I had a large bass or one of the big carps that roam the lake. The poppers didn't work on this day all they wanted was something slow and easy to latch onto. 

Monday, February 10, 2020

Testing the Waters

There's been one day in the last two weeks here in Jasper that was suitable enough to fish and that was last Monday. The rest of the time it has been raining with flooding. Ivan and I boarded my Pelican boat and fished Monday afternoon on beautiful Walker Lake. We wanted to see if the bluegill and red-eye bass had moved into the shallow water next to the banks. We spent a good three hours casting small poppers and nymphs in some areas we both had fished before. 
I had to change poppers quite a few times before I got this bluegill to sniff hit it. Sniff hit meaning an extremely light hit, making me believe that the fish was annoyed with popper. This fish and the other small ones we landed were at least 6 to 7 ft. away from the banks; in other words no bank action at all. 
A slight breeze all afternoon kept the water surface laced with ripples. The only place we got any surface action at times was when found a smooth surface area.  Some small lakes take on a drab look in the winter months, but not Walker it retains its beauty throughout the year with large pine and oak trees lining its banks. 
Ivan landed this bluegill using a small Betts white popper. He spent a good hour fishing various colored popper patterns before this fish hit. Letting the popper sit motionless for a short period produced the strike. I was surprised that no fish was landed using the nymph. I told Ivan before we launched the boat that landing fish would be secondary for me this afternoon because I was just glad to get on the water. 
The levee was one area to avoid the wind. Poppers don't produce well when fishing choppy water surfaces. There was no red-eyed bass landed on this day. The red-eyed bass is native to the creek that feeds Walker Lake. The largest I've ever landed here was in the 12" size. 
The size 10 Betts popper is one of my favorites when fishing for finicky fish. The white and red Betts poppers were the winners today that got the bluegill's attention. Color does make a difference when fishing for bluegill. Most fishermen will tell you that bluegill is stupid and will hit anything cast their way; not the case when fishing out of season for this fish. Catching this size bluegill on a 2 and 3 weight fly rod is a blast. All of the small nooks in this lake doesn't require one to fish with a long fly rod. A 7 1/2 foot fly rod is a great choice to cover the banks making a short cast. 
As I get older I've come to realize that one doesn't have to land the largest and the most fish. Today's trip was a great example of that statement!!

Saturday, January 18, 2020

My New Fishing Buddy

I kicked off my 2020 fly fishing season this afternoon, on Walker County Lake. Little did I know that this year's opening for 2020 would be a memorable one. Why, because I would meet a little guy that was as excited as me to land fish. This eight-year-old name James reminded me of my own grandchildren. James, his sister, and his parents were fishing for catfish and trout using redworms. The parents had landed a couple of catfish but no trout. When James saw me land a nice size trout he ran over close to me and wanted to get a closer look at the fish. His mom told me that he had never seen a trout up close and thank me for letting him touch the rainbow. I saw how excited he was so I told her and her husband that I would be happy to let him land the next three I hope to land. So James waited patiently while I landed my 4 limit trout per fisherman. 
James' little sister wanted to get in on the action; one proud little guy with his sister to offer encouragement! Congrats James on landing some quality trout.
Walker County Lake is beautiful this time of the year. We've had a lot of rain lately causing the water level to be quite high. Even with all the overflow the lake still stays super clear. I'm looking forward to landing some supersize bluegill starting early March on this outstanding bluegill lake!! 

Sunday, March 24, 2019

Popper Color Makes a Difference

This past week has been hectic, with no fishing, blogging, or gym time. The movers worked Monday and Tuesday moving us into our new home. The rest of the week was spent unpacking boxes and trying to get the house in order. We had furniture in the rent house where we were living, Jason's storage unit and our storage unit. I hope my wife and I never make another move ever!
Jason and I did had a few hours yesterday to fish Walker Lake before he flies back to Sacramento Monday. I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon.
The white Betts Popper was the hot fly on this outing; Jason had only one of the poppers and was not about to share with Dad! He landed two to my one for the afternoon. 
Flexing the 2 wt. 
Could it be the top and bottom of the red dot and the white color that got the bluegills' attention??
The finished house to the point where we could move in. No landscaping until we get more dry weather; we're just glad to be in the house and life getting close to normal. 

Friday, February 8, 2019

The IM10 Nymphing Fly Rod

The IM10 Fly Rod is probably the closest I will ever get to fishing with a Tenkara Fly Rod. The IM10 is a medium-fast action 10 foot, 3/4 weight, four-piece nymphing fly rod. It weighs in at a light 3 ounces. I seldom order a fly rod online but I took a chance on this one from Ebay because of the reviews, which were all positive. While fishing last spring and summer on the Sipsey I notice I needed a little more reach when nymphing the smaller pocket holes; my 9 foot Sreamflex just wasn't getting me the extra reach. 
This fly rod not only gives me the chance to nymph small areas easier but I have the option to use it for casting beyond tight nymphing areas. 
The quality on this fly rod is amazing, even down to the rod tube, alignment blank indicators, name tag insert, embossed fly pattern, extra rod tip blank, and the beautifully designed reel seat.
I couldn't wait to get out on the water and give it a test trail. It was an incredible 80 degrees in Jasper on Thursday so fly fishing was my top priority. With my 10 ft. Pelican loaded and my 10 ft. IM10, I started my bluegill quest on Walker County Lake. Everything was positive on this outing but the wind, which was horrendous at times even to point of water splashing into the boat. I had to cross the lake in whitecap conditions. So glad I had the battery fully charged, which was not the case when I left the lake. 
Now to the rod review; the first thing I noticed was how easy it loaded the 3 wt. Orvis Clearwater Line paired with my Battenkill II reel. I was even more impressed with how fast the line straightened out on the water surface as I completed the cast. The medium-fast taper action gave the right amount of bend action to make small bluegill seem larger. Yet it still has the power to handle much larger fish such as the spots on Smith Lake. I knew the extra length would give me a longer cast and it delivered. I will admit it took a little time to get used to the extra foot compared to my 7,8 and 9 ft. fly rods. By the end of the trip, the fly rod and I bonded nicely after landing a bunch of bluegill for the afternoon. 
Now the next test will be the Sipsey high sticking some of the pocket holes I like to fish there. 

Monday, January 28, 2019

Practicing for Spring

The temp today was in the upper fifties so I decided to make a quite trip to Walker County Lake to land a few rainbows. I was fishing right before the temps were supposed to drop in the twenties overnight. In fact, we are supposed to get at least 3 inches of snow by noon tomorrow. Southern's go wild when they hear the word snow and crowd in the supermarkets to stock up on milk and bread. Hopefully, the snow will all be gone by Wednesday and we will back in the rain mode. In fact, I would much rather have the snow than the rain. The rain has slowed our house construction to a crawl, the inside will be finished before the outside. 
Healthy rainbow landed using the Flashback; no mending just making the long cast and a slow retrieve. I missed a few simply because I wasn't watching my line close enough. It seems fish always know when you're not paying attention, that's when they decide to hit. 
A peaceful couple of hours until the wind kicked up and the temps started to drop. I'm missing fishing the tailrace and its tight seams and pocket water. I'm afraid it's out for now because of all the rain and generation. In the meantime, I will stay in practice with the lake trout. 
I thought I would share the family photo during our Xmas stay in Tennessee. The little creek behind the willow tree has small fish in it for the kids to play with. 
Just wondering if any of you guys have used fly clips. I read a short description the other day detailing how handy they are when changing flies. This one in the image is a size 1 which will handle size 12 to 16 flies. I don't know how effective it would be when using dry flies.