FINALLY My First Fishing Trip for 2014

I have been waiting for that so called perfect day to kick off my 2014 fishing season. Well Sunday was close to perfect on the Sipsey Tailrace. The temperature couldn’t have been better at a warm 70 degrees with a slight breeze out of the northeast. The approaching cold front on Monday was an added bonus as well. We were expecting temperatures in the mid twenties Monday night. That is usually the case for early spring in the deep south this time of the year, warm one day and frigid cold the next day.

I had plenty of company from the pump station all the way up to the dam. Nine vehicles were in the parking lot which meant I would encounter a bunch of fly fishermen when I got to the water.

High dingy water was flowing from the dam with no trout rising at all which kind of dampened my spirits. All the usual hot spots were taken, so I settled for an area I had not fished in a couple of years.

 

My first trout of the 2014 season, which took a super nymph on an extremely slow, retrieve. I encounter numbers of short takes before I finally got a solid take from this trout. I was using my new Grey’s Hardy 9 ft. 3 wt. with my Gloomis free spool reel. I have found that the best weight fly rod for this tailrace is as 3 weight, anything above that would be over kill.

The Seal Leech was the prey for this nice bow that nailed the fly less than 7 ft. from me. I had fisherman to the right and to the left of me the couple hours I fished. There was no escaping the crowd today. I was really surprised I was landing trout with the amount of fishing pressure here today.

The renegade was the only dry that produced today.  The dry action was not explosive; but hey I will take this size trout all day on the 3 weight.

I ended the trip with this colorful rainbow which went airborne a couple of times. I feel good about today’s trip because it forced me to forego some of my usual hot spots for a couple of areas I seldom fish. So I guess I could say I have discovered some new water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memories, Ponds and Graveyards

This past week I spent a couple of days with my brother and his wife in Mississippi. Sorry to say it was not a fishing trip. The purpose of the visit was to clean up an old Trussell cemetery that was located in the back woods of Choctaw County in the Northeastern part of the state. We spent the better part of the morning moving small trees and brush from the 15 ft. by 30 ft. area. The cemetery is actually where my Great Great Grandpa is buried with his wife, one of their sons, and three other unknown individuals. Their graves only had rock markers with no names. During that day and time, the cemetery was usually located near the home.

We used marker tape to fence off the perimeters of the area so the timber company wouldn’t destroy the place later this summer. We will go back in a few weeks to place a permanent enclosure around the area. The graves date back to the 1840s.

This is a long inscription here on my Grandpa’s grave describing what he expected in the here after.

While we were in the area we decided to ride by our old home place about 10 miles from the cemetery. The house was located on this hill. We were both raised up here as boys and had fond memories of fishing in the pond that was located down below our house.

It had been over 40 years since my brother and I had seen this pond. A lot had changed as far as the area itself, but the memories remained where we went swimming, caught some of those large bass and super size bluegills. This pond is where Dad taught my brothers and me to fish.

I can still see my Mom landing huge bluegills using green grasshoppers that my younger brother and I would catch for her to bait the hook. We would bait the hook for her and she would let us land the fish. We were no more than 5 years old. A long cane pole taught me the art of playing a fish then.

The spring that feeds cold clear water into the pond was still pumping. We drink a lot of water from this spring over the years while fishing on those hot summer days. I know one can never go back in time, but if I could this would be one place I would surely visit.

Snow, Nymphs, Reels, and Fly Rods

I don’t know about you guys but I am beyond ready to get on the water.  I can’t wait to try some of the Super Nymphs that Luke over at “The Young Man and the Stream” mailed me last week. He did an exceptional job at the bench. Thanks Luke for helping me replace the last batch of flies that was stolen from me back in December. I found out last year that this fly is not only an awesome bluegill pattern, but a killer trout fly as well.



  Luke threw in three extra flies that will be tested early this season. I am impressed with double bead eyes not only for the weight factor, but the attention these flies will get from the bass and bluegills.

My new 8 ½  3wt. Tempt Redington fly rod with the matching 2/3 Redington reel will be perfect to fight some of the trout on the tailrace in the next couple of weeks. I lost this same combo in the burglary.

We seldom get snow this far south, but this year was an unusual year for bitter cold and yes snow. Bring on Spring!!!

 

 

  

How to Use One Leader All Season

Today’s read is a follow up to my previous post concerning the leader loop. I discovered through that post that all you guys change out your leader from time to time during the year. The majority of you change your leader using the loop to loop connector method. I used the loop to loop for a short period of time last year until I discovered that it was wearing the fused loop in my fly line some, so I decided to clinch knot the leader into the loop. By doing this I eliminated the rubbing of the leader loop against the fused loop of the fly line. The constant bending of the two loops caused the wear; the clinched knot solved that problem for me. I never changed my leaders at all last season on any of my fly lines. The tippet ring eliminated changing leaders often during a fishing season.  

This handy little gem has not only solved interchanging leaders, but it has also saved me money. I can purchase 20 tippet rings 2mm for 5.00 that will last me for 5 years or more. The following paragraph will explain the one leader per fly line theory.



 

My new 9 ft. leader is used until I snip off at least 7 to 8 inches of tippet due to changing flies. Once the leader is less than 8 ½ ft. I snip 2 ft. from the leader and tie in my tippet ring to the remaining leader and connect 3 ft. of tippet to the ring. I have found that 30 yards of tippet will go a long way during a fishing season. I use this leader for the rest of the season, only changing out tippet as needed. The leader is changed if abrasive places show up in the leader, which didn’t happen this past year. I have been experimenting with these rings for a couple of years and found that the best size is the 2mm. It is ever so tiny; you will need to leave the ring on the pin until you thread the leader through the ring. Once you have the leader end through the ring remove the ring from the pin and tie the leader to the ring; then simply tie the tippet into the ring and you have your leader. The ring doesn’t affect the action of the leader or the presentation of fly. It is so tiny that it becomes fused into the two lines. Guys you might want to give this set-up a try this season it has worked well for me.
 

The Leader Loop a Handy Little Gadget

Over the years I have used various ways to connect my leader to the fly line; my first method was using a simple clinch knot to connect both lines. This was years ago when I was using a heavy 5 weight fly rod with a cumbersome South Bend automatic fly reel. One could get quite a workout when paired with this combo all day. The knot was satisfactory as long as I kept it clear of the tip guide, where it would usually hang up.

 

My next method was the fly line pin, which was a booger bear to insert into the end of the fly line. My Dad wouldn’t use anything but the pin. He liked the pin because it would run through the guides with ease; I would always get him to pin my fly line.

 

I eventually moved from the line pin to what I would call a combo connector, that Scientific Angler introduced which included the connector and the leader in one package. Scientific Angler had all the leader sizes from 7X to 3X. My only complaint was the hang up that resulted with the connector and tip guide. This leader connector combo has been discontented. I finally moved on to my next connector.

My next adventure with the connector was the loop that is manufactured by numerous companies. I have two complaints with this connector; one is the sinking of the loop after it becomes water logged. The other is the loop itself not being flexible enough to close. This connector can be very difficult to connect to your fly line. I tried this connector less than a year. The loop has a tendency to disconnect from the fly line.

My present connector is the fused leader loop into the fly line, which I consider the best I have found for me. I will never buy another fly line unless it has the loop built in the fly line. The loop is found in most fly lines priced above 40.00. Cabela has some line in the 30.00 range with the loop, if you don’t mind the bright orange color. The only color fly line I use is olive or green. What is you connector preference and why?

 

 

 



 

 

Check Out These Awesome Links Concerning Fly Fishing

As most of you know I like anything dealing with fly fishing. I recently came across the following sites that has a world of information dealing with fly fishing for trout and super size bluegill. I think you might want to bookmark some of the following sites for future use:

I was drawn to site because I was looking for some decals to place on my Pelican boat. I was surprised to find an assortment of items here dealing with fishing.

If you love bluegill fishing with the fly rod, then this is the site for you. If you want to see some super size bluegills, check this site out!!

Flyfisher is a site similar to the bluegill site but much more detail when it comes to fly fishing for trout. This place has an insane amount of information for the avid fly fisherman.

Eastern Fly Fishing is a subscription magazine published six times a year with some fantastic articles on fishing the eastern part of the United States. They are presently running a 90 day free trial.

Perfect Fly Fishing Journal is actually a free publication that I get free, even more information concerning fly fishing.

 Hope everyone finds something useful scanning through these sites that will be beneficial for you come spring.

What's Your Time Limit For a Day's Fishing

You know we all learn something every time we venture out to one of our favorite streams or lakes. The learning curve has really increased for me over the last few of years; especially when it deals with the length of time I spend on the water. When I was younger it was a given for me to stay on the water all day regardless of the conditions, but as I get older that is not in my game plan anymore. A half day on the water is usually my trip. Research has shown that the most active feeding periods for most warm water species are early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Anything in between is an added bonus. The feeding periods for cold water species such as trout, can be somewhat different. A hatch on a given stream or tailrace could cause a feeding frenzy anytime of the day. I have seen trout feeding on mayflies at a frantic pace at 1 PM on our Sipsey Tailrace. This is why I love trout fishing so much, because I can make a two or three hour trip into something special anytime of the day. Being retired has afforded me the opportunity to tailor my fishing trips during the most active time of the day. When I was working five days a week I was only able to fish on weekends, with an occasional trip during the afternoon, holidays or summer months. Now if the barometer is high, with cloudless skies, wrong wind direction and extreme heat or cold I stay home. One thing I have learned about fishing over the years, one can’t make a fish hit if it’s not feeding. I know we all have different variables that determine how much time we spend on the water during a day’s fishing trip; is it the bite, weather conditions, time of day, or just the enjoyment of being outdoors?

The Orvis Battenkill I Large Arbor Reel Made in England

Guys I just wanted to share a couple of my finds as I replace my fly fishing equipment. I was lucky to find both of these Orvis reels for 75.00 bucks while scanning the net for the past couple of weeks.

The Battenkill BBS II is loaded with 4 wt. line and the Battenkill I Large Arbor is loaded with 5 wt. line. I bought the BBS II for 50.00 buck on a clearance sale. I couldn’t believe I got the Battenkill Large Arbor I for 25.00. This reel was used and had one tiny chip on the rim, but other than that it is in excellent condition. What really impressed me about the reel is the fact it was made in England. I sense from reading some of the fly fishing forums that this is really a quality reel. Do any of you guys know anything about the England made reels?