Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Reaching That Number 100 Gill in All That Wind & More Wind

I was reading Mel’s Post over at Blog Cabin Angler the other day on wind. Well as I fished Walker County Lake today I reflected back to his post. Why because I experienced the wind factor “big time” today. I found myself with fly line wrapped around my head at times not to mention the fly itself hooked either in my clothing or in some article in the boat. I made the comment on Mel’s post that the wind can be a friend or it can be your enemy. Today it was more of my enemy than a friend. It was gusting at 15 to 25 mph. at times and the lake was white capping after lunch. So you asked with all this going on where is the fish? The fish with exception of the 15 I brought home is still in that windy lake. I decided after I got home around 1 pm that I would not stay and fish in those conditions anymore. It is not worth the problems one’s goes through to stay an extra hour for two or three more fish.   I arrived at the lake this morning around 7 and didn’t land a fish until 7:45. There was no wind and the water temp was reading between 66 and 68 with the wind from the south. I finally made a hook up right before 8 which was a largemouth around 2 lbs. I fought the fish to the boat only to have it break off as it made one last jump as I was reaching to lip it. I lost popper number one. As the morning progressed I lost two other poppers on break offs in brush, which were large bull bluegills. The 15 bluegills I brought home were all caught on a size 8 Chartreuse Popper, and a size 8 Irresistible wruff. I really like this little fly because it resembles some of the Mayflies coming off the trees at this time on the lake. You know I would never go without the Gnat. The Gnat is the fly that produced all the larger bulls today. I started using the Gnat when the wind got up and stayed with it until I left. I told all of you back in March I was going to set a goal of landing 100 bull bluegill before the end of April. Well after today I stand at 60. With wind like today I am wondering if I will reach my goal. Stay tuned for Thursday’s trip, if the rain doesn’t wash me out. Wish me luck.
Sorry about the glare, the mimosa trees in the distance was producing the Mayflies, which caused me to tie on the Irresistible wruff--it produced female bluegills no bulls

Flydeals tie this fly for me with a red tail and a white hackle--excellent dry for bluegills
This little ruttier saved me many casts by keeping the boat parallel to the bank when the wind really got bad. I made the ruttier out of a discarded trolling motor mount.
Good bluegill but not the biggie I have been accustomed to. But I will take these all day. He was one that I counted towards my 100 goal. Notice the Gnat.

I counted 6 of these bluegills towards my 100 goal. The rest in the cooler was female bluegills.
Ready for the fillet knife
The end result of today's trip. The fillets above are left in the refrigerator overnight in ice and salt. The salt is added to eliminate what blood is left in the fillets. The next day you rinse off the salt and either deep fry or bake to a golden brown. The majority of the fish I have been catching lately have been put in the deep freeze for the winter. By the end of summer the freezer should be full.

6 comments:

  1. Good luck brother. With all the rain out here, the rivers and streams are up 20 feet. I wont be fishing for a while now. Stupid weather!

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  2. Hi Bill. Do you use a Food Saver for your filets? If not, it'll keep the freezer burn away.

    Mark

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  3. J & M
    We just got 2 1/2" of rain from the last storm the other day, which came up your way and dump all that rain on you guys. I hope you make it out on the water soon. Thanks for the comment

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  4. Mark
    I don't use the Food Saver, and I know it is great for freezing fish and meats. I will give them a try. Thanks for the suggestion.

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  5. First of all, thanks for the plug on my Blog. That always helps me feel like I am making a little difference. Secondly, man I would love me some Bluegill fishing anytime now, any place!

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  6. Mel
    Bluegill fishing is something I look forward to every year. I hope my bloggers don't get bored with all the posts about my bluegill outings, but I want to land as many as I can before the fertilize is dumped into this lake. This lake will be history for me in two or three weeks. Then I moved on the Kentucky Spot fishing on Smith Lake. Thanks for the comment

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