Today was supposed to be a trip on Smith fishing for the Spots and Largemouth bass but the weather took over at daybreak and washed the trip out. So the next thing to do was to keep to my schedule and go to the gym and wait and see if the weather cleared so I could at least get a quickie trip in the afternoon. As it worked out there were scattered showers most of the day and into the afternoon, and I hate to be on the water in a boat when it thunders and lighting. I did go, but with limited resources, such as my boat, which is a big factor on Smith when it comes to landing fish. I decided I would try something I have never done at Smith, fish from the bank, with the fly rod and one of my blogger poppers. It proved to be effective landing some of the monster bluegills in the spillway area of the lake. Placing the number 8 popper against the rock walls brought some nice hits. The bluegills were scattered and the hit would come after the popper had sit motionless for at least 15 to 30 seconds. I know that it takes patience to wait this long for the hit but I realized I was fishing in water at least 40 ft . deep and the fish had to have time to see the offering. As luck would have it my patience paid off and I did get in about hour of fishing before the rain set in again. By the way this is will add to my total of 100 bluegills in a 6 week spawning period. I am now 83 away from reaching my goal.
These four will add to my total--lots of fun on the 9ft. 3wt. Streamflex, notice the size of the gill in the center
This is the bluegill in the center of the image above. I forgot my camera so all these images were taken after I got back home from the spillway--really frustrating forgetting the camera
Nice Gills, keep catching 'em.
ReplyDeleteVery well done, Bill. When I was doing a fair amount of Bluegill fishing, I enjoyed stalking them from the bank as well as from my float tube near shore. Bet they were a blast on your 3wt.
ReplyDeleteThanks Devin for the comment
ReplyDeleteMel
ReplyDeleteThe 3 wt. is the ultimate in landing bluegill, not too light and not too heavy. Thanks for the comment
Nice.
ReplyDeleteWe used to catch pumpkinseeds, and their colors and fighting qualities couldn't be beat.
Bill I think you having way too much fun. I need to get my motor running.
ReplyDeleteBrk
ReplyDeleteI rarely catch the Pumpkinseed anymore, as you said the are really colorful. I don't keep any because I hate to dress such a pretty gill. Thanks for the comment
Howard
ReplyDeleteSlow afternoon on the tailrace today, will have a report in a few day. Thanks for the comment
Dang nice gills, they should be going strong next week with the approaching full moon. tight lines
ReplyDeleteCasey
ReplyDeleteThat is reason I have the moon chart on my blog, so I can keep up with the phase activity. Yes it should be awesome by then. Thanks for the comment
Very nice haul Bill. What popper were you using?
ReplyDeleteJ
ReplyDeleteI was using your White Speckle Popper ---sorry I was in a hurry when I did this post and forgot the link. I promise I will mention you tomorrow when I use your poppers for the spot and gill trip I will be making. I expect to land some quality fish with both poppers I got from you.