Fishing the Late Season Spawn For Huge Bluegills

 Cathey and I spent Thursday morning on Smith Lake searching for some late-season bluegill still in the spawning mode. This may be the last spawn of the season. The lake is on the pull-down, getting ready for next Spring's rains, so we will be fishing falling water, which means the fish will be moving out of the nooks into deeper water. I hope I am wrong.

We started the morning in Rayon Creek, which, of course, is my favorite place to fish Smith Lake. This quality bull gill inhaled a size 6 Boggle Bug Popper near one of many floating docks on the lake. I am amazed at how these big bluegill have enough suction power to get this size popper wedged in their mouths so quickly. I thought I had hooked a spotted bass, because of the fight of this fish. My 5 wt. was tested during the fight. Sorry to say, this would be the only bluegill I would take on the fly rod this morning. The rest of the morning was consumed with Cathey and me landing bluegill in four spawning areas where there was one or two fish still on their beds. Towards the end of the spawning season, one is lucky to find more than a couple still guarding their beds. All the beds were still in water 5 to 6 ft. deep. As the lake is drawn down even more over the next couple of months, these beds will be exposed on the dry bottom. Once the spawn is over, they move to cover, which is the rock walls, where there is the insect larvae to keep them well fed until next year's spawning cycle starts all over again.

The cricket is the perfect insect to mimic the insect larvae found in the crevices of the rock walls on Smith Lake. The boat traffic is churning the water, keeping the larvae moving for the bluegill to feast on.

This size bluegill will produce two nice fillets. When you add french fries, coleslaw, and hush puppies, along with some tartar sauce and ketchup, you have a great meal. To me, the bluegill tops the crappie when you compare both of these fish for a meal.

The way I like to fish for this size bluegill is with a fly rod and small surface poppers in April through June. Then, from July through October, I use my micro light 7 1/2-ft rod, rigged with a slip sinker and 4-lb test vanish mono line. This time of year, they go 15 to 20 feet deep, and using a cricket with a nibblet in red or white color attached to the tip of the hook gets the hits. Letting the cricket sink to the desired depth, showing on the depth finder, and working it with a slow retrieve gets their attention. There is no mistaking when they hit. In fact, my Micro light is duplicating my 7 1/2-ft fly rod. A ton of fun for sure when you connect with one of these beauties down deep!

I can’t end this post without showing you this average male spotted bass I landed a few minutes after landing the big bluegill. Nothing really special about this fish but the FIGHT! I was using my 4 wt. fly rod trying to get another big gill to take my size 8 Bullet Boggle Bug popper when this bass exploded on the popper. The fight this fish put up on the 4 wt. was amazing, making me think I'd hooked a 2-lb spotted bass. He got me hung a couple of times before I finally released the fish. I was thinking I wish I had my 5wt. It was lying at my feet, but the 4wt. got the job done. This fight was amazing coupled with the numerous runs it made trying to free itself! This one fish today reminded me why I love this sport so much, especially pursuing them with the fly rod. 

 Guys I am sharing this video so you guys can see the fight this small male spotted bass gave my 4wt, 9ft Redington fly rod. What made me think he was a much bigger bass was the explosive hit. I was using a 7 1/2 ft. leader with a 6X tippet. Just goes to show you never underestimate the spotted bass. Sorry for the video being angled at times; my wife was learning how to film.

Landing Post Spawn Largemouth Bass

My son Jason and I arrived at the Smith Lake launch at 5 AM, expecting some early popper action. However, we had to wait until 7 AM for the action. We caught numerous small 6 to 8-inch bass, but the quality bass was not in the area we were fishing, or they weren't biting. The prized catch of the morning was a largemouth bass taken on a size eight chartreuse popper. I was fishing it slowly and, at times, motionless. The hit was so light that I initially thought it was a bluegill. However, the head shake quickly revealed its size. Despite losing some weight post-spawn, the largemouth bass still gave my five wt. Rod, a good bend!

This morning, the largemouth bass were more active than the spotted bass. We only landed one 8" spotted bass. Jason landed this 15" largemouth using a size 8 Betts popper, letting it sit motionless until the water rings moved a distance from the popper. I always look forward to our trips to the lake when Jason comes home from Sacramento. 

Fall Bass Fishing

 

Fall is a great time of the year to fish for bass on your favorite lake. The species could be Largemouth, Smallmouth, or Spotted Bass. Jeff and I spent the morning casting surface poppers fishing for the Largemouth and Spotted Bass in areas around Duncan Bridge launch on Smith Lake. The weather was a little cool to start the morning but landing those first fish took the chill out. 

Nice spotted bass early fishing a wall near docks--Jeffs five weight got quite a workout landing this bass!

Always fish walls like this more than once, the first run rewarded Jeff with the bass in above image.

The next run produced this female spotted bass on a Barr Nunn popper, which made my 5 wt. sing. Sorry to say the third run told us to move on!

Guys this male largemouth is a late entry for this post that l landed last week fishing with Jeff on Ryan Creek near Smith Lake Dam. It was not in great condition, the largest part of this fish was its head. It was released to beef up for the winter. 

Not all rock walls on Smith will produce fish. The water depths on some walls are 60 to 70 feet deep. The best walls to concentrate on are the 15 to 25 foot depths which is where the bass were taken on this morning outing. I'm hoping to be back on the tailrace in a couple of weeks. October the 22nd will be the next trout stocking. In the meantime landing these epic fighting spotted bass will keep my fishing buddies and I busy.

Some of my Favorite Post From 2016

As I sit here today and scan through some of my blog posts from this past year, they make realize why I love to fish so much. I still remember every detail from the trips, the other fly fishermen I encountered and fishing with individuals who love fly fishing as much as I do. I thought I would share with you guys what I think was my top five outings for 2016; some you may have viewed and some posts you may have missed. I have to admit some of my 2016 outings may be hard to top for 2017 starting with a memorable trip with the grandchildren and my daughter in June 2016:
Grandkids + Mom Fishing with Pops

What made this trip special was lots of fish landed that day both from the boat and from the bank. My daughter grew fishing with me at the same age her children are fishing with me now. I'm glad the tradition will continue.

Putting a Dent in my Bluegill Quest

I’m sure I will find lakes here that will match the bluegills that Walker County Lake had swimming in it. I still remember the spots where I landed these bulls and of course, talking with the gentleman fishing for catfish.

Quality RainbowLanded On the Sipsey

This is one fishing trip I will never forget, mainly because I was able to do something I’d never accomplish on the Sipsey, land numbers of quality rainbow. The video footage link above sums up the trip!!

The Pond

This post carried me back to my childhood and the fond memories I had of my younger brother, Mom , and Dad. The only brother left out of five is my older brother Bobby.

Pushing the Redington 3wt. to the Limit

A memorable trip for sure landing this huge Spotted Bass with my 8 ½ ft. 3weight; I think I may better this fish when I visit Laura Hill Lake come spring.

One Fish Can Make a Trip

My first trip to Smith Lake this morning had a slow start; no bite for an hour. The Boggle Poppers were not working at daylight near the banks; so Ivan and I decided to move into the nooks. I had to use my trolling motor to get us in a position to fish the nooks because the starter on my Mercury motor went out right after we launched the boat, bummer. Once we made it to the first nook the action started with some nice bluegills landed and the prize of the morning for me. I managed to get some footage of Ivan’s fish of the morning so we both left the lake, happy fishermen.

When larger poppers are not producing, go to tiny poppers; you will get a reaction!

You guys have read some of my posts concerning the Red-eyed Bass; well this bass is the best example I’ve ever caught. This bass was a native to the tributaries flowing into the Sipsey before the dam was placed for Smith Lake.

This spot was supposed to be caught using my 6 weight fast action, but no bass would touch the big poppers throughout the morning. So Ivan and I decided to go after the bluegills with our 3 weights using our tiny poppers; little did we know that the bass was turned on to size 12 poppers as well. This is the largest spot I’ve ever landed using my 3 weight fly. I had quite a fight on my hands trying to keep this fish from breaking my 5X tippet. This fish is why I love fly fishing so much because it's you against a fish that is superior to your gear, in this case, my 3 weight. Sometimes the fish wins and rightly so and sometimes the fisherman wins, today I won. Ivan didn't notice the sun rays crossing my face when he took the picture. 

 

Ivan landed this nice spot somewhat quicker than me using his 4 weight. I thought I would get some of the action on video for you guys. Ivan did a great job handling this spot, especially after it made numerous runs to break off. We were both pleased with the trip even if I did have to spend 225.00 bucks on a new starter for my motor. 

Fishing The Sink Tip Line for Spotted Bass

I have to admit that this hasn’t been a bumper year for popper action on Smith Lake for me. I realize a number of factors have affected the top action, such as dropping water levels, cold fronts, and of course the angler himself. Every time I go on the water I wonder if I’m using the right fly pattern or am I working that pattern well enough to get a hit. Sometimes anglers including me want the fish to hit what they perceive as the best fly for them to take at a particular time, place, and season.  I think that is one of the reasons why my catch ratio has gone down this year on Smith. I assume every time I launch the boat on Smith at daylight that the fish are going to nail the popper, why because I love to see the fish blow up on the popper. If the fish are chasing shad a cream-colored popper will get their attention, but if there is no surface activity at all then the best option is working a pattern down under. That pattern could be something that resembles the actual shad that the bass is feeding on. The slow top action on Smith this season has driven me to work harder at analyzing what the fish really want. Could it be a bead head nymph, streamer, or a variation of a popper? To fish all these different patterns and poppers, one really needs an extra fly rod aboard; 5 to 6 weight for poppers and nymphs and a 7 weight for streamers. Keep in mind most of the time on Smith, if one is using the fly rod to fish for bass the spot is the fish that is going to nail their offering. This fish is a ferocious fighter and the heavier the fly rod the better, so two fly rods one in 6 weight and the other being a 7 weight. I seldom fish the lake without a 3 or 4 weight to handle the light patterns that will produce when nothing else is working. In fact, I am always armed with 3 fly rods every time I fish Smith Lake. My latest daylight trip on Smith a few days ago enabled me to apply all the above tactics.

A mouth full of beadhead nymph, which this spot just couldn’t resist.

Posing for a side view image; this spot put up quite a fight on the 5 weight. I usually fish the sink tip either with my 5 or 6 weight 9 ft. fly rod. This size spot can make you think he is much bigger as he makes numerous runs to try to break free. I have started fishing the sink tip with a 5 ft. piece of mono usually 8 lb. test. I get a fairly quick sink with the light line and bead-head nymph attached.

This was one greedy spot, with his belly full of shad he just had to have one more, which was his undoing. The cream bugger got his attention.

I couldn’t leave the lake without trying to land a few bull gills on the popper which is always a blast. My bluegill goal is lost for this season,  but there is always another season to give it a try.

A lot of residents on the lake like to use platform decks to view all the activity; this is one of many that can be found up and down the waterway.

No need for the gym, working your way up these steps to the top of the rock wall is exercise enough

 

Daylight Fishing on Smith Lake

At 5:20 AM Thursday morning the boat was in the water and I was making my first cast on a submerged rock ledge right next to the launch. No need to start the big motor when some of the best topwater action is located right down the bank from where I launch the boat. Tuesday and Thursday are my main fishing days of the week and this Thursday morning I had the long bank to myself; why Tuesday and Thursday, Monday the lake or any lake is just getting over the weekend traffic, Wednesday has more individuals off work, and Friday can be classified as a long weekend day.  I can go on Tuesday and Thursday and see only a boat or two from daylight to 10 AM. I usually call it quits by 9:30 to 10 mainly because the bite has stopped and the humidity is getting thick.

 

I seldom fish this bank without landing some quality spots or largemouth using my favorite bass popper. I have landed some nice bluegill using the Boogle Bug as well. I had a couple of boomers on this trip and one was loosing my black Boogle Bug to a larger bluegill which got me tangle in a brush pile. I hated to lose the big gill, but I hated, even more, the loss of my $5.00 popper.

My first largemouth of the morning taken no more than 30 ft. from the launch.

This spot gets up early to eat breakfast!

This largemouth went airborne numerous times while trying to break free; the airborne thing can get the blood pumping!!!

The quality bass bite went cold after the sun peaked over the horizon, so it was time to break out the 3 weight and go after the bluegills.

 

I like to use dries on this lake and this morning the smaller spots were willing to nail the Wulff time after time. Amazing the fight this size fish can produce on a 3 weight. This is why I love fly fishing so much because the small fish can make a trip just as exciting as landing a large fish if one is using a lighter combo.

  Only one counter today, two other counters manage to break free—I don’t know how you guys feel about losing good fish, but if I have lose the fish that I work so hard to take my offering, then let me skip the fight!

One of my favorite areas on Ryan Creek, not only for the fish but for a large amount of muscadines this huge vine growing on the rock wall produces in the fall. Notice the rock bench someone built on top of the rock wall. A great place to soak up the beauty of this awesome lake!

 

Cathey and I Fishing With The Grandchildren

Cathey and I have spent three days with two of our grandchildren this past week and really got a good workout. In other words, we didn’t need to go to the gym at all this past week. There is nothing like having grandchildren and enjoying spending time with them especially when they are young. They are only little once so make the most of that precious time. Friday afternoon Cathey and I carried Bryson and Laelyn to a local pond for some fishing. The images below sum up the trip!!

Bryson landing his largest bass to date

Quite an accomplishment for this young guy!!!

His sister Laelyn was excited about Bryson’s catch

This bluegill was in full spawning mode

Laelyn finally gets brave enough to touch one of the bluegill

After touching the bluegill she decides to land one, I think Bryson may have found him a fishing partner.

-Smith Lake Caves

Smith Lake is one of those lakes in the south that treats all anglers to some fantastic fishing. It also possesses some of the most beautiful scenery along its banks in the Deep South. I always enjoy viewing all of the Mountain Laurels that line the banks of the lake in the spring. Behind all the greenery, Laurels, and awesome rock formations are numerous caves that could have been used during the Civil War. Some are big enough to store supplies and even provide human shelter for an extended period of time. One of the best times to explore these dwellings is in the dead of the winter when the snakes and other varmints are in cold storage.

A little climbing required to approach this cave entrance

Foliage concealment

Another cave in the same area, an exploring trip is in order for winter.

A lot of the banks are decorated with the Mountain Laurel this time of year

The crystal clear waters of the lake yield some of the best spotted bass fishing in the south. This spotted bass was taken Tuesday morning on the dreaded Boogle Bug popper. The fight was intense while the fish made numerous runs to break free of the 3X tippet. One only has to land just one of these fighters on the fly rod to make a daylight morning trip. The very best time to land quality spotted bass and largemouth bass fishing surface lures or poppers on this lake is daylight right before the sun breaks the horizon.  Another spotted bass this morning would fall prey to the deadly popper before the sun turns the bite off.