A Mix!!

 Reporting in on Saturday's Walker Lake trip and Tuesday's Smith Lake trip, fishing with my son Jason, both days were filled with wind and more wind. I thought March was supposed to be our windy month, but somehow March and April got reversed when you factor in the wind fishing at Walker and Smith Lake. Water temperatures on both lakes are well below 70 degrees but rising, making it ideal to fish surface poppers at daylight, which is the best time to land numbers of quality fish. 5:30 to 9:00 AM is the prime time, giving Jason and me roughly 3 hours to hit the active sweet spots in that time slot. You can continue to fish after 9, but you really have work for the hits. So we packed it in around 9 oclock. When Jason is home, he always wants to work in as many trips as he can fishing Smith Lake. 

Guys, catfish on a 7 1/2 ft. 2 wt is a fight--fishing with a size 12 pheasant tail nymph--now I know the pheasant tail will catch anytbing!

Nice size bull taken on the Doozy, size 12 which I tied back in the winter. I landed two more this size using what was left of the fly, as it came apart, because of poor fly tying. I hope to improve with my fly tying in the winter months. Rest assure I will tie more of the Doozy!

My largest largemouth, to date taken on Walker this trip using a size eight betts popper. Wal Mart carries this brand popper. They are average poppers, which will last mid way through the bluegill spawn. They don't deserve a rating of a 10, but a 7 is more in their range, but they will get hits!!

Jason landed numerous spotted bass in the 12 to 15 inch mark Wedneday fishing the, Boogle Bug size 6 olive, which is his favorite color to fish at daylight. Unbelievable fight using his Hardy Streamflex 9ft. 5 wt. 

I'm not saying this becasue he is my son but I haven't seen anyone that can master his skill-set at false casting and delivering an oversize 6 Boogle Bug so light that it resembles a small bug touching the water. With him, the presentation is what get the takes. Two fun days on the water for sure!

Forgot to mention the Shellcracker was landed by me along with a few smaller bass using my 3 wt. I was testing nook areas for the bluegill, which was not active on this day.

Tuesday's Popper Action On Smith Lake

 

Tuesday was supposed to be a slow bite on Smith because two generators ran all morning, but the spotted bass and giant bluegill didn't get the report. The Mountain Laurels are in full bloom on the lake!

One of my former bloggers, Jay Eubanks, joined me for the early morning trip. It was good to fish with him again after a 6-year lapse. 

This spotted bass inhaled an olive boogle bug popper size 6 with little surface action. The bass had me thinking it was a bluegill that sucked the popper under. 

The big bluegill were hitting the olive popper as well. My only regret was not bringing my cooler to ice-down the six I could have dressed. Thanks to Jay for joining me on the trip. He and I will be making more Tuesday trips when his work schedule will allow him the time to go. 

I am down to one fly fishing buddy now, Jeff, who fishes with me on Thursday. My Tuesday guy quit fishing, can you believe that? Nobody quits fishing after fishing most of your life. As I said before I can count on one hand the indivduals who fly fish in Jasper.