The Tiger Bass a Beast on Steroids

I am kind of behind on my blogging lately. This past week I have been helping one my fishing buddies stock a new lake that has been built about 15 miles from my home. When I say new lake this is probably more of a large pond. It is about 30 areas with depths of 30 to 40 feet in the deepest area. There is plenty of cover throughout the lake and the Alabama Game and Fish has been extremely helpful in letting the owner know the correct number of species of fish to get the lake fish friendly. I thought 50,000 bluegill was a bit much when it came to perch in the lake but the Game and Fish said that one can never have enough feed fish in a lake when you are dealing with predator fish such as the largemouth bass. The particular bass I am referring to here is the Tiger Bass which grows at a tremendous rate and has a very aggressive attitude. This fish can gain as much as 2 lbs per year in a well managed lake. I have talked to individuals who have fished for and landed the Tiger Bass and they compare it to a smallmouth on steroids. Think about the fight on a 6 or 7 wt. fly rod. I am glad that I will have access to this hot lake in about two years. Who knows guys I may do a post in future years that could have a trophy Tiger Bass image attached.  

The Versatile G-Loomis Venture 3 Fly Reel

I am sure some of you guys read the post I did on the purchase of my new Greys XF2 Streamflex 9 ft. 3 wt. fly rod. After getting the rod you know I had to get the perfect reel to match the rod. After searching the net for a week I finally decided that the perfect reel for balance and weight was one that I actually had on my Temple Fork 4 wt.  I am talking about the G-loomis Venture 3. This reel is sold in arbor size 3, 5, and 7. The Venture 3 is the size used mainly for trout and panfish which will spool 2, 3 or 4 wt. line. I should have the reel here some times next week, and FINALLY, I get to try the combo out!!!

 The main reason aside from the weight and size I am impressed with this reel is the free spool. Free spool meaning I can retrieve a pile of line that may be at my feet in a hurry by simply touch spinning the rim face of the reel. The line is spooled up in a hurry without using the handle. The free spool feature alone is worth it because the quicker you get a large fish on the reel the better chance you have landing it. The following is the description of the Venture from the G-loomis Website.

The smallest of our VENTURE Series fly reels; the #3 is made for trout & pinfish and size 2, 3 and 4-weight fly lines where you don't require a lot of backing. The backing capacity is based on standard dacron (2WF plus 120 yards 20#, 3WF plus 100 yards 20#, 4WF plus 75 yards 20#), but we recommend Power Pro "super braid" because you can get more on each spool