Cathey and I Road Trip out West

Guys just wanted to let you know I will off my blogging schedule for a couple of weeks, Cathey and I decided to take a trip out west---------I will still keep up with what you guys are doing, but it will not be from Jasper Alabama.

South Rim Grand Canyon

Tower platform South Rim

Continuing my Bluegill Quest Against the Odds

All the rain we have received lately has caused heavy generation on the lake, which means no trout fishing below the dam. So the alternative was a trip to Smith today to continue my bluegill quest.
Upon arriving at the lake I noticed there were very few boats that had launched for the morning. This told me that the fishing might be somewhat slow. There was a slight breeze out of the south with a light chill in the air which convinced me to wear a long sleeve shirt while I motored to the area I was going to fish. The lake level was up and the generators were on, which meant falling water. Falling water, wind out of the south, and a slight cool front set the morning up as a challenge; but I was up for the task.

First fish of the morning, a nice 12” spot using the 4 wt. Redington. I started the morning at daylight with no success with the Boggle Bug Popper, so after daylight I changed to the Muddler Minnow. This fly has never let me down when fishing conditions are tough. I tied on a number of nymphs with no success, so the Muddler was the choice and it proved its worth. I fished for an hour and half before I landed this fish; talk about determination.

                                 

Later in the morning I moved from the shallow banks where I was landing numbers of small bluegills and the 12" spot to deeper water. The deeper water allowed me to find some nice bull bluegill near rock ledges in the shade. These were a lot of fun using the my 4 wt. Redington.

I didn’t brother to remove these bluegills from the cooler because you guys have seen this size before for the quest. Trust me these three did qualify which puts me 61 away. After a lot of fishing with bright sunlight and humidity rising I called it a morning knowing I had met my challenge. I dressed 7 from this cooler, all landed on the super Muddler.

As I dressed my catch for the day I soaked up the sweet smell of the Gardenia blooms on one of the many brushes we have in our backyard. Thanks for viewing guys