First Warm Water Fishing for 2018

As most of you know Walker County Lake is one of my favorite fishing destinations. I’ve landed huge bluegills here from its waters that equal those I’ve caught on my beloved Smith Lake. To say I was excited to fish its waters again after a two-year absence was an understatement.

Cathey and I are still trying to adjust to the move out of state and back to Alabama; in fact, it will take us the rest of this year to complete the cycle of the move. Our lot we are planning to build on is saturated with rain almost daily.  It will take weeks before any construction can start sometime in March. The building process will last at least 6 months if the weather cooperates. In the meantime, we will stay dry in our rental home, which houses my Pelican boat in the carport. No way was I going to store my Pelican and miss spring fishing on some of the smaller lakes I fish here. Sorry to veer off subject, back to Walker outing: This is the earliest I’ve fished this lake, but the forecast pulled me like a magnet to its waters today. A high of 80 degrees is somewhat unusual even for the northern part of Alabama this time of the year.

The water was somewhat stained because of all the rain making me think I was going to fish dark small to medium poppers. So I had a game plan and I hoped it would work. The water temp was 58 which is a long way from the spawning season for the big bull bluegills.

My first bull bluegill in one of the small nooks near the levee; this fish nailed a Betts popper sitting still. It was a hoot to land so many bluegills this afternoon after being absent from this lake for a while.

The warm temps have started to produce buds on some of the trees along the lake's bank. I have a feeling we are in for an early spring here in Alabama.

The blue Booglebug popper attracted a lot of bass today. It’s not your average popper; it becomes submerged when worked along the surface film. All the bass I landed today nailed it submerged. There would be no Redeye bass landed today. 

Touching the Cool Waters of the Sipsey Again

Today’s trip was not about landing trout on the Sipsey but a time for me to reflect back on the many storied trips I’ve had on this beautiful tailrace. Sure a colorful rainbow would be nice to bend my 3 weight, but the excitement of just watching my fly gently light on the Sip’s surface took precedence over the catch.
 This was my first fishing trip since August 29^th, 2017 when I hurt my back and had to have two Epidurals to get back on my feet. Close to five months is a long time to go without wetting a fly for me; so to say I was pumped about getting to fish was an understatement.
  I was anxious to try my new Orvis Battenkill II reel my son gave me for Christmas. I paired it up with my Hardy Streamflex 3 weight. What impressed me about this reel was the narrow spool to reduce line stacking and of course the lightness.

l put the combo to work within five minutes of wading into position in one of my favorite holes on the tailrace. This beautiful rainbow nailed the Copper John as it was drifting down one of the many runs located on the lower end of the tailrace; a lot of fun on the 3 weight.

The tailrace was higher then I like to fish it, but I didn’t care; I was back on my home waters and that was all that matter to me.

My wading staff was my best friend today as I maneuvered through all the rocks on the floor of the gorge. I saw one guy take a spill on the slippery rocks; luckily he didn’t damage his wrist and knee. 

Faster water was the turn on for all the trout I landed during the four-hour trip. This bow was taken as my nymph floated over a few submerged logs. I lost a couple other trout in the run due to breaking off in the logs. I questioned myself for using the 3 weight after losing two quality trout in this run, but again being here today was more important than the loss of a few trout. I know I’ll have many more trips to redeem myself.