Family Time

This past weekend was our family's annual pontoon boat trip to Smith Lake. All were present except Jason our son who was working at Roseville Hospital in Calfornia. He is on our minds daily because he and the other hospital personal are treating the many coronavirus patience they see every day. He made the trip with us last year. Hopefully, this virus will be under control by next spring so he can make next year's trip. 
Very little fishing was done on this outing because we wanted to gear the trip for the kids. 

Float tubes pulled behind a ski boat or pontoon boat is a favorite for everyone on the lake. The kids and Dad had a blast riding the wakes made by the pontoon boat and other boats. 

Laelyn landed this bass using crickets but was not having anything to do with releasing it. Big brother, Bryson helped her out with the release. Cash was having nothing to do when the little fish he landed. In fact, he didn't want to even get close to his fish!

 

Cathey and I have lived in Jasper for over 35 years and had never been to Natural Bridge Park, which is about 30 minutes from where we live. The family spent the better part of 3 hours walking the park trail and viewing some awesome rock formations. The kids were really fascinated with the rock bridge, bear scrape, and all the rock hideouts. There was no need for face masks because there were only a few hikers on the trail. Let's hope this virus is over soon and we can all get back to a normal life. 

   

Dodging the Rain Showers

This post today was supposed to be about a recent bluegill fishing trip on Smith. Scattered rain showers have put a dent in my bluegill quest today, so the Sipsey was the choice. I can deal with the rain on the tailrace much better than I can on the lake. A little hooded rain jacket is perfect on a rainy day when fishing the Sipsey. I didn't make it to the tailrace today at my usual time of 5:30, but instead at 9 o'clock. I was met with a huge crowd, I counted 15 vehicles all lined up along the road. I almost didn't bother to suit up but I was there, so I might as well join the crowd.  

 First of the morning, with an exposed gill plate. I have landed trout with this gill plate deformity before. It didn't affect its fight. 

A fatty that nailed one of the nymphs I was using in the log jams fishing deep. At times I added a little weight to get the nymph down to where the trout were holding. 

Another quality rainbow landed in and around structure. Notice my free spool Gloomis fly reel; the best of all the fly reels I own. In fact, I just purchased another one on Ebay a couple of weeks ago. 

I considered myself lucky today landing the number of trout that touched my hands for the morning; considering the number of fishermen on the water. It seems there are many more individuals fishing the Sipsey this year as opposed to years past. I wonder if the increased traffic comes from the virus causing more people to be outside more? 

Avoiding the Crowd

I wanted to take a break from my bluegill fishing from last week so I worked in a quick outing on the Sipsey. A good number of fishermen were on the water, which made me think that access 7 would be less crowded. This was the week before Labor Day Weekend, on a Friday and not a good time to fish the Sipsey. I knew they were going to stock the place on the following Thursday right before the holiday weekend. So I was going to try to beat the crowd. Most all fisherman know when they stock this place.  

Just above access 7 close to the dam, there is one guy out of camera range, close to where they release the trout. I was surprised to find no one near the steps at 7.  

One to hand right after I got in place. All the trout that are stocked in the Sipsey are extremely healthy.

Keep an eye on the indicator--after filming and landing this trout I got my trout fix for the morning. I enjoyed the fight as much as this trout did!!

Landing Quality Size Bluegill

My first trip this year on Smith Lake fishing for early spawning bluegill was memorable. Our first moon of May was 10 days ago. Three days before and three days after a full moon is one the best times in early spring to fish for spawning bluegill. Of course, this will vary in different parts of the country. Not all big bluegill will be found on the first spawn and will wait until the second spawn in June. On Smith Lake, one can expect to land 3 to 5 big bluegills in one area nook in water 10 to 12 ft. deep. Fishing in this depth for bluegill using a popper requires one to let the fly set motionless for a short period of time before the big gill will try to kill it. I've never landed more than 5 in one spawning area on Smith. This was the case this past Thursday, where I fished over a dozen areas in the back of nooks on Ryan Creek to land the 8 big gills I brought home to dress for a meal. I landed a lot of small bluegill in the same areas which were released to fight another day.

I used a couple of poppers today to get the attention of these nice gills. Early the blue Boogle Bug was the popper which got hits and on up in the morning the white Bar Nunn worked much better. Color does make a difference when fishing for the bluegill. I thought a number of times that had some of the spotted bass on when landing these bluegills. The fight was strong and lots of fun fishing with my 9 ft. 4 wt.  

Awesome Morning Fishing the Dry Fly "Gnat"

The metal stairs of access six was a welcome site Tuesday morning as I made my way down to the gorge to fish the Sipsey for the first time this year. Heavy rains have kept it high and out of its banks for most of the Spring. So to say I was ready to fish was an understatement. As I set foot on the wet slippery rocks at the bottom of the stairs I was met by a young couple from Birmingham fishing with spinning gear in a distance. There was one more individual fishing upstream. I couldn't believe I partially had the place to myself. I decided to start working in an area I hadn't fished since last fall which was near the dam at access 7.  As I made my way to the area I notice the trout were feeding sparingly on top, which I had seen before numerous times here. So the most logical fly for me to try was one I 'd fished many times before here and that was the size 20 "Gnat". When in doubt what dry fly to use on the Sipsey with no hatch try the Gant. 

My first cast was made above one of the seams below access 7 that drops water into the larger deep mini pond, which I like to call it.  Here the water slows and lets the fly really get the attention where the trout were feeding. As the tiny Gnat broke free of the fast water and entered the slow water a trout nailed it on my first cast of the morning. Sorry to say I lost my first trout, either by poor hook set or not expecting a take that fast. Little did I know that this missed take would prove to be the best dry fly action I've ever experienced on the Sipsey. 

First trout of the morning using the tiny Gnat letting it do its magic. I am not a fan of fishing tiny flies. It's hard for me to see the fly on the surface. This morning I had no problem seeing it because the takes were so aggressive. 

The water was crystal clear and ice-cold making it the perfect place for trout to survive in of all places near Jasper Alabama. This is the large pool area where most of the feeding was taking place below the seam. As I was landing numerous trout here one of the guys at the fly shop showed up and started fishing below me with a client. He had the guy fishing with a nymph. 

Another willing taker on the Gnat. I decided to change the sizes of my Gnat to a size 18 which increased my catch ratio, bigger fly wider gap hook. I was using my 4wt.  9 ft. Redington with my 3/4 wt. Gloomis free spool fly reel. I've written a post on this reel before, because of its ability to take up lose line at your feet extremely fast by spinning the face of the reel. This feature that this reel has is so useful when you're wanting to use the drag to play a big fish. I really didn't need this feature today because all the trout I landed was in the 11" to 12" range. 

Extremely slow water here where the trout had slowed some in there feeding frenzy, but still taking the Gant. The difference now was the take was a sipping motion, which caused me to change tactics with the fly. I stop adding floatant to it and started letting the fly drift a little subsurface. Another fly I like to use when the trout are sipping is the Alans Soft Hackle. I completely forgot about other dry flies today because the action was so good on this one fly it blacked out all other patterns.

 All good feeding sprees have to come to an end and around 10 AM it was over. The rest of the morning was spent fishing nymphs in around the huge logs near access five and the shaded area entering access five. I added to my total with some better trout in deeper water in the log jams. I don't like to talk numbers when I'm trout fishing, but today's trip had numbers pushing close to 20! Wonder if I will be back tomorrow?-------YES!!

Confinement,How 's it Working for You?

Fishing has been light for me this year mainly because of the virus and the restrictions that go along with it. It has affected everyone's lives in one way or another. I have managed to make a few trips to Walker lake close to home and land a few gills to keep in practice. 

This trip was back in March on a sunny afternoon trying to dodge all the other fishermen who were fishing the lake. Confinement can take a toll on individuals if they're cooped up in the house for long periods of time. It seems everyone here that never fished are fishing now or at least out and giving it a try. All the lakes are covered with people and most are ignoring the distance thing, not a good idea. 
Cathey and I live in a small retirement community where no one walks but us in the morning hours, so no mask needed. Alabama started a total lockdown Saturday at 5PM. No one should go out unless it is for essential items. We will abide by the rules, which is what most individuals in this country are doing. The more individuals who don't follow the rules and regulations will cause the nightmare to continue for who knows how long. The bottom line, this crisis will not end until there is a vaccine available sometime next year.    

In the meantime, Cathey and I will continue to keep ourselves occupied with projects around the house and hopefully, some fishing trips worked in the schedule. 

One of my projects has been building log cabin bluebird houses for us and the Grandchildren. A couple of bluebirds already occupy this house. 

Delivered both these bookcases to these little guys a couple of weeks ago before the lockdown occurred. Notice I said bookcases, they're using them for everything but a bookcase.

There's been talk of closing the public lakes and big reservoirs if the public here doesn't follow the guidelines better. I hope this doesn't happen because it would put a dent the rest of the fishing season for me and many others. Guys stay safe and know we will get through this!!  

Filming My Fishing Trips

I have been spending time this past week working with some Video Editing software. I needed a more advanced version than I've been using in the past. I'm still in the process of learning all the ins and outs of this newer version. I've decided I am going to film more of my fishing trips this year, especially on Smith Lake. Smith is the only place that I haven't filmed a video. The video below was filmed using my Contour camera. The camera is attached to a cap I wear and anywhere I point my head I get video action. One of the things I have to get used to is moving my head fast which will affect the quality of the video. So I'm posting a video I recently completed for you guys to view.  This video is from previous videos I've filmed on the Sipsey.

  

Testing the Waters

There's been one day in the last two weeks here in Jasper that was suitable enough to fish and that was last Monday. The rest of the time it has been raining with flooding. Ivan and I boarded my Pelican boat and fished Monday afternoon on beautiful Walker Lake. We wanted to see if the bluegill and red-eye bass had moved into the shallow water next to the banks. We spent a good three hours casting small poppers and nymphs in some areas we both had fished before. 

I had to change poppers quite a few times before I got this bluegill to sniff hit it. Sniff hit meaning an extremely light hit, making me believe that the fish was annoyed with popper. This fish and the other small ones we landed were at least 6 to 7 ft. away from the banks; in other words no bank action at all. 

A slight breeze all afternoon kept the water surface laced with ripples. The only place we got any surface action at times was when found a smooth surface area.  Some small lakes take on a drab look in the winter months, but not Walker it retains its beauty throughout the year with large pine and oak trees lining its banks. 

Ivan landed this bluegill using a small Betts white popper. He spent a good hour fishing various colored popper patterns before this fish hit. Letting the popper sit motionless for a short period produced the strike. I was surprised that no fish was landed using the nymph. I told Ivan before we launched the boat that landing fish would be secondary for me this afternoon because I was just glad to get on the water. 

The levee was one area to avoid the wind. Poppers don't produce well when fishing choppy water surfaces. There was no red-eyed bass landed on this day. The red-eyed bass is native to the creek that feeds Walker Lake. The largest I've ever landed here was in the 12" size. 

The size 10 Betts popper is one of my favorites when fishing for finicky fish. The white and red Betts poppers were the winners today that got the bluegill's attention. Color does make a difference when fishing for bluegill. Most fishermen will tell you that bluegill is stupid and will hit anything cast their way; not the case when fishing out of season for this fish. Catching this size bluegill on a 2 and 3 weight fly rod is a blast. All of the small nooks in this lake doesn't require one to fish with a long fly rod. A 7 1/2 foot fly rod is a great choice to cover the banks making a short cast. 

As I get older I've come to realize that one doesn't have to land the largest and the most fish. Today's trip was a great example of that statement!!

Wood Projects

The winter months are a slow time of the year for me, mainly because of the limited time I spend on the water. Living in the deep South one doesn't encounter the extreme cold that the rest of the country experiences. 30 to 40-degree weather here is cold enough to keep folks inside, especially me. I can remember when I was younger I could endure the cold much better. Now I spend the colder days working in my woodshop, blogging, going to the gym, ancestry research and watching older movies, especially westerns. 
As for today's movies, there a very few that interest me. While I'm trashing today's movies I might as well lump the music of today in there too. The late sixties, seventies, and eighties had some of the best music ever. In other words, those individuals could sing and deliver a song with meaning. 

Sorry for straying away from my post title, "Wood Projects." I've spent the last 3 weeks working on three wall shelves for the grandchildren which will hang from their newly painted rooms. They needed some shelf space to display all the items they have accumulated since birth. I'm amazed at what a 10, 7, and 5-year-old have collected. 

The next step is getting the paint on all 3 wall shelves. 32"wide and 42"tall should display a lot of the kid's items they have collected.

My love of woodworking was developed during my teenage years working at my Dad's sawmill. My younger brother and I would spend the summer working at the mill while we were out of school. After high school, I attended a local Jr. College where I signed up for a woodworking class to take as an elective. At the time I wanted to be a history teacher, but after taking the wood class I decided I would change my major and become an Industrial Arts Teacher. It was a wise decision for me because it enabled me to do something that I enjoyed. In all my years of teaching, I never had to carry any of my students to the Principals office. I was blessed to have taught some outstanding individuals. 

I spend a lot of time in this 12 X 12 shop in the winter months. I'm still working on hanging some of my clamps.

My New Fishing Buddy

I kicked off my 2020 fly fishing season this afternoon, on Walker County Lake. Little did I know that this year's opening for 2020 would be a memorable one. Why, because I would meet a little guy that was as excited as me to land fish. This eight-year-old name James reminded me of my own grandchildren. James, his sister, and his parents were fishing for catfish and trout using redworms. The parents had landed a couple of catfish but no trout. When James saw me land a nice size trout he ran over close to me and wanted to get a closer look at the fish. His mom told me that he had never seen a trout up close and thank me for letting him touch the rainbow. I saw how excited he was so I told her and her husband that I would be happy to let him land the next three I hope to land. So James waited patiently while I landed my 4 limit trout per fisherman. 

James' little sister wanted to get in on the action; one proud little guy with his sister to offer encouragement! Congrats James on landing some quality trout.

Walker County Lake is beautiful this time of the year. We've had a lot of rain lately causing the water level to be quite high. Even with all the overflow the lake still stays super clear. I'm looking forward to landing some supersize bluegill starting early March on this outstanding bluegill lake!! 

New England Vacation+ Trout Fishing

Winter is a slow time of the year for me especially if the weather conditions aren't suitable to wet a fly. On those days that I'm cooped inside; my time is spent doing quick workouts at the gym, reading blogs, Ancestry work, watching fly fishing videos, and just maybe a trout fishing outing. This past Thursday was one of those rare fishing trips. Thursday was the only day I could go because of other jobs and things my wife had planned for us as Christmas gets closer. 
The caretaker at the lake told me he was closing Thursday evening after me and a few other fishermen left. The lake opens again in the middle of January. So Thursday would end my fly fishing on Walker County Lake for another year. I assured him I would be back in January if the weather would cooperate. 

This one rainbow made the few hours fished a success. Released back into the lake for someone else to land in 2020!!

Family time was spent in October traveling through the New England area. We scheduled the trip so we could witness some of the spectacular foliage that occurs each year in the area. Vermont top the list of states we visited with some of the prettiest foliage. 

In full form in Manchester Vermont. 

The scenic Batten Kill river flowing through the small town of Manchester Vt. Wish I could have fished this awesome looking river.

Portland Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth Maine

Rock formation along the shores in Cape Elizabeth; the boulders actually look like petrified wood.

 The largest house on the Kennedy Compound where Ethel Kennedy still lives. Two other houses are on six acres of waterfront property on Cape Cod along Nantucket Sound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. We couldn't believe we got this close to the big house before security waved us away, quite an experience! This is a trip we had been planning for years and was glad we were able to make it during great weather.