Bedding Bluegills Doesn't Mean They Will Hit

I found the bluegills bedding today, but the only problem they were not cooperating as far as hitting my offerings. I have seen this happen a couple of times over the years and today the fish were in lock jaw mode. I could see some on the beds swimming around, and they were not the least bit concerned with me close by. Even the cricket fishermen couldn’t muster a hit either. So what to do; because this happen as soon as I got on the water and I knew then it was going to be a slow morning.

My first fish of the morning using the Seal Leech. It is a dink, but it is a fish and got the skunk off my back.

A nice female full of eggs. She inhaled the Seal Leech. Nothing was happening on top and both these fish were caught in deep water.

I finally manage to land this bull bluegill on top right before the sun covered the lake. He was resting in a small cove off the main body of the lake. There were no more with him, because I sit and made cast after cast without any further action in the area.

The take home catch for the morning. One big bull and three females. I landed four or five smaller females that I released. I will blame the slow action today on a cold night, bluebird skies, wind out of the east, too much fishing pressure the last week or just plain and simply the fish were not biting. I get to count one for quest today. I am now 82 away.

 

Dry Flies Used to Land Super Size Bluegills

I was on the water today at 6:15 AM with a slight chance of rain and overcast skies for the day. I knew an approaching cold front, if you can call 70 degrees a cold front and with rain approaching would mean a better day. I couldn't believe it but me and another angler were the only ones at the launch, and yes he was going after the bluegills just like me. I only had 3 to 4 hours to add to my quest before the wind, which Walker County Lake is famous for would sail me back to the launch.

My first of the morning using my 3 wt and the Wluff dry--I just can't get away from this dry fly verses the popper--I like the silent approach it delivers as it lights gently on the surface

This bull inhaled the Wluff; I fish through 3 of these patterns today, the first two came apart, mainly from removing the flies from the throat of the bluegills, that is how much they loved this little jewel

After the wind picked up the top action stopped, so I went to my trusty Seal Leech, using my 4 wt.

A nice bluegill on the Leech, I am so impressed with this pattern, I like the medium sink rate---thanks to David at the Trout Zone for this pattern

These fish are unbelievable strong on the 3 and 4 wt. they are just coming on the bed and are in excellent shape to produce a super fight

A couple of females thrown in--I will count 9 big bulls out of this group putting me 83 away from my quest

This is where all the action takes place after I get the fish home, I built this table some years ago and equipped it with rollers so I could move it around. The table top is actually a chopping board.

The end result of another great trip with 48 fillets ---I only have a couple of trips left before the spawn is over as far as the fish being on the beds--the cork fishermen will clean the beds in a week or two

My First Carp on The Fly While Bluegill Fishing

Today was supposed to be my day to increase my numbers for my bluegill quest at Walker County Lake. It turned out to be a morning of fishing behind the cork and bobber fishermen chasing the bluegill alongside me. There was one surprise that really made this trip unforgettable.

This 20" Carp sucked in my tiny Dragon Fly under an overhanging brush right after I launched the boat. What made this trip so unforgettable is the fact I landed this brut on my 3 wt. 8 1/2 ft. --it took nearly 15 minutes to land it. This was the largest fish I have ever landed on my 3 wt.

This little Dragon Fly in size 8 was a winner for me last year with the bluegill, and it proved to be a today.

Sorry for the image quality, the Dragon took this bull, which was left behind by the cork fisherman. It will get more difficult to land numbers as the spawn gets into full swing because everyone knows exactly when these fish spawn.

This monster left behind----- a chore on the 3wt.

After the Dragon topwater action slowed I went to the Seal Leech from David at Trout Zone

Nice female on the Dragon

I ended the trip using the Wluff in a small shaded area close to the dock. 

Poppers-----Not The Only Fly For Bluegills

When one thinks of bluegill fishing with the fly rod and the fly that will always produce; the popper comes to mind. In fact this is my go to fly before and after the spawn. For the first time this year I finally had the surface action I had been waiting for. I was determine today to land some bluegills on top and so with my game plan in place I tied on my first of several poppers of the morning to see if I could generate some action.

I selected the cream blunt face black leg popper to begin my quest. I am drawn more to the black legged poppers more than white legged. I like to think the black legs relate more to the black cricket and black spider.  

I also fished the black legged red dot small body popper. I use this popper in the spring and fall, mainly because of the red wasp that surface the lake water during those periods. As I fished both of these poppers I notice as they connected to the surface the fish would spook. The lake was extremely clear, with a slick surface making it difficult to present the popper without a little disturbance. Normally this would produce a hit, but today the fish were extremely weary. The light presentation wasn’t producing. So I felt it was time to gather my thoughts and devise a new game plan.

As I sit there going through my fly box I noticed a dry fly that I normally fish indicator/dropper style for trout on the tailrace. I had two Irresistible Wulff patterns in size 8 pinned in the fly box; so I decided to give it a try, because of its light presentation. The 5X leader I changed to worked perfect to compliment the Wulff pattern.

The first bluegill of the morning was a nice female that made it presents known on the 4 wt. I noticed as I work a steep bank with the Wulff that its light surface connection didn’t spook the fish as opposed to the poppers I was using earlier. In fact the fly would touch the water so light that the fish thought it had just fallen from the many over hanging limbs that line the banks. Notice how this bluegill inhaled the fly telling me I had made the right decision to use this lighter pattern.

Another nice female bluegill that absolutely exploded on the Wulff, in fact the hit was so hard I actually thought it was a bass. The fly landed perfectly just under an overhanging limb and sit there for a few seconds motionlessly before the explosion. I had to congratulate myself on a great presentation. I actually made a tight loop side cast to get the fly to its target. I have been practicing this cast for some time and today it paid off.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using the Nymph to Fish Deep for Bluegill

I am still in the process of trying to find 62 degree water at the lake. I thought today I would get on the water at daylight and see if the action was any better than it has been the last couple of weeks. Well, daylight was not much better than last week, because the water temps are still too cold for any shallow activity. I spent the first hour and half going through my fly box trying to select a pattern that would produce a hit. I finally landed my first fish at eight and the slow morning continued.

This was a fat butter ball female in great shape loaded with eggs. This fish took the Stonefly at a depth of 8 ft. Sorry no counter here.

The Stone Fly was the fly for the morning. Nothing else produced, I really like this fly because of the Tungsten Beadhead which has a great sink rate. I landed everything in depths of 8 ft. or better.

This beautiful bull gill was landed in a deep cut bank area above 10 ft. deep; the Stonefly was the winner--I am still hoping to land something tomorrow on top---stay tuned guys!!!

This was the end result today for about 4 hours of fishing. These were the keepers after tossing back some smaller bluegills and a few small bass---I am 96 away from that 100 mark

Fishing The Seal Leech for Big Bluegills

I was back on Walker Lake

today searching for more big bluegills to add to my grand total so far at ONE!!  Two weeks ago was a slow day because of the water temps, which was in the mid 50’s.  I was hoping for a better trip today with the temps in the high 50’s. So with my fishing ticket in hand I decided to work the back of the lake in the main stream that feeds the lake. I fished this area last year early and found some nice bluegills in the mouth of the creek; but today was a wash, no hits at all in the creek.
I moved from the creek to the east side of the lake because I knew once the wind picked up I would have to fish the nooks. I was fishing the east deep cut banks with no action, so I moved into the first nook of the morning and made a long cast in the vicinity of a brush pile. As I moved the Leech slightly I saw the indicator move forward and I had my first hit of the morning.

The Seal Leech in the top of the mouth

Another female which was in great shape considering she had spent the winter in deep water. This one was taken on the Leech

Just as I entered the next nook I was surprised by these Mallards

My first counter of the morning with the Leech again, shorty after this fish was landed I lost my Seal Leech in a brush pile. What a shame, it was the only one I had; but I knew David at Trout Zone was mailing me a dozen more so no great loss

This Drake and Hen never moved as I approach them for this shot, the Mallard is my favorite Waterfowl.

Another counter with the always trusty Black Gnat. This guy really give the 4 wt a workout. I ended the morning with a total of 6 keepers, four being female "non counters" and the two big bulls. I am now 97 away. Next week is suppose to be in the high 70's and the water temps will be warming up so I expect higher numbers.

Click & Pawl Drag or The One Way Clutch Drag--Which??

This past week has been Spring Break for most of Alabama and the weather has been nothing like spring. In fact the only day that might be good for fishing would be Friday, when I will go. Cold days and nights can make fishing horrible anywhere and that includes the South. So with some time on my hands this week I decided I would search the net for another Gloomis Venture 3 Fly reel. This fly reel was discontinued by Gloomis last year, why I don’t know but in my mind they discontinued a fantastic fly reel. It had the one way clutch drag feature which enables one to retrieve coils of line at your feet back on the reel in a matter of seconds. Spinning the face of the reel will accomplish this. I found while searching that most of the fly reels descriptions listed on the net never mention this feature and better yet the tech support personal at Cabelas and Bass Pro didn’t have a clue about a one way clutch drag, quick release or free spool when it pertains to fly reel drags. If you notice when descriptions are written for fly reels, there is more information about the appearance of the reel as opposed to the type drag. The only fly reel I found that mentioned the one way clutch was the Pflueger Trion. The Pflueger retrieves line as fast as the Gloomis. I know that a lot of us still use the old click and pawl drag, which is used on the Redington Drift and the Orvis Battenkill reels. Don’t get me wrong I like both drag features and have the Redington and the Orvis reels, but I am still partial to the Venture because of the quick retrieve. I never found another Venture in all my searching, but I found out some things I didn’t know about drags on fly reels. What is your preference the click and pawl or the one way clutch fast retrieve?   

Crappie Fishing With My Brother Using Curly Tail Jigs

I made a trip to Mississippi on Tuesday for some crappie fishing on the new restructured Legion Lake. This is the same lake that was practically consumed by lily pads and coontail moss last year. This is my brother’s home lake where he fishes for crappie this time of year. Conditions were not the best considering the cold front that had passed through the day before I arrived. One can expect cold fronts, windy conditions, and bluebird skies in the month of March and this trip had all those conditions.

The reward for the trip was this nice catch using the following tube jigs loaded with nibbles. There were some nice slabs here.

Closed faced spincast reels with 11 ft. jigger poles rigged with 6 lb. test line are your best combos when Spider Fishing, because of the reach one can achieve with this type of pole.

My brother standing by his boat with 8 jigger poles set up ready for action fishing with the curly tail crappie jigs. Think of the amount of water one can cover when Spider Fishing

An image of what this lake looks like this past summer before reconstruction took place this year, notice the moss pads in the distance and all the growth around the edges, much cleaner to fish now. 

Beginning my Big Bluegill Quest in "The Year of the Bluegill"

Friday was the day to start my big bull bluegill quest. So in keeping with the theme “The Year of the Bluegill” I made my first trip to Walker County Lake about 20 minutes from the house. I was so anxious to get on the water that I forgot to call and check the water temps at the lake. With that bit of information missing I arrive at the lake around ten and made the best of the day fishing for really small bluegills and one little bass in 52 degree water. I know exactly when the big bluegill begin there migration to the shallow water which is 62 degrees and Friday was not the day the big bulls move anywhere near the shallow edge.

I just had to get a picture of a Father and Daughter getting ready to try their luck with the red worms. This little girl was so excited being out there with her Dad. She kept telling him she wanted to catch a fish!

Using this little boat is the best way to fish this lake. It sets high in the water and is easy to maneuver and can get into tight places. I use a rudder on the back to keep it straight when paralleling the bank. It is light and easy to load in the back of my truck.

These little ducks really got to me before the day ended. It seemed everywhere I placed my nymph they would be there in a few minutes. If I had been fishing poppers or dries they would have ruin any change for a hit on top, because they were cruising the banks. They were not Mallards.

 

This big bull was worth the trip. It was landed a couple of hour into the trip on a fly that David Knapp of “The Trout Zone” tied for me a while back. He was tying some trout flies for me that I will try this month on tailrace. He included this little Seal Leech nymph in size 12 with the shipment. It was the fly of the day for me.  I landed this nice gill with his Leech pattern using my 8 ½ ft. 4 wt. it was quite a battle, and well worth the trip for me. I will start my bluegill quest with this big bull being number 1; so now I only have 99 more to land. I did catch half dozen really small bluegills as stated earlier with this same nymph. All the hits came in 8 to 10 ft. of water proving that nothing is happening around the edge yet, but there is always next week.

 

World Record Striped Bass Landed in Jasper Alabama??

Guys I just had to share this trophy striped bass catch that a local resident caught on the warrior river the other day. There have been some large striped bass landed in the lake I fish here at Smith, but this thing is astounding. It surpassed the world record by 3 lbs. Check out the article on how he landed it.

Dora’s James Bramlett landed this 70-pound striped bass while fishing on the Black Warrior River on Feb. 28. On Tuesday, the fish was declared a world record. AP photo

DORA AL. — James Bramlett’s phone has been ringing like a tambourine at a hootenanny since he landed Walker County’s version of Moby Dick near the Gorgas Steam Plant on the Black Warrior River on Feb. 28. Bramlett, who lives near Dora, normally fishes several times a week, hadn’t wet a hook in a long time, according to his wife, Jan. She had a medical issue and was awaiting major surgery, so he didn’t feel comfortable leaving her alone. “I kept after him, until he finally decided to go,” she remembered. On that Thursday, Bramlett was on the water before the roosters crowed and had several nice bass on his stringer that morning. He maneuvered his boat up next to some lily pads and used his trolling motor to maintain position instead of dropping his anchor. A while later he saw a nice fish roll on top of the water, so he pulled out the largest shad in his tank, which was about 12 inches long, and baited his hook. Using a 30-pound test line with his Ambassador 7000 reel, he lobbed the line to the spot where he saw the fish. He felt the fish take the bait. “The line coming off that reel sounded like an electric Weed Eater,” he said. The bass headed for deeper water and he pulled Bramlett’s boat along with him. The fight took them toward the middle of the river. “When I looked up, I saw a tugboat headed toward me pushing an empty barge.”Normally that would be a big problem, but fortunately the tugboat operator saw what was happening and cut the motor, bringing the barge to a stop. The crew of the tug knew it was a big fish and they cheered Bramlett as he did battle with the bass. After more than 20 minutes, the fish began to tire and Bramlett managed to get him close enough to see. “I looked at my landing net and I knew it was useless. So I put the butt of the rod against my stomach, and held it with my left hand while I used my right hand to unlatch the keepers on my gaff.” He slid the hook of the gaff underneath the lip of the bass and managed to drag it in the boat. “I knew it was a big fish,” he said. Bramlett felt like he had a record fish even before he weighed it on the ancient scales at Gross Fishing Camp in Parrish. He put the fish on the scale and kept bumping the counterweight down the measurement bar until it rested on 69 pounds. Those scales weren’t certified, but he knew the fish was big enough to snag a state record, set in 1959, by 15 pounds. The fish was weighed on certified scales and officials from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources listed the official weight as 69.98 pounds. The fish is 45.5 inches long and has a 37.75 inch girth. Bramlett learned Tuesday that his trophy striped bass surpassed the world record of 67 pounds, 8 ounces set in 1992. When asked if he would have the fish on his wall, he said ‘no.’ “The fish will be mounted, but I’m not sure where it will end up. I like looking at the pictures much better,” he said. Bramlett will go down in history as holding the world record for the largest striped bass.

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