Explosive Takes Fishing With the Fly Rod

If you are into fly fishing for big bull bluegill like me then you need to take a look at some of the segments on this two hour DVD. The DVD is produced by Beckum Outdoors. Some of the segments show the explosive takes the bluegill can produce, and there is also a segment on fly tying which is really interesting. Landing huge crappie with the fly rod is covered as well. I was looking through their website and found this great article on Fly Fishing, after reading this piece it made me realize even more why I fly fish and love it so. What a great gift for all of us guys who know we don’t need anymore fishing tackle--------do you really believe that???  



Rock Wall Fishing with the Boogle Bug Popper

In the hot summer months with the heavy humidity and soaring heat is not the time to be on the lake for me. Saying that statement makes sense to me but when you are a fishing enthusiast like I am you will go if the forecast is 100 and the heat index 107. That is what I did yesterday. I do have enough sense to know when to leave and I think that comes with age, and knowing when the bite is over. Summers in the south and southwest can be brutal. I never fish during the day in the hot summer beyond 9 AM, and I never fish in the sun. Those are two golden rules I have when it comes to combating the heat. As always for this time of year I was on the water and making my first cast by 5:30. I have a fishing window with the 5:30 start of about 40 minutes and if you don’t catch your quota by then it is pretty much over. Once the sun hits the rock wall you can leave that area. In the first 30 minutes of fishing the wall yesterday with the #6 black Boggle Bug I had landed 10 nice bull gills, and to round out the 40 minutes on the wall I added a decent spot.  I knew the minute the sun peeked through the trees that wall was history, and I would have to look for an east wall with shade. At 8:15 in a shaded area under a rock ledge I landed a 15" largemouth with the bug, and that was the end of the hit for the day. I did hang around for half hour more but it was no good, no more fish to be had.
I was fishing today an area I had never fished on Ryan Creek, so I really didn’t know what to expect, other than the steep walls and deep drop offs of 30 to 40ft. down. In the hot summer months the fish are always deep during the day and only feed close to the top at daybreak after the water has had time to cool a bit over night. Even the late afternoons will not produce as well as the daybreak because the surface temps are still warm late in the afternoon.
Fishing the popper can be a heart throbbing experience especially when the hits are the smacking kind, and today I got some of those hits. You just got to love this kind of stuff to know what I am talking about, and there are a lot of you guys and gals out there that are in the know.

The end result of the trip. I threw numerous smaller gills and two bass back to fight another day.

Last fish of the day, sorry for just one live shot of the fish, but I was so pressed for time that I completely forgot at times to take shots of what I was landing. I was in such a hurry to cover as much water as I could while the bite was hot.

To warm water fish in a place like this is special. This is one beautiful lake. The fish are always right at the wall. To get the hit you have to bonce the popper off the wall and let it fall to the surface in a natural way. The Boogle is perfect for this type casting against the rock wall because of the epoxy finish the popper has. This is one tough popper. One will usually last me all season, if I don't get a break off.



Fishing The Zebra Midge With an Indicator

I made a quick trip to the Sipsey River today. I had a couple of hours to fish so I started right at the walk-in area created by Alabama Power. I thought there would be some top water action, but that was not the case so after fishing an hour with a dry, I went to a size 16 Zebra Midge. I am still having trouble detecting a hit unless the indicator goes under, and lucky for me today that was the case. I managed to land one nice 12” with the indicator going south big time, awesome take. I landed two more bows less than the 12. The water was a cool 52 and with shorts on under my waders it can get cool really quick. I can’t say enough about what Alabama Power has done with this place, especially the constant flow. Our club is still working with the Power Company to add more access points and to upgrade the alarm system, so everyone will have time to leave the water when generation begins. I have learned things just don't happen overnight when working with large corporations, especially when it comes to conservation. We are trying here to get the power company to see the advantage of having a cold water fishery in Alabama.
I did talk to one fisherman today who told me he landed an 18” at daybreak on an Adams last week. He said it was in excellent shape with bright red color down it side. I am still in search mode for that size trout.  

Right after the release, and he swim off to fight another day

The 3 wt here is perfect to land this size trout. Of course I welcome a 16" or better to fight the 3wt.

I am getting better with the new camera, notice the ripples at the end of slow flow.