One of my Better Trips on The Sipsey Tailrace

I have been waiting for a chance to fish the tailrace below Smith Dam for some rainbow. According to our local Fly Shop Thursday is the best day to wet a fly so Thursday it was. First off before I begin the fishing post I have to explain why it’s been so long since I fished the tailrace. Alabama Power has been working on seven access areas at different intervals along a 4-mile stretch. They have been pouring pilings that will hold all the concrete steps in place at each access point, so the constant flow has been stopped, making it a still water situation when trying to fish for the trout. This has been the trend for the past year. So when there is an opening and water is moving then everybody flocks to the tailrace including me. So as I said Thursday was my day, I arrived at the Pump Station around 8:30 AM and was really surprised to see no vehicles. So immediately I thought the flow was zero or word had spread the trout had lockjaw. Not to be discouraged I suited up and tie on size 18 Griffiths Gnat. I really like this dry because to me it is the equal to the Parachute Adams. Both of these flies are the dries I go to when in doubt about the hatch. As I approached the water I was right no hatch and very little takes on top. The water was moving and to my surprise, I had the entire tailrace to myself. I moved no more than 50 ft. from the access point and starting casting the Gnat. I thought I would get some takes but after half-hour of fishing the Gant and ending with the PA, I give up on the dries. I decided to go with a bead head Zebra Midge size 18.  While still standing in the same area I made a 30 ft. cast in a small run, did one mend and the indicator went under. I promptly landed an 11” rainbow. I really got a good fight from the bow with my 7 ½ ft. 3 wt. I continued working in the same area with the Midge and watching the indicator ever so carefully. Sometimes the take would occur with just a tiny movement of the indicator. As I stood there watching the indicator intently for takes I remembered a statement the River Damsel made in a  post on indicator/nymph fishing some weeks ago. She said when in doubt assume it is a fish, even if you set the hook on the bottom sometimes. As the morning wound down I manage to land the most trout I have ever landed on our local tailrace using RD's simple nymph rule. Thanks to River Damsel for teaching me a lesson I won't soon forget.

My first of the morning still with the midge in tack--this midge lasted through the first 5 rainbows before it came apart

Another nice bow from the same access area, in fact, I never moved from this place during the hour and a half I was able to fish

This was the area I was fishing which had somewhat of a slow flow, this help make my nymph lesson easier to learn. The depth below the indicator was roughly 4 1/2 ft. As I stated in the post the takes were very subtle, so I really had to pay close attention to the indicator

Kind of off the wall image here but I was in a hurry to get the midge back in the water--this was one of my better trout of the day pushing the 12" mark. I ended the trip with a count of 15 or 16 which was by far the best day ever on the Sipsey Tailrace for me.

Right below the access point---I feel I learn something on every fishing trip and today was no exception, can't wait for next Thursday's trip

Landing Huge Crappie Using the Spider Fishing System

I got back into the Spider Fishing this week at Legion Lake in Winona Mississippi, my brother's home lake. This lake is roughly 80 acres super clear and has a lot of slab crappie. We worked around thunderstorms on Wednesday and Thursday with periods of on and off crappie bites. My brother managed to land the largest crappie ever using the Spider set-up system. When the fish are scattered and the bite is off you need every advantage one can get. The Spider system will give you that edge. It enables you to cover large amounts of water at different depths using different jigs. We found out early on that the best color for the past two days was an orange/chartreuse tube jig tipped with a white or chartreuse nibblet. We were using six 11 ft. jigger poles and two 9 ft. rods which enabled us to cover a lot of water. Numbers were not the winner on this trip but rather quality fish made the difference. As always the food was a winner as well, featuring homemade peach cobbler, chicken pot pie, baked chicken, and of course homemade rolls and cornbread from the local buffet line in the local supermarket.

Working all those jigger poles

The tube jig even landed a large Shellcracker not to mention numbers of bluegills

Bobby with the largest slab of the day a little over 2 lbs--this type of fishing is sooooooo easy it makes you feel sorry for the fish!!

The Super Light 8 ft. Micro Light Spinning Rod by Daiwa

From time to time I come across some great fishing equipment and accessories I like to share with you with guys. As most of you know I not only fly fish but I am an avid Micro Light fisherman. When I say Micro Light I am referring to spinning tackle in the 2 to 4 lb test range. The spinning rods that fall into this category are 6 ft. to 9 ½ ft. Landing fish on these long rods is like using a fly rod. The two companies that actually started manufacturing Micro Lights rods first were Bass Pro and Daiwa. The Bass Pro rods start with a 5 ½ ft. traveling pack to the 9 ½ ft. float and fly medium action Micro Light. Daiwa has the same type rods but with a little more finesse than the Bass Pro version. Their guides are smaller and the rods are lighter than the Bass Pro series. Their 8 ft. version is the one that is really caught my attention, because of the reviews and the lightness. This rod paired with the Quantum Optix Spinning Reel is a killer for pan fish, trout and yes it even has the backbone for larger fish. The reel will spool 125 yards of 4 lb test line and 150 yards of 2 lb test line. In my opinion it is the ultimate in Micro Light fishing. The complete combo is priced under 70.00 bucks and that is a bargain when it comes to Micro Light fishing. Bass Pro has basically the same rod but with a price tag of 55.00 plus tax. The Bass Pro version has a little more weight and the guides are larger. When it comes to Micro fishing I like finesse and the 8 ft. Spinmatic by Daiwa fits the bill. For that fisherman out there that has not mastered the fly rod or wants to mimic fly fishing then this is the combo for you. Check it out you might be surprised how close you come to fly fishing when using this combo.