Popper Color Makes a Difference

This past week has been hectic, with no fishing, blogging, or gym time. The movers worked Monday and Tuesday moving us into our new home. The rest of the week was spent unpacking boxes and trying to get the house in order. We had furniture in the rent house where we were living, Jason's storage unit and our storage unit. I hope my wife and I never make another move ever!
Jason and I did had a few hours yesterday to fish Walker Lake before he flies back to Sacramento Monday. I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon.

The white Betts Popper was the hot fly on this outing; Jason had only one of the poppers and was not about to share with Dad! He landed two to my one for the afternoon. 

Flexing the 2 wt. 

Could it be the top and bottom of the red dot and the white color that got the bluegills' attention??

The finished house to the point where we could move in. No landscaping until we get more dry weather; we're just glad to be in the house and life getting close to normal. 

Rain, Ice and Disney World

Portions of Alabama is flooded with heavy rains that started last Saturday and continued through Thursday. A total of 10” of rain overflowed streams, rivers, and lakes. I've never seen Smith Lake this high and getting higher every day. Full pool in this lake is 510, it is now up 518 and will probably go higher before the week is out. We are expecting more rain starting Thursday and through Friday. In fact, the lake is closed at the dam where I launch most of the time. An Alabama Power employee told me yesterday that the lake will not open up again until the water recedes back to full pool. The tailrace below the dam is out for fishing as well because of the constant generation; I've really had it with the rain! My only choice to wet a fly was Walker Lake which was my destination for the afternoon. 

The lake was stained with all the heavy rains. I was fishing this same area two weeks ago with much clearer water. I knew it would be tough getting some hits today because the fish couldn't see the fly as well. So the objective was to give the popper a little more action to get a hit. I'm a firm believer in changing flies if I'm getting no takes; that was the case for the first 30 minutes.

The first bull gill which hit the white Barr Nunn popper; notice you don't see the popper because it is crammed in the gills throat. The white Barr Nunn popper was the popper that got the most attention for the rest of the afternoon. I was using my 2 wt and 3 wt 7 1/2 ft.  Redington rods, which matched the size bluegills I was catching. The bigger bluegills never showed up today.

What a difference in temps and weather, we experience in Orlando last week at Disney World. The temps were in the mid-'80s and high 80's all week we were there. The best part of the trip aside from spending time with all the family was NO RAIN!   

  

The IM10 Nymphing Fly Rod

The IM10 Fly Rod is probably the closest I will ever get to fishing with a Tenkara Fly Rod. The IM10 is a medium-fast action 10 foot, 3/4 weight, four-piece nymphing fly rod. It weighs in at a light 3 ounces. I seldom order a fly rod online but I took a chance on this one from Ebay because of the reviews, which were all positive. While fishing last spring and summer on the Sipsey I notice I needed a little more reach when nymphing the smaller pocket holes; my 9 foot Sreamflex just wasn't getting me the extra reach. 
This fly rod not only gives me the chance to nymph small areas easier but I have the option to use it for casting beyond tight nymphing areas. 

The quality on this fly rod is amazing, even down to the rod tube, alignment blank indicators, name tag insert, embossed fly pattern, extra rod tip blank, and the beautifully designed reel seat.

I couldn't wait to get out on the water and give it a test trail. It was an incredible 80 degrees in Jasper on Thursday so fly fishing was my top priority. With my 10 ft. Pelican loaded and my 10 ft. IM10, I started my bluegill quest on Walker County Lake. Everything was positive on this outing but the wind, which was horrendous at times even to point of water splashing into the boat. I had to cross the lake in whitecap conditions. So glad I had the battery fully charged, which was not the case when I left the lake. 

Now to the rod review; the first thing I noticed was how easy it loaded the 3 wt. Orvis Clearwater Line paired with my Battenkill II reel. I was even more impressed with how fast the line straightened out on the water surface as I completed the cast. The medium-fast taper action gave the right amount of bend action to make small bluegill seem larger. Yet it still has the power to handle much larger fish such as the spots on Smith Lake. I knew the extra length would give me a longer cast and it delivered. I will admit it took a little time to get used to the extra foot compared to my 7,8 and 9 ft. fly rods. By the end of the trip, the fly rod and I bonded nicely after landing a bunch of bluegill for the afternoon. 

Now the next test will be the Sipsey high sticking some of the pocket holes I like to fish there.