Heavy Rains, Flooding, Tornadoes and No Fishing

 Guys I can't begin to tell you how much I've been looking forward to this fishing season. Well, the weather here in the South has been so erratic that all my early season fishing plans have been washed, or shall I say blown away. We have experienced some of the worst flooding and destructive tornadoes in years here in Alabama. I like to think that this type of weather is a normal occurrence for this region, but year after year is too much to stomach. I can remember growing up as a young boy in Choctaw County Mississippi, near Mississippi State never witnessing a tornado. A little wind and heavy rain but never a severe tornado. We have already experienced 45 this season and may be on track to equal the 145 that hit the state in 2011. Of course, along with the tornados comes the heavy rains, flooding, destruction and we must not forget the loss of life occurring each time one of these monsters hits the state. I hate to be pessimistic but I feel we are going to witness even more destructive storms in the coming years. We can thank Climate Change for this misery!!

I have never seen Smith Lake this muddy with the lake at 522 ft. which is 22 ft. above full pool. Numerous piers broke free of their cables and floated south towards the dam. The entire parking lot and launches at Smith Lake Dam were completely underwater. The last time I've seen the lake this high was at 518 in February of 2019 but never at 522 height. There will be no productive fishing on the lake until the water recedes at least 10 to 12 ft and the water clears some. We are looking at weeks before this happens. I am thankful I have Walker Lake to fish because it never gets muddy. 

Another causality of the recent tornado we experienced this past Thursday was this house that Jason bought about three months ago in Greystone Farms. Cathey and I had been overseeing some work on the house before the tornado hit it. This house was lucky that its roof didn't collapse with this size tree landing on the roof. The base of the tree was at least 30 inches in diameter. He can be thankful that his house wasn't damaged as bad as a lot of the other homes in the subdivision. A lot of residents in Greystone lost everything including all their furniture. This one tornado stayed on the ground for an astounding 167 miles according to James Spann the main weatherman in Birmingham. He had heavy damage to his house. The tornado started in Columbia Alabama and ended in Rome Georgia. 

Even Jasons Alabama birdhouse which was setting on the top of this post wasn't spared the destructive winds. All the common areas along the street where Jason's house is was demolished. Some of the trees were spared but most huge trees were taken down. His house overlooks a 15-acre lake that had trees blown down in it. The mile and a half walking trail around the lake will be close until trees can be removed. One would never know there was a tornado by viewing the lake's southern end of the subdivision. Notice all the houses across the lake still intact. Funny how tornados miss some areas and destroy other areas. Cathey and I will be busy in the coming weeks dealing with storm damage and work on Jason's house. I hope to have a more favorable post soon involving landing some fish waiting to inhale a few flies. Everyone take care

My Second Home Lake

 This post was supposed to be about learning the Euro Nymph fishing technique fishing the Sipsey Tailrace. That trip got washed away with heavy generation occurring on the tailrace below the dam on Smith Lake. This time of the year is a tuff time to try to fish the tailrace or the lake because of generation. So I loaded the Pelican Boat in the back of my truck and headed for Walker Lake. I seldom fish this lake with my Bass Tracker because it's much easier to navigate the small nooks that make up the body of the lake. My fishing season always starts each year on Walker Lake because its waters warm up much quicker than a large lake the size of Smith. 

Cold and clear lake water was what I was going to be fishing for today. The water temp was 55 degrees, which is the coldest I've ever fished here. The county is still recovering from the 12 to 15-degree temps we experienced the week earlier. I knew today was going to be a challenge but I was up for the task and just glad to be on the water!

A quality bass on the Yellow Gant, which was the last one I had in my fly box. This fly brings back a lot of memories because it is a fly my brother, who passed away a couple of years ago had tied for him and me some years ago. He also had the same pattern tied in black and red. I've written posts concerning this fly over the years. I like to fish the Gnat using a slow retrieve while watching for line movement. Even in the cold water, this bass put up quite a fight against my 7 1/2 ft. Redington 2wt.

A better view of the fly with red added as an attractor. 

The bass and this Shellcracker are two fish I seldom catch on this lake, but today I got to touch both species. I got my best fight of the day from this fish. As quick as it hit the Gnat he headed for deep water making me think I had a large bass or one of the big carps that roam the lake. The poppers didn't work on this day all they wanted was something slow and easy to latch onto. 

A Little Frustration Mixed With Landing a Few Rainbows

 

I didn't think I was going to make the Sipsey trip today, because of numerous distractions in the form of few jobs. Once at the tailrace I suited up and enter the gorge at access 5. I was joined by 5 other fly fishermen fishing access six and seven. I was actually glad they were quite a distance from me because I was really having trouble learning the Euro Nymphing technique. I've been reading and watching videos centering around Euro Nymphing for the past couple of weeks and I thought I had the technique under control. After a few casts, I realize I need MORE time to learn how to master Euro Nymphing. I won't go into the details but to put it mildly, my patience ran OUT!! I will cover the experience in another post. 

There was no surface activity at all on the smooth super clear water surface. So I went deep for the trout today using my 10 ft. fly rod intended for the Euro experience----I found out it lands trout just as well as my 9 ft. 

The first trout that touched the net in the 2 1/2 hours I had to fish the Sipsey this afternoon.

An excellent seam located at the entrance of access five where I started my Euro Nymphing technique. I could see trout below the high boulder, but no luck in getting a take. The time spent in this area will hopefully help me correct some of my mistakes in future trips.

I've noticed that the stock trout from Dale Hollow are not as colorful as some of the other hatchery trout that are stocked here. There was no mistaking the takes from the trout I landed today, in other words, jarring hits!! 

The last trout of the evening that escaped an aerial attack or a down under creature swimming in the tailrace. It did have a little more color. I lost one other trout in the same run where I caught this trout. At times I was fishing with weights to get the nymphs down to the trout's level. 

I remember reading a short essay by George Daniel this week, where he stated that most of the time it's not the flies you are using that attract a take it's the depth you're fishing. That statement proved true for me this afternoon!