Tuesday's Popper Action On Smith Lake

 

Tuesday was supposed to be a slow bite on Smith because two generators ran all morning, but the spotted bass and giant bluegill didn't get the report. The Mountain Laurels are in full bloom on the lake!

One of my former bloggers, Jay Eubanks, joined me for the early morning trip. It was good to fish with him again after a 6-year lapse. 

This spotted bass inhaled an olive boogle bug popper size 6 with little surface action. The bass had me thinking it was a bluegill that sucked the popper under. 

The big bluegill were hitting the olive popper as well. My only regret was not bringing my cooler to ice-down the six I could have dressed. Thanks to Jay for joining me on the trip. He and I will be making more Tuesday trips when his work schedule will allow him the time to go. 

I am down to one fly fishing buddy now, Jeff, who fishes with me on Thursday. My Tuesday guy quit fishing, can you believe that? Nobody quits fishing after fishing most of your life. As I said before I can count on one hand the indivduals who fly fish in Jasper.  

Back For More Bluegills+A Late Update

Early Thursday morning was cool, with winds gusting around 20 mph. However, that didn’t stop me from heading back to Walker County Lake to catch more bluegills before the influx of live bait fishermen took over during the upcoming spawn. The cool nights, with temperatures in the 30s and low 40s, had kept the fish from beginning their spawning activities.

I started fishing at 6:30 AM, dressed in a light jacket and armed with my 2 and 3-wt. fly rods. If you haven't tried landing bluegill using light fly rods, you are missing some fantastic action fly fishing. 

The water temperature was a cool 64 degrees, indicating that the fishing might be slow. In fact, I didn't land my first keeper until 8:30 AM—that's how slow it was! At this time of year, it's important not to assume what the fish will bite, and Thursday morning proved no exception.

This nice keeper was caught sub-surface, setting the tone for the trip. No fish were hitting surface poppers at all due to the windy conditions. Surface poppers work well on calm, cloudy days, but not when the wind is a factor.

The fish were hitting a tungsten crystal beadhead bugger weighing 1/16 of an ounce in water that was 5 to 6 feet deep. I had used this fly last year during the early spawn at Farmstead Lake, where my son Jason has a house. The strike is unmistakable, meaning the fish is trying to eat the fly for a meal.

The end result of the trip in the cooler was 10 nice bluegills for a nice meal. Ten bluegills will produce 20 fillets paired with hush puppies, cole slaw, and a touch of tarter sauce, oh, almost forgot a cold beverage such as tea or a cold Coors. 

Tip of the day: Consider switching to a heavier fly line if you anticipate encountering windy conditions on your fly fishing trip. I was using a 4 wt. line on my 3 wt. fly rod, and it really improved my casting for the morning.

Guys I had to share this 2 1/2 lb. plus largemouth that nailed my betts yellow bug this morning while fishing Walker Lake for the spawning bluegill. It was quite a fight landing this fish with my 2 wt. 7 1/2 ft. I wish I had video footage of the aerial jumps this bass made trying to dislogde the popper from its mouth. This fish made my morning along with the dozen big bull bluegill I kept.

Two Mornings of Bluegill Madness

I always look forward to the spring of the year because that's when I get to fish for one of my favorite species: the bluegill. This past week, I spent my time exploring Walker County Lake for early bluegills, searching for potential spawning areas. I usually start fishing the lake in the last week of March when the water temperatures begin to warm up, encouraging the fish to become active. 

Wednesday and Thursday were the best days to fish this week due to the warm temperatures in the high 70s. The water temperatures on both days were close to 78 degrees, with overcast skies, which is excellent for surface action. The only downside was the wind, which at times made it impossible to make a decent cast. Because of this, I left the lake both days as soon as it began white-capping, which was around 10 AM. I started each day at 6 AM, giving me roughly 3.5 hours to explore.

On Wednesday morning, both of my 7.5-foot fly rod combos were rigged with size 10 surface poppers. I prefer these very small poppers for early spring fishing because they spook the fish less in the clear water and make a lighter landing on the surface than larger poppers. 

I managed to land numbers of bluegill this size using a size 10 Boogle Bug and a Betts popper, which produced consistent action all morning. However,the bite was’t fast and furious; I had to work for every hit. Don’t expect the bluegill to be near the shore this early in the season; almost all the fish I landed were caught about 10 to 12 feet from the bank in deeper water. The key to getting a bite was to let the popper sit motionless for a few seconds and then barely move it to capture their attention. I also tried a tiny beadhead Wooly Bugger in the deep water, but it didn’t produce any interest.

On my way home Wednesday morning, I was really fired up for Thrusday's trip because I knew I would have the same poppers tied on my 2 and 3-weight fly rods. I arrived again at 6 AM, and by the time I got my Pelican boat in the water and trolled to my starting spot, it was 6:15 AM. I began with the same routine as the previous day, casting both the Boogle Bug and the Betts popper. 

After about 20 minutes, I noticed that the fish weren’t coming to the surface to hit either popper. It was time to experiment, so I tried the beadhead Wooly Bugger and the black gnat, but neither produced any results. As the morning went on and I fished different areas of the lake with no bluegill landed, I remembered a few years ago when I faced a similar situation. At that time, tying on a blue size 10 Boogle Bullet had saved my trip, so I decided to give it a shot. I had one left in my fly box, so I tied it on my 2-weight rod. 

It proved to be the winner of the morning showing a few of the two day catch. What amazed me was how the fish were hitting it. They would swirl at the popper and gently nudge it. The hits were so soft that I had to watch the popper closely to ensure I had a fish on. This popper is designed to go underwater when moved, which made it enticing to fish that weren’t interested in surface action, as they would perceive it as wounded and inhale it. 

The two morning trips brought my total to 32 that I dressed for future meals. I did notice during both trips that these bluegill are not the monsters I use to catch in this lake. I think fishing pressure is taking a toll on the lake. In other words, all the bluegill that spawn in this lake this year won’t be here next year. The live bait fishermen will likely catch all that are on the beds between now and the end of the spawning cycle. This is one reason I always fish the lake early; the other reason is that the fertilizing cycle will begin at the end of this month.

Looking back on these two days, I feel like I got my season off to a good start. In the coming weeks, I will be posting about my trips to Smith Lake, where I’ll be fishing for spotted bass and, yes, those huge bluegills there!