**Giving Fly Tying a Try*

 I’ve started my beginner lessons in fly tying, using YouTube as my instructor. In my last post on June 6, I began thinking about tying some wooly buggers first. As I progressed, I also tried my hand at tying pheasant tails and caddis flies. These three flies are the top patterns I use 90% of the time when fishing in the lake or tailrace for trout. While using these flies over the years, I've often wondered how a differently colored hackle on the caddis would affect the bite of bluegill or trout. Similarly, I have considered whether using a different-colored body for the pheasant tail, instead of the traditional brown, would make a difference. The same questions apply to the wooly bugger. This curiosity is one of the main reasons why I want to tie my own flies.

According to the YouTube channel I’ve been following, here are the essentials I need to get started with tying basic flies. All the materials, tools, and vice shown in the accompanying image were purchased from Amazon. The vice was the most expensive item. I was advised to invest in a quality vice, which will be beneficial during the learning process. This vice is quite heavy, weighing 2.25 lbs.

Thus begins another venture in my fly fishing adventure. I will be posting some of my flies in upcoming posts, but I should warn you that they may not be the ordinary colors I mentioned at the beginning. I INTEND TO EXPERIMENT!

The Tungsten Bead Krystal Bugger

 

In the second week of April, I published a post discussing this small 1/16 oz. bugger while fishing for bluegill on a windy morning at Walker County Lake. However, I didn't share how I discovered this fly. Many of you probably have a place where flies go to rest, unused until they are rediscovered. For me, that place is a set of small plastic drawers in my fly fishing closet. I found this particular fly at my son's house, tucked away in a small plastic container with other flies that seemed destined for the "fly graveyard." It was the only bugger fly pattern among them—a chartreuse beadhead with an olive green body in size 8. That morning, the bite had slowed with the previous flies I was using, so after lunch, I decided to try something different subsurface, and the bugger was my choice. At the time, I didn't have a name for it, so I simply referred to it as "the bugger." After fishing with the fly that afternoon and successfully landing numerous larger bluegill that were not spawning, I realized I had found a winner. That night, I began searching the web for a beadhead bugger and discovered the name "The Tungsten Bead Krystal Bugger." Since discovering this little gem early last summer it has caused me to have a different opinion concerning small wooly buggers. It's funny how flies that seem useless can turn into some of the best options when nothing is happening on the surface. I have a feeling the trout on the Sipsey will be interested!

This bluegill nailed the black krystal near the bank and believe me there is no mistaking the hit. I don't believe this fish was in the spawning mode, because it hit the fly in water at a depth of 6 ft. Notice the colorful tail fins. The last image was a big gill taken fishing Walker County Lake in April where that morning I wasn't having any luck fishing surface poppers so I tied on the bugger and got results. This is one killer fly not only for bass and bluegill but it is sold to fish for trout out west, I purchased the fly from Yellow Dog Flies in Montana.

 This quality male spotted bass hit the black bugger during gusty wind conditions while fishing the levee on Smith Lake with my son last week during a morning trip. I was actually fishing for larger bluegill when this 18" plus male spotted bass inhale the fly. I landed the bass using my 9 ft. 3wt, which was the highlight of the trip for me. 

I've found that the best leader setup to fish this fly is a 7 1/2-foot furled leader paired with at least 2 to 2 1/2 feet of 5X or 6X fluorocarbon tippet. This combination increases the sink rate and improves overall presentation. This fly will become one of my main flies to fish when the surface bite slow. Next Thurday will be my next trip to Smith to fish for the spotted bass and big gills, so that morning I have decided to fish only this fly for most of the trip and see what kind of results it will produce---stay tuned!

Explaining The Slow Bite, After 10AM

 While fly fishing this past Tuesday in Ryan Creek on Smith Lake, I noticed the bite slowed after 10 o'clock. I also saw that the fish still interested in my poppers were extremely scattered. In other words, I was fishing a lot of dead water, which is water with basically no fish, with the exception of a few tiny bluegills in the shallows. 

 That trip on Tuesday caused me to share my own assumptions about why the bite slows during midday compared to daylight hours and why the bass and bluegill that were aggressive in the early morning hours change their feeding patterns in midday through mid-afternoon. 

I am going to limit my reasoning solely to the bass and bluegill species that I fish for in my home waters, Smith Lake and Walker County Lake. 

If you have followed my blog over the years, you know that my favorite time to fish is at daylight. Simply put, that is when the fish are the most active! Why is this? Because fish like bass, bluegill, or even trout often hunt best in low light, when their prey is less able to see them. Insects and small baitfish are more active or more vulnerable at dawn and dusk, making them an easy meal for a hungry bass or trout, and they are less visible to birds and surface predators during these times. Daylight and evening hours often bring cooler water temperatures, ideal for many species, especially in warm months. Cloudy or overcast skies subdue sunlight, mimicking dawn/dusk conditions, and will extend active feeding times. Cloud cover can also signal an incoming weather system, which often triggers a feeding frenzy before pressure drops. That is why I pay close attention to the barometric reading before and during the times I am on the water. 

If you fish long enough, as I have, you will notice the active feeding time during daylight hours lasts two to three hours, depending on cloud cover. The bite slows from 9 AM until midday because the high sun makes the fish more visible to predators, so they often retreat to cover or deeper water. The insects and baitfish may also retreat or hide during the heat of the day, reducing available food. 

Take heart, there are ways you can still land fish during the slow midday bite. First, I slow everything down, starting with my casting and boat movement, and develop more patience. The fish haven't developed lock-jaw at this time of day, but you must entice them to take your offering. Remember that the fish will not attack your popper as aggressively as daylight hours, so letting the fly sit motionlessly for at least 30 seconds or more will sometimes get a take if the fly is in a shaded area or near cover. I have noticed many times during a slow bite period that the fish will slap, swirl, and sip the bug. The slap, swirl, and sip routine is the time I change to a smaller popper in the form of a size 12 caddis, bogglebullet size 10, or the Orvis bream bug size 12. With these poppers, you are trying to create a quite stealthy presentation. I use my  9ft. 3 and 4-weight rods rigged with a 6X tippet instead of the normal 5X or 4X tippet used with my 5wt. or 6wt. fly rods with these flies. Most of the time, one of these three poppers will produce a take. Remember the amount of water you are covering with no fish in it. So when you encounter a fish to hit your offering during this period, make a great cast, present the fly as life-like as possible, and have the patience to let the fly sit until the water rings have disappeared. The slow bite can be rewarding and discouraging, but remember to stay positive and think every cast will produce a take!! LET'S GO FISHING!!!