Fishing Ryan Creek With B.T.

I have found that fishing after a cold front is not the most productive time to fish. That was the case yesterday when my son-in-law B.T. and I ventured out on the waters of Ryan Creek. The temperature was close to 38 on Wednesday night and cool all day Thursday and into Friday. I was hoping for topwater action so B.T. could land a nice size Spotted Bass. All that hit the Rapala were 12 to 13-inch size. The Rapala is an excellent topwater lure to entice some big fish hits but not on Saturday. I was using my 5 wt. with a size 6 Boogle Bug but no hits came. I did manage 6 bluegills 4 of which I will count on my goal of 100 during the spawning period. Those fish all hit after the water reached 68. There was very limited activity on Ryan Creek, so I guess everyone else knew the results before they launched. It was a good outing anytime I can get to fish with B.T. even if it was a slow day.

B. T with one of the 7 or 8 Spotted Bass he landed --we called it quits around noon --slow bite most of the morning--I am still hoping for a super day soon with B.T. so he can finally land his big spot.

One of the four I counted towards my goal--I am now 42 away from my goal. Sorry for the blur this image was taken with iPhone 

Little Fatty size 8 makes another hit

A Memorable Outing That I Want Forget Anytime Soon

I found out Tuesday why I need a good supply of flies and poppers.  I think most of you already know where this post is going—bluegill fishing. I hope I am not boring you guys with all the posts I have been doing lately about my trips to reach my 100 super bluegills during the spawning season. I know when I started this blog it was mainly to keep a fishing log of the time of year, water temps, moon phase or any other information that might help me to become a better fisherman. Little did I know that the blog would enable me to meet and converse with some expert fishermen, who have help me learn so much about this sport I truly love.

So with that said Tuesday’s trip will be a memorable outing for me to say the least. In a four-hour span, I landed a total of 32 bluegills and during that time I brought to hand some of the largest bluegills I have ever caught on Walker County Lake. I was culling fish from the very start of the trip to try and reach my limit which is 20 on this lake. I made the limit with some big bluegills; four were in the 12 to 15oz  category and the 2 Shellcrackers were 14 to 15 oz. I used two different fly rods starting out with my 3wt 9 ft. Streamflex and later started using my new 4 wt. 9 ft. St. Croix fast action. In fact, if I had not had the 4 wt. I would have never landed the Shellcrackers. A lot of these fish were in submerging cover which made it a challenge to land a lot of them. Through it all, I lost 4 poppers to the Shellcrackers who are still swimming with them in their mouth somewhere in the lake. After adding my 20 big bluegills today I am 56 away from my goal. I feel a little better about reaching my goal now after today’s adventure.

This was one of the 15 oz. beauties

If this Shellcracker had to jump many more times I would have lost him, the White Betts Popper fell out of his mouth once in the boat

Another beauty held by the caretaker at the bait shop on the lake

The prize at the end of the trip--this is an outing I will remember

The Upside Down Bream Killer & Little Fatty Popper Score!!

This weekend I spent four hours early on Smith Lake chasing the Spots and of course the big bull bluegills. I was fishing a full moon and I knew the fishing should be good and I wasn’t disappointed. I didn’t want to waste time gunning the motor down the lake, so I started right at the lunch with the black Boogle Bug using my 5 wt. Redington. After a couple of cast I connected with a 16 spot my largest and landed four more before the sun took over and turned the bite off.  In fact nothing was happening with the bass even down deep with the Buggers or Craws on up in the morning; so when this happens on Smith you come prepared for the next level. I had my 9 ft. 4 wt with the BreamBug’s Little Fatty size 8 tied on and started to work the banks with cover. The popper didn’t disappoint helping me land some super big bull bluegills. I was moving it with a slight jerk which was causing some water movement. I would let it set for a few seconds and then the popping hit would occur. These big gills on the 4 wt. were giving the rod quite a workout. After the top action slowed I switch to the Upside Down Bream Killer by BreamBugs. I was fishing in cover and letting the fly sink some and moving the fly slowly over the cover and usually the hit would occur right above the submerged limbs. I was using the 5 wt here because I needed the extra backbone to land these big boys. I did break off once and lost my Upside Down chartreuse but the black Upside Down prove to be the killer. I ended the trip with a total of 11 bluegills with six being the ones I counted toward my goal of 100. After adding these 6 biggies I am 76 away. Catching these big bluegills is something else on the fly rod---you just got to love this stuff!!!!

I had rather land this 16" Spot on the 5 wt instead of landing a 3lb. using  a 7 ft. heavy action casting rod and casting reel--why because you have got to process some skill to play and land a fighting Spot on the fly rod as opposed to jerking the 3 lb in the boat in a a matter of second--just my take on the casting rod verses the fly rod.

This big gill was in water 20 ft. deep, I have read that some of these big bulls never leave the deep water to spawn.

This one big tree had 6 bluegill in it with one breaking off my Chartruse Upside Down Bream Killer, but I did get 6--3 being the big boys with the Black Upside Down Bream Killer, right above the submerge limbs. The water was super clear---really a pretty place

Take a look at the lower left bluegill, he took the Little Fatty Popper--he came out of the water twice trying to throw the popper

I really like this popper because of the concave face which created some water movement---from BreamBugs

The Memories This 60 Year Old Cypress Boat Holds

Every once in awhile someone, something, or an event brings back some great memories. This week was one of those times when I made a visit to my brothers and his wife in Mississippi. That something was a boat that my brother designed and built with the help of his older brother over 60 years ago. My brother has been restoring this boat for the past year, repairing the bottom and the ends which had deteriorated over the years. The boat was still in use just over 10 years ago, but the leaks got so bad that he finally stored it in his shop until he had time to restore it. This past week was the finished date. If this boat could only talk; the stories, the amount of fish pulled over its side, the places it was launched and the waters it has floated would fill hundreds of pages. Now the boat will be passed down to the next generation when my brother’s son will inherit it to use with his fly rod on some of the small streams and lakes in the Tupelo Mississippi area. The work that my brother has put into this boat is amazing and the result is a unique solid wood vessel that can not be duplicated. I know my Nephew will take care of the boat and in turn, pass it down to one of his sons. 

The ends are solid popular with 1/2" western cedar inlaid over the popular on both ends

The sides are solid 1" by 12" cypress 12 ft. long
All the rids inside the boat are popular

The two paddles are the original paddles that were used with the boat when it was built. The cypress seats rest perfectly on the two side stabilizers which are white oak

We launched the boat on Legion Lake late Thursday afternoon and not a leak anywhere. The catwalk in the bottom of the boat is the original 1/2" white oak strips--in fact, all the wood is original except for the ends which rotted away over the years.

The boat has three stabilizers strips on the bottom which is attached with brass screws. The bottom is 1/4" marine plywood which is original. The stabilizers help keep the boat more stable on the surface of the water. An original for sure and a boat that will still be creating memories for years to come.