Fishing the Mystery Nymph with Success

I was back on the Sipsey Tailrace on Tuesday at daylight. There was a slight fog on the surface but I could still see the Bomber dry fly floating effortless through some of the runs. I had the luxury of not being so rushed to fish some of my favorite spots, because I had the upper tailrace to myself. I saw my first fly fisherman about two hours later.

I actually needed the extra time given me to try and present a pattern that the trout would take. It was the Bomber for a short period, but after the dry action stopped I had to go with a nymph pattern.

The one and only on the Bomber for the morning. I missed a number of takes before this bow actually pulled it under. It is so frustrating when the trout are sipping at the fly instead of actually nailing it. When I see this type action I know I have to start nymphing.

  Working my way up the Sip, through the fog and some awesome runs in front of me.

 Nice rainbow on the mystery nymph

 Yes the mystery nymph, this little fly was tied by David at The Trout Zone. It has no name at the moment, so hence the mystery fly. This was the one fly that I fished while nymphing the rest of the morning and landed some really quality trout in the process. I was fishing it under an indicator, but soon discovered that I needed some extra weight to get near the bottom of some of the runs. A tiny shot crimped about 10" above the nymph worked to perfection.

One of the runs on the far bank that produced early, it was kind of difficult determining a take, because of the fast water in the narrow seam, so when in doubt still set the hook; which enable me to land one of the better trout of  the morning in this run.

The better trout was this guy which gave the 9 ft. 3 wt. a real workout, especially against the current.  I discovered the fight was not over after I landed this bow. He wasn't about to pose for a pic in my hand, so an image underwater worked well before he darted off.  

Access 6 walk way right to the waters edge, where I started fishing early.

Some of the Mountain Laurel that line the banks of the tailrace. We are very lucky to have a place that offers some great trout fishing like this in the state of Alabama.

 

 

An Eventful Evening of Fishing With my Grandson

Getting to fish with my Grandson last weekend was a hoot to say the least. It brought back so many memories of some of my first trips with my son and daughter. We lived in Tupelo Mississippi at the time and we would go out to the local park on Sunday’s to walk the trails and of course fish for the bluegills that were stocked in the small 3-acre pond.

Well, all of those memories came back to me when Pops and his Dad carried Bryson out for his first fishing trip Saturday afternoon. His Dad told me on the way to the small pond that I was in charge of letting Bryson land his first fish. I had been talking to him for some time about this memorable trip and he was ready and pumped to go, to say the least.

We begin the journey by digging for night crawlers or red worms in the backyard. The name didn’t matter to Bryson; all he wanted to do was grab the worm as soon as we unearthed one and pull it apart. I kept telling him we needed the whole worm to make a nice meal for the fish, but his theory was that if you break the worm into, it would make 2 baby worms. So with that sound explanation in mind, we continue to dig for worms until we had enough for the evening fishing trip. Upon arriving at the little pond I notice there was some small bluegill still bedding in the shallows near the bank. So I showed Bryson how to bait the hook and we made our first cast towards the beds. I had explained to him that once the bobber goes under he needed to start reeling because that meant he had a fish on. We were lucky to be fishing in a pond that had lots of bluegills, because, within a few seconds, Bryson had his first fish with his Pops. I must admit it was a teaching experience for him to get the hang of reeling that first fish in, but after the first catch, he got better.

We battled mosquitoes, gnats, and extremely high humidity, all afternoon, but Bryson was a trooper and so was his Dan and Pops. For me, the elements were minor on this trip, because I got to teach my Grandson about the joys of fishing and how to enjoy the outdoors. I am looking forward to our first fly rod outing when he gets a little older.

One of many bluegills fisherman Bryson landed for the afternoon.

Is this little guy excited or what????? He is already asking Pops when are we going again.
Hope all Dad's have a great Father's Day!!!

Beauty of Smith Lake+Ragin Cajun Big Trout Fishing Derby

Guys today’s post starts with the announcement of the “Ragin Cajun Big Trout Fishing Derby” which will be held on the Sipsey Tailrace June 29^th. 2013.  

 

Sign up today for the Big Trout Fishing Derby hosted by Riverside Fly Shop and KC Kayak of Baton Rouge, LA. Early Registration Entry fee is $25 and must be registered and paid by 5:00pm, June 23, 2013. Registration after that time will be $35.00. Derby Entry Fee includes lunch. Prizes include a KC Kayak, guided fishing trips (one in the salt, one on the Sipsey), Mystic Fly Rods, cash, food, plus draw prizes. See the Derby Rules and Regulations for complete details. There is also a BIG FISH pot you may participate in for the largest fish in the pot. Donations and proceeds support our Big Trout in the "Sip" project.

Fishing is not the only thing one remembers when visiting Smith Lake, my home waters in Jasper Alabama. The wildflowers, the unusual rock formations and of course the super clear water is what makes this lake the most scenic in the state. One can see as far as 20 ft. down in the gin clear water. It is by far the deepest lake in the south reaching depths of over 300 ft. in some areas. 

 

Beautiful flowers line a lot of banks. I don't know the name of this flower, it resembles a magnolia bloom.

 

The mountain laurel is in full bloom

Lots of rock ledges will challenge anyone who tries to land a lure or fly underneath the ledge. This area often holds some outstanding bass, bluegill, and crappie.

An awesome rock wall where I have landed numbers of bluegills and bass

One of the many beautiful streams that runs into the lake at various places along it's 500 miles of shoreline

The lush green forest of spruce and the hardwoods trees that line the banks

Another flower that blooms this time of year

A low rock formation that doesn't end at the waters edge, but continues for many feet below the water's surface

I landed this nice 16" Spot Tuesday morning at daylight on of all things a size 6 Moth fly. I fished over an hour with different flies landing small bluegills and no bass. I decided before I left I would tie on the Moth. I made a long cast in a small nook off the main channel. The Moth landed ever so light on the still water surface and with no movement at all; after a few seconds the fly disappeared in a surface swirl that only a bass can make. Three minutes later I landed this nice male spot using my 9 ft. 5 wt. The 4X tippet withstood the numerous runs it made as it tried to break free.

Sorry to say only one bluegill qualified for the quest on this trip. What makes this bluegill special is its size; it is the largest female I have ever landed on Smith Lake. She inhaled the Seal Leech right at the edge of a rock wall near the launch as I was leaving. It was an unbelievable fight on the 4wt. I know that the quest is only for the big male bluegills, but I am going to break the rules today and count this beautiful gill----she will put me 64 away. It is going to be more difficult to complete the quest now that the big bluegill has moved back into the deep areas of the lake; but I will continue to compete.  

 

 

 

 



http://riversideflyshop.com/

A Day on The Sipsey Tailrace Landing Rainbow

I made an epic fishing trip today, no not to fish for bass or bluegill on Smith Lake; but to finally get to cast for some rainbow on the Sipsey Tailrace below Smith Dam. This was my first trip of the year there and one that proved very productive.

I noticed as I crossed the Sipsey Bridge that the water was muddy. I was hoping as I traveled the two mile road running parallel to access 5 pump station that the water would be much clearer. When I arrived I was not disappointed; the water was super clear and there was an excellent flow.

I landed this rainbow at 9:30 which was a late start for me. I had overcast skies and one other fly fisherman in the area which is what I like when I fish the Sipsey. The first cast I made produced this bow, using Alan’s Bomber. The aggressive take and the anticipation of more dry action signaled good things to happen for me the next couple of hours.

The Bomber worked its magic again as this rainbow exploded on the pattern right at the end of a good drift. I notice it took a minute after the release for it to regain its strength, before it darted off to fight another day.

 This is one of the runs that the Core of Engineers with Alabama Power created last summer on the tailrace. It is an excellent area because of the large rocks that was placed across the bottom at the beginning of the run. The depth here is between 3 and 4 ft. deep. The rock area in the photo is about a foot deep which leads into the run next to the far bank. I was able to get some excellent drifts in the run, which enable me to land some 11 to 12” rainbow in this area.

Another nice rainbow taken on the Bomber, I really like this pattern because of the hackle that Alan used. It gives the fly the ability to float high without using a tremendous amount of floatant. I landed six rainbows from this one run. I found myself doing more false casting than I normally do; but it helped to maneuver the fly for a good drift. I will get an image of this run on my next trip. It has some really fast water to maneuver the fly through.

This is the next good run I moved to; there were some spots of sunlight peaking through the cloud cover so I decided to change flies and go with a smaller pattern. I have notice on this tailrace after some good takes on a particular pattern the trout here seem to recognize real verses fake; so onto the size 14 Caddis.  This is really an unusual run with deep pocket water and sunken logs on the bottom.  I could see some really nice trout here but I never got a take from any of the 15 to 16” size.

The Caddis connected on the first cast with this bow and the dry action continued for the next half hour from this one area.

A nice healthy bow taken on the Caddis right before the sun started taking over the area, which means the bite turned off. I hope this trip is an omen of good things to come for me this year on the Sipsey. I don't know the exact number I brought to hand but I can say it was one of my best days with dries here.