Some Fall Top Water Action

 There is nothing like landing bass on top during October, especially if you are fishing with your son. Jason is home for a couple of weeks. We launched at Duncan Bridge on Smith Lake this past Tuesday morning and fished the main channel north of the Duncan bridge. 

We were blessed to witness one of the most scenic early morning sunrises ever on Smith Lake. Of course, that is our opinion. 

The blue Boggle Bug size 8 was the popper that got the most attention for the morning. Jason landed this largemouth by moving the popper slowly. Notice the scar on its side, evidence of something attacking the fish.

This largemouth may have been wounded, but it still had enough fight to engage the drag on Jason's fly reel numerous times.

 I landed this bass on my second cast right after we launched the boat. Little did I know that would be the only quality bass I would land for the morning. As stated before, the blue popper was the winner for the morning.  Guess who had the only blue Boggle Bug popper?

Fall and spring seem to bring out aggressive hits using poppers on Smith, as shown in this video right after the sun hit the rock wall where the bass was feeding. This fish hit the popper 10 to 12 ft. from the base of the wall. I've learned, and Jason has learned, to always work the popper some distance from the wall before you make your next cast. The fish will follow the popper some distance before they decide to nail it. You've got to love this fall fishing!!

A side note: I really enjoyed today's trip because it was my first fall trip for this year. I mentioned this in one of my previous posts, but I have only one guy to fly fish with now, and he will not be able to join me again until next spring. I do have individuals who fish, but they are not into fly fishing like me. There is a big difference in having someone in the boat with you who loves the sport as much as you do. 

 

My Forgotten Bluegill Web Page

 Three weeks ago, I was following my afternoon routine of enjoying my afternoon coffee while scrolling through some of my old fishing folders. Surprisingly, I discovered the Bluegill website page I created in 2010 on the BLUEGILL-BIG BLUEGILL WEBSITE. In fact, that was the year I created my fishing blog, Fishing Through Life. I was using the Bluegill site to connect with bluegill fishermen nationwide. I decided to create a few posts to reconnect with some of my bluegill buddies on the site. If you would like to take a look, follow my page link, Bluegill-Big Bluegill---

The main reason I stopped posting on the site was finding time. I found it challenging to post on the Bluegill site and share info on my Fishing Through Life blog, not to mention work and attending tennis matches involving our son and daughter at the time. In other words, my wife and I were busy working, and time was limited 15/16 years ago: thank goodness for retirement! 

Quote of the day: Enjoy every minute of fly fishing from March through June!!

 

Waiting For CoolerTempertures

 When is the best time to land fish using the fly rod? August stands out as the least productive month, particularly for warm-water species. Bass and Bluegill tend to retreat to deeper waters during the hottest times of the year, typically July and August when surface temperatures can reach a scorching 87/88 degrees. However, as the water begins to cool in late September and October, the fish become more active, marking a significant shift in behavior. 

The tailrace gets most of my attention during these summer months. I would rather stand in 58-degree water than sit in the boat and wipe sweat from my forehead. 

This past Tuesday's trip on the tailrace was my first outing to fish the tailrace in a while. Why? It is hard to leave landing the spotted bass and super-sized gills on the lake during April, May, and June, the prime times to fish the lake. 

I arrived at the parking lot at 6 a.m. and discovered I was the only one there. Great, I will fish a couple of holes near access six. Before I suited up, I walked down the metal walkway to check the water lever and saw the generators had been on early that morning. I knew then I would have to wait at least an hour or more for the water to recede before I could wade anywhere near the areas I would fish. So I sat in the truck and reorganized my five fly boxes while listening to my sevenies songbook on my flash drive. 

Finally, the water receded, and I reached access six to fish my first pocket hole. The water was lower than I expected. Neither pocket hole produces any trout. I used my Euro nymphing 10' 4"  fly rod paired with my Orvis fly reel. I'm still learning to detect a take, especially in a slow current. I soon discovered I was battling two enemies: the bright sun lighting up the areas I was fishing and a tremendous amount of fishing pressure the week before. So I looked for shade, which was above access six. I sit up in a hole and run. I had fished many times before. I am now into my fourth fly change. I selected a size 12 pheasant tail as my point fly and added a size 18 green midge as my upper fly. My tippet ring was tied about 16" above the point fly. I use the tippet ring so I don't have to keep tying knots when changing flies above the point fly.

Cast after cast, in the first run, didn't produce a trout, but I didn't lose hope. Moving to deeper water, I finally landed my first trout. The take was light, but I was proud of detecting the hit. I am still learning to land a trout using the long Euro rod, but I am getting better with every trip. This form of fly fishing will be my mode of fishing in this place because of the amount of fishing pressure it endures. The rest of today's trip enabled me to practice my casting technique mainly because the trout developed lockjaw. As I was leaving and walking up the incline back to the truck, I remembered this hit song by "Three Dog Night" in the seventies, "One is the loneliness number," which might have been the feeling of the lone trout I landed today. But for me, it was a great way to spend the morning. 

Still Landing a Few Fish on Smith Lake---PATIENCE!!!

 The extreme heat is a killer during the summer months, not only for the fish you are pursuing on Smith Lake, but it takes a toll on the person doing the fishing. The only way to enjoy fishing this time of year is to be on the water before dawn, fish for three hours, and leave before the sun takes over and the humidity gets unbearable. Cathey and I followed that plan to the letter this past Tuesday when we left the house at 4:30 and started fishing at 5:15. No hot sun and no humidity to cause your clothes to get wet. In the deep South, roughly six months are considered prime fishing months: March, April, May, June, October, and most of November. Early Spring, starting in March through June, is exceptional. The water temps are warming up, and the spawn is on for the bass and bluegill during these months. The fish are hungry after a long winter of eating very little and will eat almost anything thrown their way. October is another month that is an excellent time to toss topwater lures and poppers. The fish are stocking up for the winter months. Some of my best topwater action is in October, not for the bluegill, but the spotted and largemouth bass are very active during October. 

The dog days of summer cause me to look forward to all these months every year. The only negative aspect of Spring and Fall every year is that I get a year only when these months come around. The positive aspect is landing many fish during these months, so the positive outweighs the negative when considering the fishing part. 

This was one greedy bass; it not only wanted to inhale the Bea's Popper I was fishing, but once I landed the fish, I noticed a small bluegill in its throat with only the tail of the bluegill showing. It put up quite a fight on my 3 wt. This would be my only bass for the three-hour trip.

My 3 wt. was really put to the test when landing this nice bull gill. The fight was equal to the spotted bass I landed earlier that morning. This would be my only keeper. I did land a few small gills, but they were not worth keeping

Cathey, fishing with crickets and her 8-foot ultra-light spinning rod combo, won the bluegill total. I am still trying to teach her to use the fly rod. Hopefully, she will be using it before next year's spawn. 

The Power of the Spotted Bass verses the Largemouth Bass Fly Fishing

Guys, this post is devoted to bass fishing. Today, I want to compare the power of the Spotted Bass and the Largemouth Bass when using a fly rod. Both are formidable opponents, but the Spotted Bass emerges as the champion in fighting power. So, what sets it apart?

If you notice, the spotted bass has a more streamlined and muscular body than the largemouth bass. This body structure allows them to move swiftly and generate more power during a fight. I think the brown trout has the same features as the spotted bass. This is why the brown trout is the winner in fighting power versus the rainbow trout. 

Spotted Bass are stronger swimmers than largemouth, especially against river or large stream currents. Being a stronger swimmer translates into more intense power once you hook this fish. 

Spotted bass are much more aggressive and territorial than largemouth bass. This aggressive behavior often results in more intense and prolonged fights when hooked, as they tend to resist more. When hooked, a twelve-inch Spotted Bass can exhibit more fight and power than a twelve-inch largemouth. Fighting a twelve-inch Spotted Bass using a 4 or 5 wt. fly rod is exciting. Playing the fish is all part of the excitement of landing the fish using a light 5X or 6X tippet. You don't rush landing a twelve-inch Spotted Bass using a light tippet; if you do, the fish has beat you most of the time!

Spotted bass often exhibit greater stamina and endurance than largemouth bass, allowing them to put up a prolonged fight. This makes landing them more challenging.

The videos below show why I am obsessed with fly fishing for Spotted Bass and Largemouth on Smith Lake. I've stated this several times before, but if I had to choose any lake in the South to fly fish for bass, it would be Smtih Lake!

This Spotted Bass was taken three weeks ago at the Smith Dam at daylight fishing an olive number 8 Boggle Bug popper. Daylight is my favorite time to fish Smith for quality Spotted Bass, and this one was of high quality on my 6 wt. Listen for the drag to engage numerous times as I fight this fish. Also, take note of what I said at the end of the video.

I remember Jason landing this Spotted Bass right before the sun came up, using his 4 wt. to fish for bluegill off the rock wall in the background. I missed filming most of the video because I was looking for the video camera in a number of compartments in the boat. This was a quality Spotted bass to land using a 4 wt. He loves to Smtih Lake when he is home from Sacramento.

Another quality Spotted Bass was taken in the nook area off this rock wall. I landed this fish using Barr Nunn size 8 fishing for the big bull bluegills that call this area home. I used my 4. wt. to fight this fish. I'm glad I had my drag set for the numerous runs it made because I was using a 6X tippet to fight this fish. I have landed many bluegills off this wall, but my time fishing this wall is limited because I expect a floating pier to be placed here as soon as the lot is sold; what a shame!

Landing Post Spawn Largemouth Bass

My son Jason and I arrived at the Smith Lake launch at 5 AM, expecting some early popper action. However, we had to wait until 7 AM for the action. We caught numerous small 6 to 8-inch bass, but the quality bass was not in the area we were fishing, or they weren't biting. The prized catch of the morning was a largemouth bass taken on a size eight chartreuse popper. I was fishing it slowly and, at times, motionless. The hit was so light that I initially thought it was a bluegill. However, the head shake quickly revealed its size. Despite losing some weight post-spawn, the largemouth bass still gave my five wt. Rod, a good bend!

This morning, the largemouth bass were more active than the spotted bass. We only landed one 8" spotted bass. Jason landed this 15" largemouth using a size 8 Betts popper, letting it sit motionless until the water rings moved a distance from the popper. I always look forward to our trips to the lake when Jason comes home from Sacramento.