Chasing Trout With the 3 Wt. in Alabama

The Tailrace has finally got to the point where the average trout fisherman can wet a fly. Notice I said average or intermediate that is what I still consider myself as far as trout fishing in concerned. In my opinion I want make it to the advance stage until I can master nymph fishing much better. For today’s outing I tied on my favorite dry for this area which is the Griffiths Gnat in size 18 or 20. This little fly seems to always produce because most of the time the hatch is similar to its pattern. With a little floatant applied it will float high for quick a while. I arrived around 9 AM to find half dozen vehicles at the parking lot. After suiting up and pulling on my new Korkers wading boots I proceeded to the walk-in area and to my surprise there was no one to be seen. I just stood there for a few minutes and view the beauty of the place. The sounds of the birds, the scent of the forest, and the beauty of the moss on the rock beneath the water made me realize I am lucky to have a place like this in Alabama to fish. In fact it is the only place in the State to trout fish. I was using my 9 ft. 3 wt. Streamflex for the first time for trout and I was looking forward to least a hook up. There was no activity on top in the area so I move up stream until I saw some trout rising on the far bank. I fish the area for about 10 minuets and lost a couple of bows I should have landed, simple because I was late on hook set. I move close to the dam itself and finally connected with a bow on the Griffiths. It was my first trout with the 3 wt. and well worth the effort. The top action diminished shortly after I landed the bow and I switched to a size 18 scud  nymhing with little success. The guys I talk to on the way up to the dam area were either landing none or had landed one or two. I did notice that the flow was not as fast as it usually is and we all agreed if there had been more current the fishing would have been better. For me it was a good for me to be back on the tailrace for a few hours even with limited success.  

The lack of current with the glass surface made it difficult to connect--really needed some flow to cut down on glare.

Glad to bring this one to hand--hope things will improve as far as flow is concerned next trip--I am still working on image quality as you can see even if I didn't take the picture

Walking the Banks in Pursue of Super Size Bluegills

Today was supposed to be a trip on Smith fishing for the Spots and Largemouth bass but the weather took over at daybreak and washed the trip out. So the next thing to do was to keep to my schedule and go to the gym and wait and see if the weather cleared so I could at least get a quickie trip in the afternoon. As it worked out there were scattered showers most of the day and into the afternoon, and I hate to be on the water in a boat when it thunders and lighting. I did go, but with limited resources, such as my boat, which is a big factor on Smith when it comes to landing fish.  I decided I would try something I have never done at Smith, fish from the bank, with the fly rod and one of my blogger poppers. It proved to be effective landing some of the monster bluegills in the spillway area of the lake. Placing the number 8 popper against the rock walls brought some nice hits. The bluegills were scattered and the hit would come after the popper had sit motionless for at least 15 to 30 seconds. I know that it takes patience to wait this long for the hit but I realized I was fishing in water at least 40 ft. deep and the fish had to have time to see the offering. As luck would have it my patience paid off and I did get in about hour of fishing before the rain set in again. By the way this is will add to my total of 100 bluegills in a 6 week spawning period. I am now 83 away from reaching my goal.

 These four will add to my total--lots of fun on the 9ft. 3wt. Streamflex, notice the size of the gill in the center

This is the bluegill in the center of the image above. I forgot my camera so all these images were taken after I got back home from the spillway--really frustrating forgetting the camera



Back on Smith Lake for Some Boogle Bug Action

Guys sorry I am a little behind on posting, but I have been on the water for the past couple of days. Thursday was a wash out for my son and me at Walker County Lake. I forgot when I scheduled our trip for Monday that it is Spring Holidays here in the state and the lake was covered up. When you have 20 plus boats on a 160 acre lake and all the bank fishermen to boot, then you have too many fishermen per area. My son manage to land four small bluegills and a small bass and that was the extent of the trip. Dad didn’t even score. We left after a couple of hours.

Now for today’s trip on Smith; the Boogle Bugs as usual were the choice for the 9 ft. 5 wt Redington. One of my fishing buddies went with me today and we landed some nice Spots and one nice largemouth. The bass were hitting light in water temps around 68. The number 6 Boogle Bugs are the best weapon right now to get the attention of the slow hitters. It was a great morning for both of using the fly rods.

Nice Spot on the Olive Boogle Bug--these fish are awesome on the fly rod--they just don't know when to quite fighting. We ended the morning with 10 Spots and 1 Largemouth.

Charles with the best Spot he ever landed with the fly rod. It is really enjoyable to fish with someone who loves to fish with the same equipment as you---meanng the fly rod.

I am back on the lake again Thursday with more top water action coming your way

Using The Micro Lights Rods and Jigger Poles For Super Size Crappie

In most parts of the country, Dogwoods blooming triggers crappie season. Crappie usually starts the spawn when the water temps reach the upper 60’s. This is when the fish start to move into the shallow areas of a lake. These areas could be the back of nooks or even flats next to the water's edge. They seem to prefer areas with cover such as submerged brush or anything that will hold cover for them to feed on small baitfish while the spawn is occurring.  One of my crappie fishing buddies went with me yesterday on Smith Lake. I had a couple of my microlights in the 7 ½ ft. lengths with 4 lb test line rigged. I also had my long jigger pole in the 11 ft. length with me. This length rod works well when you want to put the jig right in the face of the fish. Another great advantage with this rod is the vertical fishing one can do, meaning raising the jig up and down. Sometime the crappie will hit the jig on the downfall, especially when the bite is really slow. I like to use the microlight rods to search for the fish and once the bite slows using the microlights, then switch to the long rods so you can bring the lure even closer to their mouth. Crappie has a tendency to bite really well for 15 to 20 minutes and then turn off. When this occurs the fish usually retrieved back into the cover where they were holding when you first located them. Placing the jig using the long rods right in their face at this time will continue to help you get hits. I will discuss the types of reels, jig, lures, and rod brands in future post.

First Crappie of the day using a white curly tail jig --a lot of fun on the microlight rod. Notice the dark colors

Different colored jig --we manage to land 6 along with a number of bass and a couple of bluegills--all on curly tail jigs. I kept all the crappie, because they are beyond good when deep-fried. I know it would have been a better day for the crappie if it had not been for the crappie tournament they were having on the lake. It felt like we were picking up the last few in each nook that the tournament fisherman had either overlook or missed.

Adding to my Total in my Quest to Reach 100 Bull Bluegill

Monday was my second fishing trip in my quest to reach the 100 mark for Bull Bluegill. For those of you who are not familiar with my challenge; which is to land 100 super bull bluegill in the spawning period of 6 weeks.  For this trip I decided to rig something a little different. I started with a foam popper in size 6 because I wanted something to land softly and at the same time attract attention on the glass smooth water at 8 AM. First cast of the morning produce a nice bass in the backwater of the launch nook. I knew I only had about an hour before the wind that this lake is famous for got up and would force me into the backs of the small nooks. The foam worked to perfection early landing a couple of huge gills and some smaller females before the wind and sunlight took over. After the wind got up I moved to the back of nooks with what else but the Black Gnat tied on my 4 wt. I continued to land gills some were not the size I was after but still fun on the 4 wt.  After about an hour of fighting wind from every direction; I found a nook with some shade and less wind that I could actually fish with the cork popper. I moved up and down this bank which was about 75 ft. long with depths of 5 to 8 ft. I landed some of the best gills of the day on this one bank. The water temp here was between 68 and 70, which is still too cool for the spawn. The magic number for the spawn is 75 and at the rate the weather is warming here, it won’t be long before these fish are on the beds. The light chartruse black leg bug popper seemed to irritate the big boys and they would just annihilate the fly every time it got near. This type action is what makes me keep coming back for more; when they are this aggressive it is heart throbbing. I thought at times they would actually break my 9 ft.  3wt. Streamflex. It really got a work out on this trip. I was there about 3 hours and the action was continuous with bass, females and bull bluegills inhaling the poppers and wet flies. Fly Fishing trips like today is what makes bluegill fishing a blast for me!!

First of the day on the first cast of the day, notice how glass smooth the water was

This big boy killed the cork popper. I have found that black leg poppers work better this time of the year other than white or chartruse. It may a spider thing??

Another counter on the Black Gnat. I know you guys have heard me say this before, but this one fly has to be the BEST wet fly I have ever fished for bluegill with. It seems to work when nothing else will get their attention. The sick part about this fly is the company that tied them went out of business. I may be asking some of you guys to make me some copies when I go through these.

This big bull inhaled the foam popper early in the day

Last bass of the day, he went airborne a couple of times before finally swimming up next to the boat. I landed 6 bass before the day was over---always a lot of fun on the fly rod

The leaves are coming out and spring is here in Walker County

The best of the best --10 more to add to the total which is now at 13 ---I am 87 away--when these big boys turn side ways in the water it makes for a tough fight on the 3 or 4 wt. I ended the day with 16 bluegill and 6 bass. The bass I gave to some of the fishermen sitting on the banks.

Starting my Quest to Land 100 Super Bull Bluegill

Friday was my first day in my quest to land 100 super bull bluegill in the next six weeks with the fly rod. This was the same challenge I made for myself last year and I actually made it to 85 before the tornadoes came through Alabama and shut down the electricity for two weeks.  After that happen the window to land the really big boys had past. The average big bull bluegill is over 8 ounces. These fish spend only a short period of time in shallow water, which is during the spawning period. Once the spawn is over they move back to deep water and stay there until the next spring. Sure you can still land the 5 or 6 ounce but the 8 and over are all feeding in deep water. So my goal this year is to actually accomplish this feat in a six week time period. I will post my progress as I try to move closer this year to my 100 mark. Friday was a slow day because of water temps again being in the mid 60’s. I did manage to start my quest by landing three in the 100 club. All three of these bulls were between 8 and 9 ounces. So I now have 97 to go. I will be making a couple of trips each week which should enable me to add a dozen or more each trip.

Unreal fight on the 3wt --he killed the Black Gnat

Really orange belly on this one right after I landed him, the Gnat again

This Moth was awesome for me last year early. It has an extremely light landing. These fish are so weary early in the year, so a light presentation is crucial to land the bigger bulls.

Most of the nooks in the lake were covered with pollen, which made it harder to fish on top. A lot of  the fish were just swirling under the fly and not really taking it. I lost twice as many as I landed. I did manage to bring home 10. Three were the big males and the rest were females. I broke off twice and never saw the fish, which was super frustrating. As I mention last year this lake has some of the largest  bluegill in the state. It is managed well and the caretakers takes great pride in producing super bluegills.

Finally on The Water With The Hardy Grey Streamflex Fly Rod

I finally got out on the water today, and for an added bonus my Son decided to go with me. We only had a few hours after lunch today on Walker County Lake today so we made the best of it with the fly rods. Two rods were rigged with nymphs and I had my new Hardy Grey Streamflex rigged with a tiny popper. Little did we know that the water was in the low 60s in fact 62 degrees? No one was catching any fish other than a small bass or bluegill. The magic number for results on this lake is 65 and above. I couldn’t believe the ease at which the Streamflex would deliver a fly. The effortlessness of the cast and the distance one can achieve with this fly rod is fantastic. Simply put it is by far the best fly rod I have ever owned. If the generation schedule will work with me a little, I should have a report on its performance for trout Friday.

Not the big bull, I am after but still a gill on the fly rod is always fun. This one fell for the famous Black Gnat

Sorry, I don't have more images, but my son accidentally erased the rest of the images. We ended the trip with 4 bluegills, 3 nice females, and the one bull in the image. I couldn't find my own camera, for this trip, I know none of you guys ever lose something and can't locate it when you really need that particular item.

Will This Thing Catch Fish?? Upside Down Bug!!!

Since I can’t get out on the water I thought I would bring the reality of fly fishing a little closer to me. I get lots of email alerts from different Outdoor Outlets and one of my favorite is BreamBugs. One of my fly fishing buddies put me on this company last year. I was really impressed with the quality of their poppers and nymphs. These flies seemed to take more punishment and will hold up longer especially the Boogle Bugs brands after the wear of teeth marks. They just recently started handling a few trout flies; check out some of the patterns below. A really unique bug that they sell is The Upside Down Bream Bug. What makes this fly special is the structured areas one can actually fish without getting tangled up and hung on branches. In fact I ordered some of these bugs last night and will be giving a report soon on their production. Take a look at the Upside Down Bugs and Trout patterns below and give me your opinion.

I would like to thing this could be a good trout pattern

This is one awesome bug, anytime chartruse is used it is a winner

Not as fancy but deadly

A lot of pattern for this dry, which means more float time and less floatant

Unique color combo for this PAdams---like the green

Hares Ear, always effective

Check out this LINK to see the fish that this companies flies have produced.