Filling Time

 What does one do during the winter months of the fly fishing season.? I have the tailrace to fish for trout during winter, but generation keeps those trips to a minimum. 

Charles and I spent Tuesday on Smith Lake, marking brush on some banks and the back of numerous nooks. We were using his GPS on his boat to know the location of the brush once the lake reached full pool, the last of April. 

Once the lake fills in early Spring, small bait fish will move into the tangled branches of all these brush piles. The bass and crappie will feed on the bait fish during Spring, Summer, and early fall; find the brush you find the fish. I've known where a lot of these spots are on Smith. Each year I find a few new ones in case someone else is fishing the same areas I'm fishing. Casting a popper in the vicinity of any submerged tree tops will get a reaction from a spotted bass or largemouth at daylight. Getting the fish away from the brush and in open water is a must if you want to touch it!  

The Clouser Marabou Minnows is one streamer that will get some attention from the crappie. The crawfish and leech streamers are streamers I've never tried on Smith. I will connect with some spotted bass and largemouth using both of these streamers. I hope to share a favorable report in the coming months. as to their progress.

Monday will be the only day next week suitable for fishing. The rest of the week is a wash with wind gusts and rain. The surface temp on the lake will be close to 50 degrees which is what it was this past Tuesday. I will be surprised if there will be any surface action, so streamers will be the fly pattern Charles and I will cast. 

 

  

Fly Rod or Spinning Reel

 

I remember my first experience using a rod/reel. It was a small Zebco push-button spin cast reel with a short rod. It was easy to push the button cast and watch the lure sail through the air and land in the water at no particular place. At that age, just getting the lure to land on the water spelled success. As I got older I graduated to the spinning reel and casting reels. I was entering high school when my Dad taught me how to use the fly rod. I look back now and realize the fly rod would have been my best method of landing fish at that time. I am playing catch-up now using the fly rod. 

Fly rod fishing and spinning reel fishing have seen advancements in reel and rod quality since my boyhood days. Spinning reels and fly reels are much lighter. The spinning reels reel smoother with the addition of ball bearings. Some spinning reels have as many as ten ball bearings now. Drag systems on the fly reels today are much stronger and will last longer. 

I realized years ago that learning to use the fly rod and spinning reel took patience, especially for the fly rod as opposed to the spinning reel. The spinning reel required less precision and technique to cast and retrieve. They can cast a variety of lures much further than a fly rod in certain situations such as fishing from a boat or when trying to reach a specific spot in a large body of water. Not all is perfect with the spinning reel: because of line tangles, in the form of the dreaded loop. This one fault can cause one to pull yards of line off the spool to remove the loop. A spinning reel offers less sensitivity than a fly rod. 

Some fly rods in the 6 to 7 ft. length weigh 2 ounces or less making them extremely sensitive to detect a hit from as small bluegill and trout. A fly rod allows for a more subtle and quiet presentation of the fly, which can be important when fishing in clear water or when targeting spooky fish. As with the spinning reel, not all is perfect with the fly rod. A fly rod requires more skill and technique to use effectively, which I can attest to when I first learned how to cast one. The casting and retrieve is something my grandchildren are still learning. Fly rods are generally limited to using flies or bugs to imitate insects, which will not give you the distance in casting a lure with a spinning reel. 

I still use my 7 1/2 ft. ultralight spinning reel combos to fish for crappie, but the fly rod is my main mode of fishing for the rest of my fishing days----looking forward to an early Spring!!

The Curly Tail Streamer

 A streamer is a streamer but I discovered a somewhat variation of this fly this past week. The following video really got my attention, because I was not familiar with this type of streamer. 

I could see this streamer getting the attention of Smallmouth, Spotted Bass, and of course rainbow and browns. This streamer is not listed on any of the fly shops I have visited!!

I would appreciate any info concerning this particular streamer.

Fly Fishing Streamers

One of my New Year Resolutions for the coming year is to fish the streamer more on days when the top action has slowed. Fly fishing involves seeing a fish break the water surface and take a dry fly or popper which is the norm for most fly fishermen. Sub-surface flies are not the top choice for fly fishermen, because the visual aspect of seeing a bass, bluegill, or trout hit the fly or popper is missing. 

After watching a number of streamer videos I'm convinced I can land fish in the middle of the day when a lot of fish are less active. Patience and trying different retrieves is the key to getting a hit from a fish that has gone deep during mid-morning or mid-afternoon. 

Streamer fishing is not new to me, but as stated earlier in the intro of this post I can be lumped in with most fly fishermen who like to see the fish explode on a surface fly. Fish explode on sub-surface flies as well but we don't see it but we certainly feel the take. 

The largest Spotted Bass I have ever caught was taken using a Wooly Bugger streamer in November of 2021 fishing Ryan Creek on Smith Lake. You would think that fish would have convinced me to fish more streamers, but I was hooked on the surface poppers instead. All my fishing buddies are into the surface action, but I am slowly convincing them that we need to give the streamers a try for the coming season. 

I want to share some of the streamers I will be using for the coming season and I hope to report back in the Spring on their success. 

All these buggers are in sizes 6 and 8 with rubber legs which I feel will attract a hit more than the traditional bugger pattern. The size 8 is a great size to use for the trout on the tailrace. 

The Little Fort Leech in size 6 and the Near Nuff Crayfish size 6 top two flies would add some variety when the bugger slows. The last three are the Clouser Marabou Minnow size 6 is something I would try for the bass and the crappie. All these flies would be fished with a sink-tip poly leader. I was using this leader when I landed the big female Spotted Bass in November. I ordered all these streamers from Big Y Fly Shop for .89 a piece. I have ordered from this company before and was impressed with their quality and shipping. 

Family Time

Christmas is the best time of the year for the Trussell family. Christmas this year for us will be in Tennessee witnessing some of the coldest temps we've experienced since 1985.

Family time at Jason's house in Greystone

The Grandchildren with Jason

Christmas gathering on the lake---B. T. and Bryson landed a few bass yards from Jason's house. 

During the winter months, I spend a lot of time reading fly fishing articles and watching fishing videos--this one really got my attention---enjoy----

ULTRALIGHT FLY FISHING

Hope you guys have a MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Fall Popper Action

 Fly fishing in the fall compared to fly fishing in the spring for warm water species is different when it comes to catch ratio. In the spring the fish are more active and move into the shallows to feed and get ready for the spawn. The fall brings cooler water temps, low water levels, and cold fronts that cause the fish to become dormant. This time of year tests your skills as a warm-water fly fisherman if you fish small bodies of water or large lakes. As the water cools the fish tend to move to deeper water causing one to work harder for a hit on surface flies and poppers. 

Friday's trip fishing Smith was planned before I ever left the house knowing I was going to fish on top using  Bea's popper in a size 8. This popper is not large but still got the attention of some of the spotted bass lingering near the walls. This bass slapped at the popper twice before it finally inhale it. I've noticed the hits are not as aggressive when the water temps are colder. Today the surface temps were ranging between 63 to 65 degrees. Patience is the key when fishing surface poppers on the water this cold. 

All the hits today occurred 7 to 8 ft. away from the walls; this area showed a depth of 40 ft. away from the wall. I like to fish in an area of water like this that is silky smooth. Moving the surface fly with a little twitch can at times get a reaction in the water this deep. 

The only bluegill of the morning which is unusual when the water temps are this cold. My four-weight 9 ft. was the only fly rod that got tested today. I will have my five-weight 9ft. spooled with a sink-tip line using a wooly bugger or a streamer for the next trip. It's hard to stray away from the top action knowing at any minute you might connect with a super size spotted bass. 

I will continue to fish Smith until the water temps fall below 60 degrees. After the season ends on the lake I will move to the tailrace and fish for the rainbow below the dam using my Euro Nymphing ten-foot fly rod. 

My Second Hobby

 Aside from fly fishing my second hobby is spending time with our grandchildren and watching them play Flag Football and Soccer. This past Sunday evening Cathey and I enjoyed watching our grandsons play a couple of games of Flag Football. Both Grandsons are the quarterbacks of their teams. The following videos show Cash and Bryson in action.

Bryson and Cash can recognize tight pass coverage, which in turn affords them the open field to pick up yardage. 

Guys I can't end this post without showing you what my daughter calls getting ready for bed pic of Hallie---she is really growing!

 

Fly Fishing the Hopper

 Guys, you've noticed it's been a while since I posted anything on my blog. Cathey and I have been busy helping our daughter's family with their new arrival. Last Thursday, Jenny gave birth to a beautiful eight-pound baby girl.  

Cathey and I are so proud of this little girl!!!

An updated picture of little Hallie at 6 months

We have kept a busy pace traveling from Jasper to Springhill, Tennessee, these past weeks. It was worth every mile we made to get to this precious little girl. Hallie Mae is 8 weeks old in this picture. I wanted to share an updated pic from the original post image. Her brothers and sister are CRAZY about this little girl!!!

We are back home for now but will return to Springhill next Sunday.  We will be staying 8 days with our daughter and children while B.T. is in California on a business trip. We're glad to be of service, especially when a newborn is too whole and spoil. 

I made a few fishing trips last week on Smith that I wanted to share with you guys. 

This past Thursday, Jeff and I fished Ryan Creek on Smith at daylight and landed some quality bass and bluegill. The bluegills were not hitting the poppers, so I tied on the hopper a fly that I hadn't fished this season. The reaction to this fly was some of the most aggressive hits I have seen this year. All the big bulls on this trip had the hopper lodged in their throat. In other words, they were hungry for an insect in the form of a brown grasshopper. They were hitting the hopper 20 to 30 feet from the rock walls. Moving the hopper slowly on the surface film got their attention. When you land this size bluegill using a 4 wt., you think it's bass; the fight is aggressive. Jeff and I agreed we could be in for one great fall fishing season!

What makes landing these big bulls so much fun to catch using the fly rod is the surge after surge they make trying to break off. There is a big difference when landing these fish spawning in shallow water instead of fishing for them in water depths of 20 to 30 ft. Simply put, the water depth is their friend when trying to break free. 

This was my first copper nose bluegill to ever land on Smith. Sorry I don't have a video showing the fight this fish put forth, but Jeff and I thought it was a spotted bass in the 12 to 14-inch range; to our surprise, it was this beauty!

Jeff started the morning off fishing under the lights near the many piers on the lake. We stopped at our first light at 5:30. As I moved in slowly to the light, we saw three quality bass feeding just under the submerged light next to the pier. It only took a couple of casts to get the attention of one of the larger bass. The fish moved slowly to the Boogle Bug popper and sucked in. After the take, the fish started heading for deep water and really didn't realize it was hooked until Jeff made contact with the fish. At that point, the fish had its way with the 4 wt. Jeff was using and broke off. 

The fish in this video is Jeff's redemption bass, smaller than the one he lost, but a quality largemouth. We will be back fishing this light in the coming weeks with a heavier-weight fly rod. Stay tuned!

Forgot---one last note, I'm saving the trout fishing below the dam for cooler weather and the winter months---the season ends on the lake in November