I hope to use this blog as an avenue to express my thoughts and adventures of all of my fishing expeditions and any other journeys I may undertake.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Dry Flies Used to Land Super Size Bluegills
I was on the water today at 6:15 AM with a slight chance of rain and overcast skies
for the day. I knew an approaching cold front, if you can call 70 degrees a cold
front and with rain approaching would mean a better day. I couldn't believe it
but me and another angler were the only ones at the launch, and yes he was
going after the bluegills just like me. I only had 3 to 4 hours to add to my
quest before the wind, which Walker County Lake is famous for would sail me back to the launch.
My first of the morning using my 3 wt and the Wluff dry--I just can't get away from this dry fly verses the popper--I like the silent approach it delivers as it lights gently on the surface
This bull inhaled the Wluff; I fish through 3 of these patterns today, the first two came apart, mainly from removing the flies from the throat of the bluegills, that is how much they loved this little jewel
After the wind picked up the top action stopped, so I went to my trusty Seal Leech, using my 4 wt.
A nice bluegill on the Leech, I am so impressed with this pattern, I like the medium sink rate---thanks to David at the Trout Zone for this pattern
These fish are unbelievable strong on the 3 and 4 wt. they are just coming on the bed and are in excellent shape to produce a super fight
A couple of females thrown in--I will count 9 big bulls out of this group putting me 83 away from my quest
This is where all the action takes place after I get the fish home, I built this table some years ago and equipped it with rollers so I could move it around. The table top is actually a chopping board.
The end result of another great trip with 48 fillets ---I only have a couple of trips left before the spawn is over as far as the fish being on the beds--the cork fishermen will clean the beds in a week or two
Saturday, April 20, 2013
My First Carp on The Fly While Bluegill Fishing
Today was supposed to be my day to increase my numbers for my bluegill quest at Walker County Lake. It turned out to be a morning of fishing behind the cork and bobber fishermen chasing the bluegill alongside me. There was one surprise that really made this trip unforgettable.
This 20" Carp sucked in my tiny Dragon Fly under an overhanging brush right after I launched the boat. What made this trip so unforgettable is the fact I landed this brut on my 3 wt. 8 1/2 ft. --it took nearly 15 minutes to land it. This was the largest fish I have ever landed on my 3 wt.
This little Dragon Fly in size 8 was a winner for me last year with the bluegill, and it proved to be a today.
Sorry for the image quality, the Dragon took this bull, which was left behind by the cork fisherman. It will get more difficult to land numbers as the spawn gets into full swing because everyone knows exactly when these fish spawn.
This monster left behind----- a chore on the 3wt.
After the Dragon topwater action slowed I went to the Seal Leech from David at Trout Zone
Nice female on the Dragon
I ended the trip using the Wluff in a small shaded area close to the dock.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Poppers-----Not The Only Fly For Bluegills
When one thinks of bluegill
fishing with the fly rod and the fly that will always produce; the popper comes
to mind. In fact this is my go to fly before and after the spawn. For the first
time this year I finally had the surface action I had been waiting for. I was
determine today to land some bluegills on top and so with my game plan in place
I tied on my first of several poppers of the morning to see if I could generate
some action.
I selected the cream blunt
face black leg popper to begin my quest. I am drawn more to the black legged
poppers more than white legged. I like to think the black legs relate more to
the black cricket and black spider.
I also fished the black
legged red dot small body popper. I use this popper in the spring and fall,
mainly because of the red wasp that surface the lake water during those periods.
As I fished both of these poppers I notice as they connected to the surface the
fish would spook. The lake was extremely clear, with a slick surface making it difficult
to present the popper without a little disturbance. Normally this would produce
a hit, but today the fish were extremely weary. The light presentation wasn’t
producing. So I felt it was time to gather my thoughts and devise a new game
plan.
As I sit there going through
my fly box I noticed a dry fly that I normally fish indicator/dropper style for trout
on the tailrace. I had two Irresistible Wulff patterns in size 8 pinned in the
fly box; so I decided to give it a try, because of its light presentation. The 5X
leader I changed to worked perfect to compliment the Wulff pattern.
The
first bluegill of the morning was a nice female that made it presents known on
the 4 wt. I noticed as I work a steep bank with the Wulff that its light surface
connection didn’t spook the fish as opposed to the poppers I was using earlier.
In fact the fly would touch the water so light that the fish thought it had
just fallen from the many over hanging limbs that line the banks. Notice how
this bluegill inhaled the fly telling me I had made the right decision to use this
lighter pattern.
Another nice female bluegill
that absolutely exploded on the Wulff, in fact the hit was so hard I actually
thought it was a bass. The fly landed perfectly just under an overhanging limb
and sit there for a few seconds motionlessly before the explosion. I had to
congratulate myself on a great presentation. I actually made a tight loop side
cast to get the fly to its target. I have been practicing this cast for some
time and today it paid off.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Using the Nymph to Fish Deep for Bluegill
I am still in the process of
trying to find 62 degree water at the lake. I thought today I would get on the
water at daylight and see if the action was any better than it has been the
last couple of weeks. Well, daylight was not much better than last week, because
the water temps are still too cold for any shallow activity. I spent the first hour
and half going through my fly box trying to select a pattern that would produce
a hit. I finally landed my first fish at eight and the slow morning continued.
This was a fat butter ball female in great shape loaded with eggs. This fish took the Stonefly at a depth of 8 ft. Sorry no counter here.
The Stone Fly was the fly for the morning. Nothing else produced, I really like this fly because of the Tungsten Beadhead which has a great sink rate. I landed everything in depths of 8 ft. or better.
This beautiful bull gill was landed in a deep cut bank area above 10 ft. deep; the Stonefly was the winner--I am still hoping to land something tomorrow on top---stay tuned guys!!!
This was the end result today for about 4 hours of fishing. These were the keepers after tossing back some smaller bluegills and a few small bass---I am 96 away from that 100 mark
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Fishing The Seal Leech for Big Bluegills
I was back on Walker Lake
today searching for more big bluegills to add to my grand total so far
at ONE!! Two weeks ago was a slow day
because of the water temps, which was in the mid 50’s. I was hoping for a better trip today with the temps
in the high 50’s. So with my fishing ticket in hand I decided to work the back of the
lake in the main stream that feeds the lake. I fished this area last year early
and found some nice bluegills in the mouth of the creek; but today was a wash,
no hits at all in the creek.
I moved from the creek to the east side of the lake because I knew once the wind picked up I would have to fish the nooks. I was fishing the east deep cut banks with no action, so I moved into the first nook of the morning and made a long cast in the vicinity of a brush pile. As I moved the Leech slightly I saw the indicator move forward and I had my first hit of the morning.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Click & Pawl Drag or The One Way Clutch Drag--Which??
This past week has been
Spring Break for most of Alabama
and the weather has been nothing like spring. In fact the only day that might
be good for fishing would be Friday, when I will go. Cold days and nights can make fishing
horrible anywhere and that includes the South. So with some time on my hands
this week I decided I would search the net for another Gloomis Venture 3 Fly
reel. This fly reel was discontinued by Gloomis last year, why I don’t know but
in my mind they discontinued a fantastic fly reel. It had the one way clutch
drag feature which enables one to retrieve coils of line at your feet back on
the reel in a matter of seconds. Spinning the face of the reel will accomplish
this. I found while searching that most of the fly reels descriptions listed on
the net never mention this feature and better yet the tech support personal at
Cabelas and Bass Pro didn’t have a clue about a one way clutch drag, quick
release or free spool when it pertains to fly reel drags. If you notice when
descriptions are written for fly reels, there is more information about the
appearance of the reel as opposed to the type drag. The only fly reel I found that
mentioned the one way clutch was the Pflueger Trion. The Pflueger retrieves
line as fast as the Gloomis. I know that a lot of us still use the old click
and pawl drag, which is used on the Redington Drift and the Orvis Battenkill reels.
Don’t get me wrong I like both drag features and have the Redington and the
Orvis reels, but I am still partial to the Venture because of the quick retrieve.
I never found another Venture in all my searching, but I found out some things I
didn’t know about drags on fly reels. What is your preference the click and
pawl or the one way clutch fast retrieve?
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Crappie Fishing With My Brother Using Curly Tail Jigs
I made a trip to Mississippi on Tuesday for some crappie fishing on the new
restructured Legion Lake . This is the same lake that was practically consumed
by lily pads and coontail moss last year. This is my brother’s home lake where
he fishes for crappie this time of year. Conditions were not the best
considering the cold front that had passed through the day before I arrived. One
can expect cold fronts, windy conditions, and bluebird skies in the month of
March and this trip had all those conditions.
The reward for the trip was
this nice catch using the following tube jigs loaded with nibbles. There were
some nice slabs here.
Closed faced spincast reels
with 11 ft. jigger poles rigged with 6 lb. test line are your best combos when Spider Fishing, because of the
reach one can achieve with this type of pole.
My brother standing by his
boat with 8 jigger poles set up ready for action fishing with the curly tail crappie jigs. Think of the amount of water
one can cover when Spider Fishing
An image of what this lake looks like this past summer before reconstruction took place this year, notice the moss pads in the distance and all the growth around the edges, much cleaner to fish now.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Beginning my Big Bluegill Quest in "The Year of the Bluegill"
Friday was the day to start my
big bull bluegill quest. So in keeping with the theme “The Year of the Bluegill”
I made my first trip to Walker County Lake about 20 minutes from the house. I was so anxious to
get on the water that I forgot to call and check the water temps at the lake. With
that bit of information missing I arrive at the lake around ten and made the
best of the day fishing for really small bluegills and one little bass in 52
degree water. I know exactly when the big bluegill begin there migration to the
shallow water which is 62 degrees and Friday was not the day the big bulls move
anywhere near the shallow edge.
I just had to get a picture
of a Father and Daughter getting ready to try their luck with the red worms. This
little girl was so excited being out there with her Dad. She kept telling him
she wanted to catch a fish!
Using this little boat is the
best way to fish this lake. It sets high in the water and is easy to maneuver
and can get into tight places. I use a rudder on the back to keep it straight
when paralleling the bank. It is light and easy to load in the back of my
truck.
These
little ducks really got to me before the day ended. It seemed everywhere I
placed my nymph they would be there in a few minutes. If I had been fishing
poppers or dries they would have ruin any change for a hit on top, because they
were cruising the banks. They were not Mallards.
This
big bull was worth the trip. It was landed a couple of hour into the trip on a
fly that David Knapp of “The Trout Zone” tied for me a while back. He was tying
some trout flies for me that I will try this month on tailrace. He included
this little Seal Leech nymph in size 12 with the shipment. It was the fly of the day for me. I landed this nice gill with his Leech
pattern using my 8 ½ ft. 4 wt. it was quite a battle, and well worth the trip
for me. I will start my bluegill quest with this big bull being number 1;
so now I only have 99 more to land. I did catch half dozen really small
bluegills as stated earlier with this same nymph. All the hits came in 8 to 10
ft. of water proving that nothing is happening around the edge yet, but there
is always next week.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
World Record Striped Bass Landed in Jasper Alabama??
Guys I just had to share this
trophy striped bass catch that a local resident caught on the warrior river the
other day. There have been some large striped bass landed in the lake I fish
here at Smith, but this thing is astounding. It surpassed the world record by 3
lbs. Check out the article on how he landed it.
DORA AL. — James Bramlett’s phone has been ringing like a tambourine at a hootenanny since he landed Walker County’s version of Moby Dick near the Gorgas Steam Plant on the Black Warrior River on Feb. 28. Bramlett, who lives near Dora, normally fishes several times a week, hadn’t wet a hook in a long time, according to his wife, Jan. She had a medical issue and was awaiting major surgery, so he didn’t feel comfortable leaving her alone. “I kept after him, until he finally decided to go,” she remembered. On that Thursday, Bramlett was on the water before the roosters crowed and had several nice bass on his stringer that morning. He maneuvered his boat up next to some lily pads and used his trolling motor to maintain position instead of dropping his anchor. A while later he saw a nice fish roll on top of the water, so he pulled out the largest shad in his tank, which was about 12 inches long, and baited his hook. Using a 30-pound test line with his Ambassador 7000 reel, he lobbed the line to the spot where he saw the fish. He felt the fish take the bait. “The line coming off that reel sounded like an electric Weed Eater,” he said. The bass headed for deeper water and he pulled Bramlett’s boat along with him. The fight took them toward the middle of the river. “When I looked up, I saw a tugboat headed toward me pushing an empty barge.”Normally that would be a big problem, but fortunately the tugboat operator saw what was happening and cut the motor, bringing the barge to a stop. The crew of the tug knew it was a big fish and they cheered Bramlett as he did battle with the bass. After more than 20 minutes, the fish began to tire and Bramlett managed to get him close enough to see. “I looked at my landing net and I knew it was useless. So I put the butt of the rod against my stomach, and held it with my left hand while I used my right hand to unlatch the keepers on my gaff.” He slid the hook of the gaff underneath the lip of the bass and managed to drag it in the boat. “I knew it was a big fish,” he said. Bramlett felt like he had a record fish even before he weighed it on the ancient scales at Gross Fishing Camp in Parrish. He put the fish on the scale and kept bumping the counterweight down the measurement bar until it rested on 69 pounds. Those scales weren’t certified, but he knew the fish was big enough to snag a state record, set in 1959, by 15 pounds. The fish was weighed on certified scales and officials from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources listed the official weight as 69.98 pounds. The fish is 45.5 inches long and has a 37.75 inch girth. Bramlett learned Tuesday that his trophy striped bass surpassed the world record of 67 pounds, 8 ounces set in 1992. When asked if he would have the fish on his wall, he said ‘no.’ “The fish will be mounted, but I’m not sure where it will end up. I like looking at the pictures much better,” he said. Bramlett will go down in history as holding the world record for the largest striped bass.
Dora’s James Bramlett landed this 70-pound striped bass while fishing on the Black Warrior River on Feb. 28. On Tuesday, the fish was declared a world record. AP photo
DORA AL. — James Bramlett’s phone has been ringing like a tambourine at a hootenanny since he landed Walker County’s version of Moby Dick near the Gorgas Steam Plant on the Black Warrior River on Feb. 28. Bramlett, who lives near Dora, normally fishes several times a week, hadn’t wet a hook in a long time, according to his wife, Jan. She had a medical issue and was awaiting major surgery, so he didn’t feel comfortable leaving her alone. “I kept after him, until he finally decided to go,” she remembered. On that Thursday, Bramlett was on the water before the roosters crowed and had several nice bass on his stringer that morning. He maneuvered his boat up next to some lily pads and used his trolling motor to maintain position instead of dropping his anchor. A while later he saw a nice fish roll on top of the water, so he pulled out the largest shad in his tank, which was about 12 inches long, and baited his hook. Using a 30-pound test line with his Ambassador 7000 reel, he lobbed the line to the spot where he saw the fish. He felt the fish take the bait. “The line coming off that reel sounded like an electric Weed Eater,” he said. The bass headed for deeper water and he pulled Bramlett’s boat along with him. The fight took them toward the middle of the river. “When I looked up, I saw a tugboat headed toward me pushing an empty barge.”Normally that would be a big problem, but fortunately the tugboat operator saw what was happening and cut the motor, bringing the barge to a stop. The crew of the tug knew it was a big fish and they cheered Bramlett as he did battle with the bass. After more than 20 minutes, the fish began to tire and Bramlett managed to get him close enough to see. “I looked at my landing net and I knew it was useless. So I put the butt of the rod against my stomach, and held it with my left hand while I used my right hand to unlatch the keepers on my gaff.” He slid the hook of the gaff underneath the lip of the bass and managed to drag it in the boat. “I knew it was a big fish,” he said. Bramlett felt like he had a record fish even before he weighed it on the ancient scales at Gross Fishing Camp in Parrish. He put the fish on the scale and kept bumping the counterweight down the measurement bar until it rested on 69 pounds. Those scales weren’t certified, but he knew the fish was big enough to snag a state record, set in 1959, by 15 pounds. The fish was weighed on certified scales and officials from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources listed the official weight as 69.98 pounds. The fish is 45.5 inches long and has a 37.75 inch girth. Bramlett learned Tuesday that his trophy striped bass surpassed the world record of 67 pounds, 8 ounces set in 1992. When asked if he would have the fish on his wall, he said ‘no.’ “The fish will be mounted, but I’m not sure where it will end up. I like looking at the pictures much better,” he said. Bramlett will go down in history as holding the world record for the largest striped bass.
Monday, March 11, 2013
The Short Journey Back as Oppose to The Long Journey There!!
Guys I can’t tell you how
glad I am to be back home after a 3 day 36 hour drive out to Marysville California . I never realized what a killer trip it would be when
I told my son a couple of week’s ago that I would help him make the drive. We
spent three days riding through extreme wind, sleet, heavy rain and lots of
snow in Flagstaff and the mountains in California. In fact we were lucky to
even get out of the Flagstaff Friday morning because of heavy snow. Let’s just say
it was a trip that I will never forget; but parents will do most anything for
their children and I am one of those parents. Jason owes his Dad a lot of
fishing trips in the northern California streams after this journey. One of the highlights of the trip
aside from the area that Jason will be working in is meeting one of my blogging
buddies Mark of Northern California Trout he came up and we did lunch together
on Saturday. Mark is one of those guys you feel like you have known for years. He
and I pretty much covered the gambit of fly fishing over lunch. I hope things
will worked out for us to meet again this summer when my wife and I fly out to
visit Jason. This trip has kind of put a damper on my blogging for this past
week, but I am back now and ready to read some interesting fish tails. I missed
all you guys!!
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Three Day Road Trip to California
Today I am watching a light
snow fall the first week of March in Jasper Alabama . That kind of weather is a little odd for this part
of the country this time of the year. The temps never got out of the 30’s all day and for me that is
stay inside weather. It gave me a chance to put together a collection of flies
for my son to use when he moves to California next week. I will be making the trip with him to help
out with the driving. It is a 3 day trip from Jasper to Marysville California , where he will be working as a travel RN for the next
3 months. After that assignment he will move to Oregon to do another 3 month stint. I am hoping he will find
Dad some good streams to fish when my wife and I make the trip out there this
summer. He will work a four day week so he said he will have time to explore. One
of the flies I put in his fly box was the Auseable Bomber by Mark at Fishing Small Streams.
A great dry dropper setup--I will have to give it a try as a stand alone dry also
Another pattern that I will
put in his fly box is the Bomber pattern that Alan of Small Streams Reflections fishes. I consider Alan and Mark experts when it comes to
fishing dry flies--so any dry they are fishing I am on!!!
I have actually fished Alan's Bomber this past season and landed a number of rainbows using it
without a dropper fly. In fact my profile image is one of the best rainbows I
landed last year using Alan’s Bomber.
Alan's Bomber worked magic with this bow.
I couldn’t end today’s post
without sharing a clip using the dry/dropper setup. This will be one of the
first setups I use this season
I plan on taking lots of photos on the way out, and hope to share some with you guys when I get back next weekend-----
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)