Vintage Antique Lure Collection & More

My wife and I made a quick road trip last week to some antiques shops we had found online in Fayetteville Tennessee. We have always been interested in antiques ever since we got married.

While we were there we discovered His and Hers Antiques that had one of the largest collections of antiques fishing equipment I had seen in quite a while. What really go my attention were the old fly rods and reels and the old fishing lures going as far back as the twenties. I am not a collector of old lures, but my nephew is and he would have had a blast in this place. I can remember as a boy using some of the old lures that were in the display cases in this place. The Lucky 13, Heddon Wounded Spook, Devils Horse and of course the Hawaiian Wiggler, were just a few I fished with growing up in rural Mississippi.
The owner told me he goes to shows all over the United States to collect, sell, and swap lures with other lure collectors. NFLCC Tackle Collectors is his favorite place to keep in touch with other lure collectors and just share information about old fishing equipment. This place got me to thinking about collecting some of those old wooden lures I use to fish with.

or

There was over 600 lures in this one shop.

The fly rod display in the background was special; in fact the fly rod reminded me of my Dad's old Pflueger

Wonder how many fishing trips this old Evinrude has made??

Not a bad price for the entire collection

 

                                              

Continuing The Bluegill Quest on Scenic Smith Lake

My first trip on Smith Lake today was wind out the east and bluebird skies, and we all know what that means. According to the old timers back in the day, they would always say “wind out of the east fish bite the least and wind out of the west fish bite the best” I know this has some merit because one is actually fishing behind a front that has just passed through when the wind is out of the east, and from the west the front is approaching, which means the fish are more active. The bluebird skies derive from the front that has already passed through meaning clear skies with no cloud cover, hence bluebird skies. Another factor that really plays into this scenario is the barometer. In my opinion a good fishing barometer is essential for any serious minded fisherman. I know a lot of you guys don’t have the luxury of picking and choosing the times you go fishing, which makes the wind direction and the barometer a none factor; but for individuals like me who can fish anytime during the day and year, then the wind and barometer play a big part in when I take to the water. This is not to say I don’t go on lousy days, like today but when one has the time to fish as I do, why not make the most of it chasing those bluegill, crappie, bass and trout.

 



The end result of a very slow morning--the bigger bluegills were not in the nooks and not bedding, this big bluegill was on the rock wall--I landed some smaller females but this was all I could muster for the morning--I will count this guy putting me 74 away from my quest

 

Barometer Guide

 

     High Pressure (30.50 +) = Clear Skies = Fishing Medium to Slow = Fish slowly in deeper water or near cover.

Medium Pressure (29.70 – 30.40) = Fair Weather = Normal Fishing = Test lures, baits, and techniques to see what works.

Low Pressure (29.60 -) = Cloudy/Rainy Weather = Fishing Slows = Fish slowly in deeper water or near cover.

Rising Pressure = Improving Weather = Fish Slightly Active = Fish slowly in deeper water or near cover.

Stable Pressure = Fair Weather = Normal Fishing = Best time to test lures, baits, and techniques to see what works.

Falling Pressure = Degrading Weather = Best Fishing = the fish will attack anything you throw at them. (well, pretty much)

So, what is the best barometric pressure for fishing? Answer: When it’s    between about 29.90 and 30.90 and the pressure is rapidly falling. This is when you will find the fish most active and feeding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fishing For Some Beautiful Bluegills With The Betts Poppers

I have spent a few days in Mississippi this week fishing with my brother landing crappie "future Post", and some colorful bluegills that were left behind by the bobber fishermen. Thursday afternoon was best with the temps in the lower 70’s and no wind at all. In other words it was a glass water surface perfect for some fantastic popper action with the fly rod. The water temperature was still in the cool stages from a number of cold nights they had experienced a couple of days earlier. The bite was not explosive but one could differently tell when the popper was being taken. Soft hits are usually the case when you fish after a cold front. I never used anything but the Bett’s popper all afternoon; with a variety of colors used to entice the hits. It just seems one color would not suffice.

This is one beautiful bluegill, notice the orange belly--taken on a white dot Betts Popper

Another counter with the cream Betts Popper

Nice fat dark bluegill on black legged Betts Popper

Another counter on the white legged Popper

The last counter of the afternoon, with the white legged popper stuck in the throat--I count five here making me 75 away from my quest.

 

 

 

Hiking The Appalachian Trail Georgia to Maine

Thought you guys might enjoy following the adventures of Nathan Gressett one of my former students who is hiking the Appalachian Trail. He started his epic journey in Georgia 3 weeks ago and will complete the hike in Maine sometimes in late September or early October. He has not posted anything for the past couple of weeks because he got his cell phone wet and lost all contact. He will be back on line in a couple of days so if you would like to keep track of his journey just type his name in Utube search and it will give you his progress.

 

The beginning of the trip

 

Second day of the hike

 

Springer Mountain

 

Bat hunting on the trail

 

Neal's Gap

 

Blood Mountain

 

Dick's Creek Gap

 

Cow Rock Mountain

 

Low Gap Georgia

 

Low Gap is his last report

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Bedding Bluegills Doesn't Mean They Will Hit

I found the bluegills bedding today, but the only problem they were not cooperating as far as hitting my offerings. I have seen this happen a couple of times over the years and today the fish were in lock jaw mode. I could see some on the beds swimming around, and they were not the least bit concerned with me close by. Even the cricket fishermen couldn’t muster a hit either. So what to do; because this happen as soon as I got on the water and I knew then it was going to be a slow morning.

My first fish of the morning using the Seal Leech. It is a dink, but it is a fish and got the skunk off my back.

A nice female full of eggs. She inhaled the Seal Leech. Nothing was happening on top and both these fish were caught in deep water.

I finally manage to land this bull bluegill on top right before the sun covered the lake. He was resting in a small cove off the main body of the lake. There were no more with him, because I sit and made cast after cast without any further action in the area.

The take home catch for the morning. One big bull and three females. I landed four or five smaller females that I released. I will blame the slow action today on a cold night, bluebird skies, wind out of the east, too much fishing pressure the last week or just plain and simply the fish were not biting. I get to count one for quest today. I am now 82 away.

 

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

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. 

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.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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.

The Seal Leech in the top of the mouth

Another female which was in great shape considering she had spent the winter in deep water. This one was taken on the Leech

Just as I entered the next nook I was surprised by these Mallards

My first counter of the morning with the Leech again, shorty after this fish was landed I lost my Seal Leech in a brush pile. What a shame, it was the only one I had; but I knew David at Trout Zone was mailing me a dozen more so no great loss

This Drake and Hen never moved as I approach them for this shot, the Mallard is my favorite Waterfowl.

Another counter with the always trusty Black Gnat. This guy really give the 4 wt a workout. I ended the morning with a total of 6 keepers, four being female "non counters" and the two big bulls. I am now 97 away. Next week is suppose to be in the high 70's and the water temps will be warming up so I expect higher numbers.