Fishing The Sink Tip Line for Spotted Bass

I have to admit that this hasn’t been a bumper year for popper action on Smith Lake for me. I realize a number of factors have affected the top action, such as dropping water levels, cold fronts, and of course the angler himself. Every time I go on the water I wonder if I’m using the right fly pattern or am I working that pattern well enough to get a hit. Sometimes anglers including me want the fish to hit what they perceive as the best fly for them to take at a particular time, place, and season.  I think that is one of the reasons why my catch ratio has gone down this year on Smith. I assume every time I launch the boat on Smith at daylight that the fish are going to nail the popper, why because I love to see the fish blow up on the popper. If the fish are chasing shad a cream-colored popper will get their attention, but if there is no surface activity at all then the best option is working a pattern down under. That pattern could be something that resembles the actual shad that the bass is feeding on. The slow top action on Smith this season has driven me to work harder at analyzing what the fish really want. Could it be a bead head nymph, streamer, or a variation of a popper? To fish all these different patterns and poppers, one really needs an extra fly rod aboard; 5 to 6 weight for poppers and nymphs and a 7 weight for streamers. Keep in mind most of the time on Smith, if one is using the fly rod to fish for bass the spot is the fish that is going to nail their offering. This fish is a ferocious fighter and the heavier the fly rod the better, so two fly rods one in 6 weight and the other being a 7 weight. I seldom fish the lake without a 3 or 4 weight to handle the light patterns that will produce when nothing else is working. In fact, I am always armed with 3 fly rods every time I fish Smith Lake. My latest daylight trip on Smith a few days ago enabled me to apply all the above tactics.

A mouth full of beadhead nymph, which this spot just couldn’t resist.

Posing for a side view image; this spot put up quite a fight on the 5 weight. I usually fish the sink tip either with my 5 or 6 weight 9 ft. fly rod. This size spot can make you think he is much bigger as he makes numerous runs to try to break free. I have started fishing the sink tip with a 5 ft. piece of mono usually 8 lb. test. I get a fairly quick sink with the light line and bead-head nymph attached.

This was one greedy spot, with his belly full of shad he just had to have one more, which was his undoing. The cream bugger got his attention.

I couldn’t leave the lake without trying to land a few bull gills on the popper which is always a blast. My bluegill goal is lost for this season,  but there is always another season to give it a try.

A lot of residents on the lake like to use platform decks to view all the activity; this is one of many that can be found up and down the waterway.

No need for the gym, working your way up these steps to the top of the rock wall is exercise enough

 

Nymphing Swirling Pocket Water



I was back on the Sipsey today trying to improve on my skunk trip this past week. The first half hour had me thinking that I was in for another non fish trip.

I decided I would start today’s outing at access 7 which is the last access located at the mouth of the dam. One can get a good work out walking from where your truck is parked at access 5 to 7. As I walked down the long metal walk way and approached the bottom of gouge I notice that Brandon owner of the Riverside Fly shop had a guide trip under way. They were in the area where I was going to start fishing, so after spending less than half hour in the shallow runs above them fishing my nymph with no success, I moved on down the gouge.

 While moving down the gouge I decided to tight line the nymph in some pocket water located in the faster section of the tailrace some distance below where I first encountered the guide trip. I haven’t work the pocket water this season as much as last year, so today I would give it a try. I had to do some careful wading using my wading staff (I never go on the water now without my wading staff) to get to my first spot because of all the moss covered rocks. Once there I used my 9 ft. Streamflex rod to high stick the first swirling pocket. I felt I could detect the take much better if I was in direct contact with the trout through tight lining as oppose to using the indicator. I was letting the nymph drift into the deep area of the pocket where it was only visible for a few seconds, to the trout before it was rushed on down stream. A few seconds is all it took to connect with my first rainbow of the morning. As luck would have it this one little hole was stacked with trout to the tune of 5 landed and that many lost for me in a very short time spent in this area.

Numerous trout landed for the morning using the high sticking method. I loss more trout than I landed today, mainly because I was late setting the hook.

My 3 weight Greys Streamflex paired with my Orvis 2/3 weight reel got quite a work out today. This combo works well here with the indicator/nymph combo and the dry, but could be a little light for the high stick method. I feel if I had been using my 9 ft. 4 weight the catch ratio would have increased. My next outing will include the 4 weight.