Side Note: This is my second Roam 2 Contour I’ve purchased. I decided in 2015 I wanted to film some of my fishing trips so the Contour was my choice of cameras then as it is now. My nephew is enjoying using my first camera.
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.
Sunday, July 9, 2017
Previewing The Contour Roam 2 Video Camera
No fishing here for the
past couple of weeks due to heavy rains just about every day. Rivers are out of
their banks and the lakes are 2 to 3 feet above full pool. Reading, watching Contour Roam 2 videos and thinking about fishing has consumed most of my time during this monsoon period. I decided to purchase the camera yesterday. I’m looking
forward to putting it to good use in the coming weeks. I won’t go into the
buying and returning the GoPro I thought I wanted to use. I'll just say the
Contour is leaps and bounds ahead of the GoPro when being used as a helmet
camera, because of its low profile. I can actually use the Contour attached to
one of my caps, without movement. LET THE RAIN STOP!!
Side Note: This is my second Roam 2 Contour I’ve purchased. I decided in 2015 I wanted to film some of my fishing trips so the Contour was my choice of cameras then as it is now. My nephew is enjoying using my first camera.
Side Note: This is my second Roam 2 Contour I’ve purchased. I decided in 2015 I wanted to film some of my fishing trips so the Contour was my choice of cameras then as it is now. My nephew is enjoying using my first camera.
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
A Capital “P” for Persistence Thursday on the Sipsey
As I drove the 145 miles
Thursday to fish the Sipsey, I was thinking how easy it once was to drive the 12
miles from our house in Jasper. The trip now is a bit more important
than it was back then.
Partly cloudy skies keep
the sun from penetrating the crystal clear waters of the area I was going to
fish this day. The water level was somewhat low which makes the Sipsey more
difficult to fish, and as always the pressure from other fly fishermen adds to
the challenge.
This section is where my wading boots got the most use, fishing small
pocket holes throughout the stretch. No surface activity at all caused me to
stay down under with nymphs changing back and forth from tight lining to the
indicator. I was using a furl leader today casting upstream and letting the nymphs
drift slowly back to me. I choose to do this because of the super clear low
water levels I encountered. The trout spook easily in these conditions and they
had been hammered all morning by other fishermen.
I landed my first rainbow of
the afternoon using a long 6X fluorocarbon tippet tipped with a size 20 tungsten
bead-head midge. My eyes had to strain a
bit even with my magnifying glasses to thread the line through the eyelet of the
fly. I seldom fish a fly this small but it was producing and I couldn’t
complain.
I noticed this turkey hen
in our backyard the other morning and ran and got my camera and took the shot
through the window. I knew if I stepped outside on our porch it would spook.
Not the best picture, which continues to make me search for a better quality
camera. I hope you guys have a great week!
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
The Treehouse
The grandkids have been after me since we moved into our
house to build them a treehouse. So being the devoted Pops; I started the
project last week with the layout for a 5 ft. X 8ft. treehouse which needed to
be this big for all three children to have room to play. One of the hardest
parts of building the house was climbing up the 7 ½ ft. ladder steps to get to
the floor to add floorboards, and sides. Another good workout constructing this
project was digging the 2 ft. deep holes the 4 X 4 post was set in; thank
goodness for gym time.
I finally worked a trip in today to the Caney
Fork between all the generations at the tailrace. The schedule on the website
showed no generation from 8 AM to 1 PM. Surprise, surprise generators turned on
at 11:30 disappointing a lot of
fishermen. Lots of trout could be seen at every logical place I fished,
telling me the tailrace had recently been stocked.
This stocker brown trout was one of many I brought to the
net in the 2 hours I had to fish before high fast-moving water caused me to
leave. When the horn sounds at this place indicating generation, you need to
leave the water. Don’t wait to make that last cast. The midge was the hot fly
the trout were taking during the short stay. I don’t like to fish tiny flies,
but the size 20 and 22 got their attention.
Saturday, June 3, 2017
When in Need of a Fishing Fix
It’s been weeks since I
wet a fly mainly because of chores and my bi-annual sinus infection. Two of
those are standard for me a year one in the spring and one in the fall, but
this year I’ve added my second one since January, so I’m due for another in the
fall.
Enough of that; today I picked a state park to fish in Dickens,Tennessee , which is about an hour from where we live. Cathey
and I had visited the park three weeks ago just to scout the place out. While there I found what I was really looking for
which was the clear spring-fed 40-acre lake beside the hotel and restaurant.
The Park Ranger told me that not many people fished the lake because they just
never caught many fish there. I knew then after that statement I would be back,
so today I returned for my trail and error trip.
Enough of that; today I picked a state park to fish in Dickens,
Since moving here last
July I haven’t really found any lakes that can live up to where I fished in Alabama . Well, today I found one at Montgomery Bell State Park . I’ve been in need of a good fishing fix ever since
we moved here; today I got the fix in the form of lots of
bluegill all coming on top. All these fish had completed their first spawn cycle and was roaming the banks in search of food.
The old Jerry Reed song
kept coming to mind today “When you’re hot you’re hot” well I was hot and
sweaty and the fly I was using was even hotter. I learn today like on previous bluegill
trips if one fly pattern isn’t working then keep trying poppers and flies until
you find something that does. The little fly that did it for me today was Mel’s Foam Krystal Beetle. He sent me three the other day. I left the lake today with one left in my
fly box. The other two are still in two bluegills mouths and hopefully will
come lose and both fish will survive to fight again. I think the fish thought
it was a live beetle or a black cricket and they didn’t want it anywhere near them. They
continually annihilated this little fly all afternoon. I was so impressed with
the way it sits on the water high and realistic like. No movement was necessary,
just a light touch on the water surface got the smacking sound, you guys are
familiar with who bluegill fish. Thanks, Mel for tying this fantastic little fly that made my trip today!!!---------oh
forgot to mention I need more!!
Very few bluegills had
this little beetle on the outside of their mouth, this one was an exception---a ton of fun on the 2/3 weight!!!
Sorry for the poor quality
image, but this is the way most all treated the beetle, in the throat and ready to
shallow. I tried a couple small poppers, but the beetle outperformed those three to one----proving to me bluegills can be picky when it comes to surface flies.
This is one beautiful lake
and I know I will visit this place many times before I hang the fly rod up.
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Fishing the Feather Light 2 Weight
For those of you who follow my blog know that I am a huge
fan of Redington Fly rods; mainly because of their lightness and most important
their purchase price. In my opinion, there isn’t a better quality fly rod for a
reasonable price on the market than their classic series. I decided a few weeks
ago to purchase their 2 weight Classic Trout mainly to fish some of the small
streams in the Smokey Mountains .
I found out last week that it matches well with the
rainbow on the Sipsey Tailrace in Alabama .
I knew I would be landing trout in the 10 to 12-inch range and the 7 ½ ft.
moderate action graphic rod got quite a workout that afternoon. I found this 2
weight to be a bit more forgiving than my 3 or 4 weight fly rods I fish with. I was surprised with the degree of stiffness it had which helped it handled a couple 12” rainbow I landed that afternoon quite well. True I didn’t horse that size
trout in quickly using it but with a bit of patience I brought both to hand. I
did lose numerous trout that day mainly because of a hook set and slow reaction
time. Fishing a lighter fly rod could have contributed to the hook set issue. I
kept forgetting I wasn’t fishing with a moderate fast action fly rod. The rod
proved what I already knew when it came to placement and presentation of the
fly using a 6X tippet. As most of you know the lighter the fly touches the
surface film the better chance for a take; this fly rod meets that test. The
slight breeze that afternoon didn’t affect my casting but I could see problems
in moderate or heavy winds.
A lot of the bluegill I have caught on Laura
Hill Lake
in Lawrenceburg is smaller than what I am used to landing, so this 2 weight will
compliment those well. The total weight of the Redington 2/3 reel and the Redington
rod weights less than 4.6 ounces; my kind of combo for sure!!
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Going Light on The Sipsey
I’ve been waiting about a week to make today’s trip to
the Sipsey because my game plan was to go super light using my new 7 ½ ft. 2
weight. I purchase the fly rod mainly to fish in the Smokies, but I decided I would
use it today to break it in on the Sipsey rainbow. June of last year was the last
time that I wet a fly in the Sipsey since we moved to Tennessee .
Upon arrival, I found one other truck, so I knew I would
have the place pretty much to myself most of the afternoon. The skies were a
crystal blue with a slight breeze out of the northeast most of the afternoon. I
entered the gorge at access six and saw no surface movement, so most of the
afternoon was spent fishing nymphs. I did manage to take a few trout on top but
I think the trout were annoyed with the presence of the fly as opposed to really
eating the fly. The drift had to be near perfect to get a take on any pattern.
I’m really glad I had numerous boulders to sit on because I did a lot of experimenting
with different patterns most of the afternoon. A lot of fun takes and a lot of
trout lost today.
This was the size trout today that broke the 2
weight in on its first outing. I kept wondering on the way home why I missed a
lot of takes today; could be slow reflex and learning to fish a lighter fly
rod. Whatever it was I enjoyed the afternoon on one of my favorite tailraces.
Special!!
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