Jason Fishing Fuller Lake, Tahoe National Forest



Thought I would share a fishing trip my son Jason made a couple of days ago fishing Fuller Lake located in the Tahoe National Forest near Nevada California. The lake is one of many small lakes located in the Tahoe National Forest.

The Game and Fish Division stocks the lake with rainbow, browns and it also has a population of wild trout. Water flows into the lake on the north end through underground pipes from Bowman Lake, which provides a decent current flow for a lake that is roughly 80 areas in size.

Numerous rainbows landed during the 4-hour trip fishing 6 to 7 feet deep in the super clear 54 degree water.

Jason’s Hobie kayak is the perfect vessel to navigate the lake, mainly because of the quietness of the fiberglass hull. He has it equipped with all the latest accessories that make fishing from it a breeze. The last accessory added were the wheels.

A beautiful rainbow took within 5 feet from the Kayak; it was assumed the trout was thinking the kayak was a large floating log.

The Wiggle Tail Tungsten bead head was the fly pattern that got all the attention for the afternoon. Jason retrieving the Wiggle Tail slowly with short jerks was the action the trout wanted. A lot of fun using his 5 weight spooled with a sink-tip line.

Cash Wounded Finger + Father’s Day

Cathey and I spent a few days last week with our daughter’s family in Tennessee helping with one of the wounded. Cash our youngest grandchild almost lost his pinky when his older brother Bryson accidentally close a heavy glass door on his little hand. The hall door leads to all the children’s bedrooms. Bryson didn’t notice Cash had his little fingers in the door opening. Jenny our daughter sent us a text telling us they were in the emergency room getting his pinky snitched. The procedure took 10 snitches extremely painful for Cash who went into a rage during the procedure. B.T. and Jenny were beside themselves to see their little one in such grief. Happy to report that Cash will be getting the snitches out in a couple of weeks and he will be able to play again like a normal 4-year-old.

One happy little boy with one of the nurses at the emergency room----notice the Popsicle.

While we were there I decided to take Bryson and Laelyn to Harvey Park one of their favorites. The reason they like this park so well is the beautiful creek that flows close to the playground. The kids love to wade in the creeks shallow waters. Sorry, we had to sneak off without Cash but his Mom didn’t want him to get his bandage wet in the creek water.

Bryson and Laelyn spent quite a while using their Dollar Tree nets trying to net some of the small minnows that call this creek their home.

This tiny little minnow along with a few mosquitos’ bites were the catch of the day, which was enough fun to satisfy Bryson, Laelyn, and Pops.

I hope all you Dad’s and Grandpa’s have a wonderful Father’s Day!!!

Fishing the Grasshopper

Terrestrials are some of my favorite flies to cast in the summer and fall. I put the grasshopper to the test today fishing Ryan Creek on Smith Lake. I couldn’t have asked for a better morning with low humidity, no wind to speak of, and cloudy skies. The first spawn is winding down, causing the big gills to move to deeper water. That deeper water is where I was casting the hopper today against the huge rock walls on the lake. The walls are my favorite place to fish for the bigger fish during the down spawn time.

This bluegill exploded on the hopper just as I moved it inches off one of the many walls I fished today. All fish today were landed in water depths of 20 to 30 feet deep off the walls. One has got to love landing these beauties using the 4 or 5 weight fly rods.

I fished the brown hopper all morning because it was so hot with the hits. I’ll give the green hopper a try on my next outing. Both of these hoppers are so realistic and durable.  

Cathey and I will share these four for lunch with hushpuppies, french fries, slaw, and fresh tomatoes.

 

Waist or Chest Waders



As I get older I find there are a lot of things I tinker with that make my day and life easier. Fly fishing waders is one of those items I’ve played around with to make my day on the water a little more enjoyable. The first waders I fished with were some chest waders bought at Academy Sports years ago. They lasted me one year before the leaking started. Since then I’ve gone through numerous pairs of chest waders all from Cabelas.

Fishing the Caney Fork River three years ago convinced me that I needed to try some waist waders. It was a hot humid afternoon and I was melting in my chest waders fishing knee-deep in cool water. I never fish any deeper than knee-deep when wading; I’ve convinced myself that if there is a trout deep enough for me to wade into the water above waist-deep then it should be taken by someone else.

My solution to the heat that day was to convert my chest waders to waist waders, by letting the shoulder straps and upper portion of the waders hang below my waist belt. That helps cool me off quickly but the shoulder straps and the rest of the upper portion of the waders were so cumbersome that I kept loosening and tightening my waist belt all afternoon. I knew I had found a way to make my day on the tailrace more comfortable. The question for me that day had nothing to do with trout but what to do with the issue of belt-tightening concerning my newly found waist waders.

That Caney Fork trip that day convinced me I needed to purchase a pair of waist waders. I tried on my first pair of Cabala’s breathable premium waist waders the next week and liked them. The test now was to try them out that week on the Sipsey, wading in its 58-degree water even on the hottest days. Guess what, they met the test, with one exception I still had to pull at the waders most of the afternoon to keep them in a comfortable position around my waist. So, the problem was solved the next week when I was visiting our local Bass Pro Shop in Birmingham. I was on a mission to find some adjustable suspenders that I could clip onto my belt to keep my waders in place around my waist. I’m glad to report the Redhead Suspenders I found worked to perfection. Amazing how a little tinkering with items can make my fly fishing a little easier. I’m curious what’s your preference waist or chest wader? 

 

May be my Largest Bluegill Landed on Smith Lake

I was fishing Smith Lake with one of my fishing buddies this past Thursday. Cloudy skies, very little wind, and a heavy dose of humidity greeted us as we launched my new Pro 170 Bass Tracker. This is my fourth Bass Tracker I’ve purchased throughout my fishing career and will be my last. The boat is the perfect size to maneuver the small sloughs I fly fish on the lake.



My first choice for today’s trip was the Sipsey Tailrace. I knew with the overcast skies the trout would be feeding on top, but Mike wanted to fish the lake for largemouth. We were fishing the back of some of the sloughs trying to locate spawning bluegills. It was a slow morning with both of us landing a few fish, me fishing my fly rod and Mike fishing his spin cast/combo. As we were leaving I decided to fish one of my favorite rock walls in Ryan Creek. I knew big bluegill hang out near the edges of the walls in Smith after the spawn to feed on the small freshwater shrimp.

After landing a few small gills near the edges of the wall using the Barr Nunn popper; I connected with what I thought was good bluegill stationed inches away from the edge of the wall. The fish didn’t take the popper aggressively like the big bluegills I catch. It did swim fast to deep water as all the fish I land from the walls do, which caused me to take up the slackline at a feverish pace. After getting the fish on the reel the drag started to sing and then I knew this was a bigger fish and maybe not a bluegill but a big spot. After playing the fish and getting it within viewing distance in the super clear water I knew I had a supersize gill. As I lifted the bluegill in the boat I told Mike that he might be the largest bluegill I’d ever landed using the fly rod. The bluegill nailed the popper in water 30 ft. deep and made a run for freedom in water 55 ft. deep. I know this fish was not in the spawning mode, because of the depth he was in. No fish were kept today and that included my prize catch. I released him not only for his heroic fight but because of his size and colorful markings.  

Bluegill Bonanza Fishing the Caddis

I had my phone set for 5 AM Tuesday to make my first bluegill fishing trip on Smith Lake this year. After eating a bowl of cheerios, oatmeal, and some fruit I made it out the door. Tuesday’s forecast was cloudy skies and the chance of rain in the afternoon and through the night; my kind of forecast fishing before a front.

My plan was to search and find bluegill spawning in as many sloughs as I could before the heat and humidity force me to leave. My first slough had numerous gills and one redeye native bass but not the big bulls I was searching for. The bass and female gills were killing the Caddis!!!

After fishing through five more sloughs I finally made a connection on my 7^th slough. Three of kind here using the Caddis; my five weight was the perfect combo to land these bulls.

Unreal fight put forth by this gill, which left a few fibers of the Caddis sticking out of its mouth. During the spawn, the male bluegill will attack anything that comes close to the beds. This bluegill was spawning in super clear water 11 ft. deep. It is unusual to find any more than 5 or 6 bluegills spawning in the back of any of the sloughs on Smith. With over 500 miles of shoreline, the fish are spread thin.

I continued to fish the back of nooks that I thought bluegills would spawn in. I seldom find them in the same sloughs year after year spawning. All the fish I found today were in new spawning waters. A lot of fish brought to hand today will make an excellent meal with hushpuppies, coleslaw, and french fries. By the way, guys have I mention how much fun it is landing these monster bluegills??