The Wrong Species

I had commitments this morning and early afternoon, and this kept me from taking the time to go out to some remote wild trout hole. I thought "what warm water stuff is good this time of year?". Aha! Pickerel. I threw the streamer box, some hard mono leaders, and the three weight in my bag and hit the nearby pickerel hole.

The first fly I tied on was a 5 inch long red and white deal I tied for big Bass and Pike. On the first cast I noticed how clear the water is this time of year. I could see the fly 30 feet away and two or three feet under the surface. Then I saw something behind it. For a while I watched these fish follow and nip, then the fly got close and I could see a massive school of yellow perch behind it. Yellow perch are far less common than white perch here, so I got excited. I changed to a woolly bugger and caught perch after perch for some time. A few were quite nice.

After the school had moved on I went to try a shallower area for a better shot at pickerel. Unluckily, it was loaded with carp. Those stinkers had given me a hard time for months, then here they all are feeding happy as pigs in a buffet.  And here I was with a three weight and streamers. Damn.

I still kept looking for Pickerel anyway, and one of my casts with a wooly bugger did end up in front of a carp (which I snubbed). Thankfully I didn't have to deal with that guy on the six foot three weight. I'll be back to get you later fish!