Bucket Mouth

Today I went out expecting to maybe get a few shots at some carp, and that did happen. I had one take as well, in fact. But I didn't catch any. And that's OK. I'll tell you why in a moment. But first, here are some pictures from before and after the amazing event unfolded:

My first rock bass out of this pond

Alright, now for the amazing stuff. I was casting to a bubbling carp, which did not take. When I stripped the line in to avoid spooking the fish on the pickup I suddenly went tight. The rod buckled over and I looked out to see a big momma bass breach the surface. And I'm talkin BIG. This one had to come to hand, and after the best fight I have ever had with a largemouth bass I stuck my thumb into the mouth of my biggest bass ever. And that includes my five years of spin fishing before I learned to cast the fly rod. A size 8 beadhead Ausable Ugly seemed tiny on this hawg's upper lip. What a fish. I'm now several leaps closer to my 10lb goal this year! It was truly a privileged to get the chance to hook, land, and spend a short time with this fish. I'll see you again next year fish, when you have gained another couple pounds.  

Evening Service

My dad needed to fish this evening. I needed to fish this evening. So we went fishing.

We chose a good stretch of the Salmon River. We had it mostly to ourselves. I used articulated streamers, of course, and Dad used dries. He caught two, getting good fights out of both. I caught three and fouled one. The one that was fouled was a very wild looking little rainbow. The others were a small brooky, a big brooky, and a slob of a brown. It was refreshing. Exactly what I need out of a weekday evening.

One of Those "Oh Crap" Moments

Yes, a big one that got away story.
I went out today to do some  various small pond stuffs. I first targeted big bluegills and spawning bass, getting one of each.

One of the most stunningly colored bluegills I have ever caught!

The second order of business was drumming up weedy bass with poppers. The only ones I got were dinks.

Finally: bullheads. Using the same method of a clouser with a worm trailer drummed up some cool looking bottom feeders.

Then the unbeleievable happened. I set into what I was sure was a turtle. It wasn't. It was an enormous channel catfish, well over 30 inches. It put a monumental bend in my fly rod. Though channels had been stocked here once, about six years ago, this pond drained one year and I didn't think any had made it. Apparently one had and is now the king of his domain. I stood there, rod doubled over, the fish digging down on the bottom. I could barely move it. Then the unthinkable happened. It went under the grass on the bank. I scared it back out by stomping around, but in a few minutes It repeated and I was unable to remove it. The 4x tippet snapped and so did my will to live. It isn't every day I nail into a monster catfish, on the fly no less. Damn.  

Flies from the Ausable

I haven't posted flies for a while but here are some.

Many of the patterns designed up on and around New York's Ausable are ones that I use often. Patterns designed by Fran Betters and Rich Garfield, with slight edits, often suit my needs down here in Connecticut.

Rich Garfield's Ausable Ugly

Betters' Ausable Bomber

Betters' Ausable Wulff

Non Residents

Today I spent the day fishing for species that are mostly not full time stream residents. First, in the lower part of a larger river. There I was hoping for shad or sea run trout. I caught two species: one spawns in the river, the yellow perch, and the other, redbreast sunfish, live in the river for only as long as the temperature suits them.

I fished with Dalton for the first half of the day. The second half was part by myself and part with Adam. At a certain point Dalton and I got bored with not catching much in a somewhat drab scene and went to brighter and, as it turned out, more mosquito rich places. He got so sick of them that he left. I stuck around and was rewarded first with a brooky, who was clearly a stocker but must have come from a long way off...

...then another part time stream dweller: suckers. I love suckers. They can be big, they fight hard, and they are tough to get on the fly. Except today. I caught so many, as well as some perch and bluegill. There were some huge bass, sea run trout, and hickory shad in the river as well but I was unable to get them to move to the fly. It was a terrific day out, and here photographs of a species that has never been on this blog before, the white sucker.

I found a boat.