Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Best Laid Plans of Flies and Men
Often, a day of fishing just doesn't go as planned. Sometimes a whole season doesn't go as planned. That's been this walleye season for me. spring was mediocre, summer sucked, and this fall and early winter have been down right dismal. I've been doing this for three years now, and though walleye on the fly are really never a given, not here, I have learned how to pattern these fish. I knew what conditions put them into a feeding mood. In the body of water where I target them most, I knew what weed beds they'd be over or what shelf they'd be next to. I knew ho deep they'd be and what I could get them on. At least, that's what I thought. I've been skunking a lot this season, which is doubly frustrating when other days in the previous two years with similar conditions produced big yellow perch, sizable bass, and big pickerel. I've caught small pickerel, small perch, and no bass this season. And not one walleye. I really thought yesterday was going to be the day, I thought it was going to be gangbusters. Days like this, with approaching rain and increasing air temperatures just weeks after the lake turnover, were just incredible in 2015, and I had a couple good ones in 2016. But yesterday I had to be satisfied with slightly less sophisticated fish.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
They are nice looking fish nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: have you done any lure fishing for walleye?
I used to.
DeleteAh, so when you wrote about patterning, this came from casting spoons etc in the past?
DeleteI've been experimenting with spinning gear and it is interesting how sometimes one or the other seems to have a big edge, for whatever reason and other times it seems a toss-up. I think the fly gear is more versatile overall but you can't make a fly move the same way that a cranking lure moves, that's for sure! Like the salmo lures or the rapala balsa wood ones for instance. I've been contemplating how to deer collar a swimming fly though....
Nope. On this particular body of water I've only caught walleye on flies. Until this year, that is. I never cast spoons for walleye anyway, I caught a few on soft plastics and rapalas, which can readily be replicated using articulated streamers if you know how materials, fly shape, head shape, and weight placement effect action. I have caught far more walleye on the fly than I ever did on spinning gear.
DeleteThat's cool. I've never caught a walleye. And what you say about articulateds--ok then I guess I am onto something!
DeleteBear in mind this isn't a completely new area of development. When you have time, look into Kelly Galloup, Tommy Lynch, Steve Dally, Ales Lafkas, Chad Johnson, Rich Strolis, and Mike Schmidt.
DeleteNothing more can be said other than "that's fishing". I would say you have done outstanding this year, but I know you have goals to reach and thats OK.
ReplyDeleteTie, fish, write and photo on...
Nobody masters something by being satisfied with mediocre results.
DeleteBarred trout, as Joe Haines called them. They are fine fare on the ice.
ReplyDeleteGood eating, no doubt, from the right water. This watershed unfortunately is not a clean one....
DeleteI found a resevoir in MA that had clean ones. I think my local river would also produce good ones. The trout park near me produced a delicious crappie but I haven't caught a perch there yet.
DeleteI know where that is. SHhhh
ReplyDeleteAnyway what's the biggest Walleye you've gotten out of Lake P.?
18 inches. Not really my favorite walleye lake.
Delete