Basic Bass

I almost forgot to fish today. That is never good. I eventually picked my ass up and got some spinning gear and soft plastics ready for some bassin'. The locality was a small farm pond. The fish, plentiful but small. I photographed each to show just how hot the action was. I found my thoughts wandering into the weird places only found when doing this sort of fishing. For example, today I was contemplating the possibility of using tape worms for weight loss. Under no circumstance is that a normal idea.

Possible brain damage aside, I had fun catching tons of Largemouth Bass. Tomorrow the plan is to hop on the bike and see where it takes me. The real goal is to locate some Native Brookies.

All Sorts of Fish on The Fly

I spent my day in the middle of nowhere on a very rich river. My goal was to get as many different species as possible. I got six. That is pretty good. The first four fish in the cavity of a fallen tree were all different species. A Green Sunfish, a Bluegill, a juvenile Smallmouth, and a Chub.

I fooled around trying to catch risers with dries. I missed a trout take on a humpy and caught a nice chub. Then changed to a buck tail and caught a very colorful Smallmouth and then a nice Rainbow Trout.

I continued to wander around, and eventually spotted a trout rising to beatis, of course a bug I couldn't match. I tried a few other patterns, none of which got so much as a brief peek.

Fall colors starting to show.

 After making an attempt at the trout I poked my way through pocket water looking for a nice Smallmouth. I caught a couple in deeper crevices between boulders.

Downstream I found an interesting ledge. I crossed the river to get a closer look. The underside of a large granite over hang had been refilled with sand by the river, making a home for hundreds of Ant L:ions and a family of American Toads.

Later on, upstream, a Stimulator saw some action from several Smallmouth Bass. A few Rainbow trout were caught casting a sulfur dun. I even caught my first ever sucker on a stonefly nymph, although I dropped it before I could get to the camera. That was the last fish, bringing the species count up to 6.

A Bit of Bass

I spent a little while casting flies from the kayak today, although it wasn't the most productive of outings. I caught one Smallmouth on an articulated streamer and a Largemouth on a popper. I only got a picture of the first because I stupidly left the camera on for half an hour after taking the first picture.

Carp Fly Photography

Yesterday I went carp fishing in the morning just as I have been for four days, but was joined by my brother. One fish was hooked, none landed, but here are the photos, courtesy M. R. Lytle:

Some A.M. Carping

Once again I was up before the sun this morning, prepping gear for the inevitable brutality that is carp fly fishing. I got on the water around 6:00. I cast to a few feeding fish, then changed to a bigger, heavier fly. I hooked into a fish almost immediately. For the fourth day in a row I was about to hear the backing knot click through the guides. It would be a long fight. The fish came in fairly well, but would not let me anywhere near it, doing a short run every time I tried to tail it. Eventually I succeeded and was able to admire the fish before releasing him. Although there were still some active fish they were moving farther and farther from shore and I was unable to hook into a second fish.