Small Stream Panfish

When I don't have time to make it to a trout stream, I find the nearest one that hold some other fish. This time it was Green Sunfish and Bluegill. I know that there are Bullheads in that stream as well, but they typically have to be fished with worms or cast to with gross looking flies by sight. I was using a Radioactive Worm. It caught Green Sunnies both small and large.

Backstabber

Today I fished a bit at one of the local ponds, using a Back Stabber Crab. It landed me two itty bitty bass and a bluegill before being taken of my hands by a huge bucket mouth.

The Matcher of Last Night's Hatch

Yesterday evening a very good hatch of caddis was coming off on the Salmon River. In the slower pools trout rose selectively, as these caddis spent a fair amount of time on the surface. I found a pattern I tied over the winter to match them well.

The same fly used last night, still on my tippet. I should have cut the tag of the clinch knot a bit more....

Pattern Materials:

Hook: Size 18-12 dry fly

Thread: Olive or black

Body: Adams grey hairs ear dubbing

Rib: Rainbow flash

Thorax: Peacock hurl, tied right before wing

Underwing: White antron yarn

Wing: Deer hair, natural dark

A blurred eater of the summer caddis pattern.

Only the Big Ones Get Away

My father and I spent five hours today on the Salmon. We picked through a large section of the river, first using nymphs and split shot to get to fish. The first creature I encountered was a centipede on a log. I have always found these bugs fascinating. My first trout came is a deep, slow pool. It was a Brook Trout, and he ate a bead head Pheasant Tail.

The next fish to take the PT was a beastly Rainbow, and it new exactly what to do. As I whooped and hollered in excitement, it ran right to the nearest brush, where it tangled up and broke off. I was crushed. 

The next five fish were Bluegills, so we moved on. My father and I got busy catching trout. We doubled up right away, mine being a Brown Trout. Shortly later I was hooked up again, and a jumping bow came right at my face! I landed and photographed him. The next was a Brook Trout, roughly the size of the first and just a pretty.

The very next cat had me hooked into another big rainbow, who rain and the shook his head to succesfully spit the nymph. Another big fish gone. Fortunately, I was permitted another chance just five minutes later. Another bow, this one pushing sixteen inches (and fat too) ate the Hair's Ear. Somehow I lost him too. I didn't loose one small fish all day, just the big boys. 

We spent the rest of the evening at the Handicapped Pool in the fly only section. A big caddis hatch provided plenty of risers, and I managed to land a few. It was getting dark, so one trout was able to take my Summer Caddis seven times without me hooking him. The last fish of the evening was a colorful Rainbow.

ISO 1200, Shutter Speed .3 sec.

Predators

I fished a very weedy and shallow swamp today with topwater lures for bass. Although I got hits and hooked up, I didn't land one bass. I somehow managed a sunny on a texas rigged Brush Hog. I set the hook on a small hit and a Bluegill came flying out of the water. Another surprise came as the lure hit the surface after a cast. Up came a prehistoric head, and a clap was audible. A snapping turtle had just eaten the lure. It didn't take long for him to chew through the line. I decided to leave, but a commotion stopped me. A mother Wood Duck and her two babies were the source. Immediately after my looking up one baby disappeared is a splash, no doubt it had become food for a sizable bass. It was not long before the second was taken in the same fashion. Mamma flew about, desperately calling for her lost babies. Nature is crazy and violent, but I love it!