Fishing Report 6/19/2014, Part 2

I kept walking at the first stop and found the creek that drained the pond. I did see a few green sunfish and one small largemouth bass, but I decided to just keep watching and not go back to the truck to get the gear (I did go back eventually to get the camera). At the creek, I saw a female (large sized) dragonfly depositing eggs into the water - keep flying up and down and hitting the surface - if you looked as the spot the dragonfly just left, you could see a little white dot - an egg. I didn't have the camera with me, but now I know what to look for at our lake. I noticed after walking through some grass that I had a few hitchhikers on me - after pulling the ticks off myself, I got back in the truck and headed to the part of Bull Run that goes under the "Stone Bridge" - site of the retreating Union Army Regiments after the Second Battle of Manassas. It was neat to think that several hundred people once crossed a bridge here and destroyed it to stop the Confederate troops from following them. Makes you also wonder if these same species of sunfish were in this run back then, or if these are more recent transplants to these waters. Sometimes you don't have to rig up the rod - but that doesn't mean everytime (or even most - let's keep that the exception ;)

Fishing Report 6/18/2014, Part 2

The kids had some friends over after school and I was where I wanted to be with packing/cleaning/fixing, and I still had the Barclay 3wt still setup - so I decided to spend an hour at the lake to see what was around. While I did get a few hits, most of the fish were just following the flies - it was pretty hot (95 F), so I guess even the fish were lethargic. What weren't lethargic were the dragonflies. They were flying around, claiming territory and chasing each other. I didn't see any conjoined pairs, so they are still just marking territory in anticipation of 'other' things to come. So from shuck to pre-mating, it has been a week. I know they spend the majority of their life spans as nymphs underwater, but it seems to me the most dynamic part of their lives - where they would want to spend the majority of their time - is in fact the shortest of their different phases. Oh well - I hope they are enjoying all the flying around...

Fishing Report 6/18/2014

I went to get the minivan serviced this morning. It just so happens the place we get it serviced at is not that far from Goose Creek. I was being efficient by going fishing and getting the oil changed at the same time. The water was a little high again - I was a bit concerned that the fish wouldn't be around. I was really hoping to get into some of those king sized redbreast sunfish again, but that wasn't the case. I lined up the Barclay Glass 3wt with a RIO Gold and worked the bank where the water was a lot slower than the middle channel. I ended up catching a bunch of these small greens and pumpkinseeds (which I am beginning to think are juvenile redbreast). Small - yes, but super feisty! They didn't pull drag, but they did put up a larger than proportional fight!

Sabbatical Fishing

Today was the first day I got up and decided I would go fishing. With no appointments, interviews, errands, or honey do's I tied up a hot pink, brass bead head, size 20 nymph'ish fly with a dun hackle collar. I caught a ton of bluegill and a couple of bass. I was using the Barclay Glass 3wt lined with a RIO Gold 3wt. The more I use this combo, the more I am convinced that it is sheer perfection. And who can argue with a progressive bend like this... Nice largemouth to hand. On to the bluegill - the water is warming up because the bluegill bite is on!!! At some points, I was catching a blueg every cast. Small guys, but one on every cast. With a 3wt rod, you could still feel the fight and not instantaneously overpower the fish (yeah you can who am I kidding - but restraint is a virtue and makes ultralight weight fishing fun). I walked around the lake and found a spot with all the bull bluegs just hanging out. It was the furthest spot downwind so I suspect they were in feeding mode. I tied on a copper/black mini clouser and the fun really started!!! Nothing like fighting bull bluegs on a 3wt (except maybe double digit bones on an 8wt; or GTs on the same 8wt; or smallmouth on a 6wt - you get the picture)!!! Being in between jobs with a sparse schedule is wonderful - I love being on sabbatical!!!

More Hard Fishing

I went out too - really wanted to make a comparison of the RIO Gold and RIO Perception 3wt WF lines using the Barclay Glass 3wt. I think I like this rod better with the RIO Gold... maybe because there has been a bit of wind in the area lately. Maybe it's because of my propensity to make the down turn with the wrist at the end of the casting stroke (to make those loops just a like bit more refined). Maybe it was just the mood I was in these past few days. Maybe tomorrow I'll like casting this rod with the Perception - you just never know (and that's the fun of it all). The fish were further between also. I ended up with 4 crappie, 2 largemouths and 5 bluegill - spread out over a couple of hours. These numbers really picked up at the end as I had moved to the short pier at the end of the dam - that's where the crappie were hiding out. I'm going to setup the GoPro 3+ Black shortly, so I can take "ballcap" perspective photos and videos - that will cure the ill I've had of not having good actions shots from the 1st person perspective. Stay tuned (I just need a decent micro SD card). One last thing I saw of intense interest - the largemouth that I have been able to stand next while casting at the dam (while not being able to get the fly in the bass's mouth) had it's clutch of eggs hatch. I saw a suspended cloud of bass fry moving in and out of the algae right next to the dam rocks. The largemouth was doing patrols to prevent any of the marauding fish (every other fish in the lake) from grabbing an easy meal. The parent bass was actually very caring of the fry - makes you wonder if scientists have given proper credit to the intelligence of fish. Now that I got to see the fruits of it's labor, I'm glad I didn't catch that fish... but now that the spawn is nearly over... time to go casting to some hungry fish ;)

Ah the Weekend!!! Here at Last!!!

I got home, followed by Marlon and Noe and we all went to the kids Tae Kwon Do session early (so we could get back and go fishing at the lake). Well - when we got back, the kids were pooped and decided to sit this session out. So off I went, heading straight for the dam and the crappie hole from yesterday. The sun was not out as bright as it had been yesterday. And the wind had changed direction leaving this stretch of water fairly calm. Well something had changed because the fish were not as eager to take the black nymph fly. I did get several crappie, a decent bass and a couple of bluegills - but they were spread out in time duration to catch and across the lake more. I used the Barclay Glass 3wt lined with a RIO Perception WF3 line. A bit more reach than the Scott F2 6533 I used yesterday - nothing but pure sweet casting goodness!

Shenandoah National Park Flyfishing

Did something different yesterday - drove over to the SNP Graves Mill section to do a little high water creek fishing. This first group of pictures was from the section before you get to the park. I know that because someone stopped to tell me I was fishing on private property. I'm pretty sure it wasn't owner because he was being nice about it. I did look and I couldn't find a sign stating any of the right of way was private. Oh well - we packed up and moved on to the park itself. This is Justin S - young guy from the Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders forum that agreed to help figure out the fishing and locations. He caught a creek chub or fallfish from one of the first pools up from the parking area. I had originally setup my Barclay Glass 3wt, but after I lost several flies to the trees on my backcast, I switched over to my Nissin 39-44 Fine Mode seiryu rod. I had to go through just about every fly in my box, but eventually, a parachute adams opened the flood gates and I was able to catch four black nosed daces (at least I think that's what they are - daces for sure and with a prominent dark stripe on their sides). Finally I hiked up even further and found an awesome spot - two creeks converged symmetrically into one and formed a long run with a pool carved in the middle - I haven't fished for trout before, but from all my research, this was textbook trout habitat. I saw an Alpha Male in the prime feeding spot (right at the 'pit' of the 'Y') - I tried relentlessly to get that fish to take, but the flies I had that matched the bugs in the air were too big and didn't float well. At least I got the chance to see this place. This was very challenging fishing, some of the most technical I've ever done, but for all the frustration, it was awesome to know that places like this still exist. Next time I'll bring La and the kids.

First Crappie of the Year

I fished from the bank for a bit looking for a spot that Marlon and Noe can fish from if they want to come out with me. One of the spots I fish while wading had a few clearings in the brush that they can shoot line from and sight cast to the fish below. You have to move slowly into position so your silhouette doesn't spook the fish - they are used to being hunted by Great Blue Herons so any motion against the background of the sky sends they swimming. I saw this crappie take, but thought it was another bluegill. A pleasant surprise of variety amidst a sea of bluegill.

Fat Pumpkinseed

I caught a few of these guys, but this one was pretty plump for a March fish. Must have been some extra "nutrients" coming out of the 4MR WWTP Outfall... An interesting difference between Pumpkinseeds and Bluegills - pumpkinseeds seem to have a thinner slime coat, you can feel their scales a lot more than a bluegill's. The colors on these guys were getting more vibrant as well - a good sign that spring is coming (despite the 8 inches of snow we got today).

Before the Snow

Yesterday (Sunday) I got out to fish the dropping tide at 4 Mile Run. Barclay Glass 3wt, RIO Perception line and a Killer Bug (with red crystal flash eviscerated innards tail and a tungsten bead head) fly, some quiet time and focus on making good solid casts - yielded a ton of hook ups and fights, with Bluegill. I probably caught 50 of these guys - and each one was a blast. I did manage to mix it up and brought some greenies and pumpkinseeds to hand as well as a couple of other surprises, but that for the next few posts. What a nice way to bring about some serenity (I've said this before - the meditative effects of flyfishing are not as intense as surfing, but it is very fulfilling in a much different way).

Saturday Fish-a-mania

Not. The water was high from the runoff and it wasn't too clear either. BUT the Mighty Bluegill came through and delivered action packed adventure. I brought the Barclay out and fished it with the RIO Perception line - I love this setup more and more as I keep on fishing it - and bonus points for me that I've had to improve my casting to get the most out of this rod (and oh how rewarding it is). Back to the bluegill - I caught 5 or so near the 4MR outfall, then I thought I'd try my luck at the Route 1 bridges. Only 1 bluegill. I also tried using my ultralight St Croix setup and even used Gulp - no takers. Still a great time (casting a sweet rod - love that Barclay Glass)!