Fishing Report 6/12/2014

I went fishing for about an hour yesterday - the rain has been coming down and it has raised the water levels at Lake Newport considerably. The drainage culvert at the base of the dam had a lot of flow going through it (drains out to Lake Anne downstream/across the street - Baron Cameron). I brought out the Epic 480 and the Airflo DT4 again. I did manage to get one medium sized bluegill, but the rest of the takes were the small ones born last year. These little guys are the most aggressive takers also - lots of fun watching them try to out compete each other for a fly that looks like a chewed-up, beat-up, spit out bug. Good fun even though the session was a short one. On the return trip, I saw a bunch more of these dragonfly shucks - looks like it was an awesome party when these guys emerged!!!

Fishing Report 6/11/2014

I didn't have a ton of time today to fish - La and I have been busy packing up the house in anticipation of the movers coming to put our stuff in storage while I find a job and we all take a cool vacation in the land yacht. I did manage to get a few minutes in ahead of having to pick the kids up from the bus stop. I brought out the Epic 480 lined with an Airflo DT4. This being a longer rod, the swing arc radius is longer so I was more prone to getting hung up on the willow tree next to this dock, despite my best attempts to avoid such frustration generating events. I started to push roll casts out to experiment with this set up and what a pleasant surprise - this rod can really reach out with the rolls! I hooked up with this largemouth bass and a decent sized bluegill - neither of which put a serious bend in the rod - obviously with a 4wt rating, there is more strength in this rod (ergo a bigger fish needs to be pulling on the other end of the line to make a bigger bend in the rod... uuuuuuuhhhhhhhh yeah.....) I'll probably keep this rod lined up tonight and use it again tomorrow (contrary to my streak of switching up the rods every session). And actually, I think I only have one or two more to fish in this weight class before I've gone through them all this time around.

Blast From The Past

I caught up with an old buddy of mine from the time that I spent in Baghdad - Eric R. He's been crossbow fishing for gators and snakehead, but recently picked up his own bow and kayak. Even managed to rig a set of pontoons to increase stand-up stability. We paddled out of Fort Belvoir into the Pohick Bay area. The water was super murky. I though enough time had passed since the last rain, but I guess I was way wrong. We actually didn't catch anything. BIG FAT SKUNKING. There were fish though - and the ospreys were out to prove it (several were flying around with some pretty big fish that were bleeding out in the talon grips). I also saw the water swirls left behind by fish of decent size fleeing the scene as they get notice that something not piscine is floating by... As bad as skunking is, beer does take the edge off - as does catching up with old friends.

Horrible Casting...

I lined up the Epic 480 with a SA Mastery WF4 and went on a late afternoon casting session. For some reason I was casting like total crap!!! The rod felt underlined with the WF4 and I couldn't get my timing down at all... Despite the ugly casting, I did manage to catch a couple of largemouth bass, a few decent sized bluegill and a good sized crappie (that brought out a can of feisty and was pulling line of the reel!!!!). I'm thinking using the DT4 on the Scott F7643 last session did something to my casting.... Sometimes you stink and there is no reason other than you stink.

Tuesday - The Action is Heating Up!!!!

I fished with the Nissin Nagare 39-44 and the Epic 480. I used some flies I equipped with weed guards, but they got eaten whole by the local tree gang. I did catch a few largemouth, a couple of black crappie and several bluegill. Always a good time fishing this lake! The notable catch today were the crappie. They came up out of the murky depths, snatched the fly as it was being stripped along and with a subtle arc of the body, back down they went. Seeing the flash was all the warning I was given. As I realized these were crappie, I resisted a regular set and went super light. These guys would have been more fun on one of my soft 3wt flyrods, but this 4wt can push a line into the wind better than the 3wts. Give and take - give and take. Oh - and I got a bunch of my tan back ;) See you later winter!!!

Didn't Catch Fish This Weekend...

But I did catch the usual suspects on an outing on Friday. The ruler lines on the butt section of the Epic 480 are really handy - makes measuring a snap. All these fish should be finished spawning soon. Then it'll be time for casting poppers - and swatting mosquitoes...

First Fish on the Epic 480

Today the rains finally quit and I finally got to fish the Epic 480 that I built out!!! I actually cast it yesterday in between down pours - and I had gotten concerned because my lawn casting was off with this rod. I was having a hard time keeping good loop form and I even heard the "whip crack" effect more than a few times. Well - that concern about the 480 not being a good rod was unfounded - by a long shot!!! This is a FANTASTIC rod - lively, medium flex and well balanced. It roll casts with authority and distance, and casts long distances with little effort. This large mouth bass took honors of being the first fish that got to wrestle this rod. You can see the 6 inch markers I placed on the butt section - of course I'm not the first or the 1000th person to do this, but this is the only rod I have that I can get a measurement at a glance. Oh and the first mark starts at 12" so this allows you to measure up an 18" fish quickly from the butt cap. This was the second bluegill I caught - the first one was a 7" fish (I know because I used the ruler on the rod) and it bent the rod back into the butt section. Actually so did this fish - which at 6" was a pretty respectable wrestler. What a difference lawn casting and fishing a rod can make - don't knock 'em until you fish them! Oh and the second lesson - go out and get yourself an Epic 480 because they are outstanding rods to fish and put smiles on your face. Got it? Good!!! This one will be on the short list to grab off the rack and fish (uh, I think all of the fiberglass rodds I have are on the short list...)!

All Pau Brah!!!

I finished wrapping the Epic 480 kit rod!!! Actually, as I write this at 2101 Sunday evening, I finished putting on the second coat of epoxy and will have the rod rotate overnight as the top coat cures. This build was not nearly as hard or complex as I initially thought it would be. It was totally satisfying and I look forward to fishing this rod a lot. As the close cousin to the Epic 686 I raved about in yesterday's post, I have huge expectations for this rod and knowing the details behind the construction, I will use it both in freshwater and in the salt!!! There are a lot of memories to be made with this rod and I can't wait! Well - I have to at least wait 24 hours for the top coat. I'll post pictures of the completed rod tomorrow.

More Wrapping on the Epic 480

I got the wraps done on the butt and middle sections of the Epic 480. The tip section has a lot of wrapping associated with it (tiptop + 6 snake guides). Hopefully I can get it done this weekend so I can epoxy the whole rod shortly thereafter. Oh - then I can FISH IT!!! Yeehaw!!!

Epic 480 Rod Build - Handle and Reel Seat

I started building the Epic 480 Rod Kit that I purchased just a bit ago. Got the handle and reel seat epoxied on last night. This evening I started trying to develop a technique for making thread wraps. If I had a third hand to put a finger on the thread crossover (first turn), this would be easy. Unfortunately I wasn't born with a third hand so I will have to resort to practice. Wrapping the threads has the same allure as mowing foam - mind numbingly calm, yet critical. I think with a higher workspace, better lighting and getting a better feel for how the wraps should work, this could become addictive (although tying flies is way more affordable - and just how many rods does one need.... who am I kidding...)

Look What I Got in the Mail...

This is going to be EPIC (pun intended)!!! La let me order this build it yourself kit as a "I'm Done with the Navy" present. It came in the mail on Friday and I have been slowly looking at the components and reading the instructions. I hope to have this 8'0" 4 wt built and completed in the next couple of weekends (as long as I don't get distracted by shad fishing). I'll post more pictures as this rod starts coming together in the next couple of weeks. I am looking forward to building a great rod.