This Scott is very sssssslllllloooooooooooooooowwwwwwww - you need to really let the rod do the work or your casts will not unfurl the line. I did not get a chance to try the rod out with a DT3, but I'll keep my eye out for other ponds once we settle in down south (WHO AM I KIDDING - INDIAN RIVER BOUND and I plan on stalking with an 8wt in hand during the waking hours!!!!)
This little bucketmouth was the first taker on this rod! He didn't have much mass to put a big bend in the rod, but fishing is fishing and beggars can't be choosers (on what bites). Better than a skunk.
I moved spots to open up on my casts and I got hooked into something else. It pulled HARD and I even thought at one point I was not going to be able to turn the fish.
After all the excitement, I pulled up this bull blueg! This Lamiglas rod is way too much fun with bluegills!!! All my hypothesis I've recently penned are even more true with this rod (1. Bluegill ounce for ounce are the hardest fighters out there; 2. If Bluegills were bigger, humans would not be at the top of the food chain).
At the end, I lined it up with the RIO Gold again just to establish a reference - no contest. It will cast a Gold, but the form was off (a bit too heavy). I'll try it with the Perception again to see if there is a difference (but from the test casting results yesterday, I like the performance with the DT3 the best). What a sweet little rod (thanks Mark - rest easy knowing this one has a good home and it'll be used to wrestle panfish A LOT)!!!
The action of this rod is a tad faster than the Feelex - but that makes this rod that more universally useable. The 6" that this rod doesn't have makes it easier to use in tighter quarters - in my case casting work under willow trees. I can sense I don't have the same reach as I do on the longer rod (Barclay Glass 3wt and the Feelex at 7'2" and 7'0" respectively), but I can still work the line out to any sight casting distance I would need to (35' to 40').
I went straight for the big pig hideout and it paid off in spades!!! Tons of fun playing tug-o'-war with these bull bluegs. I did catch a small largemouth that was more interested in out competing the small bluegill that were around it - too bad the nymph was one of my flies! A couple of these bulls even pulled line off the reel - just like the bones of DG... a singing drag makes my adrenal gland go haywire - primal reaction - one of the reasons I keep coming back to flyfish!
I caught a bunch of bluegill and one small largemouth bass. Ounce for ounce, I am convinced that Bluegill are the hardest fighting fish in the world - they are just small so their punch is compact. If bluegill got any bigger, dogs and humans swimming in lakes would be fish food. I'll declare a truce for all of humanity with the league of bluegills - I'll continue to catch and release them with fly gear, and they won't grow big enough to eat human children and mammals smaller than 100 pounds. No need to thank me - I'm just fishing!
I caught a few of the usual suspects - largemouth bass and bluegills. Not as many today - I think the wind being up had something to do with it. Oh well - still a great day to go out and throw a few loops around!
Oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY BONNIE!
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!!!
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 ;)
The buttercups were is full bloom - nice diversion from casting.
At the dam, it took a few fanning casts to find my groove but when I did... BAM!!!! I was catching a different crappie nearly every cast for about a good 15 minutes straight. This largemouth got a bit jealous of all the action and took a turn at the tug'o war line. To ensure I am rotating the stock sufficiently, I am making sure to use a different rod each time I head out - this should also help me get my casting dialed in. Switching up the rods, lines and leader length will force me to adapt my stroke. On Thursday, I was using the Scott F2 6533 - it didn't take long for me to remember I really like casting this rod (and I think I will be repeating that statement with each change of rod). I lined up the rod with a RIO Gold WF3. The drill became cast a ostrich herl bead chain nymph out parallel to the dam rocks, strip in slow, watch for the slab flash, gently set the hook and bring in a feisty crappie. AWESOME fishing day!
Today I brought out the Scott F26533, a SA Supra DT3 and a RIO Gold WF3F. I started out walking upstream towards the outfall. I spent most of my time at the storm culvert with the WF3F line - bluegill, pumpkinseed, green sunfish and large mouth bass - the 4MR foursome. I did make it up to the outfall itself and caught a green sunfish that seemed to have a bad right eye. I lost a good fly about this same time - a small shrimp/clouser combo that sank well (bead chain eyes). On a back cast, the fly hit the rod and broke free - don't ask me where.
I wasn't trying to pick up a foursome - I was actually trying to get a bona fide goldfish to take the fly. I switched flies out several times but didn't get the time of day from that fish. Next time I'll bring some Gulp Maggots - that'll do the trick (who doesn't like eating a maggot???...???). Goldilocks here actually had a couple of escorts - but they were much better camouflaged (brown and golden - like the bottom of 4MR).
I moved back down stream and fished by the bridges/power line island. I lost count of how many bluegill hits I got - probably 50+. I had switched out the WF3F for the DT3F line. When there wasn't any wind blowing, and I got a good lift on the line, the DT3 cast really well. But it was less forgiving of mistakes (which forced me to keep my form up)
