More rain led to an evening float tube pond trip with a 7 wt. and our weedless Diving Frog. I cast to the tops of the weed beds and crawled the fly to the edge before stipping them to dive Continue reading →
Some days it’s not about size; it’s about the beauty of the fish that delights me. Three smallmouths of 9 to 11 inches came to hand (one lept 7 times) before I became fascinated with Longear Sunfish. Their bright orange Continue reading →
The rains have slowed enough to permit wet wading a favorite stream. While still a bit high, there were fishable eddies and pockets. Most held big green sunfish and brightly-colored longear sunfish that hit black Bully Spiders. Just as the Continue reading →
Frustrated by persistent rains and raging rivers, I’ve turned my attention to the upstream portion of smaller tributaries. My hope was that the smallmouth population sought more placid pools there. I spent midafternoon drifting North Fork Nymphs along the seams Continue reading →
Between threatening storms, I headed to a pond with an 8 wt. and a box of our size-2 Diving Frogs. Every shaded weed pocket and deadfall seemed to hold bass. After splashdown, the frog remained still for long seconds before Continue reading →
A small frog chorus happily serenaded me as I brought my float tube ashore following a fantastic late-evening pond trip. Forty fish fell for my minnow and bug imposters. Only one was a bass of 13 inches and only two Continue reading →
I float-tubed in the late evening on a pond under threatening skies yesterday. Shortly after launch, a light sprinkle became (briefly) more intense. Soaked, I fished on. Sponge spiders accounted for three dozen bluegills to 8 inches and several largemouths. Continue reading →
Constant rains have confined my fishing to ponds. The bluegill population is still in pre-spawn here, and males are defending their nesting sites aggressively. Egg-ripened females have moved onto the deep edges of the flats. Sponge spiders receive splashy hits Continue reading →
With our rivers finally low enough to wade, I took a 5 wt., intermediate line, and Craw Bully to a favorite smallmouth stream. Shaded, rocky pools gave me great action as 11 bronzebacks were brought to hand and released. What Continue reading →
A gusty wind howled through pond-side treetops and flattened emergent vegetation. The thought of fly fishing in those conditions seemed insane. Fortunately, I was able to ignore them. 7 wt. was pieced together and by kneeling at the water’s Continue reading →
