Fishing Report 25-APR-2017

The bite is on everywhere, so pick your species, grab your rod, and hit the water!

In the freshwater, the largemouth and smallmouth prespawn bite is currently underway, with most takes occurring on subsurface streamers fished slowly.  For largemouth in stillwater, go for suspending streamers like deceivers and CK Baitfish that can be paused, twitched, and paused again.  In moving water for smallmouth, go for bottom baits like the clawdad, that can be swung down current, or slowly moved through the deeper pools.  There is some topwater action, but the bigger fish are looking for bigger meals, so don't be afraid of putting on your 6"+ streamers.

Don't be afraid to throw your big streamers in the spring!

I also had the good fortune to spend some time down at the ocean to do some saltwater fishing.  This is always a mix of conventional and fly, and fun was to be had on both.  While the weather was fairly miserable, we did manage to catch several flounder, including the keeper below.  Remember, the only three colors you need on your bottom rigs for flounder are Pink, Green, and White.  Once I figure out how to catch these flatfish on the fly, I'll be sure to write up a report.

I've got to figure out how to catch these on the fly, but I'll take 'em anyway I can.

From the vacation house, we had pretty close access to the water.  We could actually fish from the lower balcony, and it was rare when a line wasn't in the water.  I threw the fly a few times, but the close proximity of the dock to the house made this very tricky.  We also wanted a static line that we could sit and walk away from, so a conventional rod was again deployed.  What I was not expecting was a massive chopper bluefish to hit the line!

These blues hit both fly and conventional tackle...but without steel leader they are near impossible to land

Given the relative abundance of these big blues in the bay where we were staying, I spent some time targeting them on the fly.  I had some success with a large red/white deceiver, but without steel leader I was only able to fight them for a short period of time before they cut themselves free....next time I will be better prepared!

This was the most successful pattern for targeting the big blues, and also works for striped bass, springtime largemouth, and northern pike.

Great Beginners Flies Series: Lefty's Deceiver

It's spring time, and my local lake is shedding off the throws of winter.  More importantly, my son is now old enough that I can start to devote time back towards fishing, which means semi-regular updates again, hooray!

Given that it's early spring, and most of the warmwater gamefish are only now starting to become active, now is the time to fish deep and fish slow.  To me, there are few better fly patterns for this than the Deceiver.

Crafted by none other than the legendary Lefty Kreh, the Deceiver is one of the most successful streamers ever tied.  It is a pattern that has found success for nearly every targeted species in Fresh and Saltwater, from trout to tuna.  Despite this wide appeal, the fly itself is fairly simple to tie.  This makes it a great fly to learn to tie as a beginner.

For fishing, this pattern is very flexible.  You can use a sinking or floating line, short or long strips, and fast or slow retrieves.  I find this pattern very effective when letting it slowly sink, and then adding several short strips to mimic an injured baitfish.

Materials List/Recipe:
(feel free to vary colors to your own liking)
Tail:
     Bucktail-  White/Blue
     Hackle Feathers- White/Black Grizzly
     Flash- Pearlescent
Body:
      .025 Lead Free Wire
Head:
     Bucktail-  White/Blue
     Peacock Hurl

     Krinkle Flash- Red
Other:
     UTC 140 Thread- Red
     Head Cement- Sally Hansen Hard as Nails
     Sharpie- Black


Tying Instructions:

Step 1:
For this Deceiver, I am tying a size 2 on a typical saltwater hook (Orvis 9304 Stainless Steel).  You can really use any hook for this pattern.  As always, I've crushed the barb, and placed a thread base down the shank of the hook.

This time I am using a red UTC 140 thread, but any thread will work, as long as it is strong enough to handle securing bucktail.  Finally, for this step, I've taken a small bundle of white bucktail, and tied in the back of the hook to begin the tail.  Less is more here, so once you think you have an appropriate sized bundle, take even less.

Remember, less is more when adding material

Step 2:
Take a few feathers, in this case I am using smaller feathers so I am using four, and tie in on each side of the hook.  This step is often the most frustrating for new tyers.  Here's a breakdown of what I do.  First, I try to pick feathers that are all of a similar shape and length.  Then, I divide the total number in half.  For this fly, I am using four total feathers, so I grab two feathers at a time.  I cut these feathers so that they are just longer than the distance from the tip of the bucktail to the hook point, to ensure I have enough material to secure to the hook.  I then tie in the two feathers, using a minimum number of wraps.  I repeat this for the other side of the hook.  The key here is to go light on the wraps.  We are trying to avoid a material bump here, so fewer wraps are better.

Use minimal wraps in between these steps.

Step 3:
Take 3 or 4 strands of flash, and cut in half.  This will double your flash, and reduce material waste.  Next, fold this flash in half over the thread, and secure with only a few wraps.  This should result in your flash being just longer than the feather tail on a size 2 deceiver.  If you are tying a different sized fly, adjust this step accordingly.

You can vary the color of flash to your preference.

Step 4:
Take a bundle of your second bucktail color (blue is my favorite for Smallmouth) and tie in.  This bundle should be thicker than the white bucktail tied in in Step 1.  At this point, feel free to wrap all of the materials in securely, and build the taper down to the hook shank.  For durability, you could secure the wraps with a touch of superglue or head cement.  If you choose to add superglue or head cement, do not proceed to Step 5 until after this dries.

By keeping the thread wraps to a minimum earlier, the thread bump is nicely tapered by this step.

Step 5:
Lefty's Deceiver is a very lightweight fly.  It also sheds water very easily.  For these reasons, this fly will often float on top of water.  To get around this, you will need to either use a sinking line, or add some wire.  Since I like to use a floating line, I add a small about of wire to my deceivers.  Add in 8 or so turns of .025 lead free wire to the hook shank, starting from where the tail bump ends.  After your turns are in place, secure with thread.

How much wire you add is a personal preference.  I choose to have my deceivers sink slowly.

Step 6:
For the head, tie in a bundle of white bucktail on the underside of the fly.  This bundle should be close to the same thickness as the blue bucktail we tied in for the tail, and should be long enough to reach about halfway down the length of our feathered tail.  Again, be sure to secure with minimal wraps.

Now everything is starting to take shape.

Step 7:
Next, we will be tying in the blue bucktail in three bundles.  Tie in a small bundle the same length as the white bucktail in Step 6 on each side of the hook, and then tie a third bundle at the very top.  As you tie in each bundle, try to use a minimal number of wraps.

If you wish, the fly could be finished at this step.

Step 8:
Take one or two pieces of red krinkle flash to imitate the gills.  For this, fold the piece of flash in half, cut, fold, and cut again.  Then, fold these pieces in half around the thread, and secure to the underside of the fly, under the white bucktail.  The result should be a bundle of red flash that does not extend beyond the hook point.  Trim the krinkle flash if it is still too long.

I find adding flash for gills increases the fly's effectiveness.

Step 9:
The final material to tie in is the peacock hurl.  Take a small bundle of peacock hurl, and secure to the top of the fly, above the blue bucktail.  I like to have these the same length as the blue bucktail, and break off the ends to get a more natural look.  Build the head to a taper with your thread, and finish off with a whip finish or multiple clinch knots.

Play around with how much, and which parts, of the peacock hurl you use.

Step 10:
For the final touch, I like to add some black dots for eyes using a sharpie, and some head cement for durability.  This step is entirely optional, but I like the end result.  If you want to go further, adding sticker eyes, and using UV epoxy makes a very nice appearance.  Congratulations, you've now tied one of the most effective fly patterns there is.

Some species specifically target eyes, so I always make sure my streamers have them.

Fishing Report 24-AUG-2016

Well, August is nearing its conclusion, and the cooler nights are finally starting to creep into the area.  Naturally, a rally of the hot, humid weather should be expected, but it will not be too long before Autumn is upon us.  With that said, fishing is still in the summer patterns, and I have been splitting my time between river and lake fishing.

With river fishing, the time of day is less important, with keeping an eye on water clarity and lighting conditions more so.  Rivers tend to be clearer than lakes, and typically are more shallow.  This makes fish more skittish of aerial predators.  I've been spending some time fishing the Rivanna River near downtown Charlottesville, and have enjoyed my fair share of smallmouth action.  Typically, during sunny, clear water days, the action can be slow, with the best success coming from fish hiding in the shadow lines found near the banks.  Generally, fishing is better during overcast or muddier water days (although not too muddy), as the fish tend to swim around more freely.  This is also true for the early morning and evening hours, as the lower light conditions have a similar effect.  This is not to say that fish cannot be caught during the bright, sunny, summer days, but it does help narrow down where the fish may be hiding.

As for flies, I've been finding great success with topwater in the evening hours, and deceivers during the rest.  Specifically, I've found blue over white deceivers to be particularly deadly, with both swing and cross current retrieves working best.

Blue over white deceivers have been very successful against smallmouth lately

In the lakes, subsurface flies are a must during the day, with topwater not setting in until just before sunset.  With that said, some of the best fishing is to be had in the last hour of the day, with the bass keying in on topwater lures.  Lately, I've been having fun with the Master Splinter mouse pattern.  It is a great topwater pattern that is easy to tie, lightweight, and casts well.

The Master Splinter is a great mouse pattern

As a general rule, you know when you've selected the right topwater fly when the bass inhale the lure deep.  This makes going barbless even more important to ensure safe releases.  I've found the best success with either a slow twitch retrieve, or a steady, gurgling retrieve.  The key is to find what motion attracts the best strikes for the particular time of day you are fishing.  While the sun is still fairly bright, I've found a slower retrieve to be more successful, but typically speed things up as the sun sets.

This ambition little bream decided to go for a big meal with my mouse pattern

Fishing in Maryland: Potomac and Conococheague

Once again this weekend found me up in Maryland visiting friends and family.  After spending the day at Pangborn Park playing Ultimate Frisbee, and otherwise goofing off during my friend's annual reunion, my father and I spent the evening at the Potomac River.  This night, the fish were not overly enthusiastic about anything, and very little action was to be found.

After trying deep and mid level waters, the sun was getting closer to the horizon, and I decided that enough time had past since the harsh midday sun to throw on a topwater popper.  This was to be rewarded with a largemouth bass near the edge of a weed patch, and a smallmouth on the edge of a whitewater channel.  This was actually very interesting, as it perfectly highlighted the preferred habitats for both species, and shows how one river can support both species with very little overlapping competition.

This morning, we decided to try a more scenic river, and found ourselves along Conococheague Creek.  We set out around an hour after sunrise, and if you have never fished that early, you are missing out.  One of nature's finest effects is the steam rising off the water early in a summer's morning.  This only happens when the water is warmer than the surrounding air, and never fails to take my breath away.  Even if we hadn't caught a fish, it would have been a trip worth taking.

Smoke on the water...one of my favorite sights

The good news is the fishing matched the scenery, and we had an outstanding day.  Since we started early enough, and since the first stretch of the creek was fairly shallow with lots of grass beds, I kept my popper on from the evening before, and quickly was rewarded with a fun little longear sunfish.

Not the most common of catches East of the Appalachian Mountains

With the topwater bite being strong, I quickly found success targeting smallmouth, and many smallies were taken, with much bending of the fly rod :)  Most of the catches were your average small river bass, but all put up a strong fight.

Small but fierce, these guys are a ton of fun on any rod, especially the fly

The earliest hours saw very aggressive topwater takes, but as the sun rose, and the temperatures increased, more action was found on subsurface streamers.  I found the best luck on green over white clousers, and blue over white deceivers.  All in all, it was a great day, with nearly forty fish landed, including more than five different species.  Definitely a good sign of a great day, and a healthy river.

And, naturally, my father outfished me again...although he does tend to use a spinning rod, so I like to say I have more fun ;)

Fishing Report 1-AUG-2016

Well...my ocean trip was a bit of a bust, and by bust, I mean it was never meant to be.  Such is life, and it was for the best.  Next Time!  As a consolation, my family came down to Charlottesville, and the local fishing commenced.

The first stop was the Rivanna River, during the heat of the afternoon.  As was stated before, during the dogs days of summer, expect the bass to be less active during the day, with better fishing times in the early morning, and late evening hours.  If you can only pick one time of day, pick the evening, as the bass tend to eat late into the night, and therefore are less hungry in the morning.  With that said, sometimes you don't have the opportunity to fish during the best hours, and just getting out is a reward in itself.

As was expected, fishing was tough, and was made more-so by the passing kayaks and river floats.  With that said, we still managed to catch a few fish, with the largest smallmouth being caught deeper in a fast moving rapid.  Warmer waters mean less dissolved oxygen, so look for fish to take advantage of deeper white water during the hottest hours.

After an afternoon cookout, an ode to summer charcoal, my father and I hooked up the boat, and headed to Chris Greene.  After all the recent rains, the water is back to a darker chocolate, but the fish are still active, and did not disappoint.  After starting the evening with the usual bluegill, ensuring a successful trip, we targeted a deep water drop off near the shoreline with lots of fallen trees.  This type of bank structure allows access to cooler water with a shorter swim to bait rich shallows seeking refuge in the sunken tree limbs.  Here, fishing deep and slow is the key, and my father was rewarded with a nice 2-3 lbs largemouth, among many other fish.  Unfortunately, as is the danger with evening fishing trips, a strong thunderstorm rolled onto the lake, ending our trip.

Sunday morning, for our last outing, we decided to go to a more scenic lake, and trailed the boat to Beaver Creek Reservoir.  Besides from the pleasant views, Beaver Creek is spring fed, resulting in consistently clear waters.  While all of the surrounding ponds and rivers were mud choked from the torrent of Saturday night, Beaver Creek was still holding 4 foot visibility.  Unfortunately, while the morning looked fishy, the bass did not respond.  Several fish were raised from the deep by clousers, but none took the fly.  Our best guess is that the previous night's passing storm caused too great a shift in one or more environmental variables (temperature, pressure, etc), and shut down the bite.  Even the bluegill were reluctant to respond, although I did trick a decent 10"+ brim on a small yellow popper.

Next weekend sees the return to the upper Potomac...weather permitting of course.

Sometimes a fishing trip is just an excuse to get away, and enjoy the water...

Upper Potomac Fishing Trip

Greetings Everyone!  The good news is that the waters have subsided long enough for me to brave the Upper Potomac.  Earlier this week, while visiting my parents, my father and I snuck out to spend a few hours on the river for some summer smallmouth action, and the river did not disappoint.

It's always nice going out on a river with someone familiar with the water, and my father chose a spot packed with smallmouth, and a few other surprises.  While most smallies were subsurface along the edges of the whitewater, requiring a sinking leader to get down quick while moving the fly quickly...luckily I forgot mine, a few were found to take a topwater popper, which I was happy enough to oblige.

Any size smallmouth is a blast on the fly

It is always a blast to catch smallmouth, and even more so off a fly rod.  If you haven't had the chance, I dare you to try.  Pound for pound, they are one of the scrappiest fish, and I dare say more fun than a trout twice its size!  The little guy pictured above was no exception, and decided after several failed attempts to shake the fly while going airborne the best course of action was to do a crazy Ivan, and swim right under a log.  Fortunately, I was able to get Mr. Smallie out from under the submerged tree, and safely land and release...to be caught another day.

In addition to the abundance of smallmouth, my father also managed to land his first tiger muskie.  While it was a far cry from the size of some of the monsters the Potomac is known for, it gave him quite a fit on his ultra light outfit.  Personally, I have yet to battle a hybrid or a full strain muskie on the fly, but, just like my father, there is always a first time for anything.

As expected the rock bass were also quite active, being found near the edges of grasses, and in the shallows along the shore.  What was unexpected, was the occasional walleye we caught in the deeper pools and eddies.  For these, the trick was to get the lure down as far as possible, with slower movements.  I found the greatest success with a half n half, which is basically the offspring of a clouser minnow with a Lefty's deceiver.  Typically, this is a good saltwater striper pattern, but sometimes its worth throwing something they may not have seen before.  As always, tight lines.

An unexpected, but welcomed catch

Great Beginner Flies Series: Zonker

Originally developed in the 1970's by Dan Byford, the zonker has become a mainstay in most any fly fisherman's fly box, with many variations to target most any species of fish.  This fly is so effective for two reasons:  (1) it is simple to tie, and (2) it yields unbelievable movement in the water.  This makes the fly attractive to the angler as well as the fish.

My personal favorite is using a striped bunny zonker strip with some flashabou added for a more reflective tail.  The key is to allow the flashabou to be slightly longer than the zonker strip.  So far, I have tied this pattern in green and white.  Almost every trip, one of these two zonker colors is on my four weight rod, ready to target largemouth, smallmouth, crappie, bluegill, rock bass, and most anything else that swims by.

I have found the most effective technique is to use slow to medium strips, with a pause and retrieve method often proving deadly when the fish are less aggressive.  Since the zonker tail has so much underwater movement, you will find the fly flutters seductively down the water column when pausing the retrieve.  If a slightly deeper presentation is desired, a conehead can be added.  Personally, I never tie the fly without a generous amount of wire wrapped around the hook shank, which helps to get the fly just below the surface.

The White Tiger Zonker, AKA the Siegfried and Roy

The Chartreuse Tiger Zonker

While the debate still goes on about whether adding a red throat yield better catch rates, I always prefer to tie with red thread, and to add a touch of red bucktail towards the front, simply to make the fly look better if nothing else.  Then again, I have caught a lot of fish with this pattern, so I feel the hotspot works.

As you can see, the zonkers above are a bit smaller than average.  I have found this smaller size to be more effective, especially if you are targeting bigger crappie and bluegill.  I have also caught more than enough bass to justify the smaller size, and, in general, have found smaller flies to be more effective.  In the end, feel free to experiment for yourself, and, as always, tight lines!