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...

Gearing up for Flounder

With the summer heat, bass, crappie, and the other lake fish are deep and lethargic during the daylight hours.  Unless you get out very early, or very late, you shouldn't expect too much on the surface, with the exception to bluegill, because, hey, bluegill are always up for hitting topwater.  Additionally, the heat brings major stress to our resident brook trout populations, so hitting the mountain streams should wait until the weather cools back down.  The end result?  Time to hit the saltwater.

The good news for me is that I have family near the coast, and they make a perfect staging point to hit the back bays along the Maryland and Virginia Coasts...and it's nice to seem them as well:)  One of my goals this year was to try and catch a flounder off the fly.  Obviously, flounder are not the most targeted fish off the fly, but they are catchable, and even a small flounder could be fun off the long rod.

There are two strategies for targeting flounder with the fly.  The first is to stick to the shallows, and use weighted flies.  This permits the use of a floating line, while still being able to get the fly into the strike zone.  Of course, this means there will be a limitation in the habitat and waters that will be fishable.  To overcome this, a sink tip, or even a full sinking line will be required.  For me, I will be using a full sinking line.  This allows me to fish all zones of the back bays; allowing me to target not only bottom dwelling fish like flounder, but also the mid and upper levels of the water column.  Remember, even though the line may sink, the moment you start stripping, the fly will come alive.  This still allows casting into breaking fish, with the added advantage of hitting the top of the boil, as well as allowing the choice to let the fly to sink to where larger fish may be lurking.

As for flies, the usual saltwater suspects apply.  Think clousers, deceivers, half-n-halves, but shrimp and squid patterns are also useful.  Granted, tying an all white clouser or deceiver may do a decent job of imitating a squid, and tying either in pink colors is a decent soft shrimp imitation (they are pinkish when they shed their shell), but having an excuse to tie something new is more than enough for me to have to break out the fly tying kit.

Tying a squid fly is a nice change from the typical trout and bass flies

There are plenty of good guides on youtube and the Internet to find interesting patterns and ideas for saltwater flies.  My search helped me to develop the squid fly above.  I chose to use dumbbell eyes near the rear of the hook to (1) invert the hook, and (2) change the action of the fly to more closely resemble a swimming squid.  I also used some of my holoflash, which has tons of different colors, and, I think, will more closely imitate the rapid color changes squids are known for...plus, it helps it look cool :)  Sometimes, making the fly look better to yourself actually makes the fly fish better, because you will fish it with more confidence, and throw it for longer.  A great quote is even a poorly tied fly will catch fish if you throw it long enough.

For shrimp patterns, I decided to try my hand at the crazy charlie.  This is one of THE patterns for bonefish, because it imitates a small shrimp or crustacean...hey, that sounds good enough to me.  I did tie mine a little larger than the average charlie, and added some colors that more closely match the shrimp in the back bays where I fish, including some touches of pink for one of the flies.  Believe it or not, pink can sometimes be the only color flounder will hit, and therefore I always make sure at least one of my flies incorporates this hue.

Some of the crazy charlies I tied for flounder

All in all, it will just be nice to get out and hit the salt.  I'll be sure to post an update, but, remember, getting out to fish is just as important as actually catching a fish.  Even if you strike out, you should always have a good time...I know I will.

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

Long Time No Post...What Gives?

So it's been a while...actually it's been a long while, since my last update.  And, if you've been like me, it's been frustrating watching storm after storm after storm roll through May and early June.  This has absolutely wrecked havoc on the local rivers, and only recently has the weather held off long enough for them to be fishable for smallmouth.  Unfortunately, work has decided to get really busy, and has made getting out to fish even harder.

So...yada yada yada, I am still around, but fishing has been something that has been a bit difficult to manage.  With that said, the waters are now fully fishable, and the fish are out there.  Actually, if you can brave the humidity and hot weather, now is a great time to hit the rivers or lakes, because even if the bite is not as strong as it was, you could always take a quick dip to cool off.

If you do decide to hit the mountain streams, remember to take extra precaution with the brookies, and to try and end the fight quickly, and return even quicker, as the warmer temperatures will be stressing our state fish.

Finally, I should have a better fishing report next week, as I will be traveling to Smith Mountain Lake to celebrate the holiday.  Cheers and tight lines!

Fishing Report 30-May-2016

Happy Memorial Day everyone, and hello to the sun!  Finally, after what seemed like a month of rain, a stretch of good weather said hello to our area, and the fish responded.  In honor of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, I did what I felt best respected their legacy, and fished as hard as I could.  This resulted in what may have been my first 100 fish day, with an unbelievable four hours spent on Chris Green Lake.  While what I caught may not have been overly large, I brought more than enough to the boat to satisfy the ever growing void caused by all of the recent rain.

The weekend started with my first mate keeping watch over the lake Friday; on the lookout for the tell tale ripples left behind by fish enjoying the evening hatch.  While very adorable, she does pose a noise hazard, and makes it impossible to sneak up on any Grass Carp.  Luckily, the lake water looks to be clearing faster than anticipated.  Hopefully, this good stretch of weather will hold, and the clarity will continue to increase, allowing for better sight fishing opportunities.

Holding down the front of the boat, while waiting for the next fish

After playing host on Saturday to some friends from out of town, I was ready to get out and stretch the lines on Sunday.  What followed is some of the most active fishing I've ever experienced...anywhere.  Over the course of four hours, I boated some 100 fish, with 60-70 being crappie, and the rest a mix between bluegill and largemouth bass.  The crappie were found holding by two beaver dams, and reminded me of small tuna in the way they were aggressively pursing flies.  While I did snag a few on topwater, I quickly realized getting the fly down a foot or two resulted in a flurry of furious attacking...which prompted the small Clousers and damsel fly streamer patterns to come out.  Even though the crappie were in the 5-9 inch class, catching these on a two weight rod was more than satisfying...especially with the occasional largemouth bass to crash the party.  The trick was to keep the fly moving, even if only with subtle twitches.

This morning I decided to head up into the mountain blue lines, to cap my weekend off with breathtaking scenery, and a few brookies.  The fishing was a bit slower than expected, with less activity being found on the surface, although I was able to witness the occasional back flip as a trout lunged after my dry.  Overall, the better action was found below the surface, with the dropper being the hot item.  Personally, my favorite dropper to use is a lightning bug nymph, tied in most any color.  I believe as long as it has a bit of flash, the actual color of tinsel is not overly significant.  In addition to a few adult sized trout and creek chubs, I was able to have some fun with a few juveniles, and the good news is the future continues to look bright, as the fingerlings were happy and fat.

The juvenile brook trout were out in force, and appear to be very healthy

Hopefully, you were able to get out and enjoy this beautiful weekend as well...if not, well it is never to late to pick up a rod, and cast a line.

Rain and Travel

Well...this is awkward.  After all these days coupled with an unusual amount of rain (yes, just about everyone in the region broke their consecutive rain record), and an annoying packed work schedule, I do not have a fishing report to write.  Yes, I assume they are biting, but I have not had the pleasure of pursuing their hunger.

...hopefully, I'll have something next week.

Fishing Report 7-MAY-2016

It's been a while since my last fishing report update, and there is good reason, other than laziness.  My goal was to have a clever update to include a photo of a flounder caught on the fly...sadly such a photo was not meant to be...nor any real report to speak of.

This past week, my Uncle and I went to Wachapreague, VA to target flounder.  The trip started off well enough, with three keepers pulled in off of conventional spinning tackle.  The goal was to help put enough fish in the ice box before pulling out the 8 weight to catch a seldom targeted fish on the fly.  Unfortunately, those three flounder were the only caught of the trip.  The already poor weather turned worse, and our trip was basically a wash out.  The goal is to return to the VA Eastern Shore in the summer, and take another crack at the flatties.

The three flounder of the trip...but they were all over 18"

To make up for the busted trip, I took advantage of being near my family's farm in Maryland, and took an hour to fish for stocked trout in the Patapsco.  Believe it or not, this trip saw my first rainbow on the fly (caught off of a PMX hopper imitation).  In retrospect, it's difficult to catch a rainbow when you only fish native brook trout waters :).  While not large or spectacular in any measurement, it is still another milestone in my fly fishing scrapbook.

Always love catching trout off of a dry.  This particular trout did a backflip out of the water to take the PMX,

I was hoping to end the week with a trip up to a blue line stream in the Shenandoah, now that the Rocky Mount fire is out, but a day wasted waiting on a FedEx package, and a surprise project to replace my mailbox post postponed my brookie adventure to next week.

Oh well, sometimes just getting out is reward enough in itself...and sometimes just being able to get out can be a daunting challenge.  The good news is the weather is clearing, and the warmer temperatures are returning...next week should be better :)