Double Down on Green

Went back and fished the little creek that I got rained out on a few days ago. The water had cleared up and the fish were on the beds. I caught plenty of longear sunfish. I don't think there is a prettier fish in Texas waters  than a brightly colored longear. These guys don't get very big, 4-5" being average, but they fight great and make up for what they lack in size with brilliant colors. I also caught several green sunfish and some nice bluegill. It's always fun catching a variety of fish and seeing the hybridization that occurs when you have several different sunfish species residing in the same waters.      

I catch the majority of my longears on soft hackles.

Nice gill sitting pretty for the picture.

Caught many doubles of these greenies today.

Making the Best of It

Drove over to a little creek that is up the street from me this afternoon. It is a great little creek that has been dammed off and creates a little pond that is full of big longears, greenies and copper nose bluegill. First cast I hooked up with a nice bass that broke me off when he buried himself in a weed bed. Within minutes a rain storm blew in, I continued fishing and caught some small green sunfish and then the incoming runoff was turning the pond to chocolate milk. I didn't bring any rain gear so I was soaking wet and decided this would be beating a dead horse to stay and fish. I went to another neighborhood pond that is right by my house and the water was still clear. This pond has lots of small bass in it and has a good population of hand size bluegill. It was still slightly raining so I decided to tie on a popper for the bass and ran a small wooly bugger for a dropper to get the gills. I caught a handful of small bass and lots of nice blue gills. No gillzillas but lots of nice fish that put a good bend in the 3 weight. As the evening approached I found a bed of blue gill and they were actively fanning and cleaning the beds getting ready for the females to move in and lay eggs. This is the first time I have seen bluegill actively make beds. You could see  4-5 mud clouds at a time on this little flat were the males were prepping the nest. I caught some beautiful fish but the clouds created some terrible glare so the pics didn't come out as good as I would have liked them. I'm going to hit this pond several more times this Memorial weekend so check the blog often for upcoming reports. In the mean time everyone have a great Memorial weekend.   Please thank a Vet, their families who sacrifice so much, and say a prayer for those that paid the ultimate price.

The rain moved in just minutes after arriving.

It didn't take long for the water to dirty up.

Bass on top.

Gills on the dropper. 

Lots of glare 

Love the blue on their chins. Still to much glare though.

Tippet

So have you ever wondered why a 25 yard spool of tippet is pretty much the same cost as a 200 yard spool of line? I use to wonder the same thing and started researching the difference between tippet and a spool of line. I always use Seaguar flourocarbon because I think it is the best stuff on the market and I have had no complaints after years of use. So lets look at the graphs Seaguar has on their website.

Seaguar InvizX

Seaguar Grand Max FX Tippet

So if you compare the charts in relation to the diameter to the lb test, you will quickly see that with the more expensive tippet the diameter to lb test ratio is much better. The InvizX 4lb test is .007" diameter while the Grand Max FX tippet .007" diameter is 7 lb test. For the same diameter you are getting 3 lb more strength and that is what your paying for. As you move down the chart you see that the 17 lb InvizX has a diameter of .015" while the Grand Max FX tippet is over 25 lb test in the same .015" diameter.

Now personally I don't think it makes that much of a difference when it come to warm water or big game fishing when you are throwing large flies. However I do think it makes a difference when you are presenting small flies like #18, #20's and even smaller #22,#24, and #26 midges, BWO, and what not to large trout like on the San Juan. The San Juan and a number of other great trout streams across the country are known for being very technical fisheries were you typically throw small flies to relatively large fish. The smaller the diameter your tippet is the better these small flies can be presented naturally and the added lb test strength will result in fewer break offs and more fish to the net.

Just something to consider the next time your at the flyshop picking up some tippet. 

Honey Combs

Bluegills begin spawning when water temperatures reach about 70°F. Spawning typically peaks in May and June, but will continue until water temperatures cool in the fall. Nests are created in shallow water, one to two feet in depth and typically gravel substrate is preferred. Fifty or more nests may be crowded into a small area, thus creating a spawning bed that looks like a giant honey comb.

I always like to use two flies, the first fly is a olive wooly bugger followed by a soft hackle like a red ass in a size 12-14 or 16. A lot of times if the fish isn't overly aggressive they will follow the wooly bugger and then turn and hit the soft hackle. Its also fun when you catch 2 fish at a time.

The best times to target bluegill is the week leading into the full moon. The fishing can be great anytime of the day, even in the middle of the day like today. I have found that the biggest of the bluegill, Gillzilla's, will move up onto the beds the evening or two before the full moon with the last hour of light and into the night can be very good. 

Flashy Flies

Kate and Bill Howe of Flashy Profile Flies tie some great patterns. I found them when I was doing some searching for some offshore flies for an upcoming trip this summer. I was looking for some large flies with plenty of flash and that were tied on premium high quality hooks. Several of these patterns will work great for some of my bass and striper fishing as well. All flies are hand tied by Bill and Kate Howe in Nevada and on Gamakatsu Hooks, no substitutions. They are a custom tying operation, and produce only their own patterns. It only took them a week to get me a couple dozen flies built to order. Their flies have caught over 4 dozen world record fish which is testimony enough to how great their patterns work. I look forward to putting these flies to use.

A great selection of flies. 

We had good luck with blue over white last year on the 

Texas coast.

Largemouth won't have any problem eating this fly.

I really like this fly.

Several tube flies in the mix. 

A great all around baitfish pattern. 

I Lied

So I thought I wasn't going to be able to get out again for the sand bass run. This year has been a late spring and just last week we had record low temperatures for this time of the year. I ended up sneaking out for a few hours during the middle of the day and hit a local creek and caught several sand bass and a couple small hybrids. The shad have left the creek and the sand bass and hybrids are on their way out also. I did see a lot of carp and saw several feeding off the surface. All I brought with me was clousers but next time I am back in this creek I will have an assortment of dry flies to see if I can catch my first carp off the surface. I think it will be a fun creek to fish this summer with all the carp and bluegill in it.

White Bass (Morone chrysops)

The species epithet chrysops is Greek meaning "golden eye."

Even though these little hybrids aren't much bigger than the sand bass, you can tell immediately that its not a sand bass by the bend in your rod. Hybrids area a much stronger fish.   

Facebook

If you would like a chance to win a $25 gift certificate and a Dally's Ozark Fly Fishers hat please go to facebook and LIKE 2FlyFish4 and Dally's Ozark Fly Fishers Page. You must like both pages for the opportunity to win.

Dally's Fly Shop & Guide Service ; Gliding through the hills and hollers of the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas is the White River and its tributary the Norfork Tailwater, the finest tailwaters in the South, known to fly fishers the world over for producing phenomenal numbers of trophy brown trout. Nestled on a bend of the White River is Cotter Arkansas, "Trout Capital USA" and at its fly fishing heart sits Dally's Ozark Fly Fisher, a fly shop for fly fishers and fly tiers.

If you want to discover the White River system, learn to fly fish, or hunt trophy trout our guide service is second to none. Our guide team goes through waders and boots like others wear out jeans and tennis shoes. We offer guided fly fishing trips for wade fishing (when available) river boats and drift boat trips on both the White River and Norfork Tailwater, plus Crooked Creek and Dry Run Creek the world's best fishery for under-16s.

We carry one of the regions largest selections of Sage, Orvis and TFO fly rods. We have reels from Waterworks-Lamson, Abel, Sage, Orvis and TFO. We carry Simms and Redington waders, boots and clothing, tools from, Dr Slick and Orvis, fly boxes from Umpqua and Montana Fly Company. Our tying selection is comprehensive backed with the best from Wapsi, Hareline, Clear Cure Goo, Renzetti vises and Dr Slick Tools. We also have a solid program of tying and fishing classes.

Dallys Ozark Fly Fisher is your Gateway to the White River system and Ozark waterways.

Steve Dally also post a great blog that is constantly updated with fishing reports and current conditions.

I fished with Steve Dally and Ben Levin who is part of Dally's guide team and had a great time and will be back next year for another great trip.

MOJO

Everyone has that favorite rod in their arsenal, mine is my TFO TICR 5weight. It cast out a lot of line with minimal effort. It doesn't discriminate against floating, intermediate and sinking lines while casting each with ease. It has a great combination of lightness and sensitivity yet maintains plenty of backbone for fish fighting power. It was the first TFO flyrod I bought, I now own many TFO rods from their 3weight Finesse Series to their Bluewater Series. It is the rod I grab the majority of time and it defiantly has plenty of MOJO.

Below are some of the great fish I have been fortunate to catch on the TICR 5weight. 

Some Smallies

Some Exotics

Some Trash

21lb striper

     24 lb Striper

She's a Keeper; Part II

I'm a very lucky man to have such a great wife. Just a few days after our first baby she let me sneak out and get a few hours of fishing in. The fishing was a little slow, probably due to the recent cold front that blew in. I think I ended up catching a half dozen or so fish, defiantly cant complain about that. It was a beautiful day and I was glad to be able to get out for a few hours. Caught fish on wooly buggers and Jamie Rouse's Poodle. The Poodle is a great articulated streamer that I like a lot. Orvis carries them but they appear to be a very easy fly to tie up. It is a medium profile fly that can be thrown on smaller weight rods. Jamie Rouse originally designed this fly to be used for trout up on the Little Red River in Arkansas where he guides. This fly has plenty of action to entice any predatory fish into striking.

Not the biggest bass, but they smash Mr. Rouse's Poodle

She's a Keeper

Please welcome our beautiful baby girl!

Brynlee Pearl Ryan

Born 4-29-13 @ 5:37pm

6lbs 2oz