August 1 & 2, 2015

Date: August 1 & 2, 2015

Body of Water: Farm Pond

Weather: Calm, mostly sunny, and perfect!

Air Temperature: Upper 70’s to low 80’s

Water Condition: Flooded but starting to clear

Wind Speed & Direction: None

Moon Phase: Waning gibbous

Fishing Equipment: 6 weight fly rod and 8 weight fly rod

Flies/Lures/Bait: Green/White popper, Moorish mouse, and The Brave

Hatches or Fish Behavior Observed: Big fish feeding in the flooded grass and timber.

Species Targeted: Bass

# of Fish Hooked: 27

# of Fish Landed: 15

# of Fish Released: 15

# of Fish Kept: 0

Largest Fish Description: 16-17 inch bass

What Happened:

While this might not have been my most productive trip in terms of size or quantity, it would have to rank up there in terms of near perfect weather and sheer beauty.  The temperature never got hot and the wind cooperated with my fly fishing agenda.  Most of the time it was dead calm and the occasional breeze was short lived.  I got to fish the sunset hours of August 1 and the sunrise hours of August 2.  I also fished out of my float tube for the first time (I practiced at a nearby private lake but don’t really consider that the true maiden voyage).

The fish were biting, but admittedly I struggled with the catching.  I used my 6 weight on the evening of August 1 and paired it with a green and white popper.  I probably had 8 bites but only managed to land two fish.  One was a bass about 15 inches and the other was a really nice bluegill that was about 9 inches long.  I thought I was struggling with getting a strong enough hook set due to being in a float tube, and decided to fish the next morning with an 8 weight in order to have more backbone and get more punch on the hook.  It also made casting easier because I struggled casting a popper with my six weight.  This was odd because I have thrown poppers with that very rod in the past.  Again, maybe it was because I was in a float tube.

So I hit the water at sunrise on August 2 and it could not have been prettier.  The birds were out, the water looked like glass, and the sunrise was beautiful.  I thought I would start the day with a Moorish mouse since the pond is in the middle of the field and I thought that mice might be on the diet of the bass in the pond.  I was right and I had more hits on a mouse that morning than I ever have.  I had 8 big strikes/blow ups.  Most times they hit the fly when it was moving and a couple hit the fly after I let it sit for a while.  I only caught two fish mainly because it was hard to get a good hook set with the rod under my arm and using an overhand retrieve to keep the mouse moving.  I had to use an awkward hook set where my right hand grabbed the rod above the cork and I used my armpit like a fulcrum.  It didn’t work very well.  After the mouse bite slowed down, I thought I would see if the bass were interested in some subsurface action.  I tied on a Brave and got hit on my second cast.  I was fishing the weed lines just like I had the mouse but getting a lot more hits.  I caught fish all around the lake and they were all shallow and ambushing whatever came by.  I landed about 13 bass using this technique and only lost one.  My hook sets were much stronger and it felt good to be landing fish rather than losing fish.  I never really got frustrated with losing fish because the weather and surroundings were so pretty and the novelty of my float tube hadn’t worn off yet.

Overall, it was a short but great trip.  I am getting better at maneuvering my float tube and learned how to land and photograph some fish with my new means of conveyance.  I also learned that even a small bass can pull me around the water pretty well too…so that was an added bonus.

Notable Fish

Time: 7:30

Size: 16-17 inch bass

Fly/Lure/Bait Used: The Brave

Location: along a dam

What Happened:

I was about ready to call it quits for the morning but really wanted to hook one more bass.  It had been a great morning but I wanted to end on a high note.  I made a couple of casts into some flooded grass along the dam that I had not cast to yet and on the second cast I got a bite.  It was a hard fighting fish that pulled my float tube around for a while before I landed him.  He acted like a 3-4 pound bass more than a 1 ½ to 2 pound bass.  A great way to end a great morning.  But then I cracked a taillight with my knee when I tried to climb up in the bed of my truck to change out of my waders when I got back to my truck.  Yin and yang right?