I'm not the smartest guy that you will ever meet. I'm a person that's a lot like everyone else. I have a lot to learn and I do dumb things quite often. That's not self deprecation but rather just the honest truth. However, what I do have working for me is that I am curious and I love to learn. Specifically, I love to learn about fly fishing and how to catch fish in local waters.
Thanks to some mentors and fellow anglers, I have learned how to catch hybrid striped bass on Blue Springs Lake. I have fished this lake for over a decade and I don't know much about it, with one exception. I know that if three factors are combined, an angler has a decent chance of catching hybrid striped bass from the bank and more specifically from the dam of the lake. On Sunday morning, all three factors aligned along with the chance for me to hit the water. Here are the aforementioned factors in no specific order:
1. It has to be the month of April.
2. There needs to have been a substantial amount of rain.
3. Wind needs to be out of the south.
When you put those three things together, you have a very good chance that you are going to catch some hybrids on Blue Springs Lake. Is it a foolproof plan? No, because nothing in fishing is foolproof in my opinion. However, I have caught hybrids on Blue Springs Lake more times than not when all of these factors are present. For that reason, I only fish the lake based around these factors aligning just like they did on Sunday morning. The results were what I was hoping for.
I arrived at the dam around 7:30 and started throwing my favorite streamer on an 8 weight into the wind. That's a bit of a problem with these conditions though. When the wind is out of the south, you have to cast into the wind. But like an old-timer once told me, "If you aren't casting into the wind, you are wasting your time." I was able to cast as far as I thought I needed to and I watched my floating fly line for takes. After about 30 minutes of fishing, and missing a couple of hits, I watched my fly line dart down in the water and then start moving to my left. I knew it wasn't a rock or a branch so I gave a proper strip set and the fight was on.
There was a solid run, followed by some violent head shakes, and then a prolific run that was into my backing in a matter of seconds. It was a long fight with a lot of gaining ground and losing ground but eventually I netted the beast. The tale of the tape was24 inches and over 6 and 1/2 pounds. The leviathan was released and swam off to fight another day. I ended up catching another hybrid that was about 2 pounds as well to complete my successful morning. I wish I could fish for this species all year long. I honestly think that this is the hardest fighting freshwater fish I have ever encountered. Unfortunately, I only know how to catch them in optimal conditions.
Oddly enough, every fish hybrid that I have ever caught in Blue Springs Lake has been caught on the same fly. It is called The Brave and I've written about it many times on this blog. It's profile, motion, and color combination are apparently something that the hybrids like which means I like it as well. If you're thinking about chasing hybrids, smallmouth, largemouth, or any other species of fish that eats 3-4 inch baitfish, it would be a pleasure to fill and order for you. I'm not trying to pressure you into buying flies from me but would sure like to help you if you want to try this streamer out. On the other hand, if you want to tie your own or just want to see what all the fuss is about, just click the link below for more details about the fly or to place an order! Regardless, thank you for reading and good luck on the water.
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