The Fishing Season (in my area) is Winding Down

About a week ago, I found some time to hit the water at one of my favorite lakes. I was hopeful that the cooling water temperatures would improve fishing conditions and make for a productive day on the water. I was hoping for lots of fish, big fish, and lots of big fish. I threw streamers for a better part of the morning with only one fish to show for my efforts. I switched over to a 1/80 ounce jig and indicator to see if a smaller and slower presentation could at least catch a few fish. While it did catch a 13 inch largemouth, a crappie, and some bluegill, it was still pretty slow that morning.

I admit, I don’t do a lot of fall fishing for a couple of different reasons. To me, it seems pretty unpredictable. With the changing weather systems and changing water temperatures, I just never feel like I have a handle on what the fish are doing. Also, my brain is starting to switch over to deer hunting mode. I love deer hunting during rifle season and I do some scouting as well as planning beforehand which cuts into my fishing time. It would appear, based on my last outing, that my impoundment fishing season is just about over. If I’m gonna do any fishing from here on out, it’s either gonna be for stocked trout in the Kansas City area or I’m gonna have to go to Southwest Missouri and fish either a trout park or Lake Taneycomo. I hope you’re able to lengthen your fishing season and I hope you still have some good days on the water. If you are transitioning over to sitting in a tree more than being on the water, I hope your arrows fly straight in your rifle shoots true.

Show Me Fly Guy Wing Sauce

 

Well there is a post title that I never thought I would write and a couple of pictures that I never thought I would take...but here we are.  So let's get right to the point in regards to what is happening with this wing sauce.  If you are not aware, I am a public school teacher.  It just so happens that I teach with the mom of a former student of mine named Mikey.  One day, Mikey's mom brought some wing sauce to school that Mikey had made and asked me if I wanted a bottle.  I gladly accepted, took it home, and tried it.  I instantly recognized that the sauce was unlike any wing sauce that I ever eaten.  It was as unique as it was amazing!  I told Mikey's mom that I really liked it and she offered me more because, in her words, "We have more than we know what to do with."  That got my attention and gave me an idea.

I got in contact with Mikey and share my vision with him.  I asked if I could buy some bottles off him, throw one of my stickers on it, and see if there was a market for our little collaboration.  By no means am I taking any credit for Mikey's work.  It just happens that I have a blog, post on social media, and sell a few products here and there.  I just wanted to be transparent about everything and make sure that Mikey gets all of the credit for the concoction.  

So if you are interested in purchasing some of Mikey's wing sauce, please let me know.  I am planning on trying to keep sales local (Kansas City area) and make some deliveries or maybe meet up for transactions.  Each bottle is $5.  However, if you're really interested in me shipping a bottle or two to you, I'm sure we can work something out.  Just shoot me an email at showmeflyguy@gmail.com if you're interested.  I have about 8 bottles left and if those sell out, Mikey and I might scale up our little side hustle!  

Now Available on Amazon: A Fly Fishing Journal and Logbook

Link: https://a.co/d/43t2JQ2

It is with great joy and a lot of excitement that I am able to announce the release of my latest project!  I have been thinking about creating a journal for years and have been working on this for months!  I was inspired to make a journal because of the journal that I kept when I was new to fly fishing.  That journal was an incredibly useful tool as it helped me to reflect on what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong.  It ended up becoming a nostalgic treasure to me and something that gets locked up in my fireproof gun safe with a few other things that are equally important to me.

I saw room for improvement in the journal that I used so I decided to make my own.  It is my hope that others can use this tool and grow from their experiences just like I did.  And while I published my own book of stories about a year and a half ago, I felt a need to help others tell their own stories.  Included alongside the 100 journal entries is a logbook to keep track of everything from big fish to boat/rod/reel maintenance.  I even threw in a little original poetry (no AI usage, I promise) because I've always liked to write poetry but never shared it with anyone.

If you buy a copy, thank you very much and I hope you like it!  If you don't, I get it.  Journaling and compiling information isn't for everyone.  Regardless, thank you for reading today's post and for your support in whatever way you show it.  I hope you get to spend some time on the water and end up with a good story that you can share with others!

Link: https://a.co/d/43t2JQ2

 

The Brave Can Also Catch Smallmouth Bass in Idaho

Link to The Brave in my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/listing/607031796/2-pack-of-the-brave-flies-streamer-bass

Life is unpredictable to say the least.  Just when I thought I was done posting about fly fishing for smallmouth bass, I received a message from a former student of mine.  Before I get to the fly fishing part, let me describe this young man in a little more detail.  He was an amazing student when he was in 6th grade and an even better human being as an adult!  He is also an accomplished angler that has slowly crossed over from the baitcaster world into the realm of fly fishing.  He moved to Idaho after high school and earned a degree in biology from Northwest Nazarene University.  Since then, he has stayed in Idaho and has slowly caught the fly fishing bug (pun totally intended).  I sent him a few flies and recently, I sent him some Braves.

Two weeks after I sent him some flies, I had pretty much forgotten about his order.  However, when we saw my post about catching a smallmouth bass in the Ozarks on The Brave, he messaged me.  His exact words were, "Oh, that's good to know because I'm floating the Snake River this weekend."  I forced myself to wait until Sunday morning to inquire about the trip down the Snake.  He replied with some pictures and some of them contained smallmouth bass with some Braves in their mouths.  

Joy is an underused word in my lexicon.  I don't use it much, but thankfully, I've started to value the word more and I have tried to use it when it seems appropriate.  When I saw this young man's pictures, joy filled my heart.  I was happy to see that he was happy.  I smiled when I say him holding a few smallmouth bass.  I felt joy when I saw my former student holding smallmouth bass that he had caught on a fly that I had tied, and more specifically, on The Brave! I would be happy to send you some Braves as well and be overjoyed to see some pictures of you holding fish as well. 

Link to The Brave in my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/listing/607031796/2-pack-of-the-brave-flies-streamer-bass

 

The Brave Can Officially Catch Smallmouth Bass!

Link to online fly shop- TheShowMeFlyGuy.etsy.com

This post almost slipped through the cracks.  In my series of posts about fly fishing for smallmouth bass with Ryan Walker of Ozarks Smallmouth Alliance and my good buddy Corey, I forgot one important story.  Aside from my buddy Corey having a good time and catching some smallies, I had one goal and one goal only.  I wanted to catch a smallmouth bass on my favorite streamer, The Brave.

It is important to note that I did not invent this fly.  It is simply a rabbit strip zonker with a double collar.  I call it The Brave because I caught a 7 and 1/2 pound channel cat on this fly while wearing an Atlanta Braves hat and decided to name my variant, The Brave. What I’m trying to say is if you go around asking people about whether they’ve ever heard of this streamer, the answer is probably going to be no. However, I sell this fly online and I’ve sold quite a few. I only sell flies online that are proven to be productive patterns, and this is one of the most productive patterns that I have ever finished. This fly has caught, largemouth bass, catfish, big bluegill, crappie, a carp, white bass, and hybrid striped bass. One of the few game fish that it had not caught was a smallmouth bass.

During our trip with Ryan, the smallies were biting steadily. Ryan’s flies were working great and we were catching fish. I was hesitant to tie on one of my flies because I was scared it would bring the productivity to a screeching halt. However, curiosity got the best of me and I just had to give it a shot.. I showed it to Ryan and he not only approved, but it said it looked good and started asking some questions about it. This gave me some additional confidence that this fly might get the job done for smallmouth bass.  Keeping with my traditions and habits, I missed the first couple of strikes. While, that was a little disappointing, it did let me know that maybe I was going down the right path. On the third strike, I set the hook with the appropriate aggression and the fight was on. When I got it to the boat, I was not disappointed at all by the fact that the fish was rather small. Instead, I was overjoyed with the fact that a smallmouth ate this fly and that I had reached my goal.

It’s a good feeling to get confirmation on something that you believe to be true.  It makes you feel smart and like you know what you’re doing. However, I’m not the type of person to rest on his laurels. Once I reach a goal, it’s time to set a new one. What’s my next goal you might wonder? Well, The Brave has one more thing to prove. Will it catch a trout?

Link to online fly shop- TheShowMeFlyGuy.etsy.com

 

Sometimes You Get Quantity Over Quality

 

About a month ago, I had the absolute pleasure of fishing one of my favorite spots in the entire world.  As luck would have it, the weather cooperated too.  It is a rare occurrence for me to get to fish such a beautiful place with moderate temperatures and zero wind.  It was a little slice of heaven and to make things even better, I got to share it with my good buddy Waylon.  He's my 4 year old German Shorthair Pointer in case you are new to this site.  It could not have been a more perfect day on the water.

I hit the water with very few expectations other than the hope of catching some farm pond largemouth bass on a fly rod.  As I get older, I realize more and more that if you approach a situation with little to few expectations, you will be disappointed less often.  That approach allowed me to be happy with whatever was sent my way.  While I didn't catch any fish over 2 pounds, I caught A BUNCH of bass in the 1 pound range.  When I say A BUNCH, I mean probably 20-25 bass...and an 11 inch crappie too!

They all smashed streamers.  They all came from cover.  I landed over half of the takes and didn't break off a single fly.  I even got to filet out some fish for the owner of the lake which made him happy and hopefully kept me in his good graces.  Again, it was a perfect morning.

Days like this are few and far between for me.  It seems like lately, the weather stinks or I'm too busy with other responsibilities of which, I have many right now.  So when a morning like this falls in your lap, it does your soul some good to soak it up and hold onto it.  Heck, just writing about this morning is putting me in a better state of mind.  With that being stated, I hope you have a perfect morning soon.  Wherever you are and whatever you are fishing for, I hope you have a perfect morning and/or evening sometime soon.  Sometimes nature gives you what you need exactly when you need it so if you can hit the water, I think you should go for it!

Drift Boat or Raft? Here We Go Down the Rabbit Hole!

For over a year now, I have pondered the question, "Do I want a drift boat or a raft?"  I have spent a little time around each and have enjoyed my experiences in both.  Ideally, I would like to have one of each, but financially, that's not a possibility right now.  In the end, there is no right answer.  It is a situational decision so let's look at the situation.  So I need to make a choice.  Let's look at some pros and cons but let's take a step further.  Let's look at this through the lens of a Midwest guy that lives 100 miles away from Ozark streams.  

Drift boats have a special place in my heart.  To me, they are fly fishing icons.  They are comfortable, stable, and fairly tough.  There is room for storage and a little room to walk around.  They can be tough (aluminum) a little fragile (fiberglass) or somewhere in between (wood).  They are more expensive than rafts but in my opinion, it's because they are worth it.

Rafts on the other hand are less expensive and easier to store.  They handle shallow water situations a little better in the sense that they need less water to float.  On the other hand, a drift boat will probably bounce off rocks and take a little damage.  A drift boat might tear which is immensely more problematic.  Rafts are lighter and can get a person into less accessible areas such as areas that don't have boat ramps.

I have wrestled with this decision for a long time and I'm leaning towards a raft.  I have really enjoyed my experiences with Ryan Walker and chasing smallmouth bass down Ozark streams.  I want to do more of that in the future but I also want to drift places like the Niangua River for trout took.  Ozarks streams seem to be better suited for rafts, especially during low flows.  On the other hand, I sure would like to guide on Lake Taneycomo one day.  Fly fishing out of a drift boat on that lake is as close to fishing big western trout streams, like the North Platte, as I will typically get.  

So let's zoom a little further out at look at my options that are closer to home.  Putting a raft on a farm pond or small lake sure would be easier than a drift boat.  While a drift boat would be more comfortable, the issues that arise with launching a drift boat without a ramp, while not impossible, could be problematic.  I can't exactly carry a drift boat through an agriculture field.  Carrying a drift boat would stink, but it is possible.  

When it comes to fishing lakes like Watkins Mill, Lake Jacomo, or other smaller lakes, the point is moot point.  I have a jon boat for that but if I wanted to take a couple of folks out on those lakes, a drift boat would be more comfortable.  On the other hand, I don't have the garage space, nor desire, to store a drift boat.  I could, however, store a raft on the floor, under my jon boat.  

So while I want a drift boat for so many reasons, a raft seems like the right choice for me right now...I think.  I'm hesitant to get a raft though because there just so much I don't know about them.  What happens if I pop an air chamber?  How much air to I put in one?  What size of trailer to I need to haul one?  What kind of pump should I get?  How do I minimize wear and tear to make a raft last as long as possible?  How do I fix a hole?  Most of these problems are nonexistent with drift boats.

Now you're probably thinking one of two things.  One, "This guy overanalyzes things."  Or maybe you are thinking, "This guy sure is putting a lot of thought into making a logical choice."  I'm hopeful that I am somewhere between the two but ultimately, I just want to get the right tool for the job and make the best financial decision.  While a decision has been looming for quite awhile, I believe that I am closer to committing to a choice and making a purchase soon.  Stay tuned for more.  This story ain't over!