Where did the smallies go?

A couple actions shots from today! This is my friend Stephen; notice he is missing the tip of his rod. Also notice that I am soaked as I tea-bagged the river this morning. These are lame, I apologize, urban angling shots!

I fished twice during this week rather than taking care of work obligations-a sure sign I need to join Fly Fishers Anonymous! I fished during the morning on both occasions and did not witness a follow from a single fish; I fished the same runs and pools that were productive this summer indicating one of two things: (1) the small mouth have transitioned to winter behavior, or (2) the low water conditions have pushed them into different areas. In actuality the culprit is likely a combination of the two as we have had some air temps at 50 deg. F over that last several weeks during the night and very little rain, which is typical for this time of year. I have read that smallies migrate to deep pools, or calm runs during these periods so I focused on a deep plunge pool with no success. This leaves me wondering if they have moved downstream, which is characterized by a broader, slower flow over all. I also joined VCU's Fly Fishing Club this week, so I am anxious to see how social fly fishing compares to my solo pursuit. So far, so good :). One thing is almost clear and that is the fall feeding blitz may have ended...I spent it dealing with surgery. Ah well, I am still kicking! I will make the official call after I receive reports from fellow club anglers and make a few trips out myself next week. A good rain fall is what I hoping for, as I am willing to bet smallies will move back to their normal lays and be active on the subsequent falling limb.

Fly Tying Principles

Jack Gartside, a well known fly tier residing in Boston, states that fly tying is an activity in which your fingers and eyes take your imagination on an angling voyage when life prevents you from physically doing so (please forgive my paraphrasing). As you sift through mounds of feathers, furs and synthetics your mind immediately transforms these materials into an object- an object which may just be the ticket to a dream. As a new fly tyer it has become clear that there are five basic components (note I did not state guidelines or rules) to dwell on when fly tying.

(1) Pattern

Pattern as a heading is a bit a vague, but rightfully so due to the numerous manifestations of sensory input that fish associate with forage. Scientifically, this is know as the search image-patterns of sensory input which animals translate into a feeding opportunity. In tying terms, pattern refers to the type of critter you are trying to imitate-crustaceans like crayfish, bait fish, macroinvertabrates (i.e. aquatic insects), terrestrials etc. These headings can be decomposed even further. For instance, are you imitating the larval, nymph or adult stage of aquatic insects? Are you going to tie terrestrial insects or mammals including grass hoppers, cicadas and small rodents respectfully? The final pattern category may be the ugly Betty-those flies that simply catch the fish's attention through being big, colorful and narly (a circus peanut comes to mind).

(2) Material Properties

This is often a frustrating one for tyers as we face endless options of tying materials available for purchase. This is apparent after your first trip to a fly shop, whether you visit one down the road or via cyber space. The type of material you tie with may be straight forward if you are using recipes of well known flies; however, creative tyers take note of a material's action and properties. Consider the following:

a. Does the material pulsate and flow in a fleshy manner, or is it stiff and rigid (think of the action rabbit and marabou relative to that of EP fibers used for many bait fish patterns)? This will greatly influence the fly's profile.

b. Is the material hydrophobic, that is, does it repel water or absorb it like a sponge? This property will greatly impact the sink rate of a fly.

c. Related to item 'b', how buoyant is the material? In addition to the degree of hydrophobicity, a a materials density can affect its buoyancy.

d. How well does the material push or move water? The lateral line on a fish enables it to detect pressure due to displaced water, so patterns that incorporate materials that push water as they are stripped are often good attracting patterns. The wool head on some articulated streams accomplishes this.

e. How well does the material reflect light?

(3) Color and Size

Many anglers who match the hatch can often be caught debating whether it is more important to match the color or size of particulate insects; this also undoubtedly applies to matching the prevalent bait fish species, so even the Striper folks are guilty! Two parameters dictate the color and size of a fly: (1) the forage being imitated and (2) current conditions. The extent to which fish are keying on particular prey items can influence how closely the color and size must be matched. Light availability is the main ingredient impacting how well fish see particular colors, and light availability is a function of depth, cloud cover, time of day and the water's silt and sediment load. When tying streamers I have found that chartreuse, purple, olive and white are suitable for most situations.

(4) Castability

This item became ever so clear the first time I tried to cast a a 5 inch bunny leech with a 5wt rod using a small tippet...anyone who has ever sailed a fly through the air as their tippet snaps understands this. Consider how heavy (wet weight) and bulky (this impacts air resistance) the fly is, and how well your particular set up will handle this mass.

(5) There are no rules!

You can tie with any material, of any color, in any combination to your heart's content. Many tyers get caught up, and often limited, when they think there are strict guidelines and only a certain way to craft a particular fly. Going back to my opening statement, allow your imagination to wander...strive to build a pattern that you can call your own. Granted, the staples (e.g. Clousers, deceivers, Elk Hair Caddis) have their places and have proven their abilities like a seasoned veteran athlete. But, I am willing to bet that your rookies can out compete these guys if you give them the time and effort they deserve!

Fish Pics - Spring and Summer 2008

7lb Blue Cat - Caught drifting a sunfish. This is a mere baby considering fish over 80lbs have been taken from the James River.

2-3 Lbs Channel Cat-Cut Bait (i.e. tilapia fillets)

My buddy Spencer with an awesome James River Smallie-biggest smallie to date for us

My First Large Mouth-Clouser Minnow

First Small Mouth On the Fly - Caught on a white nymph tied with fuzz from my pillow

Ahhhh....It felt like early fall!

Beautiful rays of sun, a nice gentle breeze and temperatures in the mid 70s-absolutely perfect conditions for creek stomping. The snooze button (damn that thing!) got the best of me; as a matter of face, it delayed my day by five hours. I was out of bed at 10am rather than 5am like I had planned for. Ah well, the river was still where I left it last time-like a good friend! Today's efforts yielded a 11icnh large mouth taken on a little sparkie (my version of an electric deceiver) and a descent size small mouth, which opted for a marabou streamer I tie (pictured above, both the articulated and non-articulated versions). The large mouth held it ground for a good while and felt very strong, unlike the more agile small mouths which like to run, jump and splash.

My new tying materials arrived early last week, so I have been on a week-long tying binge ever since. Today I had the opportunity to take these flies for a swim, and they preformed well other than the holographic eyes with "water proof" adhesive-note the quotation marks. Looks like I am going to have to get used to using Zap-a-Gap and having my fingers stuck together from now on.

The small mouth were very curious today as they would chase down and engage in a staring competition with all of my flies. The fish would either swim along side my flies admiring my tying abilities (apprently, lack there of), or immediately strike it. I am still having issues with hook sets, so next time out I will be trying flies with stinger hooks on them; this should indicate whether short strikes or my line control is the issue. Fish were found in the same usually haunts: slow placid runs approximately 2-3ft deep below a major rapid, current seams and around boulders. The small mouth were most active between 11 and 2pm when it was sunny and calm. A breeze picked up and clouds moved during the latter afternoon hours, but fish were still around and playful.

I am slowly learning that how one approaches a piece of water often dictates whether or not fish are interested in your offerings. Specifically, I had much succuss by walking out and around a run or pool in the down stream direction, and then reapproaching the pool from downstream. It is helpful to walk behind boulders, bushes and vegetation in order to position yourself; I theorize such structures dampen your vibration and hide you while absorbing your shadow. If the water is not super clear and fish are bold, use the same technique but move upstream instead of downstream in order to fish a more tradition swing. In fact, an area adjacent to river access is holding many fish which will only hit a fly if I circle downstream 25 yards or so behind bridge supports and on the backside of islands. Unproductice approaches include walking the bank and waiting till fish until you are immediately adjacent to fishy waters hovering above. I also believe you are better off fishing closer to the water's surface rather than perched high above it (i.e. maintain a low profile unless you have grey blue feathers, sharp beak and a 4ft wing span). Also, try casting back away from the water's edge if possible even if your visibility of the pool is skewed.

Back From My Hiatus

The fishing was poor to say the least, but given the condition I was in a week ago I will take it! I have been unable to hit the water in several weeks due to the fun and enjoyment that comes along with gall stones. I finally felt some what mobile this past week, and hit the river on Wednesday. It was a gloomy day, and a bit cooler (75 or so with constant rain)-a welcomed change of pace from the typical Richmond dog days.

I entered the river via the pipe line walk; it was quiet with not a single person in sight. That was until the rail road crew showed up and started pulling rail spikes from the tracks above. Seems innocent enough, right? Well sure, but these workers were dropping the spikes and other large pieces of steal to the ground and trail below-I stood in the middle of the run watching as chunks of metal cascaded down on my only route to the bank. In the above picture, you may be able to spot one of the rail worker in bright yellow standing high on the rails, below which the catwalk that allows you to acces the river sits. My only options was to explore the chain of islands situated in the middle of the river and occupying roughly 500 yards of river. I attempted to wade my way upstream and back across to the shoreline, but I found my self slipping into some deeper water and swimming once or twice. Eventually I found a small stretch of rapids below the main channel and was able to get back to shore. I am not even going to mention the string of young kayakers that insisted on pulling out right where I was wading while some paddled downstream of me to remove boulders from the flow. That is fine yet they found it necessary to see who could throw the rocks farther and the holes I had moved to fish (to avoid the yakers) served as their landing pad.

Despite these dilemmas, I still managed a pretty little blue gill on a rather large sparkle hair streamer. So, I beat the skunk and that put a smile on my face. It is always pleasant, in fact it keeps me sane, to step outside of society's current and into that of mother nature so long as hers does not take me home. Till next time, keep jerking it-the flies that is!

Sunnies!

I woke up much too late today and missed out on enjoying the sun-something I try to do each day. So, before I had to bed (gah, it is 4am already!) I decided to post pictures of some sunfish I have caught this spring and summer. ENJOY!

Streamers!

Sunfish/Bluegill Pattern

Alewife Streamer

Blue-Back Herring Streamer

This post is long over due as I have been meaning to post some info pertaining to my fly box and the patterns I am currently working on. I finally feel as though I have a pattern that is unique enough to call my own; after all, all fly tiers strive for this, right? This is a streamer pattern I developed while trying to tie side-wing hackle streamers.

Materials: Bucktail (nice long, wirey hairs; avoid soft bucktail) and angel hair or polar fibers, which ever you have on hand. This is tied from front to back by layering bucktail then angel hair, one ontop of the other as you work your way to the front of the hook. The amount of material for each layer can be altered-both in terms of length and thickness-to alter the flies profile. The bottom side of the fly consist of calf's tail, tied in angled back towards the hook point to create the gills and head profile.

I am hoping to chase Lakers this winter, and depending on where I am, Stripers this Spring using this pattern. In the water the fibers fan out some giving the streamer a broader profile, like that of the baitfish they are meant to imitate.

Fish pics courtesy of: http://www.fish.state.pa.us/pafish/fishhtms/chap10.htm;

http://pond.dnr.cornell.edu/nyfish/clupeidae/alewife.html; http://www3.cesa10.k12.wi.us/ecosystems/wetlands/animals/bluegill/index.htm

Summer Report # 3 - Chasing Smallies

Last night I discovered that my license had been soaked during my last outing causing the lettering to stick to its plastic sleeve. I bit the bullet, and decided to spend first light working in the lab in order to reprint my license rather than working the stream banks for hungry smallies. After a frustrating 4-5hrs of work, I finally caught the bus and made my way down town to the river by 1pm.

I began by working the usually first hole (Man Hole Pool) with not even a hint of a fish, and made my way upstream. I landed the nice bronze back above on a marabou streamer possessing a dark-blue flashabou tail (in the style of Jack Gartside's streamers). Three strips across the current, and WHAM, this little fella was running a bit of line out. It amazes how quickly small mouth strike a fly upon its fall to the water and is a strong testament to their awareness. I spotted several flat heads in this same small pool (Kitty Pool), but I could not get them interested in this streamers, nor did the pay any attention to different color zonkers I pitched at them.

The storm clouds rolled in, and I hiked downstream to get out of their path; although, a storm never did develop. I finished my day at a downstream section where the tidal range of the river begins-crabs galore. They are so cranky that they reach for and yank on my flies when the pass by. Hopefully next time I can bring one to hand and snap a good photo. While fishing a channel that I had not yet explored, I found a section full of deep swift water flowing over small to medium sized boulders. The same fly above enticed an aggressive strike from the largest smallie I have seen to date. I also was too quick on the hook set and yanked a olive zonker right from the jaws of a massive large mouth; stripping with two hands after casting downstream produced this strike. Missed one surface strike as well on a large zonker and could not tell what type of fish was responsible. Today's biggest surprise was the large bow fin that followed my zonker too close and quickly booked for cover-hopefully I can add that toothy fishy to my list before the summer ends! No gar today. Ended the day casting to a huge carp that was pushing 30-40 pounds in a side channel pool (look out hole), but he/she took no interest in my offering.

An awesome day despite the morning's anxiety!

Conditions: Mostly sunny, air temps ranged from 85-95. Rather windy, which made casting tricky. Water is very low, and extremely clear. The new downstream channel (all the way to the right - Heron's Nest Run) contained lots of deep green water, but the tide was in and on the way out. Amazed at the amount of weed growth since the last report. Located a rather large small mouth under an old concrete pylon in the retention channel. Several other anglers fishing the islands area, and they reported success with large catfish using spinning gear.

Fly Selection: Zonkers (white and barred olive-more follows with olive), marabou streamers (black and yellow w/olive hackle olive), top water deer hair minnows (very few casts). The black marabou streamer produced the sole fish and a follow by the largest smallie I have seen fishing this area to date.

Keep it Simple, for now at least - Part 1, Knots

For years I have was detered from taking up fly fishing due to the technicality of it, or at least that perception created by some who speak about fly fishing. Truth be known-fly fishing can be a gear techie's play ground, or it can be a simply graceful art. My goal with this type of post is to demonstrate to others that this sport can be simplified while you are getting started. As you become more familiar with the sport you can learn more complicated approaches (it is something to strive for). I can see the ellitist and purest cringing now. The complication should be associated with blending elements from the trying bench to stream rather than technicallities.

That being said, let me start out with knots. Now, granted, there has been a descent amount of research done pertaining the strength's of various knots and I imagine watermen will argue that you must be precise in choosing the right knot. Well of course they should-their life depends upon it. With this research and ages of knowledge derived from experience, an understanding of when to apply which knot has probably been created and is probably most sound. If you are new to the sport and do not have time to sit down and learn all these complicated knots (lets face it, we need to spend our limited amount of free time fishing rather than worrying about these items) I suggest learning one simple knot - THE OVERHAND KNOT.

The overhand knot can be used to attach your tippet to leader and leader to fly line using what I refer to as a jam knot (i.e. two overhand knots jammed against one other with the excess clipped). The technical term for this knot is a double uni knot, and it works best when we attaching two lines of similar diameter. I have found that it is a weak knot if the attached lines have drastically different diameters; however, the stiff but end of a leader approximates the diameter of many fly lines and the tippet's diameter is pretty darn close to that of the leader's end. It can also be used to form a surgeon's loop if you desire loop-to-loop connections (I find loop connections to be much easier relative to tying knots, and they slide through the guides well).

Check out these web pages for instructions:

http://www.realknots.com/knots/stoppers.htm
http://www.netknots.com/html/double_uni_knot.html


Again, the goal here is to start off simple so you can enjoy the sport rather than being discouraged by complexity. I am finding that the more I get out and fly fish, the more desire I have to learn the precise methods. If you try to start with the hard stuff chances are your fly rod may become nothing more than a dust collector.

Summer Report 2 - New Species Added to the List

Picture borrowed from http://www.dkimages.com/discover/Home/Animals/Fish/Bony-Fish/Orders/Gars/Gars/Longnose-Gar/Longnose-Gar-2.html

It all finally came together this morning-I hooked, played and landed my first long nose gar. It was a beefy fish, and was probably 30-35 inches in length. I caught it on a bar'ed olive zonker pattern (actually a zonker-woolly bugger hybrid). I have been trying to catch one of these prehistoric apex predators for over 6 years ever since I was first introduced to the species at Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge located in upstate NY.

It was hard dragging myself out of bed, and that god-forsaken snooze button actually kept me from making it to the river to fish first light. I made it out by 7am, and entered the river via the pipeline. I had spooked a gar in this stretch before wading out to a pool, so I knew they were around. I first casted along the grass line with no luck, and made my way to the other side of the stretch, perched myself on an expose boulder and looked around the water. Roughly teen feet away, a beautiful gar was sitting idly in two feet of water behind a pile of rocks. I casted to the fish, with the rod behind me as not to spook it; strip....strip....strip...STRIKE...strip. F@*%, I missed the fish! It followed my fly (a white version of the zonker mentioned above) too closely, saw me and dashed for deeper water.

I decided to head upstream to some deeper, faster water to try my luck with the smallies. The deepest pool, which looked amazingly fishy, did not produce a fish, nor did I even have any follows. I worked my way to the next rapid-pool area, fishing shallow white water in which I missed a hit from a red breasted sunfish. I proceeded to climb across an island, and waded out into flatter water to work on my casting. To my surprise, the area just downstream of the last drop was full of aggressive smallies yet I was unable to hook any (lots of follows and short strikes).

My back casting room was suddenly decreased as the Hispanic noodlers made there way around me. I chatted with them for a bit, and admired the 40+ pound Flathead they had wrangled up. I made my way back stream, and crossed in calmer waters as I was calling it a day. I have seen good looking largemouth in this area (flat run just upstream of the first islands), so I decided to wade with caution while fishing ahead of me. I made a lousy cast, began retrieving the fly and out of now where-materializing from the green, grey bottom-a gar appeared. It took one swat at my fly with its beak, then a second, then a third and by now had tangled itself in my line and the rabbit fur. FISH ON, GET YOU SOME!

I was standing in stomach high water, and the fish thrashed around and made several leaps clearing the water right in front of me; I was fearful that its thrashing would cut my line, but my 20lbs leader did the trick. After about five minutes of this display, I reached the shore with the gar, untangled it and watched it swim away after it gulping one more breath of air from the surface. INCREDIBLE, I thought as I looked to the sky and thanked the forces of nature for such an opportunity that serves as a reminder as to why I love this so much. And of course, my camera's batteries were kaput, so you will have to settle with a borrowed image (the noodlers took a cool picture of the fish though).

Check this site out for information pertaining to the gar:

http://www.garfishing.com/

Conditions: Bright and sunny, but the sky began to grow cloudy around 1pm. Water clarity is excellent (I wonder if this is part of the problem in terms of finding active smallies), and the tide was out; I was fishing a slack tide. It appears as though the tidal range in about 1-2ft this time of year. During high tide, the smallies were much more prevalent and aggressive. Smallies hit, albeit short, the olive bar'ed zonker with a white hackle belly; this same fish took the gar. They seemed to strike at the fly as it made its final swing. Temps ranged 75-90, yet quikly cooled to the upper 80s as the breeze picked up.

Casting Notes: I switched my grip to thumb up rather than forefinger (as if I were holding a golf club). I noticed as I get tired and lazy I begin to use my wrist to accelerate the rod....I really must focus on 'accelerated to stop' during the forward and back stroke. If I tilt my wrist inward slightly that seems to reduce the flexing of my wrist. This new Cabellas Tradition 2 rod is extremely fast, so a small slice only flexing the tip produces night tight loops. Made my first cast around 4oft!

Winter Fun- Near Shore Lakers

So envision this: it is 7am, gloomy, just above freezing, and Christmas morning. Where would you be? Chances are if you have young'ns you may already be cleaning up the wrapping paper, if not, your enjoying your cozy bed. But, if your obsessed like I am, your standing in chest deep water that is covered in a thin film of ice.

In the winter (November and December) lake trout concentrate in shallow areas at the mouths of tributaries where they can gorge themselves on warm water species. I have seen pictures from a local guide in which the gut contents of a laker was dominated by species such as largemouth bass and an assortment of sunfishes. From the trout's perspective-a cold water species-this time of year represents an awesome feeding opportunity; however, if you are a shore bound angler such as myself, this represents a shot at world class fish.

Slowly, I would cast pumpkin and white tube jigs and flukes into the stream's flow where in enters the lake working the tube across the bottom while swinging the jig. I wait for the violent tap of lake trout, set the hook, and then hear the line scream off my real. These fish fight very well despite the low water temps; they make a run straight to the bottom, and then head away from the shore. Eventually they tire, and you can land these fish. Lake trout do not receive the attention they deserve-their coloration is incredibly adapted to the lake bottoms they inhabit. Look at those golden swirls...man! I cannot wait to throw some flies at these fish this coming winter and I am already trying to develop a bluegill or smelt streamer.

We have also been rewarded by bonus browns and even a rainbow. We hooked into one rainbow that whacked an orange twist tail grub, which we battled for 15minutes. "Oh she's done fighting", my buddy Wormo Says, "I got it". As he begins to put tension on the line to grab the fish, the big female makes another run and SNAP.....

Schoolie Saves the Day!

April 2008

On a gloomy friday afternoon I decided to walk through the city of Richmond seeking new water's to fish. I headed towards the popular 14th Street area knowing that stripers and shad had finally made there way up the James River. Turns out days prior to this trip the river's flow had gone way up and shad fishing turned off.

On the way I found access to a new spot of the river: lots of boulders, nice runs, big rapids, sandy points and carp splashing around. Looked awesome, and I was kicking myself for not finding this area a year sooner. I saw several anglers casting what appeared to be broom handles cut in half and painted red and white. They were not really casting, but rather launching these top water lures entirely across the river. After chatting with these fellas I learned that the stripers/rock fish held in the area before moving upstream feeding on herring. Needless to say, I was convinced this would be the area to which I returned to the next day.

4:30am greeted me with the ever-so delightful sound we are all familar with (grrr) and rather cool temps (60 or so). I made my way to this new location, but fished z popular pool for a couple hours while I waited for the sun to fully rise. I eventually made my way the new stretch of river, waded in past some anglers and started drifting a swift run composed of boulders and gravel. After fishing this spot for two hours, I moved upstream to the next sandy point. I opted for a size 6 seducer tied with polar fibers and white hackle and weighted red eyes.

As the fly swung downstream, I felt this quick tug and my line took off. After hand-lining the fish I saw this blueish glow coming out of the water, and, sure enough, I landed my first striped bass. Now, this fish was only about 8-10inches in length, and after hearing reports of 40+ inch fish I realized this was just a dink. But, you must keep several notions in mind: there are no striped bass in the Finger Lakes, this was one of my first fish on the fly, and in 8hrs of fishing I saw no other fish caught.


As sad as it is, an 8 inch fish made my weekend and has me itching for next spring with a shot at one of the big cows!

First Blog - Summer Report 1

JULY 28, 2008

Ah so here it is. This Monday was my 25th Birthday, and I spent it with my favorite person-OLD MAN RIVER! He may be a cranky, tempermental fella, but he only has objective things to say to me which manifest themselves through the roar of a rapid or the trickle of riffle.
I love smallies as they are incredibly aggressive, spunky yet, at times, difficult to trick. This day though I struck out and only managed a whopping skunk fish in terms of smallies; however, I nailed two new species for me. (1) A white bass and (2) and a channel cat. The white bass took a barred olive zonker and the kitty nabbed a similar white zonker. I was amazed at how quick that cat turned around as my streamer nailed the water's surface...all it took was three short strips and a strike ensued. My seven wt. did a nice job handling this 2-3 pound fish, but for the first time I felt line being ripped of my reel....MAN THAT WAS NICE!

I learned two major items on this trip. First, smallies LOVE hanging out on the upstream side of rocks and boulders, especially among rocks located just below fast deep water before the next set of rapids. I suppose the rock slows flow by causing water molecules to stop and pile up, just like a dam but on a smaller scale. I wonder if the smallies just hang in that slack water waiting for food morcels to wash out of the main rapid?

Secondly, rabit fur (zonker strips) is an alive fabric: it undulates, pulsates, breathes, wiggles etc. I will definately be tying some more streamers with this stuff. Up till now I have been relying on hackle, marabou and bucktail. Needless to say, not any more.
The camera was without batteries, so this blog is without pictures. I have located some awesome largemouth, and my next trip will be devoted towards paying them a visit.

Conditions: Mostly sunny, temps started out near 70 and reached 90 by 2pm. Night before experience heavy thunderstorm down pour; flow looked up a tad, but river is at summer low flow. Very clear.