Size doesn’t matter - to me . . . kinda.

Pictured above, you will find a small bass.  A Spotted Bass - I think, from a small creek.  And it took a lot of work to catch this fella.  

This little one took some effort too.  These fish live in the headwaters off a good warm water fishery.  A number of fish caught have scratched and claw or even bite marks.  I know where to look for the big ones and that’s pushing 12”.  They are so skittish that you got to do your best wading and presentation.  It’s been good practice on this small headwater.

I think that folks forget to be at your best when wading warm water creeks - Fly fisherman, bait angler or lure plopping’ fella.  Walking the bank above those fish and setting up for the afternoon let’s fish know you’ve arrived.  Heck, even me wading or waking soaks the best I can will do that too.  I like to let things settle down a bit before casting.  Or, just be as calm as I can be when fishing as not to set them off with something unnatural.  

My son asked for a scale to weigh his fish.  I token him  that I don’t use one and size doesn’t matter.  Well, I guess it kind of does because it’s the larger fish I like to play too.  It’s those battles with a 16” Smallmouth that takes my breath away.  It’s almost as if I’ve stopped breathing - it’s become shallow even with a rush of adrenaline.  I try to shift into a mode that puts me at my best as I figure out how to best land it without losing the fish.  

But it’s also the little guys that give me a lot of satisfaction too.  It just depends on the situation.  Sometimes, you earth the little fellas and other times, you earth the big fellas.  Or, you’ve just gotten lucky.  Either way, you grow as an angler.  That’s what I want my son to learn.  Size doesn’t always matter.

Hawk’s Bill Crag - Public Lands

Until this weekend, I’d never been to Whittaker’s Point (Hawk’s Bill Crag).  I just don’t like hiking busy trails.  It’s the lonely trails that I like most.  It’s the isolation and quiet that I really enjoy.  It’s the trails and areas that seem to be impacted the least by people.  

The kids wanted to hit a few trails this weekend.  One of them was one of the most hiked in Arkansas.  I’m not a fan of being bunched up between people on a trail or watching someone teeter on the rock stairs in front of me.  Or, watching folks knowingly access a closed trail or cave.  Ya know, it’s just not an enjoyable start to the outdoors jockeying for position to park along a narrow dirt road, only to find you’ve been boxed in by vehicles owned by folks you’ll probably never see for hours.

But being able to access these areas is better than NOT being able to enjoy these places.

Quite a few memorable moments in my life have taken place on public lands.  Hunting, fishing, hiking and camping.  All those things and more.  It would be a shame to lose those lands or have them forever changed.

I live in an area being impacted by massive population growth.  Losing watershed protection is  impacting access to public water and water quality.  It’s also impacting riparian buffers and aquatic habitat and eco-zones.  

And that stinks for folks who enjoy related outdoor activities.

Why do I post about these things?  A love of outdoors.  And a grieving of those losses.

I really would like folks to watch Patagonia’s “Public Trust”.  Not only is Robert Redford’s name on it but it’s FREE on YouTube.  It’s a documentary about fighting to KEEP those lands public.

https://youtu.be/jsKMTAaj_wQ

It covers not only those things in the past that have had a negative impact on Public Lands but also present-day issues from current bureaucracy.  I’ve being seeing a lot of negative impacts to our Public Lands:  I’ve been numb to it.  I’ve read and watched bureaucrats and administrations tearing away at Public Land protections and been frustrated but numb because it hurts and I don’t know how to be very pro-active against those actions.  

A few years ago, a bureaucratic failure caused a large scale hog farm to be approved to be built within the sensitive watershed of the Buffalo River - America’s first National River.  From the point I heard of the approval, I wrote legislators and signed petitions.  Valid petitions through the Ozark Society which have been penned by my own hand.  Not those silly things from social media.  I even attended meetings in which I got to speak with passionate people such as myself.  

That hog farm is now being permanently dismantled because of the voices of the public.  Protections are being put in place to prevent another issue such as that hog farm from entering the Buffalo River Watershed.

I also have been a part of the possible removal of a local dam on a Smallmouth stream and am currently trying to request peramaters to be placed to protect species from over-harvest and to somehow protect the spawn.  I have actually spoken with members of city council, city consultants and city planning about watershed education for that stream.  It’s a long story but once this dam is removed (Chance it may be replaced) that it will turn into nothing but a giant flotilla of canoes, kayaks and tubers like the rest of the watershed.  Folks are chomping at the bit for legal access and even pushing for a “blueway” stream (like a greenway for cyclists.  

Crossing my fingers.  Will be attending public hearings as things move forward.  

If you enjoy the outdoors, please be proactive.  Even if it’s just picking up litter.

Please watch the film.

Small creek and panfish

With the population here blowing up, I’ve lost access to certain very local streams.  That’s also due in part to out-of-date stream laws here in Arkansas.  I’ve had to locate some newer and even smaller waters close to home.  It’s nice to duck out for a quick session and where you won’t run into many folks.

In the background, there are roots and root balls placed along the stream bank as part of a restoration on this creek.  Due to a burgeoning population and accompanying malls, businesses and such, the creek becomes blown out.  What was an area that was only pasture land is now a concrete jungle.  But those roots provided great habitat and made for great fishing.

Luckily, it’s partially spring fed.  It’s a micro-creek at about the last 1/3 of the headwaters and doesn’t really become much at all into it his another small creek way on down in what is now private property - a place that used to be special to me.  

For the first time, I took out a rod I built this Winter.  A 6’ Proof #2/3 fiberglass rod.  And that Martin 63 SS clicker reel - awesome.  Oh what fun those fish were on that little rod.  I did catch a lot of Suckers but was waiting for a nice fat one for a photo op.  Didn’t appear but they were fun too.

Sometimes, you’ve have to get out of your comfort zone.  I made a new friend on this creek last year.  I only started fishing this creek about 10 years ago but it wasn’t until last year, I started wading further on downstream away from those familiar spots.

Tightlines and catch some panfish.

Larger panfish flies.

On social media, I do see a lot of folks posting images of small flies such as nymphs, dries and even custom patterns. I used to utilize a lot of smaller patterns such as trout and Tom Nixon flies.  I mostly fish streams but when I am on stillwater, smaller flies will be used as droppers. Or, even just for specifically targeting them.  

I do see a need for folks to improve upon their fly boxes – the kind of think outside the fly box. When I share my larger patterns for panfish, a lot of folks are surprised. Now I know that there are anglers that understand different panfish species in their capabilities but I do also notice that folks are limiting their fly boxes mainly based upon the availability of certain species or that perhaps they are in a comfort zone.

The fly pictured above is a Smallmouth Gotcha. It’s obviously for Smallies but panfish will take that pattern.  I’ve caught Longears on Tiemco 8089 size 10 which is essentially a bass or larger streamer hook. Crappie, green sunfish, rock bass have large mouths and will surprisingly take some pretty big patterns. That’s so will the small fish. 

One day, I was specifically targeting Longears with a Rio Getter.  Smallmouth Bass and longears were taking the pattern but when things slowed down, I switched to a larger pattern. It’s called a roadkill – now I know there are several patterns out there with that name and I very well may post a picture sometime. Once I tied on that pattern, I started catching a lot of rock bass. Probably 20 in a short amount of time and some Smallies too.

Some of this information will be obvious to certain folks and I know there are anglers out there that could possibly be surprised that someone targeting panfish is not utilizing a box full of nymphs or foam flies.

Here are a few large flies I use for panfish.

Smallmouth Gotcha 

Shucker (a few posts on this pattern exist).

Kraft’s Hellgrammite 

Hada’s Creek Crawler

Stalcups Crazydad

Mohawk Sculpin

A lot of the panfish I catch are Rock Bass and have large mouths.  But I also have caught a number of panfish species with smaller mouths on bass hooks such as Kraft’s Hellgrammite which I mainly use an Allen Bass Hook #10 or even a larger Gamakatsu.  Even with foam flies, I’ll use a bass hook and those panfish will become hooked.

Some of my largest Smallmouth have been caught on small flies.  Some of my biggest panfish have been caught on large flies.  Panfish can be aggressive and hit almost anything but sometimes, you’ve got to tune in on them.  When folks think crappie, most of the times they will go to a streamer.  Well, if you’ve got a crappie selection, maybe switch those over to another species.  Who knows, you could load up a stringer full of Green Sunfish.  I mean anything is possible right?  One day on a dingy pond, I caught a bunch of crappie on a Boogle Bug one day.  Hasn’t happened since.  
Hopefully, this post will help you land a few more panfish or maybe get you to think about changing up your fly box.