Mismatched fly rod and reel

Started out with this fly. Bought it last year. Not sure what it's called. I had my 8 wgt. rod. Went out to the local pond. It has been about a week and a half since I went out there. Algea or some sort of bloom happened on the bottom of some parts of the pond. I was using sinking line. Obviously, I was pulling in green stuff. I tried a few poppers and landed a few bream.

After trying several flies, I switched to floating line. However, it was 4 wgt. line and I only brought my 8 wgt. I didn't want to head back to the truck. So, I decided to mismatch line and rod. It wasn't too bad but there obviously wasn't much flexibility in the rod and line wasn't coming off as it would with a lighter rod.

It was my first time to mismatch line with rod. I am used to heavy flies with an 8 wgt. rod but really couldn't tell if it was my casting or that I had light line with a light fly that was causing my casting to look and feel horrible. I was slapping line on the water too.

Now I see the importance of keeping lines and rods matched up.

Still lookin' for bass.

More Panfish? Come on!

What can I say? Went out for bass . . . landing panfish only. Where are my bass this year?? The only thing that impressed me today was the depth of detail my camera phone showed in this pic.

lol

Strawberry Bass??

I've heard of Calico Bass and Sac au Lait but Strawberry Bass?? Must be a northern description for Crappie.

Somehow, I broke my reel. Yet, I decided to use it. I mean, do ya' really need to reel in a panfish on a fly rod? ONLY IN MY DREAMS. Still thinking of going out for some crappie today. Beginning next week, I'm going on vacation for 8 days. I will be targeting some local waters and possibly even targeting Carp.

Still gotta find that oar for my kayak . . .

Oh yeah, I was amazed to find a section in the paper yesterday about Crappie fishing. There was even a photo of a large bluegill. I absolutely love it when I see the photo of bluegill in the paper.

Crappie on the Fly . . . again. Fly fishing for Crappie.

Landed about 15 or so crappie today. Brought in a number of bluegills and sunfish too. No bass though. But after a lovely day like this, I could care less. Went out to a local pond. About 4 people fishing - and nobody landing anything.

I fished slow. The fly I started with was a custom fly - a fly that is now gone. I took it from the Yellow & Black pattern found in Tom Nixon's Fly Fishing and Fly Tying for Bass and Panfish. I put my own spin on it - pheasant tippet for the tail, light yellow thin chenille and no hackle.

The fish tore it up. At first, I was bringing in small fish from around the mud line. I decided to fish slower - a lot slower. I started landing crappie and larger bream.

I began casting out about 30 feet or so. The larger fish were in deeper water and were hitting the fly about 12 or 15 feet out. Then I lost the fly on a wicked back cast.

Switched to a small nymph pattern that I received in a fly swap (shown above). I was stripping my fly in really slow - REALLY SLOW. I was making long draws on my line. Got a lot of soft strikes - which I knew were crappie. It wouldn't sink but an inch or so. A crappie came up and took it from the surface - took him a couple of swirls before sucking it in.

Decided to move to a pattern that would go deeper. I tied on a Crappie Killer (yellow fly shown above). I still stripped the fly in VERY SLOWLY. Kept on getting hits from crappie. Most of them were coming out of the same spot. I never left my position on the bank the whole time I was fishing.

I was still getting soft strikes but landing crappie too. I lost my Crappie Killer. Switched to the green fly (shown above). I landed just a couple more before calling it a day.

I was happy with the amount of fish and the fact I was landing crappie. Most of the crappie weren't keepers but I didn't care. I love fly fishing for crappie.

Dirty Fishing

Ever feel dirty when you fish? You know, wading a small local creek or fishing crummy, dirty water for trash fish, bream or whatever. Stomping through muck, snagging your line, getting your rod hung up in brush. Wearing moderately priced fishing gear whilst casting a rod that costs a few hundred dollars - throwing some nasty fly you pieced together with some flash because you know some stupid, tiny sunfish will hit it.

For some reason, slodging through a crummy creek simply for the purpose of getting out and taking anything that will hit my fly makes me feel a bit guilty. Even a bit dirty. Like I shouldn't be here. That I am an idiot for fishing this lousy creek when I should be in fact, fishing better waters.

Bluegills and sunfish are probably my favorite fish to land. Somehow, they make me smile. But for some reason, I feel that my fly rod should be landing smallmouth bass on a quality creek.

For some reason, I do prefer fishing brackish water - those creeks, waterways, ponds and lakes the way I want to do it. Yes, for some reason, I feel stupid fishing a mud hole with a GLoomis rod and wading in my Simms waders.

It makes me feel like a man to hunt out my own fish - muddy water and dark lake depths in fashions so unlike drifting dry flies. So far away from that romantic cast and fancy fly fishing photo moment in an artsy fartsy "scene from a magazine."

I take my fly rod and fish how I want. I march to my own drummer - not really the beat of a different drummer - just my own. My own thoughts and styles, my own streams and holes. Especially, my own abilities to fish those tough waters - those unkempt and unmanaged waters.

Those guys with their high dollar waders and fly gear - with their guides, trying to land trout. Sure it takes some skill. But it is as fun and having a bass smash your fly or a bluegill tugging at your bug? Maybe . . . but at least I can do it without trying to look like some yuppie who just finished watching "A River Runs Through It".