Tailing looper

I just got home from bass fishing but, I have to admit, I was fishing hardware. At dark, I stopped at a favorite spot and there was a HUGE largemouth milling around feeding in the weeds, but in a leisurely sort of way, with its whole back showing when it came to the top. When I first saw it working so slowly and quietly, I thought it was an otter. It looked like a small whale surfacing. :-) No bowling ball OR toilet flush.... She surfaced like a nuclear submarine and swallowed my Scum Frog then proceeded to wrap me up on a snag despite my best efforts to horse her in with the 20 lb. braid with 15 lb. fluorocarbon leader on my spinning rod. I was heart-broken. I figure it would have been my biggest bass yet. She was a monster. I hope she survives and gives me another shot in the future. (Hopefully on my 8-wt. on a deer hair frog or Dahlberg Diver.) Tight lines, Bob

Do you guys have "toe-biters" in your neck of the woods? The Giant Water Beetles are bigger and fiercer than the local dobsons! They scare the daylights out of me (which is usually an activity reserved for big Wolf Spiders or Fishing Spiders). I have a couple of photos of a big one I caught on a small panfish lure while fishing a pond in the Adirondacks, but I can't locate them. Tight lines, Bob

It's a blast catching fish on the lightest gear possible but on the other hand, a lot of folks would say it's unethical to use gear that's too light and stress the fish to exhaustion during the prolonged fight to get them in... lessens their chance of survival after release. Tight lines, Bob

I hooked a pretty big one fishing a nymph near the end of the Metawee River in Whitehall, NY. I didn't know WHAT I had on for a long time. I was pretty surprised to see it was what the folks around here call a sheephead. I was bass fishing out of my boat in the Poultney River last week and caught one on a spinnerbait! You never know when one of those things is going to show up..... Tight lines, Bob

25 for me so far..... Fresh water: Rainbow trout Brown trout Brook trout Lake trout Landlocked salmon Smallmouth bass Largemouth bass Rock bass Bluegill Red ear sunfish Pumpkinseed Black crappie Yellow perch White perch Northern pike Chain pickerel Sheephead (freshwater drum) Brown bullhead Golden shiner Chub Salt water: Striped bass Bluefish American shad Scaup Alewife Saltwater non-fish species: Snail Quahog Lady crab Blue crab I think the most memorable was the Brown Bullhead. :-) I had just bought a nice, new Orvis 2-wt. and was out on my buddy's dock on Lake George, NY, showing it to him. I noticed a big (biggest I've seen) bullhead laying on the weedy bottom in about three feet of water -- a strange sight in broad daylight-- so I cast to it. I pulled a bead head Prince right by its nose and it took it. What a way to break in a new Orvis rod! Tight lines, Bob

I just bought one of these (and I mean just... I pick it up Saturday!)... It's basically a jon boat with just a little bit of V to the hull and bow, and fully decked for easy fly casting (the bow and stern pedestal fishing seats are removed in this photo from Tracker Marine). It will get into some pretty skinny water. It is very frustrating to not have a nice, clear area to fly fish from. I think a jon boat with a large deck up front is just the ticket. Tight lines, Bob

If you're not familiar with the term "torso length" and its ramifications on backpack fit, Google the term and word up! A pack that fits you properly is your friend. A pack that doesn't.... Tight lines, Bob

On a recent materials order I wanted to pick up stinger hooks for some small deer hair flies. I ordered size 1 and 4 Mustad C52S BLN, but they didn't have any smaller in that style, so I ordered some Size 10 Umpqua (TMC 8089). The Mustads are labeled "stinger, deer hair" and the Umpquas are labeled "bass bug, straight eye, fine wire, wide gape." The Size 10 Umpqua are larger (longer, plus wider gape) than the Size 4 Mustads. :-( I love the Mustads, but would like to find a similar hook in an honest Size 10 (or even 8). The Mustads only go down to 4. Does such a thing exist? Thanks, Bob

On a recent Dorado trip to Loretto, Mexico, all the guys in my group scored best with Crease Flies by far. I hate the darn things. :-) Tight lines, Bob

Hey... is that a reel seat for the birds to perch on? ;-) Nice work! Tight lines, Bob

Thanks for the info. That's only an hour and a half from me. (And I've never fished an EPA Superfund Site before!) ;-) I'll put it on my list of places to fish, for sure. Thanks again, Bob

I was interested in hearing John Geirach's opinion of it... he tried it for a whole summer to be sure and give it a fair test. Here's the youtube link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE5hQg6FYIU Tight lines, Bob

I got back from my annual Cape Cod striper fishing vacation last week and already, I'm yearning to hear my drag and see my backing again. :-) I love float-tubing for the local panfish with my 2wt. but I'd like to feel some big fish on the line again soon. I have some time off at the end of June/beginning of July and would like to try carp fishing. Can anyone recommend a good area to give it a try? I can fish from float tube, canoe, kayak or wade. I'm in upstate NY on the VT border at the southern end of Lake Champlain. I'm willing to drive a half-day or so if there is a campground near the destination (I have good guidebooks to car/tent camping in NY and VT). I'm going to give the Hudson River a try in the Schuylerville area tomorrow, although I have no idea if the carp fishing is good there. I know there are carp in Fish Creek, and it empties into the Hudson at Schuylerville. We've had a few days of rain, so I don't know what the water clarity will be like in that area. The only carp I've ever caught (as a kid, bait fishing) was where a creek empties into the Champlain Barge Canal in my hometown. The water in that area is off-color from the local clay soil, so sight-fishing is out of the question. There are carp in the southern end of L. Champlain but the shallow bays are so heavily choked with weeds, I don't know if it's even worth a try. Any advice from an experienced carp angler would be appreciated! Thanks, Bob

Thanks for the report. I bought the BVK 9' 5wt this spring and am really impressed with it. I'm considering one of the ten-footers for float tube duty. Tight lines, Bob

I spent last week on Cape Cod, fishing for striped bass. This 40+" fish took a #2 chartreuse-over-white Clouser that was dragging across the flat while I was eating a sandwich! The weather was great and the stripers were cooperating. We had a blast. Tight lines, Bob

Ever see their larval form? A predator that loves to eat aphids.... This is one of my early macro attempts (typical beginner's underexposed background): Tight lines, Bob

I think it's easier to find a suitable device to help you tie flies at home compared to threading them on a leader on the river. Sounds like you know what you're looking for to help you at the tying bench. For the river, I have two tools that are indispensable: a set of Hat Eyes (decent quality flip-down cap-visor-mounted magnifier), and a neat fly box with the flies stored on fine wire fly-threaders. It works similar to the free needle-threaders that come in sewing kits, except you do it sort of backwards... you thread a bunch of each fly pattern onto the diamond-shaped fine wires of the threaders. You can store a half-dozen or so small flies on each threader. The threaders clip into the box. When it comes time to tie on one of your flies, you simply put your tippet through the diamond, then pull one of the flies off. BINGO... it's threaded! Then you just have to tie the knot. =:-0 Where there's a will, there's a way! If you want to do it, you can make it pretty easy to do. Tight lines, Bob

This is exactly why I am not too interested in Salt Water fishing. Might be fun, but it's an hour away. You're an hour away from saltwater fly fishing and don't indulge? =:-0 At the end of the month, I'll drive six hours for my 20th consecutive annual Cape Cod saltwater fly fishing trip (one week+ of fishing). One big striper on a fly rod is all it takes to get hooked! Tight lines, Bob

It was a small Northern Pike. Most of the lakes around me that have Northern Pike usually have Chain Pickerel too, but I've never caught one in this lake. I've never seen a Redfin; don't know if we have them in the northeast. I fished for trout on my day off today. Way up in the high peaks of the Adirondacks: the West Branch of the Ausable River. The water is still very cold and a little high. I was there from 8:30 until 2:00 and never saw any kind of a hatch... not a Hendrickson in sight. I saw a few Early Brown Stoneflies here and there. It was very windy, as if it wasn't bad enough trying to chuck-and-duck with weighted streamers or nymphs and split shot. It still beat any day at work!!! I also saw a couple of nitwits catching trout on spinning gear in the trophy (no-kill) section below Monument Falls and stuffing them in a cooler. I wish I had a cell phone. Well, I drove two hours each way and burned half a tank of gas to get skunked. I guess I should have stuck with the bluegills! ;-) Tight lines, Bob

I got out after them again this morning. We had a cold night here and it was 36* when I got to the lake at 6:30. I float-tubed to my "hot spot" (the gravel hump with some lily pads on top) and my first fish was a nice 'gill just shy of 9". I caught a half-dozen or so off the hump, all between 8-9". No big pumpkinseeds there this time. I noticed the action was a little slower, I assume due to the cold overnight temperatures. When I was there last, I was trying a white #10 Bully Bluegill Spider for the first time. I was surprised that though I caught all big panfish, they were all lip-hooked. Today, with the same fly, I had to use the hemostats on almost every fish as they took it deep. I also lost several fish during the fight, well after they took the fly. I checked the hook point and it was nice and sharp. I thought it was weird that last week, I was lip-hooking them all and didn't lose any, but today they were taking it deep and some were getting off. The wind came up pretty good so I headed back. I fished the shoreline on my way back to the put-in and finally caught one of the big, beautiful 8" pumpkinseeds like I was catching at the hot spot last trip. I also caught lots of smaller 'gills, some small perch, largemouths ranging from keychain size to close to a foot, and one small northern pike that really surprised me. It was probably better than two pounds and I had no idea what I had on until it got close enough for me to see it. Good fun on the 2-wt rod! I did bring my camera this trip and decided I definitely needed a photo of the pike with the Bully Spider in his jaw, but he flopped off the barbless fly before I could get the camera out. :-( I think I'll give them a rest and do some trout fishing tomorrow. I'm worried I'm getting addicted.... ;-) Tight lines, Bob

I have a pair of polarized Ray-Bans that I bought and was disappointed with when I realized they weren't anti-reflection coated on the INSIDE of the lenses... lots of glare. My favorites are currently a pair of Smith Action Optics in brown tint. I'm going to spring for a nice pair of Maui Jims next time. I recently almost purchased a pair of Orvis polarized glasses with the built-in magnifiers on the bottom, but instead, sprung for a set of Hat Eyes. They work great for aging eyes, when even a set of normal "cheaters" from the drug store don't help enough for tying small flies to tiny tippet. Tight lines, Bob

I think the choice of rod action depends on the fisherman's preference. I fish bluegills from a float tube on lakes or large, open ponds, often in breezy/windy conditions. I prefer a fast action rod for long casts and driving a tight loop into the breeze. Short-range accuracy and presentation aren't a big deal for my panfishing. But lots of guys don't care for tippy rods and might prefer a slower action, or fish in areas where short, accurate casting is more important (ponds with lots of emergent vegetation, standing timber, brushy banks, etc.). Since fly rodding for panfish is so darn good for plain old relaxing, do it the way it's most fun and relaxing for you. It's pretty difficult not to have fun fly fishing for bluegills, especially now, during the spring spawning. I can't wait to get out again this Sunday and Monday. I had such a good time last weekend, I'm not even thinking about trout fishing. :-) Tight lines, Bob

I think a 5-wt is the "just right" size between not overpowering the fish and still being able to cast small poppers comfortably. The 2- and 3-wt rods are great fun with small flies and in calm conditions, but not all that fun for casting larger flies or poppers, or casting on breezy days. With the 6-wt, I've accidentally back-casted pumpkinseeds and 'gills that took the fly at the end of my retrieve without me feeling the take. I think that's getting into "too much rod for the fish" territory.... :-) Tight lines, Bob

Mike, I'll light a lantern tonight and say a prayer for the family. Miracles do happen.... Tight lines, Bob

I forgot one remark about the book... The authors recommend that a new bluegill fly fisherman should start with a 6- or 7-wt rod and line. Really? I always thought even a 5-wt was too much; that's why I bought my first 2-wt rods. Does anyone here use a rod that heavy for panfish (unless that's your only rod or favorite rod)? Is it because some bluegill water has heavy cover? Or for casting mostly poppers? I was surprised at their recommendation. Tight lines, Bob