Tailing looper

I was thinking about that a few minutes ago. I wish I had brought my camera. I just finished mowing the lawn after work and as I sat on the porch steps relaxing, I was thinking about just how beautiful those brightly colored male bluegills were. A few summers ago, I was lucky enough to go on a saltwater fly fishing trip to Loretto, Mexico on the southern part of the Baja Peninsula, to fly fish for Dorado (Mahi mahi; Dolphin fish). Their colors were incredible. But I think their size made the colors more impressive. I think if a male bluegill in his full spring spawning colors were three feet long, he might be regarded the prettiest game fish that swims. I need to make a correction on my "prettiest fish that swims" statement. It was the big Pumpkinseeds that were absolutely spectacular to look at, not the 'gills. Sorry for the mixup..... Tight lines, Bob

A 5.75 lb suncracker caught in Lake Havasau Ariz. Pending world record. I didn't know they could get that big. Attached Thumbnails Holy!!!! You knock the sides of a couple of them and you'd have a pretty nice fish fillet supper.... ;-) Amazing! Tight lines, Bob

I would LOVE to catch a five pounder so I could tell you all what length it was!!! :-) The Wilson's book (or is it Deke Meyers' float tubing book?) has a map of the US that's shaded to show the record bluegill weights. I live in NY, right on the VT border and usually fish 'gills in VT. If I remember correctly, something like 17 states have bluegill records over four pounds, but NY's record is two-something and VT's is one-something. I guess the odds of me catching a five pounder are pretty darn slim. Sigh.... Tight lines, Bob

I was thinking about that a few minutes ago. I wish I had brought my camera. I just finished mowing the lawn after work and as I sat on the porch steps relaxing, I was thinking about just how beautiful those brightly colored male bluegills were. A few summers ago, I was lucky enough to go on a saltwater fly fishing trip to Loretto, Mexico on the southern part of the Baja Peninsula, to fly fish for Dorado (Mahi mahi; Dolphin fish). Their colors were incredible. But I think their size made the colors more impressive. I think if a male bluegill in his full spring spawning colors were three feet long, he might be regarded the prettiest game fish that swims. I promise I'll bring my camera next trip. It's not one of the newer waterproof versions so I get nervous taking it when wading or float tubing, but I do take it occasionally. I keep it in a freezer-weight ZipLok bag, which are pretty durable and waterproof. The new compact and waterproof digital point-'n'-shoots are pretty nice (and pretty pricey). I would have loved to have a photo of the big female largemouth and her boyfriend that I saw yesterday, doing their little pre-spawn dance. With one of those waterproof cameras, I think I could have stuck it in the water and got a great photo... they were in shallow water and it was really bright and sunny out. I do have a photo of my beloved float tube. It's a FatCat in cattail camo color that was offered years ago: Tight lines, Bob

I think anyone that fishes for bluegills will find the book informative and worth the read. I haven't read their book on crappies. I don't fish for them often but the other book was so informative, I may pick up the crappie book too. ( Not often I want to buy a "crappie" book on purpose....) Yesterday, I probably caught four or five 'gills that were all as big or bigger than what had been my best. I didn't measure them, but they were the ones that made me wonder what I had hooked; the size that you stop and admire them for a moment before turning them loose. I'm feeling stupid for not measuring them as I have a de-liar printed right on my float tube's stripping apron. I rarely remember to use it. These big 'gills were all slowly cruising a small gravel bar that had some sparse lily pads on top, shallow, weedy water to one side and deep water on the other. I also saw a BIG female largemouth and her partner cruising the bar, stopping occasionally to arch and roll on her side while he sidled up next to her. Breeding time! I'm always amazed at how close you can get to fish in a float tube without spooking them. I'm also amazed when I cast a 2WT line with a small fly on a 7' leader up in the shallow water under an overhanging tree or bush and see the water erupt as spooked fish panic like I had just thrown a cinder block in there. After more thoughts about the fun I had yesterday, I'll change my previous daydream to ask "What if they routinely grew to five or ten pounds?" I think they're all I'd fish for. If they DID grow to 10 or 20 pounds, I think you might need a fighting chair and offshore gear to get them in. ;-) Tight lines, Bob

I used to buy foam panfish bugs when I was a teenager that were available in normal, closed-cell foam and also in a sort of open-cell foam. The open-cell foam bugs could be squeezed dry to float or squeezed under the water to saturate them and make them neutral density. They looked a little rougher than the closed-cell foam bugs... more like sponge (which is nature's open-cell foam). There must be some source for the stuff.... Tight lines, Bob

I bought Terry and Roxanne Wilson's book "Bluegill" this winter and really enjoyed it. I have a few other books on warm water fly fishing but this one really takes bluegill fishing seriously, is very thorough, and has lots of good information. It was a long winter and cold spring here in the Northeast, and the local lakes were slow in warming up. My favorite bluegill lake has finally hit the 60* mark, and things have turned on. I spent the morning in my Outcast FatCat on calm waters. The lack of wind made it fun to fish with my 6 1/2' 2wt. I rolled it myself several years ago with a Pacific Bay IM6 blank and it casts like a true 2wt. I also fish an older Orvis Rocky Mountain Series 8 1/2' 2wt. but, to me, that rod is more of a 3wt. and that's the line I use on it. Today was the first day fishing my new Hook & Hackle "Classic Hi-Floater" WF2F line on the short rod. I was VERY pleased with it, regardless of the fact it cost about half what I would expect to spend on a new fly line. I would have never tried an off-brand line like that if I hadn't read good things about it here. Time will tell if it proves to be durable. I guess I had never taken bluegill fishing very seriously in the past. I just fished for them when I wanted to relax in the float tube on nice days. :-) After reading the Wilsons' book, I was more tuned in to finding the bigger fish and it payed off in fun dividends. I had always had a preference for yellow foam spiders and olive damselfly nymphs as bluegill flies. Today, I tried some Bully Spiders and I can see why the Wilsons regard it is their number one fly for 'gills. Easy to whip up too, although I fought with the silicone mini-legs to get them splayed out in the recommended manner. I had a great time catching those beautifully-colored, hard-fighting little fish and spent the afternoon daydreaming about "what if they grew to 10 or 20 pounds?" I don't think I'd ever fish for anything else!!! Tight lines, Bob

I've been using a new pair of the Orvis Endura stocking foots this season, and so far I really like them. The only downside is no built-in gravel guards, but that wasn't an issue for me as I bought them primarily for float-tubing. I have two pairs of old Orvis Silver Label felt-soled bootfoot waders that have had some hellacious hours and stress put on them and they held up remarkably well; especially for budget-priced waders. Another budget bootfoot breathable wader I've had good luck with so far is the Greys brand. Be careful buying felt-soled bootfoot waders... some states have already outlawed them (VT, for one) due to their propensity for spreading rock snot algae. Tight lines, Bob

No hijack at all! I guess the real reason I started the thread was to hear about other folks' experiences at the boat launch... I'm sure there's a LOT of good stories out there. Take it easy, Bob

I fish the Battenkill a bit; between the VT border and the Eagleville covered bridge, usually. I do a lot of fishing on the NY side of the Metawee (Granville-Raceville-Whitehall) and sometimes fish the VT section from Dorset downstream to NY. I almost went to Otter Creek in the Danby area today, but stuck close to home. I'm waiting for the rivers to mellow out a bit. I never fished the Walloomsac. I was on Lake Bomoseen this morning when I saw the boat launch entertainment. :-) Tight lines, Bob

The rivers are still in pretty rough shape here in the northeast, and we had rain last night, so I decided to do some float tube fishing on my day off today. I went to a nearby lake in VT and parked at a very small state boat launch site on the lake: small concrete ramp, 20' floating dock not in yet, dirt parking lot for a half-dozen or so cars/trailers. Being Monday, I figured I'd be all alone there. There was nobody around in the morning when I got in the water. Despite the constant wind, I had an enjoyable morning of fishing, catching a small stocked brown trout, several bluegills, a bunch of yellow perch, and a bonus 3-lb. largemouth on my 3-wt. rod. When I got back to the launch, there were two guys ready to put boats in. As I put away my gear and took down my rod, the first guy launched his 17' stern drive V-hull fiberglass boat. The dock isn't in yet, so he stayed in the boat and had his buddy launch him. The boat started right up and he cast off the line. But his boat refused to go into reverse and just ground the gears loudly as the wind pushed him into the rocky shore just downwind of the launch. I was ready to put my waders back on and help him when he decided to just put it in forward gear and bounce of the rocks and chew up his prop! Whoa! It made me cringe. The the next guy, alone, backed his 16' aluminum boat with a 6HP kicker in and floated it off the trailer. I wasn't really watching him carefully as I was still putting my stuff away. He beached the boat in the gravel next to the launch and hopped back into this truck to pull out the trailer and park. Suddenly, I heard a horrible noise. I looked up to see his little boat come shooting out of the water and scrape back up the ramp... he never unclipped his trailer winch line from the bow eye before he pulled away in the truck! I never expected such entertainment on an early spring Monday! I can imagine what I'll see on a sunny weekend.... =:-0 Tight lines, Bob

I got set up with the Silver Creek resin, normal light and laser light. It works beautifully; hardens very quickly and totally tack-free... pretty much instantly with the laser. The price is right and Henry's service is excellent. I'm glad I tried this brand first. Tight lines, Bob

I think a fish would have to be crazy NOT to eat that fly! Nice job! Tight lines, Bob

Awesome fly and an awesome photo to match! Tight lines, Bob

I don't know about anyone else but this is a BIG help to me. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Glad it could be of some use to you! I don't know if other hackle producers have a similar chart... handy information to help insure you end up buying what you really need. Tight lines, Bob

Whiting-Quick-Referance-guide-Lrg.jpg Tight lines, Bob

One of my other hobbies is R/C. I live in a rural area and there are no stores around that carry R/C stuff. I read in the newspaper that Hobby Lobby is planning to open a store in Glens Falls, NY (25 miles from me) and possibly another store in Rutland, VT (also 25 miles from me). I'll be excited to have a Hobby Lobby (or two!) within reasonable driving distance! Heck, a lot of the stuff in ANY store these days in made in China. :-( Tight lines, Bob

Nice. Those LaFontaine sparkle caddis patterns -- deep and emerger-- are very effective flies. Tight lines, Bob

One caution about craft store purchases for fly tying: be sure any dyed materials are waterproof. I bought some black marabou once that didn't stay black after it was on the flies and fished.... Tight lines, Bob

Michael, Thanks for posting the photos of your boats! They are beautiful and a pleasure to look at. I'm sort of a human-powered boat nut; I have three canoes (two Bells and a Mad River), a kayak, a rowboat, and two float tubes, and I'm hoping to buy a frameless pontoon boat this spring. Tight lines, Bob (who is a mailman, BTW....)

Yes... I must apologize to Utyer for my comment! I didn't mean to be offensive, but it sure came off that way. Please forgive me. When I saw that interesting old pattern, the legging method immediately impressed me and I started wondering what type of quill it might be. In my (feeble) mind, I ruled out hackle right away and in my excitement to post, I didn't think. I'm new to this forum and I don't want to start off by making a bad impression. I hope it's not too late! Feeling foolish, Bob

I'd guess they were some kind of wing quills, but surely not hackle stems! In any case, that is a pretty cool tie and a neat memento of your grandfather. Tight lines, Bob

+1 Most of the lakes in the Adirondacks are clear and rocky and have a healthy population of Rock Bass. I'd say they're known as the fish you catch when you're trying to catch something else... known as a nuisance more than anything. I don't think I ever met anyone who fished for them on purpose. They do put up a heck of a fight for the first three or four seconds then they give up and come in like a wet dish rag, mouth agape. If they could maintain the fight they put up initially, I think they'd get a lot more respect! They are eager to take any kind of bait or lure. I've caught doubles several times in my youth while spin-fishing for smallmouths with small crankbaits and stick baits. I will admit I've never tried eating one. Most of the ones I catch in the summer months have evident infestations of tiny, flat, dark parasites. You can see them in their mouths and throats when you're unhooking them. They look like tiny leeches. Tight lines, Bob

Years ago, I decided it was time for a nicer, more capable vise than the old Thompson I started with. I gritted my teeth and shelled out the money for a Renzetti Master. I have absolutely no regrets! Tight lines, Bob

I had probably my most successful opening day outing throwing a cone head white marabou muddler a few years ago. Up until then, I never cared much for them. It sure is hard to beat a wooly bugger, though. Tough choice. Tight lines, Bob