cornmuse

The series of baitfish flies posted here recently, along with the cooling weather, has me thinking of the Ohio River's winter wiper fishery. Last year my number one producing fly by a VERY wide margin was the Whitlock Sheep Shad. Like so many Whitlock patterns, it is extremely realistic and very, very effective. It is also a real pain in the a** to tie This simplified version continues to use the "core" flash material and the gray-over-white sheep body, but simplifies the tie to a significant degree. I tied the four in the image in about 30 minutes - which is a real benefit over the 15 minutes per it takes me to tie the original pattern. More time for cocktails! Anyway, I'll post a step-by-step as soon as I can. In the meantime. thoughts? Reactions? Suggestions? Joe C.

Ten flies for trout. Eastern US fishing. Adams in sizes 18 to 12 Pheasant Tail nymph sizes 18 to 14 GRHE Bead Head, sizes 18 to 12 Elk Hair Caddis, olive, sizes 18 to 12 Partridge and Orange soft hackle, sizea 16 to 12 Partridge and yellow soft hackle, sizes 16 to 12 Partridge and greeg soft hackle, sizes 16 to 12 Red Fox Squirrel Nymph, sizes 18 to 12 black wooly bugger, sizes 12 to 6 Ballou special or similar white marabou streamer, sizes 10 to 4 YMMV Joe C.

I read this sentence in a different thread and I had to pause for a moment and think about it. "Jungle cock gives a fly a great classic look - but with all eyes on flies I'm not sold that it makes a ton of difference to the fish." Here is a bit of the experience I've had with eyes on flies: On the Ohio River and fishing for stripers, wipers and skipjack the primary autumn baitfish is the gizzard shad. They get VERY thick and the fish become extremely selective. Last year I had an excellent day fishing a Whitlock Sheep Shad and caught 8 fish over 28" in 1.5 hours while guys standing right next to me were blanked using white twister-tail grubs on jig heads with spinning gear. On a different occasion a fishing partner watched me hook a skipjack on just about every cast but he couldn't buy a hookup. He was fishing a Bass Assasin shad imitation without eyes. I looped a Whitlock Shad on his line above his soft plastic and he hooked up on the very next cast. A different partner did an experiment with his spinning gear. He fished identical soft plastics except one had eyes and one didn't. On Ohio R. stripers the difference wasn't subtle. Now this is big water and most would say its not a clear as a trout stream but the stipers sure know the difference between artificials with eyes and those which don't. And they won't hit a 4" bait when the shad are 3" long, either! Joe C.

SmallieHunter; I've been using lead free wire since early last season. I like it a bit better than lead for some applications where I want to build a good sized underbody without adding so much weight it makes casting difficult. I also like the lead-free on my Troth Bullheads to counteract the bouyant deer hair head without sending the fly plummeting. On that pattern I like a neutral density and I fish it on a sink tip. If you're tying a small nymph and you really need the thing to head for bottom, lead is still the way to go. The lead free is about 60% the density of lead if I had to guess. LF works great in conjunction with a tungsten or regular brass bead head for sunk nymphs, however. YMMV Joe C.

While I can't speak for your particular water, here is what I have learned over the years... Muskie, indeed all game fish, tend towards a "soft ray finned" forage species first. One of the most important forage species in the Ohio waters I fish is the common carp. Young of the year carp look much like goldfish and tend towards 3" to 5" lengths by late summer. Of course there are a bunch that are half that size, too. Golden shiners are also a key prey species. Use a flourocarbon tippet (30lb is good). You might get a bite-off, but you will be far more likely to get a hit in the first place. Avoid wire. From what I have learned, muskie are a bit more leader shy than pike. Fish subsurface and use a fly with lots of motion. I like the Robb Nicewonger goldfish deceiver pattern (took two muskies on that one) or anything with a touch of yellow. YMMV. Good luck and let us know how you do! Joe C.

I'm heading to Arthur! Nice pics, great fish!!! J

I purchased the two Fishponds from Adrien Outfitters in Montgomery, Oh for $14 each. They are readily available on-line and at most major fly shops. Joe

I really like these FishPonds because of their tough finish and zipper closure. They hold lots of largish flies - one of my FP wallets is filled with deceivers and blondes up to 5" long. Because of the outer "hand-loop" and closure system you could easily snap one to a lanyard and call it a day. Unlike a true wallet with center "pages", these wallets are somewhat limited in capacity if one were to fill them with small trout-sized flies. They are an excellent solution for streamers and larger offerings, however. And the price is right! Joe C.

Dave; I believe the "baitfisherman" tag is in relation to the number of posts you have made on this board. It's a dirty name , but one we each must suffer for a while! Joe C.

Its a smallish Fish Pond. I purchased one in the spring and I have been using it for larger freshwater flies such as deceivers and blondes. I liked it so much for those patterns that I decided a dedicated wallet for clousers and muddlers would work, too. Nice piece of luggage for $12. Joe C.

Got a new fly book this weekend and filled it up with autumn smallie patterns. It looked so good I just had to post a picture! Tight lines! Joe C.

Mixed Media - I have found this to be an excellent late summer/early autumn river smallie pattern. Obviously this is a variation of a Clouser. Tight lines! Hook: Mustad 3366 size 2, 4, or 6 Thread: Rusty Orange 6/0 Eyes: Gold plated Deep Sea eyes Belly: 6 to 10 strands of black speckled pumpkin sililegs Flash Material: 4 to 8 strands of copper crystal flash Wing: Red Fox tail fur, tied short and bushy. Don't comb out the underfur!

I addition to tying it the way it is shown in the on-line instructions, you may also want to tie it with a brass cone head. This variation has been a wonderful smallmouth fly for me over the last few seasons. Joe C.

A fishing partner is heading to Pittsburgh in a few weeks for a family visit. Part of the visit includes taking the nephews out for a bit of fishing. No boat is available. Any suggestions for a good destination where perch, bluegill or bass may be readily available either from the bank or by wading? Thanks. Joe C.

QUOTE I tend to use streamers more often in the Fall because most of my fishing is in the Ohio River, and the fish start to squeeze the Shad and Shiners into the shallows for some gluttonous feeding! On the streams I start to go with larger nymphs Now luvinbluegills, we're going to have to make a serious effort to fish together. I live in Cincinnati and fish the Ohio often (along with the GMR and its trib and the LMR, etc...). Yes, October means 'wipers and there are only two patterns that I swear by for that application. The Whitlock Sheep Shad is my number one producer and accounted for 9 fish over 30" last year. I also use a tie of my own devising called a "Simple Shad" which is a deer hair shad imitation that I fish on top or with a Teeny sink tip. Both of these patterns are also great for smallmouth. I will be tying the Simple Shad for the North Coast Fly Fishers at their monthly meeting on September 1 in Cleveland, where I am scheduled to speak about smallmouth fishing in Ohio. That said, as the waters cool I gravitate towards a larger fly pattern to imitate the quick growing young-of-the-year bait species. Juvenille carp are about 3" long and are well imitated using a "Marabou Goldfish Deceiver". This is a Robb Nicewonger pattern that you can find here - http://globalflyfisher.com/streamers/guest...d_deceiver.html This is an awesome pattern for river smallies and also does a nice job on channel cats for me. Faster retrieves are the rule until water temps fall below 60. Also I like to fish shallow at this time of the year, so the constant companion from spring through summer - my 15' Type V sink tip- is usually left in the vest. This changes, of course, for the stripers which are usually bigger if you go a little deeper. This time of the year I also like to throw a gray-over-white clouser with holo eyes. This is a great generic baitfish imitation that does a good job imitating shiners and chubs. Toss it under a trico hatch and you might be surprised what happens! My most productive smallmouth bass pattern is a variation of the Foxee Red Clouser that I have dubbed the "Mixed Media". I will also be tying this in Cleveland (and likely in Indianapolis in November). I will try to photograph this pattern and post it here later this week. This fly is a GREAT crayfish imitation, and not bad at sculpin and johnny darters - both vital midwest baitfish species. Most aquatic insects are at their smallest size for the year, so I pretty much give up on nymphs unless I am in water that shows promise for dragonfly, damsels, or helgramites. Terrestrials are a different story and this can be a good time for hoppers, crickets and beetles. Tight Lines! Joe C.

What is orynchyss mykiss? J

What have I caught on a fly rod? Largemouth bass smallmouth bass kentucky spotted bass bowfin walleye pike muskellunge pickerel grass pickerel rainbow trout brown trout brook trout salter (sea-run brookie) striped bass bluefish redfish weakfish scup black sea bass cod pollack bluegill green sunfish longear sunfish pumpkinseed yellow perch white perch white bass wiper (white-striped hybrid) channel catfish flathead catfish black bullhead saugeye sauger skipjack mooneye creek chub golden redhorse sucker black redhorse sucker common carp grass carp (amur) quillback carp sucker white sucker rosyfin shiner golden shiner gar (don't know which species) sheepshead (freshwater drum) white crappie black crappie coho salmon atlantic mackerel fluke blueback herring hickory shad american shad There are probably more but suddenly realize I may have found my misspent youth! tight lines! Joe C.

I have seen a documentary, this fish is a relative to the Piranha & a native to the Amazon River. One of the basic diet is chewing off nuts ... Chewing off nuts? No wet wading for me!!! Ouch!!!!

QUOTE (schiff @ Jul 22 2004, 12:49 PM) Kicking around my local lake the other night and was throwing a frog flavor of a hair bug. Water has a lot of weed growth to just below the surface. Bass lurking in the small open pockets. My bugs have the hook in the water as usual, some with the mono weed guards. Personally, I hate the weed guards. Now the question...any Hair Bug patterns out there that are tied with the hook pointing up? Thought of tying one up like that, don't know how to keep it sitting right in the water. Thanks in advance for any ideas or suggestions. I'd suggest trying a "bend back" modification to a long shank ring-eye hook. That should keep the bend of the hook below the eye and keep the bug riding point up. Now I have to go home and see if it works! Tight lines! JC

Within a week or so the Brood X cicadas will hatch and the nymphs (a true size 20 or smaller) will drop to the ground. Everywhere the trees are near the water the nymphs will drop or be blown into the flow. A size 16 or 18 GRHE in a soft gray or a small partridge and yellow soft hackle will be extremely productive under these circumstances - and you'll experience just about any fish of every size. Carp and catfish on a size 18? Better believe it!!! Ain't life grand? Tight lines. Joe C.

I caught a small carp on a local water (Winton Woods for you sw Ohio citizens) which had some nasty sores on it body. There are also reports of a carp die-off on the Great Miami river, though I haven't been able to verify anthing personally yet. I did check with a member of The Ohio Smallmouth Alliance who is a fisheries biologist and here is what he had to say: "Given what I've heard, I would suspect the virus spring viremia (_Rhabdovirus_carpio_). This is a bane of koi culture. The symptoms match, and spring viremia is extremely selective (affecting pretty much nothing but the large minnows commonly known as carps). It has even been used as an experimental carp control agent in Australia. There was a massive carp kill on Erie in 2000: corpses, stink, and maggots littering the whole of the western shoreline. I was deep into Metzger Marsh work at that time, and this made for pretty horrific work conditions. It also elevated our carp catches significantly over that of other years (2- to 3-fold) because carp were lethargic in their death throes and less able to avoid our sampling gears. I did a little research into this at that time and spoke with the staff of several agencies (EPA, Div. of WL, USFWS, OSU Extension, etc.) about it. Nobody was willing to commit themselves to a definite diagnosis, but the general consensus of opinion (including mine) was that this was caused by spring viremia." The context of our discussion was the Great Miami carp die-off. I certainly hope this doesn't become a catastrophy in the making. Its pretty tough to get anybody excited about dead carp, but by the time bass start dying it might be too late to do anything - if anything can be done at all! This is an uncertain turn of events for a great game fish... Joe C.

Now that's a nice carp on a fly! Looks like you were using a clear line? What did the fish take? I worked out few different cicada patterns (though the bugs are all but gone now - maybe another week of opportunity before the fish forget to look up) and found that the carp were, indeed, quite selective to the two different body sizes and colors of the two species of periodic cicadas. Amazing... Joe C.

QUOTE (breambuster @ Jun 14 2004, 07:20 PM) I am in need of about half a dozen of the small, plastice zip lock bags such as fly tying materials come in. I haven't been tying long enough to have emptied any. Can someone tell me where I might can find these? Thanks I purchased a selection of small zip-lock bags from the local crafts store. Cost me $4 for a selection of 100 of each in three different sizes. These are better than the ones Jann's Netcraft sells as they are a little thicker and have the zip closure. Joe C.

Okay, figured out the images issue. Here is the picture of Rush Run. Joe

QUOTE (Pujic @ Jun 10 2004, 04:27 PM) Joe, Despite some controversy carp do have excellent eyesight, unlike many other barbed fish species. That combined with their sense of smell and "touch" they get from their barbs gives them superb sensory skills, allowing them to pick up on the slightest of inconsistencies. Were the carp you were casting to cruising? Personally I find that I hook way less crusing carp than those which are close to shore feeding or are just plain stationary. A good tip given by catchandrelease was to try casting smaller, animated nymphs to the crusing fish. A weighted rubber legged nymph was suggested and I can tell you that after trying this method I finally hooked a cruiser. Try switching to 8lb or even 6lb flouro if the water is very clear. As with many other species, carp feed mostly on subsurface food sources, so even through you may see 3 or 4 carp feeding on top, there may be a whole bunch scouting below for food so give nymphs a shot - unless of course it's topwater action you want. Best of luck! The carp I was casting to were cruising solo or in groups of two along a shore line. They were clearly in a feeding mode as, from time to time, a carp would hoover a cicada from the top right near me. I didn't cast any nymphs to them, though perhaps I should have. I was just jazzed on carp on a topwater. Big carp, no less. The one fish I stuck on Wednesday and lost was a solid 20lb fish. I was using Maxima clear 5lb test tippet. That is way too low for the kind of cover in this pond, which has a lot of standing timber. I have attached a picture. I used the 5lb in the hopes that a miracle would happen if I stuck a 30lb fish; maybe I could keep it on the line. It's doubtful, but landing the fish isn't nearly so important as having had an opportunity to land the fish, is it? Tight lines! Joe C.