Chris_in_Louisiana

On 6/2/2022 at 9:22 AM, Steeldrifter said:

😅🤣

Looks like a real fun time Chris. That first fish is crazy lookin 😬

That would be a Stone Scorpionfish (Rockfish).  Perhaps the most disappoint, but cool bycatch ever.  Dropped my olive crab pattern into the midst of four small Golden Trevally that were actively feeding.  Watched my line go tight as the fish moved off.  Set the hook.  And somehow had that thing on the line.  Must have dropped the fly right on its head.

God, I hope you ate that Triggerfish. They are some kind of delicious!!!

Looks like an awesome trip

Believe it or not, both Triggerfish went back unharmed.  The tuna, pompano and a few mackerel I caught did make their way to the table, however, along with a large Mahi another guest landed on conventional gear.  With only six total guests at the resort during our visit, it was enough for a group dinner one evening.

May was a busy month for me with plenty of work obligations, and a pair of big fishing trips on the docket.

The first, though not an official fishing trip (a mantra my wife made me repeat regularly), was a visit to Costa Rica the first week in May.

We rented a car, and spent the first half of the week doing the eco tour thing as we drove the pacific coast towards the southern part of the country.  Once there, we returned the car in Puerto Jimenez and hopped a boat to a small resort on Golfo Dulce.

No charters scheduled, I spent the majority of the next four days fishing from shore.  The one exception was a morning chasing schools of sardines with one of the maintenance men from the resort.  He was by no means a fly fisher, but more than familiar with the water and managed to put me on a few fish.  While I struck out on a few targets (Golden Trevally first among them), it was a fun trip with a fair bit of diversity landed.  Pics are below, but the three links have more detail for anyone interested.

Costa Rica - Part 1

Costa Rica - Part 2

Costa Rica - Part 3

Enjoy.

Chris

3 hours ago, robow7 said:

That's exactly how we make that dorsal longitudinal cut, then peel back that skin and a sharp fillet knife makes quick work of it.  Another way we've prepared them is to toss the chunks of boneless meat into a food processor along with some onion and green pepper.  Comes out kind of like a firm mush, make into small patties or roll into balls, bread and deep fry.  They will have the same texture as a chicken McNugget.

 

 

Gar Balls are definitely a popular item here in south Louisiana.  Can't say I've had the pleasure yet, but anyone with cajun roots as a grandfather or uncle that always seems to bring them to the family pot luck.  I'll have to try them one of these days.

27 minutes ago, robow7 said:

Had a chance now to read your article and appreciate your thoughts and work that went into it.  Chris, one thing that I've found over the years with Gar and other so called "trash fish" is depending on where you live and how abundant they are, will determine how revered they might be.  We have many bodies of water where the gar can be stacked up like cordwood and there is no shortage by any means.  There are areas where the DNR wish you take them out by any legal means available because they can be agony on local baitfish and panfish populations.  So when someone from an area where they are uncommon, criticizes another fisherman for keeping some to clean, or bury in their garden for fertilizer, or leave on a sandbar for the eagles to feed on, I take it with a grain of salt.

Appreciate you taking the time to read, robow7. 

They are quite common here in south Louisiana as well and, as a result, deemed "trash fish" by the game fish crowd.  And while I take no issue with those who harvest for food or other purposes (sucker were common fertilizer where I grew up), I just can't get behind the wanton waste of leaving any fish on the shore to die.  On that, we'll just have to agree to disagree.

9 hours ago, Mark Knapp said:

I had one in an aquarium too, about 44 years ago. His name was Schnidley Whiplash because of the way they fish.

Sounds like fun, but I think I'd need a bigger tank.

2 hours ago, robow7 said:

I haven't read your article yet but may I ask what is wrong with rope flies, as long as you have with you the proper tools in order to remove the fly with no damage to the fish ?

 

I appreciate the input, robow7.  As Silver Creek mentioned above, I gave the extreme (if rare) example of fish that break off.  However, the process of removing the nylon can also damage/tear out teeth in many instances.  This isn't an issue when you plan to keep the fish, as you referenced in your last post, but can be for fish that are to be released.  Additionally, the time required to safely remove the fibers from the teeth is a stressor in and of itself.  Again, this is a non-issue when eating the gar, but an unnecessary stressor to those that will be released.  The same could of course be said for pausing to take pictures of the fish as well, so there is certainly a great deal of personal opinion expressed in post. 

In the end, my intention was to start a discussion on the topic and propose an alternative for those who may not be interested in utilizing rope flies.  Your perspective on it is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Chris

Good morning guys,

I wanted to share a link to a blog post I put together earlier this week. It's a bit of a deviation from the field reports and fly tying tutorials I normally post, but I've always been bothered by the prevalence of articles out there on the use of Rope Flies and wanted to put something out there that contained some alternative options for targeting Gar with a fly rod.

Any input is welcome, whether here or in the comments on the article.  I've posted this a few other places as well, and the feedback has been greatly appreciated.  Eventually, I'll update the article to include the recommendations I've been receiving.

Here's the link for those who are interested:

Gar on the Fly

Thanks in advance

Chris

Great tie, Chug!  I picked up a copy of Rosborough's book a few weeks ago.  Still haven't found time to sit down and read it yet.

Chris

Decided to tie up a few larger Crease Flies yesterday afternoon.

Hook: Kona BGC (2/0)

Tail: SF Blend synthetic fibers

Body: 2-mm Craft Foam (Tan) colored with sharpies

Finish: UV resin

8 hours ago, chugbug27 said:

A triad of test Ephoron Leukon white mayfly flymphs for @Chris_in_Louisiana

Here's a pic from troutnut of the target:

All three had a flat silver tinsel underbody and used Pearsall's Gossamer #1 (white) for the tying thread, with mallard flank tail wisps, a small oval tinsel rib, and a dubbing loop with a a combination of various white and gray underfurs.

First test flymph on a size 12, using Hungarian Partridge as hackle:

The others used feathers from a California quail as hackle:

Test flymph #2 used the feathers pictured upper right on a size 14 hook - These are like mini-Amherst pheasant tippets, only smaller and softer. But they're relatively stiff compared to the hungarian partridge. They are light gray in the center, then white with black tips.

Test flymph #3 used the back feathers from the California quail on a size 12 hook. They are dark gray, with black edges and a white spot at the tips. They're much softer than the feathers used for flymph #2.

Fun

Those look great!  Thanks, Chug!

Chris

On 4/8/2022 at 2:52 PM, chugbug27 said:

Thanks guys.

Chris, is there time left for me to mail you a flymph or two for that hatch? I'm thinking size 12 or 14 white thread with Mallard wisps, silver rib, American possum and natural seal dubbing, badger hen hackle if I've got one... Let me know...

Absolutely, I'll send you a PM.

Thanks Chug!

Chris

Good morning guys,

With a trip to the Osa region of Costa Rica less than a month off, I've been slowly stocking my saltwater box in preparation.  Along the way, I've started to put together a few related step-by-steps for my blog and thought I'd share this week's in case anyone is interested.  Up first is the Bendback Minnow.

More a style of tying than actual pattern, these flies run hook point up and are effectively weedless making them ideal for fishing around heavy vegetation, mangrove lined shorelines and anywhere else snags may be an issue.  With pacific snook on the brain, I've been sticking to White & Olive over White versions that I hope will do the trick as I visit some Mangrove lined river mouths.

One word of caution: Be careful not to overbend.  The bend shown below is about the max.  Bend any further, and the you may experience more than a few missed hook sets due to the angle.

Pics are below, but here's a link with more details for anyone who may be interested:

https://fatfingeredflytyer.com/bendback-minnow-fly-step-by-step/

Enjoy

Chris

Beautiful tie.  And one that may serve a purpose in my backyard.  While there are no sulphur hatches here in South Louisiana, as you're well aware, my neighborhood pond does have intermittent hatches of some variety of night hatching White Fly (mayflies of the genus Euphoron, I believe?).  I noticed such a hatch last night as the mayflies were drawn to the porch light.  Checking the water, I could see faint rises everywhere.  Not sure if it is sunfish, bass or the resident bullhead, but something was feeding on the hatching mayflies.

Thanks for sharing.

Chris

Much to my surprise, the local postal service came through yesterday, and I too received a great mix of flies in the mail.

I've got salt on the brain this coming weekend, but can't wait to run some of these by the local bass and bluegill sometime during the coming week.  Might even offer a few of these up to the finicky orangespotted sunfish known to reside in a nearby urban lake.

Big thanks to everyone involved.

Chris

Thanks, Bryon!  Can't wait to see and try them out!

Chris

15 hours ago, Bryon Anderson said:

Chris_in_Louisiana, your flies arrived today! Very nice! I will be tying up some more of that pattern for sure

Glad they made it!  They're my go-to for carp, gar, panfish and bass. 

Looking forward to seeing everyone's patterns.

Chris

Flies are in the mail.  My apologies for the delay.

Chris

Finished up a dozen Olive Clouser's Swimming Nymphs last night.  Then remembered that I needed 13...I'll knock that out this evening and should have everything in the mail either tomorrow or Monday.

Chris

Grove 3.5 hrs round trip for a bass on the fly tournament yesterday.  Weather was crap (25+ mph winds, 30 F at sunrise), but I had already paid the $30 entry fee.  Given the conditions, the 11" bass I caught mid-morning was enough for 2nd place.  When the tourney director handed me my $80 prize, he commented "this should almost cover a tank of gas."  He wasn't far off as I put $75 in the tank as I started my drive home.

Moral of the story, I'll still be fishing.  I'll find other ways to save and make up for it.

Wow!!!  Looks like I'm behind on this one.

I'll try to sit down and knock mine out by early next week.

Can't wait to see what everyone contributed!

Chris

I'll third the woolly worm recommendation.  It was my first fly and one I caught fish on for many years including a grass carp.  On the few occasions I've been tasked with teaching someone, that's been the fly I've gone with. 

Though Kim does have a good point regarding the target species.  I took this approach when my wife asked to learn a few weeks ago.  She had watched me catch a few large bass and specifically asked to learn the pattern I was using.  Starting with a woolly worm in that case may have led to a loss of interest.

Chris

Thanks guys!

After spending some time looking at her initial attempt, she decided she wasn't satisfied with the outcome.

So...she sat down again last night and gave it another go.  Definite improvement from the first attempt (top) to the second (bottom).

Lately, I've been considering starting up a monthly "beer and bugs" style meet up at a local brewery with a few other tyers.  While my wife has never tied flies before (and has only fly fished on a few occasions), she expressed an interest in joining in and asked if I'd give her a few quick lessons before hand. 

When we sat down for her first lesson last night, I asked what she would like to tie?  She responded with "the fly you've been using to catch the bass on out back."

So instead of starting with a woolly worm or similar pattern, I grabbed a Size 1 B10S Stinger, some streamer hackle, flash and bucktail, and walked her through how to tie a Deceiver.

Turns out her artistic skill and veterinary surgeon's dexterity translate pretty well to hackle, hair and thread.

The local fishing has slowed substantially since the weather finally cooled in late January.  I've gone out with regularity, but, with the exception of an unexpected skipjack herring in a local bayou, I've been essentially skunked on public waters for the past three weeks.

Thankfully, I stumbled across a great bite in my backyard while testing out some large deceivers and the new intermediate line I had purchased for my 9wt.

My subdivision has a fairly large pond at the center and includes a dead-end canal that runs immediately behind my house.  It was stocked with bass, bluegill, crappie and catfish roughly 15 years ago and is said to have produced a few 8-10 lb bass per the neighbors who have lived here the longest.

The 2020 lockdown put quite a dent in this small fishery, however, as everyone and their brother seemed to suddenly own a fishing rod and have nothing better to do.  Since then, the abundant bass have been largely absent, and I can count the number of fish I landed in 2021 on one hand.

My luck since first testing that intermediate line in late January seems to suggest the fishery is doing just fine, however, as I landed the 20+" bass below within a dozen casts on that sunny Sunday afternoon.

Two days later, I decided to see if I could repeat the process.  And while no fish came to hand, a similar size fish that narrowly missed my fly along the bank suggested I might have been on to something.  So this past Sunday when the weather pattern seemed similar to that day in late January, I decided to repeat the process.

Sure enough, the fish were there.  While only the two 1-2 lbs fish below came to hand, a third fish in the 3 lbs range tossed my hook on the jump. (For reference, that's a 4/0 hook visible in the second fish's mouth).

Completely hooked at this point, I found myself out back late Monday afternoon as well.  And once again the fish did not disappoint.  In 45 minutes, I had 10 fish on the line including three that easily surpassed 4 lbs.  Each had a stomach bulging with food and sadly the picture below just doesn't do the fish below justice.  At a  little over 20", it was by far the fattest bass I have ever caught.

When yesterday rolled around, I was committed to giving the bass a break.  Fish and Wildlife was slated to stock rainbow trout in a local pond, and I headed that way to meet up with some fellow anglers.  5 hours later, we learned the hatchery truck had broken down and would not be arriving until after dark.  Having not even landed a bluegill in that time frame, I headed home.  Dusting off the 9wt, I made five casts.  This guy came in at 18.5" and more importantly I finally remember to get a belly shot to highlight the girth of these fish.

And in case anyone is wondering what these fish are getting fat on, I managed to end my day by snagging two of these little guys.  Clearly the gizzard shad are thick this winter, and the bass are taking advantage.

Maybe I need to tie some bigger streamers?

On 1/30/2022 at 11:21 AM, Steeldrifter said:

Nice looking reds. Those flounder are such an odd looking fish, cool that you got one on a fly.

Thanks, Steve.  Hoping I can learn to repeat the process with more regularity.  They're considered unicorns in local "slam" fishing tournaments, so figuring them out on the fly would put me a step ahead of the local spin fishing crowd.

Chris