Buff Review

Recently I bought a buff and I went with the Predator pattern.

 

 Mainly because I felt the colors would be the most natural. I'm happy with the coloring. Up close you can see the animals on the buff but from a distance it looks almost like camouflage.

The first time I tried it was on the redfish trip. I had a lot of stubble and I found the buff a little irritating. You have to keep messing around with the fit or your sunglasses will fog up constantly. Even with the warm weather I didn't find the buff really hot. I paid for not wearing it enough. My lips got severely burned. The picture above was from a striper trip. The weather was unseasonably cold and there was a constant breeze. The buff provided relief and kept me warm. I think this is the best use for the buff. I wore a different style hat this time and the buff seemed to fit better with a ball cap. I found it easy to fit most of it over my face with out fogging up my sunglasses. I'll be quick with the rest of the review.

 

 

Pros:

• Blocks wind
• Breathable
• Comfortable
• Easy to take on and off
• Packs easy, you can throw it in your pocket or fish pack
• Great sun protection
• Works well in hot and cold weather

 Cons:

• Takes a while to get used to
• Hard to get a fit that doesn't fog up glasses
• I was going to write looks kind of goofy but on the river I saw more people wearing them than I ever have.

Crazy Lakes

After my epic redfish adventure I was put back in my place with a thorough skunking on the Roanoke River. If muskie are the fish of 10,000 casts then striped bass are the fish of at least 1,000. A buddy and I fished the whole day with out so much as a bump. I needed a pick me up. Nothing is more of a sure thing than fly fishing for gills. Especially in May. This spring has been so strange I never know what to expect anymore. At my favorite honey hole the fish weren't in their usual places. There seemed to be bass where the brim usually are. I'm not sure if the bass are chasing the gills out of their beds or what. It took awhile but eventually I found a nice swarm of chunky gills.

There is a lake I have been fishing quite a bit this spring. This lake is supposedly loaded with PCB's. There are fish advisories all over stating you shouldn't eat any fish caught from the lake. The water is always dingy looking and doesn't have the best shore access for fishing. All of these things combined make a body of water that is absolutely phenomenal. The fish activity at this lake is some of the craziest I have ever seen. There seems to be more fish per square foot than I've ever experienced. The catfish are especially aggressive and always eager to take a fly.

My daughter's friend kept talking about fishing and her dad asked if I could take them. I felt there weren't many better places than this crazy lake. It didn't take long and they had a fish on. The great thing about this lake is you can catch different species of fish with out using bait.

The kids had a blast. My daughter continues to impress me with her fishing skills. She still struggles with casting, but other than that, she can do everything else. I love how she isn't afraid to touch the fish.

 

This next lake is really what I wanted to post about. I have seen more weird things here than any other place I've fished. Yesterday topped them all. My daughter and I were walking around the lake when we spotted something weird on a small island. This island always has turtles on it but there was something else twitching near the edge and it looked strange. The island is only about 6ft from shore so you can see everything on it pretty well. As I got closer I told my daughter it was a snake. It was too large though to be a snake. Then I tried to make out the head. There were two. It was two snakes. One of the heads kept twitching, I figured the snakes were mating or one was eating the other. Then while trying to figure out just what exactly they were doing another head appeared.  Then my daughter said there are 4! Sure enough she was right. I had to take a picture of this and I'm a little disappointed that I didn't have a camera with a good zoom. You can still basically make out the animals on the island. I've pointed out the snakes.

These were banded water snakes. They are all over this lake. My daughter actually almost tried picking up another one in the rocks.

I have actually seen these snakes do some goofy things. I hope to get some video evidence of this behavior this summer. My daughter and I moved on to fish various spots on the lake. I didn't realize how difficult it was going to be having her fish with a fly rod. She can't seem to get the hang of it. She's so small she has a hard time stripping line and looking where the rod is pointing at the same time. So far she hasn't gotten discouraged. Mostly because after I hook a fish I hand her the rod. This one gill was a doozy.

Even though she only listens about 10% of the time, scares me to death by digging in between rip rap and silently walking up behind me while I'm casting I absolutely LOVE fishing with her. I have always dreamed about fishing with my kids. I'm blessed that I can actually do it. My fondest times are when we put the fishing aside and just enjoy the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Origami Carp

Here's something to try when the fishing is slow.

Picture taken from http://www.sea-way.org/blog/1dollar_origami01.JPG

 

 

 

The Best Deals On Trophy Streamers

I have been looking for good deals on Kelly Galloup trophy type streamers. Most websites want $4-$6/fly which is understandable. The amount of materials it takes to tie these flies is extensive. $4 a fly is still too steep for me. Then I ran across this site.

The Fly Stop sells trophy streamers for $1.50. I was very skeptical. How good can these flies be for that price? Even with my skepticism I decided to get a few. The first thing I noticed was the service. I not only received a confirmation of my order with pictures of each fly but there was a personal message from the person who shipped the flies out. I replied back thinking my email was going to go to an automated mailbox. With in an hour I received another email from the person who filled my order. The company is located in San Diego, CA and the flies arrived in NC with in 3 days after being shipped. The package seemed very small and I thought maybe the flies weren't as big as they looked online. After opening the padded envelope and inspecting the flies I was impressed.

The quality of these flies is great. I don't even see how they can sell them for $1.50. Even the articulated streamers with fish skull heads were the same price. Inspecting them more and more I couldn't find any flaws in the workmanship. These didn't seem to be seconds or tied with lower grade material.

I'm very happy with all of the flies I purchased. If you're looking for trophy style streamers definitely check out The Fly Stop.

 

 

It Can Be Done

Well I can't say I haven't tried. I have been fishing for shad on the Neuse the last 3yrs. I have caught Hickory Shad on the Roanoke River in Weldon, NC but never anything on the Neuse. What I have really been looking for is an American Shad. The Americans are larger than Hickory Shad growing over 5lbs. This year was the first time I really focused on it. I'm at a disadvantage because I don't have a boat. These shad can be caught from land if you know where to look. I contacted our state biologist who studies androminous fish. He gave me info on where fish were being shocked. My first three attempts were shadless. It was really strange I'd catch one fish like a crappie or bass then nothing else. I gave it a break for a couple weeks. Then the reports started rolling in from my friends that spinfish.

"The shad are here!" They exclaimed.

Shad are amazing creatures to me. I doubt when many people catch them they appreciate the journey these fish make. I got to the river and geared up. I went with an intermediate line and two flies I tied. The flies were really for crappie but I figured they should work for shad to. I spent the first 20 minutes casting and just trying to enjoy the river. Splashes from fish were here and there. Most likely gizzard shad. Then I felt a tap.... tap... tap.... BAM! A fish was definitely on and it was a good one. I put pressure on the fish and it seemed like it did a 180 and swam right towards me. The rod went limp and there was no tension on the line. Was it a shad? I hadn't caught one from land before so I had nothing to reference. It was a good fish whatever it was. I had wondered if that was going to be my only chance. I played around with different retrieves. Slow strips, 2-3inch quick strips, fast short strips.. FISH ON!

I was using an 8wt rod mainly because I wanted the backbone in case I ran into a bowfin or carp.  It was a good thing I had it. This fish turned in the current and used it to perfection. I kept massive pressure on the fish and I just wanted to see what it was. C'mon, c'mon, the fish would get near the surface then dive down again. Then after what seemed like an eternity I got a glimpse. It was a shad! A big one! The next thing that rushed through my mind were all the comments about how easy it is to rip the hook out of a shads mouth. I got the fish close pleading, "please stay on, please stay on." The fish was done or so I thought. I had it next to me and while I fumbled with my camera it started to flop back towards the water. NOOOOOO! I did my best and most gentle combination of almost body slamming the fish and securing it. I got it into position and seriously every time I went to push the shutter it started to flop around. I finally just took one like this

Not the best picture. At least I got one though. It was surreal. Did I really do it? Was this really a shad? A fish that spends the majority of its life in the ocean was right here under my hand 150miles from saltwater. Pretty Cool! To top it off it was caught with a fly I tied and the fish qualifies for a North Carlina Citation. All I can think about is catching another one now. I think I have what some people call a shaddiction.

 

My First Red Drum

My buddy and I went out and chased reds yesterday. I had never caught one before and he warned me that the fishing is hit or miss. We came to an area that he said was good to him a month ago. After a few casts I had my first Red Drum.

Troy let me cast a few more times and I got another fish with in minutes. Then another fish, then another eventually he couldn't stand it any longer and had to start fishing. He caught a fish instantly. He looked over to me and said "this isn't normal." The day got crazier as we caught fish after fish. We had doubles at least a dozen times.

Ridiculous things were happening like I'd have a fish hooked for a minute it would come off and before I could get my fly in another fish hit it. I'd hook fish on my back cast, catch fish as the fly hit the water. It didn't seem to matter you were going to catch fish on this day. Then I hooked one and I could feel it's head thrashing even though it was far away. The fish started to slowly swim away and I couldn't stop it. No matter how much pressure I put on the fish I couldn't move it. The fish went to one side of the pool then the other. I could kind of turn it around but this fish was doing what ever it wanted. When we first got a glimpse of the fish Troy said "that's a good one!" It seemed like I fought this fish for 10min and after a few tense moments we got it in the net.

We both couldn't believe how the day was. Troy said I was ruined and this was the day of a lifetime. I could have left right then and been happy. A couple casts later I had the same familiar feeling. The fish stayed on the bottom and I couldn't move it. It took just as long to bring it in and it was bigger than the other fish.

26 inches on the nose.

We stayed in the same area and kept catching fish after fish. We didn't move more than 50yds the whole day and probably caught over 100 fish. All on the same fly! I never retied or changed anything all day. It was the best fishing day of my life.

Recent Ties

Recently I was sent a package from Stu Thompson. He is the originator of Dark Water Dubbing. The dubbing is what was used for the Damcraw fly that I submitted in the Carp Fly Swap. I asked Stu if he could come up with a white that had hints of chartreuse. He sent me a sample and at first I wasn't sure I liked it. The flies tied using the dubbing have a strange look to them. I kept thinking if Yoda had hair this is probably what it would look like.

I've fished these a few times and they work. I've caught catfish, crappie and panfish so far. I think larger ones will work for stripers and bass. I hope to find out shortly.

 

Carp Aficianado recently had a post about fishing for carp using midges. I took a shot at tying the flies he described. I didn't have any red beads so I tied some using the beads I had.

The flies are basically black thread, gold wire and a bead tied on a size 12 hook. Really easy to tie. Looking forward to testing these out soon.

 

The buff I ordered came in recently. I should have a review of that up shortly.