Weathermen can't predict exactly where thunderstorms will hit but they've been pretty accurate predicting the high temp for the day. This was my second time fishing the Haw and again my temp gauge in the car read 92 degrees. I saw a familiar car in the parking lot and I was happy to see my buddy Dave was already on the water. The water level had raised some since the last time I visited.
I met up with Dave and he informed me the fishing had been pretty slow. I tried the usual spots where I knew fish held and instantly had a sunfish hit my gulley fish fly. I wasn't targeting sunfish today, I was going for largemouth. I kept working water hitting pools here and there. The sunfish were in every piece of slack water. I also found I would have to start stripping before my fly even hit the water. If I didn't I would miss several strikes. The pools looked great but I couldn't seem to find bass.
As I went up stream I saw a section under a tree where I was positive a bass had to be. My assumption was right and on my first cast I pulled in my first Haw largemouth. The fish was only about 10 inches but I was really happy to finally catch one. The fishing started to warm up with the weather. I caught several sunfish and when I cast towards a pool near a downed tree something slammed my line. The fish swam away for a second then bee lined towards me. I could barely strip fast enough to stay ahead of it. It was about a foot away when I raised the rod and the fish swam as though it was trying to bury itself into the ground. I was starting to wonder if the fish was a bowfin or carp. It wasn't until the fishes head came up that I realized it was a catfish. This was the biggest one I have caught this year.
The fishing kept going with sunfish here and there. The wading was a little sketchy with the water being so murky. I decided to call it a day. When I turned around to go upstream I saw a view that was out of a dream.
The picture doesn't do it justice. It was topped off with a osprey flying by me with a good size fish. The bird was maybe 20ft away. It was a neat moment and one that will make me view the Haw a little more fondly.
I met up with Dave and he informed me the fishing had been pretty slow. I tried the usual spots where I knew fish held and instantly had a sunfish hit my gulley fish fly. I wasn't targeting sunfish today, I was going for largemouth. I kept working water hitting pools here and there. The sunfish were in every piece of slack water. I also found I would have to start stripping before my fly even hit the water. If I didn't I would miss several strikes. The pools looked great but I couldn't seem to find bass.
As I went up stream I saw a section under a tree where I was positive a bass had to be. My assumption was right and on my first cast I pulled in my first Haw largemouth. The fish was only about 10 inches but I was really happy to finally catch one. The fishing started to warm up with the weather. I caught several sunfish and when I cast towards a pool near a downed tree something slammed my line. The fish swam away for a second then bee lined towards me. I could barely strip fast enough to stay ahead of it. It was about a foot away when I raised the rod and the fish swam as though it was trying to bury itself into the ground. I was starting to wonder if the fish was a bowfin or carp. It wasn't until the fishes head came up that I realized it was a catfish. This was the biggest one I have caught this year.
The fishing kept going with sunfish here and there. The wading was a little sketchy with the water being so murky. I decided to call it a day. When I turned around to go upstream I saw a view that was out of a dream.
The picture doesn't do it justice. It was topped off with a osprey flying by me with a good size fish. The bird was maybe 20ft away. It was a neat moment and one that will make me view the Haw a little more fondly.
Kevin, great post! I especially liked your description of hooking & fighting that big catfish. I've had the same experience -- it is like hooking a crazed submarine: no leaping, just straight headstrong swimming. What did it strike?
ReplyDeletebest, Howard