$25 Well Spent

As fishermen we fish when we can. There are times we know it's better to get out than others. Lately I have been unable to find a good combination of weather and timing. I was tired of reading how good the bass fishing was over the weekend. I ran over to the local lake before it got dark. There was a chill in the air and I was afraid it might have put the fish down. I tried various retrieves near the bank. One thing I have to say is the Eagle Claw Featherlight handles 30-40ft casts amazingly well. Even with heavier flies like a cone headed bugger. I was using 5WF line and never had an issue of the cast not going where I wanted. When I tried to get some extra distance the cast started getting sloppy. I think it was more of my casting technique than the rod. Even with the great casting I was ready to catch something and see how this rod feels when fighting a fish. I noticed I could feel more of what was going on with this rod. I could feel when the fly hit a rock or some debris. It has been awhile since I've fished streamers and I had to remind myself to keep the rod tip down and point it at the line. Then I felt what was like a rock that stopped the fly then let go. I cast to the same area and near the same spot and felt the feeling again. I thought maybe it was a snag so I tried one more time thinking if I feel the same thing it's definitely a log or a tree branch. The next cast I didn't feel anything. This got me a excited. I cast 5-6ft to the left of where I had cast before and started my retrieve. Again I felt the rock feeling but this time the rock started moving. It was the first fish I had on this year and I couldn't have been happier. 

I decided to try out the other cool little feature on this rod.

I really don't understand why more rod companies don't add a ruler to their blank. It seems so simple and it's very useful. I think it would help in the practice of catch and release. 

In the same area where I caught this bass I brought a few more to hand. The key was a small 1inch strip retrieve that has worked well when the water is cold. The strips are very quick and work best when your line is a little slack. When you do the strip the slack line should tap the rod. So the whole time you're doing the retrieve you'll hear tap, tap, tap, tap... If you feel any resistance do a strip strike. I've found sometimes what's good is even if you don't hook a fish when trying to do the strip strike let your fly die and just sit on the bottom for 5 seconds. Then continue the retrieve. I picked up several fish once I start the retrieve again. What I think happens is I pull the fly out of the fishes mouth too early and the fish is still interested but confused. Once the fly just sits there on the bottom the fish thinks it's and easy meal and picks it up. There's definitely a trick to fishing the bottom of the water column which I haven't figured out yet. There's a factor to how fast the flies sinks and your retrieve. 

It was great to get out and I'm happy to have gotten the 2014 skunk off my back. I was impressed with how the Featherlight handled these fish. This rod has by far outreached my expectations. I see it as the perfect rod for someone who is just getting into fly fishing or just needs a 5wt to fill a gap in their rod collection. I don't think it would be very good for nymphing or casting small dry flies to finicky trout. I'll test that theory more this spring. 

Messing with Gills

The pond by my work is a place where I experiment with different flies and try to observe fish behavior. There are ponds next to one another and the fish will act differently depending on what body of water they live in. The bass are not large in the main pond I fish. I think the blue gill are effecting the population. They seem to compete for the same food sources. I found some blue gill beds today. The biggest gill was spending the most of it's time fending off other bluegill from entering the bed. The bass seemed to use this opportunity to hit any food that came close to the area.
The bass were very aggressive. After this video I caught a few more on the other side of the pond. The bass hit without any hesitation. I will be in VA for my wifes family reunion. I tied up some more poppers just in case I get on the Shenandoah River. I'm not sure really where to fish. I talked to a fly shop and they gave me so many options I got over whelmed. I hope to hit a brookie creek and fish for small mouth one day. I tied up some bass bait just for the trip. Here are my latest poppers and clousers.

Fishing at Lunch

The thing I love about where I work is that I can fish at lunch. The ponds aren't big but they provide a nice get away from the rat race. Today was extra special because the winter has kept the fishing pretty slow in these ponds. After a few casts today, I knew not only the weather was heating up.I didn't see any surface activity but minnows huddled in the shallows. A few strips past them and this bass was produced. I caught a couple more bass then made my way to the other side of the pond. After almost getting my back cast stacked up and getting my fly caught on my back, I ducked and was able to sling it over my head. While taking up the slack line and starting my first strip I felt resistance. I lifted my rod and saw a big silver shape silouhette under the water. It looked like a really big bass but didn't fight like one. The fish made a few runs and gave a pretty good tug on my 4wt. When I got the fish near the surface I could tell it was a crappie. Pretty good size too.This is probably one of the largest I have caught so far. I went back to work re-energized and looking forward to warmer weather and even better fishing. No sign of the carp today. I'll be targeting them this year.

Fish Log Sept 14

Fished the pond by my work and the ones close to my house. Bass are still holding shallow. I have gotten a few on the gully fish. I walked around the pond at work and saw a something that made me extremely happy . A CARP! It was cruising the shallows. I saw it again today and it was tailing pretty good. I threw a nice bead headed bugger at it. My line twitched, I wasn't sure if the fish was on. I put some tension on the line slightly the fish slants and then bolted. I think it spit the fly just as I was putting tension on the line. I didn't see the carp again and had to resort to catching feisty gills. I also with the help of Preston classified bluegill as the most agressive fish. I used to think bass were very agressive. It's been my personal experience that bass are pretty lazy. Trout are more aggresive than bass. Maybe bass are smarter, I don't know but they haven't been the easiest fish to catch this year. Especially the larger ones. The Smallie Trip is next weekend and I plan to have lots of pics for that report. I also hope to have a carp pic.

Another delemma I have is figuring out whether to fish a certain pond or not. The sign says the pond is for residents only and the fishing is catch and release. I fit one of those criteria. Usually something like this wouldn't bother me, I'd just fish and not care. But I know how I get when someone fish's the pond by my house and I can tell they are not a resident. The pond by my house is for residents only as well. I don't really get mad and tell them to leave but I kind of feel like they are taking advantage of me. It's strange, it's not my personal lake. I guess I just feel I pay to the HOA that maintains it so in a round about way it is mine. I'm explaining all this to justify why I'm feeling a little guilty about fishing this other pond. I may fish it again but not for awhile. I really do take posted places seriously. Trespassing is not only againts the law but it is disrespectful.