A day at the office

Upon returning home from Florida, I thought there was no better way to get back to the grindstone that to spend a day on the water with dad. Plans were made, gear was thrown in the boat, and off we went. With the heat being so out of control, a tailwater is the only place I could stand to be outside during the day. Once we let the canoe and kayak fleets get out of range, we were prospecting with dries on the 3 weights.

Apparently we made the right choice, as we were able to find a handful of fish

Awesome on a dry fly

looking up, including a very solid brown that took the 3wt to the limit. After posing for some pictures, the fish was back on its way to keep growing and fight another day.  After dad changed up his offering a little bit, he started getting into the feisty stocker rainbows that we were initially targeting with the light rods. Lucky for us, that brown was just in the right place in the right time with an appetite.

These little guys are always looking for a meal

The rest of the day wound up being relatively slow, we moved a few nicer fish on terrestrials, but could not get them to the boat.  Needless to say it was awesome to be out on the water with dad. For me personally, there is not a better fishing partner in the world. I am extremely fortunate to have the appreciation for the outdoors that I do, and fishing with dad puts it all into perspective.

Hopefully the heat will get under control soon, and stay at a manageable level. If you hit the tailwaters this summer, the usual arsenal is always productive, and usually smaller is better this time of year, especially on your midge patterns. Terrestrial patterns will produce some good strikes as well, so don’t count them out. Just remember the fish will be a little lethargic with this heat, so keep the fight as short as possible. Hook them, get them in, snap a picture, and send them packing ASAP. Good luck out there, and as always, leave the resource cleaner than you found it.

-Braton

Another beautiful day on the water

While vacationing in Sarasota last month, I was of course able to find some time to hit the water for some fishing. Being down there and not fishing is just morally wrong, and in my opinion should be illegal. Plans were made with none other than Steve Gibson of Shallow Pockets Fishing for an evening trip with hopes for tarpon before dark and then some snook and trout under the lights. Crazy weather and tides had us guessing when we headed out, but Steve put me up close and personal with some rolling tarpon with a 12wt rod in my hand.  Let me tell you fellow freshwater guys out there, when you first see one of those prehistoric beasts rolling up close, it is one hell of a rush.  Once the jitters wore off and I was able to focus, I began the daunting task of casting the 12wt to some tarpon. As I wore myself out with the lumber, the fish were rolling less frequently and giving me a lesson as to how many factors have to be perfect to get them to eat a fly. Fly fishing for the Silver King is a very humbling experience to say the least. As I said, so many things need to go your way: fly, cast, presentation, and the like, not to mention some luck. Every time I hit the saltwater I improve some more aspects of my game, and with Steve’s help, I am confident that I will enjoy a sleigh ride courtesy of a big tarpon via the fly. Hey, and guy can dream, can’t he? 

After my shoulder workout, we headed for some grass flats to kill some time before dark and trick whatever was hungry. It wasn’t long before the lights began to come on, and we were off to a light to find some trout.  I must say it was quite a relief to put the 12wt away and cast the 9wt for a change, which at that point felt like a toothpick. Steve was right on the money as usual, and my first cast to the dock produced a trout with many more to follow on subsequent lights. Just like Babe Ruth, Steve called his shot on the light that would hold the snook, and he was right on. As luck would have it, the snook were as tight-lipped as the tarpon, but I had plenty of shots at a number of high quality linesiders. After the snook lights, we kept moving and found more than our share of trout to stretch the line and beat up some flies before heading in.

All in all it was another great experience on the water with Steve, who knows his quarry and  local waters like the back of his hand. We could not have asked for better weather, and it was awesome to find a bunch of fish willing to crush a fly. Steve’s new sleds are top-of-the-line, I was paddling a new Jackson Coosa, and I must say, it was a great rig. You can spend hours in that kayak and be good to go once you get out. If you are ever in Sarasota and the surrounding areas, do yourself a favor and give Steve a call and get out on the water with him at least once while you’re there. Whether you prefer fly or spin tackle, Steve will put you on the fish. Day or night, kayak fishing in the salt is sure to have you addicted, so get out there and enjoy!

-Braton

Kyle on the casting deck

The spring and summer of 2011 have been my friend Kyle’s learning curve onto the fly fishing super-highway. Last month we headed out to Percy Priest for a little Tennessee-meets-Florida flats fishing. My main quarry on these trips is big carp that cruise around our hillbilly flats, and this trip offered us plenty of shots. There were a good number of solid fish cruising around, and as luck would have it, they were not eating. Ah, the old fishing trip instead of catching trip Adage… One thing you are guaranteed to catch on a fishing trip at some point is some humility, and we received our fair share on this particular outing.  The cruisers saw a number of different patterns from the casting deck, and turned them all away. All we were able to bring to the boat were some opportunistic and feisty bream.

As the sun began to dip below the treeline, the focus shifted to some good stands of cover along the banks and the resident largemouth that inhabit such haunts. With the stage set perfectly for Witching Hour fishing on the surface, Kyle managed to move two really nice bass and jump a third one. Again bream were the only customers we could convince to get boatside. All in all, another awesome day on the water with good people. I’m anxious to see the fish Kyle starts to land from here on out as his casting is improving with every outing.

Remember in the heat of the summer to turn your attention to the lakes and ponds of Middle Tennessee, or any region for that matter. Bass and bream are willing customers and will always take advantage of a well-placed popper, wooly bugger, or anything else that may represent the local terrestrials or baitfish. Stay cool out there and have a great time out on the water.

-Braton

This morning found me in full-out springtime fishing mode, on the water nice and early to see what was biting and to see how things were looking after some more of our recent weather. With the cold front just recently moving in, I feared a slow day and I was right. Kyle joined me this morning for some more prospecting at the Buzz’d warmwater haunt. For reasons beyond our control, we had to leave the usual holes and carry on down the road to a new spot and uncharted waters.  – At least I pulled a nice shellcracker before we left.

Always up for a fight

It looked fishy enough, although casting was interesting with all the cover and surrounding trees. Regardless, the flies had to be presented to the fish, and we were the ones for the job. Speaking of jobs, some work was being done by the local wildlife on a few of the trees, very cool to see before they fall down. Exciting enough though, because when beaver dams are a non-issue, they are fantastic structure for fish. 

Busy work

The fishing in our new spot was as slow as I had expected for the day. As much as I would have liked the poppers to be the dominant fly, the wooly bugger would not be denied on this day. Patience paid off as we managed to get the skunk off Kyle’s back with his first bass on the fly. Just a little fella, but they only get bigger from here on out! Kyle’s casting is improving with every outing, and today we both spent a considerable amount of time in the trees as almost every casting opportunity felt skinnier and skinnier. At one point we were even picking out shooting lanes for our backcasts when a roll cast would not cover the necessary distance.

No miniature bass were harmed during this outing

My interesting casting situation started as i stood on a wobbly wrotten log to get a wooly bugger near a downed tree in the water. On my third cast, I let it sink, and then of course got snagged. Lucky for me, I gave it a little bit of the business, and boom, the 3wt was bent down to the cork with a solid fish on. What I first thought to be a solid bass turned out to be the biggest crappie I had

good times on the 3wt

 ever caught. I was recklessly waist deep in muck and algea to get this fish landed, and the same went for the release. Thankfully Kyle was there to get some great shots of the fish and to help me out of the quicksand or I would still be out there! All in all, our new water experience was well worth the effort, the sacrificed flies, and the bug bites….because we learned the potential of the fish in there first hand. Great morning on the water with streamers being the ticket for some stingy fish that have no more idea what is going on with the weather than we do. Great job KP!

Empty nymph casings

 

At long last, the cicadas have come to cheer up the weary anglers who have been swamped by high water on Middle Tennessee’s tailwaters, and the tailwaters throughout the southeast for that matter. On Friday, I spent some time checking on the emergence of our winged friends after their 13 year slumber. Along the Little Harpeth River when I was walking, it did not take long

A meal in the eyes of every fish around

 to come across a ton of nymph casings, and growing adults were not far off. No males were singing yet, but that should only be a few days off.  While the constant buzzing may be a nuissance to most people, fishermen hear and sing a much different tune. These ugly little critters provide fish the protein equivalent of dropping off a high school football team at an all-you-can-eat buffet for 4 to 6 weeks. That’s right, fish will be gorging themselves every chance they get. If and when a cicada hits the water,  it’s game over. No matter the species of fish, from catfish to trout, cicadas will be hammered throughout the water column. Stock up on those patterns, and have a mixture of them ready to go. And by all means, enjoy this noisy beginning to the summer season!  

Here they come

Jack under the watchful eye

Mother’s Day found us entertaining the moms at our place for brunch… My sister-in-law had the kiddos with her, so after they ate and got through watching a movie, it was time to head down to the pond with a fly rod and see if we couldn’t get our first fish on the fly rod for Jack and Hannah. It did not take long for Jack to pick up the idea of the cast, and within just a few minutes he was hooked up on some feisty little bluegill all by himself!

The Jack Monster's first on the fly rod

He was really fired up, but nothing compared to the feeling of watching the thrill of the outdoors being passed on to another generation. The fact that it is family makes it even better.  Jack was able to land  4 more fish before we got the rod into Hannah’s hands, and with a little help, H. Frank had a fish on too! It was the perfect introduction to fly fishing for these two, as of course we have a small window of attention span to work with at that age.

When introducing young anglers to the sport, it is best to start as young as possible of course, and do not forget that short attention span.

Hannah's first Fishy!

It is very important to put the kiddos in a spot with the best opportunity to be productive, because if they do not get to see anything or catch anything soon, that small window will close, and may be hard to re-open.  Remember, get them on the water and in the outdoors young, that is the best chance before big technology gets there and the beloved outdoors is playing second fiddle. Even the shortest exposures, no matter what the sport or activity, can plant the seeds that last a lifetime. Good luck out there, hopefully I will have the little ones back out on the water soon, Jack is just about ready to get out on the boat!!

Happy new anglers