Picky Pickerel

Yesterday I hit a stream that is known for having good populations of pickerel.  This day was the first time I really felt like it was winter.  It was in the low 40's and dreary.  Everything was gray and dull but had its own beauty.  The creek always has an emerald color too it and against the gray sky it stood out a little more.

The fish were definitely there but they weren't very aggressive. I found that the wire leader I was using was turning the fish off. Once I removed the wire I seemed to get more action. The bad part was I only had 10lb test and these fish eat that for breakfast. I lost two flies on two consecutive casts. I would strip the line a few times there'd be a little resistance then just slack. After drying different combinations I eventually packed it in and enjoyed the hike. Each season in the south has its own beauty.

The rain held off and even though everything was wet and the leaves made the trail slippery I didn't mind. It was good to be out exploring and every turn had more scenery.

Until next time....

Getting the Skunk Off

With the way the weather has been it seems more like early March than February.  I remember seeing reports of people catching bowfin around late February so I decided to take a stab at it.  I've never really targeted them before but I have always wanted to catch one.  I came equipped with wire leader and a plan of action for if I caught one.  Bowfin have vicious teeth.  Lipping them is not an option.   The locations I was informed that have bowfin in them wouldn't be your first choice if you were a nature lover.   The location I was found was perfect.  It had all the proper requirements for a nice bowfin spot.  A stink you can't quite put your finger on.  Is it sewage or decaying animals?  The water was dingy and had the visibility of maybe 6 inches.  There were interesting graffiti tags and drawings that really seemed to fit the place.   It reminded me a little of places I fished as a kid.  They weren't pretty, usually borderline nasty.  I can remember many times fishing off a pallet with nails sticking up everywhere or an old mattress.   There were usually remnants of someone camping or random items like a pair of underwear, hyperdermic needles and if I was lucky an adult magazine.   The fishing in those places was sometimes quite good.  Probably because most of the people inhabiting those places didn't have fishing on their mind.   

So here I was in this glorified gutter hunting for a fish that hasn't changed much since prehistoric times.   I put on a clouser and started working the water.   On my first cast I hooked something under the water.  It seemed like a snag but after a few good yanks on my rod it came free.  This happened several times and I started to wonder how much debris was in this water.  I kept working the fly and with in the first five minutes I had a fish on.  I let out a little wooohooooo!  Then looked around to see if anyone heard me.  I hadn't seen anyone and actually I really wouldn't have been that embarrassed if someone did hear me.  I was tickled that catching a fish after a two month slump can still make me feel like a kid.    The murk of the water made it hard to tell what kind of fish it was.  I was hoping for bowfin but the fish didn't seem slender enough.  I got the fish to the surface and saw the lateral line that identifies a largemouth.  The fish fought surprisingly well.

Despite the water quality this fished looked very healthy.  When I turned it sideways you could see it was obviously feeding well.

It was a great first fish of the year.   The catch a fish early curse followed through.  I only had one other tap on a stealth bomber the rest of the morning.   It was still a great time and I'll be back to hunt for bowfin again. 

A Fishless January

I never really had a goal this year to catch one fish a month. After this month I'm glad I didn't. I went fishing three time for striped bass. I can try to play it off and say that I didn't try very hard or didn't have the right gear. The sun was in my eyes, the flies weren't right, the fish were finicky..... Basically I just froze my butt off and got skunked 3 times. The only excitement over the three trips is a buddy stuck a size1 clouser in his face. The wind was getting pretty good and it stacked up his back cast. I heard a slap and looked over. "Is that stuck in your glasses or your face?" I asked. Hoping but knowing the true answer. "My Face" he said. Luckily the barb was smashed down and the fly was removed with no harm done. Well not much. Family time is taking more of my fishing time. My wife and I have kind of a deal, well it's something I hope she thinks is a deal. I told her I'll be around more on weekends in the winter if it's ok that I fish a lot in the summer. My wife is very understanding and tolerant, I think she knows letting me go fish is good for both of our sanity.

The fly fishing show is coming up soon. The fishing club will have a booth there and I can't wait to see what the vendors have to offer. It's always nice to check out the seminars and showcases by the experts. It looks like David Whitlock will not be at this show which is disappointing. I'll try to take some pics and give a report. The weather is teasing us in the south. It was near 70 today. It gives you the false sense that maybe winter is over. We all know better. Right when you start thinking that you get a freak snow or ice storm. Spring isn't that far away and late Feb is usually when the pickerel get active. I only caught one last year. I want to catch a few more this year.

Sunfish Identification Quiz

This is a fun little quiz. I thought I'd ace it but I missed one. How well did you do?

What Makes A Great Fishing Club?

In many of my posts I mention the club The Triangle Fly Fishers.  I am heavily involved in this club and I have been on the board for a few years.  We have board meetings once a month and a lot of time is spent discussing what we can do to make our club better.   Let me describe what are club is first because really it is more than just a club. 

If you are a Trout Unlimited member in the NC-Triad you are a Triangle Fly Fishers member by default.  The club represents the Trout Unlimited Chapter for the area.  One interesting thing is our club also represents the Federation Of Fly Fishers in our area.  The thing I really like about our club is there is no requirement to be a TU or FFF member to be a member of the Triangle Fly Fishers.  The club is a fly fishing club first and foremost and we never wanted to lose site of that or be leveraged by an outside entity.

The clubs focus is always changing but some constant things are always there.   There is not very much information on fly fishing in our area.  The club is pretty much the only resource in the area.   When people think of fly fishing they usually think of trout.  When they see members of our club holding largemouth bass, carp,  striped bass and red drum it really peaks curiosity.   The beauty of the club is not only can people talk to people who have fished for these species but they can learn techniques and find out information to fish on their own.   The club tries to have a few scheduled group trips ever year.  There are monthly meetings that have a guest speaker giving a presentation.   Guides and professional fly tiers. are brought in to give talks.  There is always an emphasis on conservation and the club makes considerable donations to conservation projects.   Recently we are adopting and coordinating a restoration project of a local stream.  There is also a couple stream clean ups that go on through out the year. 

The club knows kids are the future of fly fishing.  N.C.T.U. runs a camp called Rivercourse.  The camp is basically a fly fishing nirvana for kids between 13-15.  They go to camp for the week and learn about fly fishing, tying and conservation.  The camp costs $700 and each year the Triangle Fly Fishers sponsor two kids.   Usually the choice is made by an essay contest asking children to write us on why they'd like to go to the camp. 

Many club members want to use their passion as a way to give back to society.  I can't think of a better way than Project Healing Waters.  This is an amazing program that uses fly fishing to help rehabilitate war veterans back into society.  The program goes over fly tying and local fly fishing trips.   Another great program members are involved with is Casting for Recovery.  Breast Cancer is such a common thing now days almost everyone knows someone who has been effected by it.  Casting for Recovery offers fly fishing retreats for breast cancer survivors. 

Fundraising is always a big thing for clubs.  I've always been amazed at the fact that the Triange Fly Fishers can run and fun projects by only holding one fund raising event a year.  Donations are made through out the year to TFF by vendors and other people in the industry.  No one wants to be bombarded by requests to send money.  The club hosts an annual Pig Pickin'.  At this event guided trips and fly fishing related prizes are raffled and auctioned off.   These events really reflect the support for the club.   The club provides a place for people to find fishing buddies and other people who are suffering from the same addiction.   Chasing anything that will bite.  

With the new year I started to think about what makes a club great.  There is always the struggle of making everyone happy but in the end the goal is to have fun.  You can have all the cool programs  you want but really it's the people that make a club great.  The Triangle Fly Fishers are lucky to have so many people that care about having this resource in the area.   I have made more friends through this club than any other group I have been a member of. 

I look forward to our presence at the Raleigh Fly Fishing show and I expect we'll have probably one of the best years yet.

I Have Been Fishing...

I have been fishig recently but I haven't done well at the catching part.   My buddy with a boat was nice enough to have me tag along to hunt for striped bass.  Kerr Lake is notorious for striped bass fishing.  A member of the Triangle Fly Fishers talks about how great the fishing is and teases us with pictures like this.

Striper fishing is a whole different monster from other types of fly fishing.  The rods are 8wt or heavier.  Sinking line is a must.  The fish can range from busting shad on the surface to chasing bait balls 40ft deep.   The technique is to find hovering in a certain area.  Hopefully this is a sign of feeding stripers pushing bait to the surface.   The first time I went out we traveled miles across the lake before we found birds.  We marked fish at depths between 40-60ft.  Neither one of us had sinking line that could fish the water properly.  I bought some sinking line for Christmas and this last weekend I felt well equiped.  We launched from a different side of the lake and this time we saw birds quickly. 

We frantically fished the water and within 20min a stiff breeze picked up.  A cold front was coming in fast.  The birds stopped working the water and just sat.  What was once a fast and busy atmosphere was now dead and silent.  The only sound was of fisherman complaining about the wind chill.  It didn't take long for us to decide to call it a day.   I think if we had a little bit more time when the birds were working we might have gotten lucky.  There is a chance we'll go again around Martin Luther King day.  If that doesn't happen I will probably only fish lakes close to home.  That's at least until pickerel season.

The Best Fly Fishing Year Ever?

This has been probably my most productive fly fishing year since I started fly fishing.   I haven't fished as much as I did in other years but the times I did fish were productive.  I had a goal last year of catching at least one fish every month out of the year.  I kept that same goal this year.  I'm probably jinxing myself because I haven't caught one in December yet.  Even if I don't get a fish in Dec this has been a great year.  I've put a recap of some highlights from each month.   I had another goal of catching not only a fish a month but 12 different species that would measure at least 12 inches. 

January
I have never had very good luck in January or February.  This year was almost the same.  Literally the last day in January I was able to hook this bass.

The fish hit a white wooly bugger.

February

I had heard chain pickerel were active this time of the year but I had yet to actually fish for one.  It took two trips to the creek but I found a new species to fish for.  Pickerel are aggressive and slams flies with a vengence.

March

Nothing signals the start of spring as the white bass run.  I look forward to this more every year.  It is some of my favorite fishing.  It's tough to find a type of fishing where you can catch about 40 pound to two pound fish in 2hrs. 

April
I have been trying to catch a shad on a fly for a couple years.  These fish travel from the ocean hundreds of miles inland.  Their nickname is the southern salmon.  I was lucky enough to go with a TFF member who is a master at catching these fish.  He put me on them and I was able to catch my first shad.  I figured I had to get my fishing in since my son was going to be born any day. 

May
The 13yr Cicada's were coming out in full swing.  Some parts of the Triad were deafening with the sound of Cicada's singing.  The good thing was fish started to key in on these bugs.  Anything large hitting the water around this time was a meal.  I've gone after grass carp before but never had a chance to really hook one.   I was fishing a pond near my house for bass when I noticed some grass carp showing an interest in my popper.  Sure enough one inhaled it and I had my first grass carp on the fly.

June

Bluegill and bass fishing really heats up in late may and June.  I have been trying to catch a bluegill over a pound for awhile.  This gill looked huge and slammed a muddler minnow.  I knew it wasn't a pound but I thought it was close to 11 inches.  When I measured my reel seat later I found it was only about 9.

July

I have caught wild brook trout in the Sierra Nevada mountains but I have never caught them in the east.  My wife had a family reunion in the Shenandoah Valley and I jumped at the chance to catch a wild brookie.  I have to give a lot of thanks to the South East Fly Fishing Forum.  A member there gave me a tip on a good brookie spot.  It was by far the best place I fished the whole week I was in the valley.   The trout were beautiful and I got to really break in a new 3wt I purchased.

August

All I think of when I think of August is hot temperatures and catfish.  One week in August I caught 3 catfish in 3 different places.   All fish were caught with a dead drift presentation. When I say dead drift really I mean I cast out and did nothing.  Didn't twitch the fly or move it.  The fish slammed the fly a few seconds after it landed.   This guy was my biggest cat so far.

September

This fish had been avoiding me for years.  When I finally caught a roanoke bass I was in denial.  I took a few pics released it and figured I caught a really green sunfish or some crappie-warmouth hybrid.  When I finally got home and studied the pictures I realized I had in fact caught a Roanoke Bass.  It was a special day for sure.

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October

It's great to catch different species but at least a few times a year I have to go after trout.  I love fly fishing for trout.  It's almost impossible to be in a bad mood while trout fishing. 

November

I feel really blessed that I have so many places to fish.  I've lived in NC for 5yrs and I've probably just scratched the surface of all the fishable trout streams.  I found a great new stream that is close to home.  The fishing has been excellent and it is a great place to take beginners.

December

??????

This month hasn't been good to me.  I've fish a couple times with nothing to show for it.  This last trip I even resorted to..... gulp..... spin fishing.  I was striper fishing and the fish were down around 40-50ft.  My last chance will reallly depend on a lot of different factors.  Weather being one and my wife the second.  You can see from all these trips I have gotten time to fish and I have to thank my wife and family for tolerating my absence on weekends.    I'm hoping to get out for one day this weekend and go after wild brookies in VA.  If it snows I'm done.  If the weather stays above freezing I might get lucky.  We'll see.   The catches weren't the only thing to make this year great.  I also was blessed with a new baby boy.  My mother picked up fly fishing this year and it is fun to share our love of the sport together.   In the end  no matter what happens in December this has been with out a doubt my best year of fly fishing ever.