1-2-3 Bass and More

I've now lived in Texas for almost four years and for those four year I've struggled living away from the mountains.  If it weren't for working at an airline I undoubtedly would have moved my family back West.  Recently I determined that if we stay in Texas long term I needed to find something to keep me busy and enjoying the outdoors.  Last spring/summer I focused on trail riding, this summer it has been fly fishing.  Fly fishers are definitely in the minority in Texas.  There are a couple places that stock trout in the winter near Dallas but otherwise it is all warm water fishing around here.

 Last summer I started fishing this culvert not too far away from my apartment.  Its far from ideal but one day while exploring under bridge with my daughter I came upon a depression from which the water had receded and left the carcasses of 10 large-mouth bass.  Being new at fly fishing I later grabbed my 7 weight rod with a couple flies that I could barely identify and caught some small sunfish.  Knowing there was a much larger fish to harvest I stopped by Bass Pro to pick up some poppers.  With the sun-setting I stripped a yellow-fancy popper across the surface, had a big hit and reeled in a small large-mouth.  Beginners luck.  I was hooked!  It wasn't until this spring that I really learned to fish this hole and I now know exactly where the fish hide.  Two months ago I was routinely snagging 2 or 3 1 pound LMB on each trip.  They must have been spawning because its been scarce since.

Occasionally I happen upon a spin fisher named Andrew and his son who recently moved to Texas from Chicago to benefit from our raging economic boom.  The first time we met he said, "You're not from around here are you?"..."How can you tell."..."Nobody fly fishes around here."  Last weekend he set down his spin-caster and watched me strip poppers across the surface.  All I caught were a couple of sunfish and bluegill with eyes bigger than their mouths.  Disappointed that I couldn't produce under pressure I tied on a humpy just to show him the enjoyment catching fish off the surface of the water.  Though impressed I don't think he was convinced, which was even more obvious when he snagged a LMB on a pumpkin lizard and forced me to reel it in to encourage me to start spin fishing.  I landed his 5 pound bass and left reconsidering my commitment to fly fishing for bass in Texas.  That is, until today...

Early this morning I sneaked out door and headed down to the culvert.  I usually fish after the kids are in bed  and was excited to see fish hitting the surface when I arrived.  Reluctant to fish for bass on Ben's 4 weight G.Loomis (my 7 weight recently lost the tip eyelet) I tied on a black fancy popper and began my prowl.  Almost immediately I got a strong strike and landed a small 1 pound bass (numero uno).  Relieved by the size--considering the 4 weight rod--I snapped a couple pics, released the fish and started fishing again.

#1 LMB

That's when numero dos hit the same popper.  This time a little larger.

#2 LMB

Once again I continued fishing the same popper and took a strong hit.  I'm sure Ben is reading this worried about the G.Loomis.  With the rod bent over I knew this sucker was pretty big and that I'd have to be patient.  Having lost a fish and popper to the weeds recently  I've learned to wait it out instead of pulling them through the dense growth.  This guy took his time while I led him to an area with fewer weeds.  He stayed deep and only pulled away a couple times without much fight.  After about 5 minutes he came to me and I landed him in a net, mindful of the G.Loomis.  Numero Tres at 16 inches and estimated 2.5 lbs.  So there you have it, 1-2-3.  I looked around for my spin-casting buddy hoping he'd be walking across the overpass so I could prove my skill but he was no where in sight.

#3 LMB

Having had a decent harvest, I tied on a #12 humpy which was the first fly I tied last week after my wife gave me a vice and tools for Father's Day.  In the previous melee I'd forgotten how peaceful it is to cast flies vs poppers and I realized that although catching bass by slinging huge poppers and streamers is fun, my favorite part of fly fishing is the calculated timing and fluidity of delicately landing a fly on the surface.  I immediately caught a couple sunfish and a bluegill then lost my precious first fly to some grass behind me.  So I replaced it with a #12 elk hair caddis and produced a couple more sunfish--they'll hit anything.

Sunfish on #12 humpy

All in all, it was a great day..and I'm no longer reconsidering my commitment to fly fishing in Texas.

Bamboo

I have been fishing for most of my life and it all started with a bamboo rod on a little trickle in Washington. I don't remember much about the fishing except the fact that the rod was bamboo. Although I was only 4 or 5 years old I somehow know that there was a connection between that rod and my hand that was just cool. Fishing in the salt of the Gulf of Mexico, Texas lakes, Colorado streams, Washington lakes and rivers, blue ribbon Idaho rivers and Utah water has been fun and there have been many many rods that have been to those places. While you can catch fish with just about any rod, some seem to be more compliant to your hands and mind.

A few years ago I became obsessed with bamboo rods. I checked out books from the library, read anything I could find and talked to anyone who would listen about bamboo rods. It wasn't a matter of acquiring rods from makers but actually building a rod.

After accumulating tools and materials I finally got started building my first rod. It was a long process but a fun one. I have only been able to cast that rod on the lawn because soon after it was completed it was given to my grandfather as a gift to show my appreciation for the things that he had taught me about fishing and life so many years ago. I have not seen my grandfather get emotional in the time that I have known him until I presented him with that rod. Not only did making the rod teach me about how to build a rod but it taught me that people appreciate bamboo rods because they are different and there is a lot of work and craftsmanship that goes into them. There is a big difference between getting a rod from the store and having a rod custom made to you and the water you fish!

I seem to look at most rods as long pieces of carbon fiber dipped in plastic and a few guides thrown on. Bamboo is a grass, a very tall and strong grass, that bends and sways in the wind while still a living plant.  When you take that living thing and work it over many hours it still posses the same qualities as it did when it was living. Put that finished rod in a living persons hands and the flow just keeps going. I think that is what I realized a long time ago even though I really didn't know what it was.

I still have a handful of plastic rods and I even won one at a film festival a few months back but only fished it one time. I seem to pick up the bamboo rods every time. Now that I have spent more time on Utah lake with the potential of catching bigger fish I find myself trying to find the perfect taper for an 8 weight so that I do not have to take my Browning anymore. Hopefully once we move I will be able to find some time to start this rod.

 Although I have fallen in love with bamboo it doesn't mean that everyone will love it. I recently completed a trihex shaped rod that I have shown to a number of fisherman and allowed them to even cast it in some cases. The consensus is pretty neutral and most don't see a value or even really care about the time and care put into a rod of this design. I think I have come to the understanding that this will continue to happen and I am OK with them spending six or seven hundred dollars for that new XXX brand rod. You continue to fish your plasticized carbon, I will continue to build rods that inspire people to love every second of the time they spend fishing because they love the rod as much as they love the fishing.

Who Doesn't Like Catching Bass?

I took my Pathophysiology final today and got finished early so I decided to head out to a small lake in Idaho for some warm water magic and celebration time. I spent 30-45 minutes in the water and had a ton of success. The only rod I had in my car was my TFO 4 wt which was already strung up and ready to go so I hopped out of the car, threw on my waiters, and started sludging through the cat-tails, reeds, and lily pads to get out and away from the people fishing on the dock. I was having great success with a green stealth bomber catching blue-gill. I will put some pictures of those at the end of this post. Anyway, lost one side of legs off the green bomber I was using so I pulled it off, stuck him on my hat, and tied on one of my black sparkle flash bombers. I caught a few more gills and then got a strike that I thought was a hefty Gill. I strip set the hook and this "Gill" took off. When you catch a Blue gill they give a huge fight for their size. A lot has to do with the fact that they turn sideways and increase their diameter a ton. Anyway I knew after a few seconds I did not have a blue gill on the line. He took off bending my rod in half and I thought I wasn't going to be able to land it. after a good fight I netted him and couldn't believe this fish would even fit in my net. I had to get proof of this monster so I kept him in my net and made the 1/4 mile walk back trough the reeds and sludge back to the dock to find somebody to take a picture for me. I kept him in the water in my net the entire time I walked back and had to switch net hands often because my wrists were getting tired of holding the net out. Anyway, got some shots here of the monster. Caught on a 4x 7.5 ft. leader with 18 inches of 4x flourocarbon tippet. The people on the dock that took my picture had a measuring tape and weight scale so I have officially a 21 inch 5 lb. Large Mouth Bass.

So here he is. Big fat Large Mouth Bass.

To give you an idea of the size of this Large mouth bass. The hook in this picture is the same size as the one in the picture below. Size 6 Streamer hook.

A small mouth I caught on the Spokane River to show the size difference of the large mouth I caught.

Great colored Blue Gill on the Green Bomber.

More of a shot of the fly than anything else. Thanks to Ben for the suggestion to try these Stealth Bombers out.

Nice size Gill. Love catching these bad boys.

Nothing beats having a fly rod in hand!!!

As Ben said last month, fishing for Blue Gill was a first for me. From the picture you can see we both pulled in a Blue Gill at the same time. Awesome! Even better from a canoe. Thanks Ben. 

A couple of months ago Ben came up to Pocatello where we fished Black Canyon. It was some good trout fishing. Tons of bugs on the water.... but we still fooled them to go for our fly. Good times. As you can see most were Rainbows. They appear so much bigger bringing them in. 

Fly Tying Lot and a Renzetti Vise!

So..... as Ben knows I have been looking for a new Renzetti Vise and have found one thanks to Ben and KSL. On the way to Utah I made a sweet stop in Brigham City and met a guy in a small printing shop by the name of Dale. With cash in hand I was about to make the exchange when I saw 7 or 8 bags of tie flying wonders along with an assortment of hooks... some 500-700 individually labeled compartmentalized and ready for use. Dale asked if I wanted anything and he was more than willing to give it up. I looked it over quickly trying to figure how much this would cost. Each bag had about 40-60 items......Dubbing, antron, crystal flash, dubbing, chenille, an assortment of elk, moose, and deer hair, posts, foam, more dubbing, beads, rubber legs, marabou, rabbit strips, fox tail, squirrel tail, CDC, pheasent tail, popper bodies, duck feathers, and a boat load of expensive hackle each worth 24 buckaroos. After a run to the bank I took it all. 150 bucks! What a steal. It was exhilarating.

For Fathers day Maegs got me some things to stay organized so I could tie for hours. And here it is. I am ready to tie. Enjoy!

Now let tying begin. BAAAAM!

A little after church tying

Logan has been asking to tie stealth bombers after church every week for about a month. Today there was finally enough time between lunch and nap to make his dream happen. Here are the fruits of his nagging.

Some things never change!

Newest Species Caught on The Fly

Had about 30 minutes to kill so I went down to the Spokane River and did some warm water fishing and I caught my first Small Mouth Bass on the fly. As you can see he is a little guy but still fun to catch. I saw some big fish so I will be heading back to this spot when I have more time. I caught 3 fish in the 30 minutes I had which I would call a productive day. I also am including the other species I have caught up here in Washington. I figured I would put the fly I used under each type of fish so you can see what works good up here. And I am proud of myself for having tied all the flies!

Small Mouth Bass

Tri-colored tail, Peacock hurl body streamer Size 10 streamer hook.

Big, Fat, Blue Gill

Dan's version of the Stealth Bomber. "The Flash Bomber" Sparkle Foam, Size 10 1x shank hook, Green and Black crazy legs, Chartreuse buck hair tail with krystal flash. Every cast catches a fish.

Another Blue Gill on a Flash Bomber

Red Ear Sunfish

Orange Panfish Charlie, Size 10 1x shank hook, bead chain eyes, krystal flash body, orange/white antron and krystal flash fins/body. This fly floats upside down and looks like a flashy little minnow. Drags pretty good through reed and lily pads due to the antron covering the hook somewhat.

Giant Cut Throat while still water fishing on Amber lake. That is a seven weight rod with a fighting butt to give you an idea of the size. The fish is 4-5 inches tall. Nice and juicy. That egg on its tail is the size of a pony bead. She was shooting them out everywhere when I caught her.

Black and Red Choronomid size 12 fished with a strike indicator. Retrieved by winding the line around one finger as slow as you can until you hit your leader.

This little olive and silver choronomid dropped off the black and red fly above. This is a size 18 with clear seed bead. I caught fish on both flies so I put them both on here.

Large Mouth Bass

Sparkle Woolley bugger with no hackle. Bass like them and easy to tie. And if I say that. It is easy.

A little fly tying and a shout out to Nick

I have spent some time at the vise recently and have covered everything from light dries to massive streamers. The Adams in the photo is actually Purple. I have been wanting to tie some of these up and when I saw purple dubbing on Ebay for a pretty sweet deal I had to try it. I guess time will tell on this variation of a classic. The Crystal Buggers are for an order for a friend and the Peanut Envies are just for the heck or it. Who doesn't need articulated meat in their fly box?

A couple of weeks ago Nick, Maegs and the kids came down from Idaho to help mom and dad move in. The move went great and there was even a little extra time for Nick and I to catch some time in the canoe on Utah Lake. Since Daniel has spent more time on warm water than he cares to admit, he can attest that it is not as great as spending some quality time on a High Mountain trout stream. Although we didn't catch any trout, we could not keep the bluegill out of the boat. They were active on top all afternoon and I think by the end we ended up landing over 60 fish in less than three hours. It would have been a good night for Fish n Chips but Nick had other plans including In n Out Burgers and dare I say it FRIES. The Burgers were stellar but the fries, as always, were found lacking. Give me 5 Guys fries any day! Congrats to Nick for another new species as well!

Restoring the Blue Canoe

My Grandpa (Pa) has had this canoe since before I can remember. For the last 7 or so years it has been stored up in the rafters of my Aunt Konni's house. I asked her if she would mind if I stored it at my house so I could get out on some of the many lakes here in Eastern Washington. She had no problem with it so we transferred it over to my house and I have begun to restore it a little. Tonight I sanded down one side so I could see what kind of shape the wood is under the deteriorating varnish. As you can see it is not bad. I will keep posting as I get closer to finishing this beautiful canoe. The fiberglass is in great shape. The wood is what needs most of the work. The one side I finished sanding today took me about 3 hours. Lots of work but tons of fun. Enjoy the pictures.

The Blue Canoe.

Sanding. 50 grit Sandpaper.

Before

After