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.