Bass-o-rama

As the great steelhead fishing tapered off, 14-inch to 18+inch bass became the norm through the end of May and most of June.

T-14 Toad

The river was full on raging this morning thanks to something they we're doing at the mill.  So I put on a ~ 6-foot tip of T-14 and tried to swing behind boulders and in some other likely holding spots.

I got a some what subtle grab and hooked up with a really nice smallmouth. With this broad fish in the heavier current, I actually got to hear my reel sing a little.

Dry line smallmouth

I found a section of river where the bass seems to like top water flies slowly swung down and across and then left to dangle in the current on the hang down - dry line steelhead tactics for smallmouth, less than a mile from my door? - I'll take it.

Lee Spencer Moose Hair Muddler "Burt Toast"

When I first read "American Muddler" by John Larison in the Spring 2013 issue of the Drake, I was blown away by one of the characters.  This guy who spends the better part of each year camped out in front the "Dynamite Hole"  a pool on Steamboat Creek (one of the North Umpqua's spawning tributaries) where wild steelhead stack up and become vulnerable to poachers.

If that wasn't enough, the guy also fishes with a simple muddler that he cuts the hook point off of!
I find this sort reflective approach to fishing (or really anything) amazingly cool.

Come to find out, this wasn't just some character dreamed up by Larison, that embodied  a particular spirit of Pacific Northwest steelehading, this was an actual guy, Lee Spencer.  His efforts at guarding the "Dynamite Hole" are supported by the North Umpqua foundation (northumpqua.org).

The Moose Hair Muddler is just a simple antron yarn body with a single clump of moose body hair for both a collar and head. Rather than trimming the head Spencer say to wet the fly and then burn the head to shape with a lighter...the tips are hit with a lighter to reduce the wings size and likely cauterize the fibers, increasing bouncy.  I gave this a shot, but I was only able to get the sort of muddler head I like on two out of maybe 5 or so flies that I tried.


This muddler pattern really clicks with me, I've tied up a few more using angora goat dubbing for the body and scissor trimmed moose hair for the head.  This is going to become my go to muddler pattern.  I've taken them swimming once so far and had a really great response from my local smallmouth.

Moose Hair Muddler Recipe
Lawrence Journal World Article
Lee Spencer: USA Today Article

Ephoron Success

I hardly ever dry fly fish anymore, but this year the majority of my dry fly fishing has been at night. With Gray Drakes, Hex and now Ephorons, I've been having a heck of a time getting a fish to stay pinned. I did some research and I think my problem centers around two main areas:

1. Slack 
2. Angle of hook set.

I found the following video,  it really drove home some good points:


I went out tonight and started with a hopper. I missed a couple nice fish right off the bat.  So I  broke down what I was doing, worked on improving my angles and made sure I had zero slack once the fly landed.

Fish on!

 This guy came on the swing below the dam, I went look for stray summer steelhead before last light.

Biggie Smalls

Caught my biggest smallie ever tonight. From lip to tail it was the length of both the handles on my switch rod, which makes it about 20"- no pics, low cam battery. I was swinging a Dave's Bad Hair Day - Eat a Peach Sculpin in olive w/ copper and green flashabou on a #2 Gammy B10s. Bummed about not having a pic... The fish took mid-swing and put such a heavy thump in the rod I thought it was a steelhead at first. This is my second "big" smallie this year. These big guys are awesome but seem to run out of gas pretty quick compared to their smaller 14"+ brothers. Just prior to landing this guy I had brought in a ~14 incher that had my reel singing and was doing acrobatics all over the river.
I also landed what could easily have been my smallest smallie ever today. It was my first fish of the evening. I was working top water with a "Warmwater Whammy". The fly measures out to be about 3.5 inches and the fish was just a tad bigger.
My guess is that these bigger fish in the system right now are post-spawners trying to pack on the pounds before heading back out to wherever they come from.

Comeback Smallie

My girls were all napping this afternoon. So I snuck out and swung a few flies. My first time on the river since Maggie was born.  This  17"+ toadie sipped up my fly while stripping my line after the swing. After a few acrobatics we met on the river bank.  I was using a new pattern from Skagit Master 4 - Dave's Bad Hair Day size 4 in olive with copper flashabou and aquamarine polar flash.  I added an Australian Possum sculpin style head with a mallard collar.  What a beast.  This is my biggest river smallie to date.

I ended up losing the actual fly a little while later, but this is another one I'd tied up at the same time...this one is a size 2 and has rubber legs.  Feenstra's Aquatic Nuisance meets Dave's bad hair day.

 

The Coldwater River and Upper Flat

Caught this youngster on the Coldwater River. He fell for a swung pink Vladi worm tied with UV Pink Ice Dub (rather that the more common material). I haven't fished the Coldwater in a couple years even though it's less than 10 miles from my house. The river hasn't been stocked since 2012 with browns, so this guy is wild. Awesome to see reproduction taking place. I did see a fair number of 8"-10" fish rising for drys. I hooked up with a couple that I'd guess were about that size. I was using a swung Mudler, but both fish popped off. Before I left I walked up stream and hitting the opposite bank with a gold and brown streamer. I rolled one fish that I'd guess was 12" or bigger.

In hopes to redeem my morning I hit the Flat at Fallasburg. Didn't have any better luck. High and fast water. So after I hooked up with this guy I called it quits.

Feenstra's Bass Detector

I might have a new favorite fly...this thing works!

Two-Handed Skagit for Smallies

I lined my 11foot 6wt Cabelas Tlr switch rod with a 19foot 390 grain Airflo Skagit Switch using a 5'float x 5'sink light MOW Tip.  I tried this out last night and thought it was horrible.  Although, I was still managing from time to time to cast 50+ feet with nice loops. I couldn't believe how heavy and out of control the line felt  I came home watched a bunch of Ed Ward and Tom Larimer casting videos, had strange dreams all night about being at a casting clinic in the Pacific Northwest with Ed Ward.  When I woke up in the morning I hit the river for about an hour.  After a few casts I realized I was too stretched out with my casting stroke.  I pulled things in tighter and closer and things really came together.  I was hitting 60-70 foot casts with a big nasty streamer.  And it was all rolling out in a  nice looking loop.

This let me swing through some parts of the Flat River that I can't normally get to.  I hooked and landed a few nice fish as a result.

Feenstra's
Black and Blue Baitfish

My smallmouth bass interpretation of  Senyo's Artificial Intelligence

Fishing - May 11th 2013

Hit the Flat River around 7am on Saturday.  Started out using a large Circus Peanut type streamer, but was having trouble casting. So I ran through a few flies until I got an eat on a Arctic Fox and flash Clouser type streamer I had tied up using a fishskull head and large red eyes.  I had quite a few bumps, hooked up with three typical sized, but lively Flat River Smallmouth bass.

I also accidentally ran into this guy with my streamer.  

These suckers are jumping all over the place on the Flat

First Smallmouth of the year

Got a my first couple smallmouth for the year along the Lowell River walk.  I was using a Keven Feenstra style crayfish pattern I tied up.

Flat River Showboat Smallie

14" Smallie on a clouser.