June 27, 2008
Filed under: Adventures — admin @ 1:12 pm
Ever been to popper heaven? I visited there yesterday. We hit a medium-sized Minnesota river right on the nuts for water temperature, water levels (perhaps two or three inches low), and most importantly - smallmouth on the hunt.
I am a firm believer in hot humid weather bringing out the best in top water smallmouth action. In addition, we had overcast skies early in the afternoon which kick started the six hour float.
The fish were extremely aggressive. Often we saw movement right next to the bank as big smallies bum rushed minnows against the bank. A popper placed anywhere within four feet of the disturbance, brought immediate strikes.
The strikes varied from imperceptible sipping to violent waking torpedos that often saw the fly pulled away prematurely due to anticipatory pilot error. We had enough action so missing fish was more a folly than a bummer. Black poppers ruled the day, even when the sun emerged after the first two hours and the fish continued to hit hard all afternoon.
We dragged ourselves from the river wishing the day wouldn’t end. My brother Bruce and I had one of those days that every river fisherman should have occassionally. It’s what brings us back again and again. Bruce had four fish over 18 inches. I lost several fish over 18 and had a little “dropsie” problem throughout the onslaught.
And that was just the big ones. We had tons of hits and probably landed over 30 fish, lost at least a half dozen (always big when they get off), and hit and missed another fifteen fish. Spread out over five to six hours made for almost non-stop action with a few breaks along the way.
Now is one of the best times of the year to hit the smaller streams accessible only in higher water. Get to them before they drop and you’re forced to wade fish only. Floating and bombing the banks for aggressive smallies is my kind of popper heaven.
I’m glad I wasn’t a minnow in the shallows yesterday - the way those smallies were going, I wouldn’t be here today.
June 23, 2008
Filed under: Observations — admin @ 10:37 am
The rivers are finally starting to drop. We had a bunch of rain in June in the Midwest and elsewhere. This is great for the watersheds, but changes the fish location, as you know. High, colored water can be good or bad depending on a number of factors. However, low clearer water is always preferred especially for surface fly fishing where the fish can quicly detect your fly and decide whether to eat it or not.
We floated a local tributary to the Mississippi in the Brainerd area yesterday with mixed results. The water was about a foot higher than the preferred height, but we connected on a moderate number of bronzebacks. While the size was on the smallish side, they took both surface and sub-surface offerings.
I finally connected using the famed Red & White Hackle fly, also known as the Homer Rhodes Tarpon Fly. I tie mine on a #4 streamer hook for smallmouth. Fish hit this fly fairly well in relatively clear water.
They finally got going on a gray foam popper later in the afternoon which provided for some badly needed topwater action - slow to come to the north country this season.
Conditions are improving as we speak, so gear up and get ready for a fabulous summer of hard hitting smallie action on a river near you!
Filed under: How To... — admin @ 9:27 am
I’ll call this the Swisher Knot, since that’s where I first saw it tied in the late 80’s by Doug Swisher himself. Swisher visited a local fly shop in Minneapolis and gave a talk on fly fishing. I’d already owned several of his 3M series on fly casting, which I still believe are some of the best I’ve ever seen. The fishing action interspersed in them is priceless.
He shows this knot, I believe in one of those videos. Here is how I use it to tie a fly to a tippet or a jig to monofilament for other types of fishing. It has all the traits of a great knot: easy to learn, easy and fast to tie, and strong. Take a look at the video below and give the Swisher Knot a try. And Doug, if you ever read this, tell me where you got it!
This may take a minute to load, so be patient…
June 10, 2008
Filed under: Observations — admin @ 9:06 am
Everyone should have a secret lake. If you don’t have one, get out a topo map and go find one. There’s a bunch of them out there, just waiting for your discovery. A secret lake is an out-of-the-way gem that:
- is difficult to find and access
- contains good populations of fish
- is overlooked - perhaps near other popular lakes
- hardly anyone else fishes it
- the fish are relatively easy to catch
- is easy to fish
- is a great place to take kids fishing
I have a secret lake, I call it suprisingly: “The Secret Lake”. I stumbled upon it five years ago when I moved to north central Minnesota. It holds all the features above. It’s loaded with small to medium sized largemouth - and that’s about it! It’s very shallow but spring fed and only about six feet deep. That does not allow the fish much belly room during a cold winter when the ice can get a couple feet thick. My neighbor owned land near it and bemoaned the fact that they couldn’t catch any sunfish. He complained all they could get were those damn bass. Loose lips, sink ships.
I slithered over that way the next day and found the lake.
Sure enough - it took awhile, but the lake was indeed full of largemouth. Not a single northern, sunny or crappie. It must have froze-out at one point and perhaps been secretly stocked by the DNR. That’s one theory. Since there’s no decent inlet, apparently the northerns just can’t make it up that far.
I have taken many folks to the Secret Lake over the last five years. I’ve taken kids and adults, both newbies and skilled anglers to get a taste of a pristine deep woods lake that gets more attention from duck hunters than anglers.
After a particularly severe winter in 2007-8, we feared The Secret Lake may have froze out. It’s so shallow and we had snow cover nearly all winter and cold - the perfect recipe for a freeze out. Early reconnaissance was disappointingly as I checked it a month ago and never got a hit or saw a fish. I also didn’t see any signs of dead fish along the shoreline.
I returned a couple days ago with my daughter for the big test. I tried the first “slam dunk” spot - no fish. I went to a “can’t miss” shoreline area and the first several casts brought nothing. I was just about to make the sad decree, when I noticed my foam popper had disappeared near the shoreline and was replaced by a plate sized boil in the water. I set and, of course, missed. But is was what I wanted to see. I subsequently moved down the shoreline and began catching all sizes of fish, including one of about 2 1/2 pounds. On this secret lake, top end is just pushing three pounds. There’s so many fish and just so much food to go around.
A secret lake is the essence of fishing. It conjures hot foggy mornings and dark calm overcast evenings where dragon flies dance and fish rise to catch them. A secret lake can mean a sweaty hike through a buggy forest. It offers the antithesis of today’s gonzo sporting culture. A secret lake offers the hope of seclusion and high excitement.
My Secret Lake reminds me of what a true fishing outing should be: Peaceful time on small uncrowded waters - with the promise of great fishing - to accentuate the privilege of being in the outdoors.
My nephews always ask when they can next go to the Secret Lake. I tell them it should be ready for fabulous top water action very soon.
Don’t forget your blindfold…
June 6, 2008
Filed under: Adventures — admin @ 8:00 am
I just returned from 2 1/2 days at Boca Grande, FL: Tarpon Central. This famed pass from Port Charlotte harbors around 20,000 silver kings during the peak of the year - June. My guide was Cole Fairbanks.
Here’s a brief summary of what happened. The most excitement was the first morning. I fished Tuesday morning, evening and Wednesday morning without a bite. We had a few shots but nothing real solid. When sightfishing tarpon, the key is…well, to be able to see them!
Tarpon typically move in herds of 6 - 60 fish and occasionally they’ll come up and roll - like a steelhead or a porpoise. They were rolling all over on Monday morning, which is why I got a number of nice shots. They’re still fish and most of them weren’t eating on Monday morning except for one.
The very best scenario is to have them break out of a linear moving pattern (either migrating up the coast or heading to feeding grounds) and circle up in a daisy chain. They move head to tail like a merry-go-round. When you see this, you’re in tarpon heaven. This chaining can last for 30 seconds to 10 minutes. The longer obviously, the better. When in a daisy chain the fish are unfettered and happy and will often take a fly. You quietly troll motor up within casting distance and try to hit just to the outside of the wheel such that multiple fish may see your fly as the circle through. It’s quite amazing to see, no matter how long you’ve tarpon fished.
Other scenarios are to stake out on known lanes and head them off on their way to feeding grounds. The problem here is - if the water is cloudy - they can slide up on you and are often spooked by the boat - often too late for a decent head-on presentation. But if you can see them coming, say 50 to 75 yards away, and make a perfect cast (hitting them on the head about four feet in front of them) they’ll typically eat the fly just like a trout.
____________________
Fish On!
Monday morning, with fish surfacing all around us, I threw at perhaps six different daisy chains. My trusty black and blue fly was not doing the job. Cole switched me to a local crab pattern he likes very much. The next chain I threw at brought a different result. A big fish rose and hit the fly near the surface, I was unsure what was even happening and the guide screamed, “You’re Bit - Set the Hook”. My delayed reaction probably helped because had I seen the fly disappear, I may have struck too soon and pulled it from his mouth (I’ve done this before).
I stripped in the slack and hit the fish several times hard. She came out in a great vertical explosion and disappeared peeling line off my reel. She burst from the water again after making a hard right turn and came out horizontally, clearing the water by three feet. The fish probably went about 130 lbs. Big ones like this can’t get the vertical height on the jumps, that the smaller ones can. She landed on the line and cut the leader with her gill plate - game over. __________________
Weather is often the culprit for bad saltwater sightfishing. But we had three days of light winds, 90 degrees and clear skies. Normally this is exactly what you want. The problem we had was the fish were not swimming high enough in the water column to see them for most of the trip. This happens periodically, but rarely for two days, as was the unfortunate case on Tuesday and Wednesday. Such is the case sometimes with tarpon fishing.
The boats fishing the famed Boca Grande Pass, a 60 foot deep cut from Port Charlotte Bay into the Gulf, were hammering fish on jigs and livebait. We snooty fly fisherman prefer the sight-fishing routine and often times pay for our chosen methodology. Such was the case on this trip.
Next time I go the weather could be lousy and the fishing fantastic, you just never know. Just so you know, the picture on the left is my first giant tarpon, taken with Cole seven years ago. The picture tells the story. It’s no wonder I return when time and money permit. Just the thought of tying into one of these creatures, makes my blood boil.
Without question, in my mind, the tarpon is the greatest fly fishing experience an angler can have. For a more complete description of how to go about fishing for silver kings and win, go to here.
I’ll be back.
