Dragons of June
Filed under: Adventures, Observations — admin @ 7:57 am
In response to the previous post and the question: “What could be better?”
I have an answer: Dragonflies!
Keep your eyes peeled in your area for dragonflies. This time of year there are hatches of several different species and it’s like ringing the dinner bell for bass.
Observe the surface of local lakes and rivers under calm wind conditions. You might see bass busting dragonflies on the surface. Dragonflies eat and mate this time of year.
Often, during the mating process they are injured and will drop to the water - such is the price to pay for love!
Just about any popper will work for most fish under these circumstances since they are looking up and turned on to these big food items. Get the All Purpose Popper Selection Here.
A better option is to at least match the general color of the dragonfly with a popper. If that in sub-optimal, then go for a large Hexigenia-type pattern with spread wings - you will not fail. If standard popping doesn’t produce, try shivering the fly. A wounded or nearly spent dragon will hit the water and struggle for a while. A tight “shiver” performed by simply shaking the rod tip, will replicate an injured dragon and bring big results.
Yesterday on a small mid-Minnesota lake I caught a bunch of largemouth greedily snarfing up most anything that hit the surface. Two days later we smacked ‘em good on a small tributary to the Mississippi.
Tie into this action on your local waters before the Dragons of June are gone.