2020-04-13 Fly Fishing Report
Big Bug Sale See the Selection
Fly Tying Club and Fly Fishing 101 are postponed. These activies will resume as soon as possible!
Conditions: Good
Surface Temp: 79f
Clarity: Slightly Tannic 28-inches
Rylan Jameson with a beautiful bass caught on the 3wt!
Tips
Disappointing news, most public boat ramps are closed, but there are exceptions. Sheriff’s office is enforcing social distancing at the open ramps. Tenoroc WMA is not open as of this report. If you can get on the water, the topwater bite is good with white, black, and frog being the top color picks. Larger bass are schooling shad in open water. Keep your eyes out for nervous water or exploding fish. Anglers are catching some nice bass on crayfish flies, olive or black patterns have worked best. These flies should be fished pretty low to the bottom with a slow crawl retrieve. Bass that are locked and focused on the beds will be more interested in defending than feeding. The panfish will be found in shallow water, hanging around lily pads and cattails. Small foam spiders and dragonfly dries have worked well as a surface presentation. Try to make these flies smack on the surface, then slowly retrieve the fly. Small weighted black Wooly Buggers are still a good choice when the bluegill quit hitting topwater flies and move to slightly deeper water. A slow crawl works best giving the fly a chance to sit still. Bluegill are still munching on grass shrimp near the cattails. Their loud slurps can be heard and are a good indicator that fish are close by. Small olive scud patterns mimic the grass shrimp with orange patterns represent dying scuds. Some anglers prefer using a strike indicator several feet above the fly to keep them above the submerged grass. A deep rig, with your fly several feet under your indicator, has helped keep specs and big bluegill on the line.
Jason Bergwall has been 'Quarantying' some beautiful streamers.
Forecast
The topwater bite will continue to excel with the calmer days and warmer weather. White, Black or Frog poppers are working, especially in the shade. The streamer fishing is straightforward with small "electric chicken" streamers being the top choice. Stick with scuds and dragonfly nymphs for bluegill fishing subsurface, fished near the bottom. Small foam spiders and dragonfly dries work well to tempt the bluegill on the surface. Searching for areas close to deeper water will allow you to locate the fish easier. Rivers provide an excellent shelter on those windy or crowded days. At the time of this report: The Peace River extremely low and falling (60CFS). Econ River is extremely low and falling (30 CFS). Myakka River is extremely low and falling (9 CFS). Hillsborough is below average and slowly falling (50 CFS). Withlacoochee is about normal trickle (1CFS). Kissimmee River near Frostproof is below average and slowly falling (14 CFS). This time of year, water levels should be lowest. Lake levels are falling rapidly.
Techniques
Best techniques for the week include Technique 1) Small bluegill or chartreuse clousers fished tight to shore and slowly retrieved. Pink and white has also worked well as of late. Technique 2) White, black, or frog poppers fished slowly during low light conditions, and even during the day under shady over hang and around docks. Technique 3) Black or olive crayfish flies fished low and slow close to the shoreline. Crawl the fly over prospective areas, frequent pauses can coax a bite. Add a small split shot 18 in. above the fly if the winds pick up. This will help maintain proper depth. Keep an eye open for the upcoming Giant Mayfly hatch.
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Allen Wyatt
Author