2020-08-03 Fly Fishing Report
by T. Allen Wyatt
Report is: Excellent
Surface Temp is about 84
Frog Poppers, Wooly Buggers, and Baby Batifish patterns
We are going to take a break from Fly Tying Club during this surge with the pandemic. Fly Tying Club will return, first and third Tuesdays at 6pm in September. Fishing is excellent-Get on the water!
Brad Manness is learning the fine art of spinning deear hair.
Tips
The topwater bite is good with ‘frog,’ black or white as best color choices. Reaction style lures are producing bigger bass with the hardware anglers, and fly anglers can imitate this technique. Deep is the key; we suggest Clouser Deep Minnows-White, Sexy Shad, Baby Bluegill and Chartreuse are good colors. For Larger bass-cast 10 to 30 feet out from the traditional structure. Then use a moderate retrieve to swim the clouser. Crayfish patterns in Blue/Black or Olive/Pumpkin should be fished be fished on the bottom with a slow crawl retrieve. Buck Bass are focused on grass lines and shoreline. Frogs are pushing about and laying eggs everywhere. Weedless popper and frog patterns can fish in these areas. Use a heavy leader with a fly w/weedguard to prevent getting hung. The panfish will be found in shallow water, hanging around lily pads and cattails. Small foam spider with rubber legs, trailing a beaded pheasant tail or rainbow warrior-only a slow twitch. Five minutes of extra slow retrieve is normal for this technique. It is easy fishing that will drive Bluegill nuts.
Forecast
Froggy mating season continues for another month. With continued heat and afternoon storms, we expect deep clouser methods to produce. Pheasant tail nymphs, squirmy worms, and dragonfly nymphs are perfect for bluegill fishing subsurface. Small foam spiders and dragonfly dries will tempt the bluegill and bass on the surface. Searching for shadows, close to woody structure are key in the afternoon. Rivers provide an excellent shelter on those windy or crowded days; however, storms have dramatically raised rivers, and we recommend shore casting only.
Levi Payne caught this whopper Tilapia(?)
Techniques
Best techniques for the week include Technique 1) Fish Clousers deep, cast and count them down (5 to 10 seconds) then use a steady retrieve to generate a reaction strike. Try counting down 5 sec, then 6 sec, then 7 sec... Add a Sink Tip or a new Sink polyleaders to your line, and you can fish deeper and faster. These tools can double the depth of a clouser. uorocarbon (Mirage) leaders, this will get the fly down faster than a mono leader. Sink tip lines and full sinking lines take this to a new level, (and are a perfect use for that old rod you never use anymore.) Technique 2) Frog poppers (with rubber legs,) fished slowly during low light conditions, and even during the day under shady over hang and around docks. Technique 3)Heavy rain creates flowing water, Largemouth bass will flip into Ambush mode. Struggling Baby Bass, Baby Bluegill, and Baby Tilapia, and Golden Shiners are targets. Swing Puglisi style baitfish and wooly buggers in the current. These places include: canals, culverts, and/or drain pipes. 4)Rubber legged spiders above or Wilson's bully spider below the surface for Bluegill. Move slow. They will be next to solid structure like metal sea walls, dock pilings, or knock down cypress.
Allen Wyatt
Author