FLY FISHING REPORT 2019-05-20
Conditions: Good
Surface Temp: 79f
Clarity: Slightly Tannic 18-24-inches
Let us know what you are catching-or not catching-Send your pics of fish, beautiful places, or some of the flies that you have tied. We love to post them on our fishing report! Send to allen@andythornal.com
Tips:
Topwater in the morning. The fish are shallow, early in the day. As the day progresses they head to deeper and, cooler water. Clousers can cover a lot of water in this situation. White, Chartreuse, Blue & Chartreuse are best bets. Game Changer flies fished on a sinking line will put you in the same deep part of the water column as a conventional crank bait, but you can work the fly much slower, even suspended. Take advantage of this unique opportunity. Hexagenia Mayflies are hatching. If you are blessed with Mayflies on your lake, you will know it. Yellow-Belly Hippy-Stompers, Yellow Stimulators, are several Hexagenia flies work when this bite is on.
Jason Daniel Bever shows how it is done with an Umpqua Swimming Frog.
Bluegill are taking topwater flies, at daybreak. Blue Sprogs and white spiders are also good. Small streamers like the Myakka Minnow and the Sloppy Jose have done a great job of picking up fish during the warmer parts of the day. These flies should be fished parallel to the shoreline with a steady retrieve near the weedlines. Have you seen all of the dragonflies? It is a good indicator to throw blue poppers. Hexagenia mayflies are hatching in our lakes. This is a great time of year to throw some big bushy dry flies like a stimulator pattern to match the hatch. Consistently through the warmer season, fish with a floater/dropper. Stimulators are the ticket to fish a weighted nymph, underneath. Try using grass shrimp and scuds for the dropper. Keep your dropper flies a little deeper than usual and focus on submerged grass lines when throwing streamers. Also try to cast the streamers parallel to the shoreline. Bluegill coloration flies have still been the ticket for the bass. Try using a faster retrieve rate with Clousers as this allows you to cover more water.
Forecast
We anticipate bluegills to be shallow. The topwater bite will continue in the morning. Small buck bass will continue to be good along weedlines and lilies. Full Moon is on May 20th. Consider some night fishing, with our clear night skies. The high pressure that is parked over the Florida peninsula lowers our chances of afternoon rain to near zero. Bluebird skies this week, winds will pick up in the afternoon from the east. Expect lake levels and river levels to fall rapidly through the week. At the time of this report: the Peace River is at average yearly levels, Econ is near average after being at a trickle, Myakka River is far above seasonal average, Hillsborough and Withlacoochee Rivers are significantly above average levels. Kissimmee River gauge below the Hwy 60 dam is currently not reporting.
Learn to tie your own flies at our club meetings! Next meeting is May 21st! Check out the new Big Screen Showing the fly tying action!
Learn to tie your own flies at our club meetings! Next meeting is May 21st! Check out the new Big Screen Showing the fly tying action!
Fly Tying is regularly at Andy Thornal Company on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, 6pm-7:30pm. We usually tie two patterns including Bass, Saltwater, and small flies, too! This club atmosphere is friendly for beginners and experts, ages 10-70. Bring your tying tools or borrow some of ours. The class is free, but we ask that everyone make a $10 purchase to offset costs. Next club meeting is May 7th.
Allen Wyatt
Author