8/30/14 Redear

Got out to do a little panfish fishing this morning. Did not catch very many fish but I got a couple decent bluegill and this nice redear. I tried fly fishing for a while but the wind was pretty strong and swirling badly on the lake making it difficult at best. I did manage to catch two small bass on a popper fly. I think I'm ready for fall fishing now. 

8/23/14 Hide and Seek

Got out this morning for a few hours before work to fish for some Drum. We've had a ton of rain in the last few days so I wasn't quite sure what to expect out of the reservoir. The St. Marys River for instance went up over 11 feet in one night! I was pleasantly surprised to find the lake up a little bit but water clarity was still pretty decent. The fog in the early morning was pretty incredible and at times I could not even see the bank! Pretty awesome feeling being on the water in dense fog. I was flatlining small crankbaits. To catch fish, you really only have to paddle fast enough to get the rod tips to vibrate. Stopping and changing direction randomly can be a great way to provoke strikes. Lots of times when you stop or slow way down, you will get hit by Channel Cats as well. I only ended up with a few fish. The Drum pictured below slammed my lure though. He had the rod pinned back and was stripping line. I even had trouble pulling the rod out of the holder! These fish are really great fighters for their size! They get a bad rap but are definitely worth fishing for. 

 

Into the Void...

8/17/14 1 fish can make a day

I was out for a few hours today after Pike. I only ended up bringing one fish to the boat but it was a nice one! Time spent on the water with good company is always great but even just catching 1 fish can make my day. Tried to get a photo of the teeth on these things. Enjoy and be glad you are not a minnow!

8/15/14 Creekin' It

I fished a local creek today. I was looking for Pike but ended up catching more rock bass than anything else. To be honest, it was kind of a slow day. I had 4 shots at Pike. the biggest fish swirled on my lure but did not get hooked. It saw my kayak, looked startled, and swam off. I caught a fish that was maybe mid 20s long. Not a bad fish and gave me a great fight. I missed two other smaller Pike. Standing and fishing from the MX is getting easier and easier for me. Out of the 4 hour trip I was only sitting down for maybe 20 minutes. Love this boat! 

Pike Fly Tying

I'm going to walk through a brief tutorial on how to tie a streamer fly for Pike. I have had a lot of success with similar flys this summer.



I start off this fly with a 2/0 hook. Add in a
good base of thread down the shank of the hook.

I add in a TON of flash. From my experience fishing for Pike,
the more flash the better. I use quite a bit of head cement after
each material I add. This adds some durability to the fly.
 This is a pretty important step for Pike as they will destroy
 a fly pretty quickly otherwise.

I tie in a good sized clump of orange for the top color. I'm going
 to be fishing this fly in stained water so I want it bright and
 colorful. In clear water you may want to go with a more
 subdued color but this bright fly will probably still take fish.

Invert the fly and tie in white for the bottom color.
Whip finish and finish the fly off with more head cement.

I then add stick-on eyes. I then use epoxy to build a head
around the eyes and front of the fly. You need to have a
rotating vise to complete this step. 

8/10/14 East Race

I took a vacation day to go to the east race yesterday with Brian, Kyle, and Dan. Trying to get in some more practice before heading out east this fall to run some rivers. I practiced catching eddys, ferrying, and surfing. It was a fun day and Kyle got some great pictures and videos of some of the action. Enjoy!


https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10100363102946152&set=vb.57106835&type=2&theater

8/7/14 Kelly in on the Action

 Kelly and I got out on the river looking for Pike. Kelly got things started within the first 10 minutes with a beast of a Pike to the boat. While trying to get a picture the fish managed to escape so no hero shot but it was easily her biggest Pike to date. Not long after she hooked and landed a small hammer handle that we unhooked and released quickly. I caught a small Pike on the fly but in an attempt to get a quick shot with the camera delay timer the fish flipped out of my hands. It made it out of my hands literally a second or two before the camera went off. The second picture is the candid photo. Kelly came through in a clutch and caught another nice fish that gave her some great runs and jumps. This time, we successfully managed to get some good pictures. I spent most of the day standing and fly casting from the MX. Still feels a little squirrelly but is getting much more comfortable.  

 

8/2/14 Hail of a day for Pike fishing

Mike and I went to one of our local rivers in search of Pike. Mike got the action started with a couple misses. He seemed surprised with the size of the fish he was seeing even though I told him that this spot holds a lot of big Pike. He got a small pike to boat side but he lost it in an attempt to land it. I hooked and landed a beast that we guesstimated was over 35 inches. We fish downstream for a while and landed a few smallmouth bass and Mike got a nice 31'' Pike. It had been a bright sunny day, but Mike and I noticed that the weather seemed like it was taking a turn for the worse. Clouds were rolling in and we started to hear some not so distant thunder. With this change, we decided that it would be best to head back towards the launch. Not long after that,  it began to rain. Then it began to rain harder. We took shelter under a tree. It rained harder, so we got out and took shelter under some large trees. And then it hit me, literally and figuratively. It had begun to hail. After a few minutes it started to settle down and we could get back to fishing. Mike and I each caught one more Pike. At least 7 other kayaks came down the river, which is unusual as I had never seen another person in this place. I still had the last fish in hand when they first appeared. I got the fish released. I could see they had fishing rods and I didn't want them to discover that they were floating over a gold mine of Pike fishing. We exchanged pleasantries and Mike and I downplayed the size and number of fish we had caught. By the time they moved on, it was time for us to begin the trek back to our vehicles. All in all a wonderful day on the river! the last picture is a rare photo indeed. Mike NEVER has to paddle his kayak! The first picture is of a fish I caught the night before on a fly. My camera was dead when I got onto the water so I had to settle for a picture with my cell phone. One last thing worth mentioning, the last Pike released very well and was NOT in bad shape on release. I am very conscious of how I handle these fish and take plenty of time to revive them properly before release.