Ham

LES

I told Johnny I would catch a Bluegill

ubiquitous sunfish

I was happy to see some water running

So, I made the trek north again today. I had a nice visit with @Cajunangler and then fished the spillway area on the James river for a couple of hours. i got a tip about possible walleye there and there could be who knows what there. it was pretty Gosh Darn Hot Today. I drank 84 oz in the two hours I was there and I’m not sure that was enough. Water quality was poor. Fouls smells and appearance. I felt pretty sketchy wading in it, but for the right fish an infected leg is worth it. I caught no walleye. I saw some Brook Silversides, but I did not hook the ones that bit my fly. I worked multiple groups of gizzard Shad feeding on the rocks trying for a reaction strike. It did not happen. I caught 14 small fish. i have pics, but can’t upload them. The long and the short of it is that I am making lots of trips trying for new species on fly and they often are not successful in getting a new species, but I’m paying my dues and hoping that I will catch more species along the way.

That’s Awesome. Kinda jealous, but Super Happy for you.

What size hook does this jighead have?

I only fish Bennett Springs during C&R and I hope for miserable weather to keep the crowds down. Good Luck!

That’s Good Work

Good Luck Catch something weird!

So MRRBRBT?

80) McCloud Rainbow I went to Crane Creek and got a for sure MRR RBT today. I make things harder than they have to be, but I got it done. but still I caught these from a small creek that shall go unnamed. Last stocked decades ago. These little guys are as close to wild as necessary. I only catch the babies. The bigger ones laugh at my crude attempts to fool them. I’m actually going to be back up that way soon and will add another couple of pics.

Ahhh, the common name confusion thing. I love Longear Sunfish. They are a fine little fish. I wish we had Pumpkinseed too, but we don’t.

Are you seeing very many Cutthroat? Where would be my best option to try? I’ve tried State Park and Norfork River. maybe I just have to pay my dues

I am a Man of My Word. I quit at 11. Of course, I caught two more yesterday on the Norfork.

Man, that’s tough news for sure. I wish him comfort.

You didn’t Catch pumpkinseeds. Just sayin. Longear Sunfish most likely. Pics?

79) Brook Trout @FishnDave had to go home eventually . I gathered gear while he packed up and while he was driving home. I made good on the intell @netboy provided. I caught my first one in 15 minutes (I was starting to press a bit). I quit taking pictures after the eighth one. I tried for a Cutty, but caught two decent Rainbows and lost another nice one. I tried to walk out, but the Broookies kept showing off so I changed to a size 10 Pistol Pete and educated a few more. I think Dave had 12 so I quit at 11 Brookies to let him have the title.

78) Bigmouth Buffalo What a crazy day Saturday was. I was just enjoying the heck out of catching bowfin on fly. I started striping my fly to make another cast and became aware that a fish had my fly. It fought differently from bowfin and I was seriously confused about what it might be. It pulled super hard and just did not want to come up. I was so worried about losing it especially after I got a flash of color that mad me think it was a Buffalo of some sort. Thank Goodness that @FishnDave got the net under it.

And Dave caught at least 4 species I did not catch. Warmouth, White Bass, Ozark Bass, and Drum. I think i got a Carmine and I got a Brookie in OT.

So, Sunday rolls around. It’s put up or Shut Up. No more delays for the White River at Batesvillie/Oil Trough. Keep in mind that both Saturday and Sunday morning we loaded our gear and hooked up the boat in the rain. We drove through the rain most of the way to the lake Saturday and we launched in the rain on Sunday. because of the rain, I chose to launch at Batesvillie and swing streamers in heavy current hoping for White Bass and Stripers. The rain waned to a close without any big guys playing. We switched over to skipjack. I caught the first one and then Dave got one. Not big numbers, but he got one. I tried some wing dams hoping for a walleye or sauger, but I only got a small Longear Sunfish. Further down river, Dave got a nice drum that used the current to his advantage. I looked up and saw numbers of Mooneye feeding in the main river. Eased over to try for them. I managed to get Lucky and get one and then we missed a couple strikes. I’m still learning about Mooneye. I didn’t think they were that noise sensitive, but I’m rethinking that one. we relocated to Oil Trough. I have the Mooneye figured out better down there. Dave force fed them his micro jig down there to great effect. He caught a bunch. We tried a few spots for Gar. Nope. We rolled up in my best spot and saw a fish strike. Good sign. Usually, we can get big bluegill, bass, White Bass, Gar, and Skipjack there. This time, it seemed like it was mostly Skipjack. Dave got some White Bass. Skipjack are a really fun fish and we got pleasantly distracted by them. I was Happy Dave got his Mooneye and Skipjack. I like to honor my commitments. I wanted to show him the entire river, but we only had a few hours, and the water quality wasn’t as good as normal. So, it is what it is. Another Fun, crazy, whirlwind trip that I enjoyed a bunch. I look forward to the next adventure.

Thanks, but you’re being too kind. I’m just a guy.

Beautiful Downtown San Antonio Texas! man, you make me want to plan a trip

So, Northern Arkansas had a significant rain event Wednesday morning. I did a couple of brief stops in NWA Wednesday morning/afternoon and that stuff stayed clear, but the ground was dry and stuff moved thru quicker. We had more rain and additional rain after the ground had become saturated and I became concerned about water quality. I had intell from a guy that lives in Batesvillie and he said the White had muddied up. So, I called an audible and pushed the White River trip back to Sunday and threw out options to Dave. We decided on Portia Bay/ Lake Ashbaugh, and a community Pond in Missouri. A series of manageable drives and a long drive home. it was my second trip ever to Portia Bay, but I felt like it was a multispecies option for us with lots of gar available. I wasn’t wrong, but as I have been told. Gar are unreliable. oddly enough, we each caught the first Shortnose Gar we presentes Flys To, and then never landed another one despite lots of eats. so, I had seen a small pocket I was interested in and I hope a gar might be loitering there. None were, but Dave spotted something strange on the way in and again on the way out. What the heck? A Flathead up near the surface just hanging around. Heck Yeah I want to try to catch that. Honestly, I did not know it was that large and I expected to get broken off. We both got opportunities at it, but I got Lucky and got a better opportunity. I was laser focused on that gaping mouth and when the fly disappeared in there I got a quick set. The fish was obviously not at 100% with that other fish lodged in its throat. Too big to fit all the way in its stomach. I did try to remove the fish and I was not able to do so. I think we might have helped it clear some gas from his gut and I was actually able to get a little more of the fish in his gut. I hope the Flathead is able to finish its meal and not die from it. We got frustrated with the Longnose Gar, the mosquitos, and the rain and decided to call another audible and drive to Manilla, AR and try for Longnose over there. I was worried that we would not have enough water, but instead we had about 6 foot too much. 🤨 I was hating how this was working out, but I decided to cut the losses and go to Lake Ashbaugh. Yes, more driving. we get to Lake Ashbaugh and it was too low to launch the boat. Too shallow to really fish my Orange Spotted area and mosquitos were still chewing on me. i had several areas I wanted to try and we did the logical progress through those options and fortunately we found a spot that had some fish and we staged a rally. I was starting to feel like such a jerk, but it all worked out. we saw lots of fish moving around and it was a little tough to reach them from shore so Waldo got launched again. Dave got the party started with a really nice Female Bowfin that really did not want to be captured. It did a Polaris launch out of the net after I scooped it up TWICE, but Dave caught it anyway. It was just my Lucky Day I Guess. Things went really well for me. I hooked like 7 of the 10 Bowfin Bites I had and landed 5 is the 7 I hooked. That’s crazy Good for me with Bowfin on fly. our Bowfin flurry was like 90 minutes long. I really enjoyed It. Somewhere towards the end of it, I stripped my fly and a fish had it already. I was worried it was a Bowfin that I was fighting w/o getting a good hookset, but the longer the fight went the more I realized this wasn’t a Bowfin. It pulled hard and did not want to come to the surface. I was desperate to catch it because I was pretty sure it was gonna be a Flyfer. I hung on for dear life and Dave got it in the net. My Lifer/Flyfer Bigmouth Buffalo! My second Happy Accident of the day.“Boy, you got a Purtty mouth” despite my desire to fish until dark, I eventually call it and we headed for home.

So, Dave’s Day Two trip was pretty cool. He caught a lot of Brookies and made me nervous that he was sore mouthing too many of them and I wasn’t going to be able to get one after he left Monday morning (spoiler- I should not have worried). I wish he had gotten that Lifer/Flyfer Cuttie, but that leaves something for next time. Special Thanks to @netboy for the Brookie Intell. I know where they hold after they are stocked, but I wasn’t sure if any where in there yet. Bob assured me that they were there and were quite agreeable. He told me where to try and what fly to throw ( “you can catch on any fly you want).