Down The Home Stretch

[Ham]

So, as Dave alluded to, I have fallen into the trap of trying for 100 Species on fly again. I’ll try to explain.

Last year, I had this crazy idea and I obsessed over it. It wasn’t always Fun. I said that if I came up short, I wouldn’t try again until I was retired, if ever. And I meant it. I was going to consider 99 species Failure, but I would likely have traveled to somewhere to get the last few species. 
I was Very Happy to have gotten there and relived to but it behind me. I could just fish again. 
so, Dave and I fish the Arkansas River in January. We both got Stripers and Blue Cat on fly. I had gotten Sauger earlier. That was cool.

Then I got a Cutthroat Trout which I didn’t catch in 2023. Then, I got an Ozark  darter. And Channel Cat. And Yellow Perch. I kept picking up Species.

the switch flipped in my head when I picked several Flyfers. Spotted Sucker, Swampland LES, Slender Blacktail Shiners, and Redfin Shiner. I couldn’t waste this start. The hard part was that basically I was starting at -30 from last year. That’s the number of species I caught in Florida and Canada. Since, I caught 105 species. I was going to have to find 25 species “locally” and make them eat a fly. I had those 8 species on my lifetime list that I did not catch in 2023. I would need some of those. Still, an uphill run. I made lists of possible species and reworked them a million times. Planned trips. Researched fish. Tried to fine tune how I caught fish before. I needed to repeat as many of the “local”  75 from last year as possible.

Ive been quietly doing that. @BilletHead , Dave, and @Johnsfolly have been suffering my ramblings in the background. 
I picked more Flyfers along the way. Hit the easy button when I could. And the trip to Louisiana was a Huge help.

I have hit the Home stretch. I’m not done. I got a very Lucky catch my first day back from Louisiana a Black Redhorse sucker which put me at 80 species for the year.

I still have work to do and many miles to drive, but I like my chances. I’ll post the “last” 20 species as I catch them. It isn’t easy, but I am a lot less stressed about it this year. Still doing it two years in a row would be cool. I sure Hope I’m done with this silliness after that. No promises. 

 

 

[BilletHead]

4 minutes ago, Ham said:

So, as Dave alluded to, I have fallen into the trap of trying for 100 Species on fly again. I’ll try to explain.

Last year, I had this crazy idea and I obsessed over it. It wasn’t always Fun. I said that if I came up short, I wouldn’t try again until I was retired, if ever. And I meant it. I was going to consider 99 species Failure, but I would likely have traveled to somewhere to get the last few species. 
I was Very Happy to have gotten there and relived to but it behind me. I could just fish again. 
so, Dave and I fish the Arkansas River in January. We both got Stripers and Blue Cat on fly. I had gotten Sauger earlier. That was cool.

Then I got a Cutthroat Trout which I didn’t catch in 2023. Then, I got an Orangethroat darter. And Channel Cat. And Yellow Perch. I kept picking up Species.

the switch flipped in my head when I picked several Flyfers. Spotted Sucker, Swampland LES, Slender Blacktail Shiners, and Redfin Shiner. I couldn’t waste this start. The hard part was that basically I was starting at -30 from last year. That’s the number of species I caught in Florida and Canada. Since, I caught 105 species. I was going to have to find 25 species “locally” and make them eat a fly. I had those 8 species on my lifetime list that I did not catch in 2023. I would need some of those. Still, an uphill run. I made lists of possible species and reworked them a million times. Planned trips. Researched fish. Tried to fine tune how I caught fish before. I needed as many of the possible 75 from last year as possible.

Ive been quietly doing that. @BilletHead , Dave, and @Johnsfolly have been suffering my ramblings in the background. 
I picked more Flyfers along the way. Hit the east button when I could. And the trip to Louisiana was a Huge help.

I have hit the Home stretch. I’m not done. I got a very Lucky catch my first day back from Louisiana a Black Redhorse sucker which put me at 80 species for the year.

I still have work to do and many miles to drive, but I like my chances. I’ll post the “last” 20 species as I catch them. It isn’t easy, but I am a lot less stressed about it this year. Still doing it two years in a row would be cool. I sure Hope I’m done with this silliness after that. No promises. 

 

 

                      Isn't it neat to be bitten by the flyfishing bug? I like to see you enjoying it. You will never be over this "silliness" as you call it. The catching is your goal, but the process is an important part of it and to me it can be the most fun part. Look at you, tying your own flies, tinkering with your gear, searching for the right rod, reel and line combination for your target species. Research and travel. All in all, you spend more time in the process than the catching by far. Look at you go friend! 

[Ham]

Last Tuesday, I made the long drive to Cass, AR to wet wade a section of the Mulberry River. It was forecast to be warm. Good thing I was fishing it during the middle of the day.

My main targets were Neosho Bass, Ozark Logperch, and a mystery micro that I think is likely a Mississippi Silverside. They look different in the water than fish I have caught and act a lot like Brook Silversides, but more on those jerks later. 
I made the 120 something mile trip In good time. Road construction is frustrating, but necessary. There’s a reason Hwy 23 is lovingly referred to as the Pig Trail. 
 Started and got the easy stuff quickly. Bigeye Shiner, Wedgespot Shiner, and Steelcolor Shiner within the first 5 minutes. Saw, Brook Silversides. Hooked two, but landed neither. I have them already this year so no great loss. 
I was scanning everywhere looking for jumbo Ozark Logperch like I saw last time I was there. I never saw the Ozark Logperch I was looking for. I saw a couple of other darters and got bites on my fly, but I could not hook them and you don’t get many swings before they spook.

I set multiple alarms on my phone when I have limited time to try to keep myself on track.

at the 1/4 mark, I hade caught 24 fish and several of them were juvi Neosho Bass, but not the ones I wanted. Back to the car for hydration and the 6 weight.

I started with Marty’s pretty little craw that’s he tied up. He gave me three and I caught my Flyfer Swampland Longear on one earlier. I lost two of the three in Alabama. I knew it would be a great fly for Neosho Bass, but I was down to my last one. 
Once I got to a deeper pool with that special craw, it didn’t take long. I don’t make the rules, the taxonomist do. It has that long lower jaw and funky coloration that sets it apart from Smallmouth Bass. I at least for one new species for the year.

I had spent a while on the mystery micros in the first quarter and had lots of looks. Speed is a strong attractant for them, but they nip rather than eat and Bigeye, Wedgespot, Cardinal Shiners, and Steelcolor will run in a grab the fly that they have their nose pressed against. I got this real nice Steelcolor Shiner. 
This largemouth tried to eat a real nice Green Sunfish that I was catching so I had a cast for him and he ate the little craw. 
I worked Darters and the mystery micro for a good while. I hooked and lost a nice Stone Roller. I hooked and lost the mystery micro at my feet as well as a couple more that I barely hooked and lost really quickly. I’ll have to tie a fly on a small look that looks big, but can still hook them. They love to hit flys too but for their mouth. I don’t know what they are, but I know what they ain’t. I’m pretty sure that I have never caught one. Sad to say, that I might have to go back especially if my other Ozark Logperch spots don’t pan out. 
2nd,3rd, and 4 th quarters flew by. It was time to go far to quickly. I only added 22 more fish to finish short of a 50 burger, but that happens when you are targeting certain fish rather than just catching. 
another 248 miles on the Subaru and 19 species to go. 

[Terrierman]

Go Ham!

[Quillback]

Is the Mulberry a good river to fish as far as bank access?  

[FishnDave]

That Steelcolor is COOL! 😃👍

[FishnDave]

No pressure, @Ham .... but I've put a LOT OF MONEY on a parlay on both FanDuel and DraftKings... on you reaching your goal of 2nd Consecutive Year of 100 Species on Fly.  My retirement and my son's grad school is riding on this.  Again... no pressure! 

[FishnDave]

And also.... You've got this!  So... let me know if I should parlay this into a 3-peat for next year. 

[Ham]

1 hour ago, Quillback said:

Is the Mulberry a good river to fish as far as bank access?  

I think so, but be prepared to walk and get wet. There are multiple access points. Im not sure how many bad you could catch in a day. 25-50 maybe 

[Ham]

1 hour ago, FishnDave said:

No pressure, @Ham .... but I've put a LOT OF MONEY on a parlay on both FanDuel and DraftKings... on you reaching your goal of 2nd Consecutive Year of 100 Species on Fly.  My retirement and my son's grad school is riding on this.  Again... no pressure! 

I got you Bro, but don’t put money down fir next year