First Half of October 2024

 Made 2 flyfishing outings during the first half of October.  Neither was particularly good. I didn't catch any of the species I was really after.  I didn't get skunked, though.  Weather was pretty nice, although the 2nd trip was pretty windy.

I think I caught 7 fish during each of the 2 trips.  The first trip I hoped for Bowfin, Warmouth and Spotted Gar.  I did lose 2 Bowfin and a couple Spotted Gar... I guess its ok if the fish win sometimes.  Instead, I caught a small Shortnose Gar, a couple Largemouth Bass, a couple Green Sunfish, a Warmouth x Green Sunfish Hybrid, and a Crappie.

Saw quite a few caterpillars and some butterflies.

Achemon Sphinx Moth caterpillar

2nd trip, I hoped for Grass Carp, White Bass, and Freshwater Drum.  Saw none of those...I think the season is over for Grass Carp...happens this time every year.

Instead, I caught a couple decent (for this creek) Largemouth Bass, a couple Green Sunfish, a couple Hybrid Sunfish, and a Longear Sunfish.

Aurora borealis were lit up in parts of the U.S.  I tried to get a picture.... Didn't really see anything, and only a little bit of color showed up in the pics.  Might've caught Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS?

September 21, 2024

 I first drove just over an hour to a new-to-me spot for Orangespotted Sunfish.  It was really shallow along the shorelines....not quite as deep as I had hoped, and not easy to fish.  I did manage a small Largemouth Bass and lost some sort of sunfish.... but overall I was disappointed. 

Drove another hour to a Bowfin spot.  Saw plenty of various sizes... lost one and finally landed one.  Also caught a very dark Spotted Gar, and lost a nice fat spotted-up one that I fought for pretty long.  May have lost another one, too.  Did land a couple Shortnose Gar, Bluegill, Green Sunfish, a Warmouth, and saw several small Crappies hit that didn't get hooked.  Caught 4 short but fat Largemouth Bass as well, and a very small Silver Carp that was likely foul-hooked.

A very dark-pigmented Spotted Gar (pics above and below).

A couple Longnose Gar (above 2 pics).

Eyetail Bowfin

Warmouth

Largemouth Bass (2 pics above and 2 pics below, all separate individual fish).

Silver Carp

Some things seen while fishing:

Black Horsefly

Southern Leopard Frog

Blanchard's Cricket Frog

Muskrat

Milkweed Leaf Beetle

Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly (top), and 2 Viceroy Butterflies.

September 15, 2024

 Went micro-flyfishing on a new section of a creek I had fished a few times earlier this year.

As I reached the water and began to get my gear ready to fish, I looked downstream and saw something swimming awkwardly in the water.  It was a Box Turtle (Three-toed).  It reached the bank, but the bank was nearly vertical, so I waded downstream to help the turtle get up on shore.  He was a handsome fella!

Male Three-toed Box Turtle

I then decided to fish my way upstream.  I was fishing a pool about 50' or so upstream of the first turtle, when I saw another (female?) Three-toed Box Turtle on the bank.  She didn't appear in need of assistance, so I took a few pics and walked on around her and kept fishing my way upstream.  She didn't seem too worried about me.

Three-toed Box Turtle

It's a pretty creek....some sand, some rock...some limestone bluffs near the creek in some spots.

I saw a large hornet/wasp/bee nest in a tree along the creek.

Fishing was decent.  I caught good numbers of Striped Shiners, Creek Chubs, Blackstripe and Blackspotted Topminnows, plus Bluegills, Green Sunfish, Longear Sunfish, a Mottled Sculpin, a Southern Redbelly Dace, a Bleeding Shiner, and some other fish I'm still trying to identify... possibly Redfin Shiners, Carmine Shiners, or something similar.

Striped Shiners:

Creek Chubs:

Blackstripe and Blackspotted Topminnows:

Mottled Sculpin:

Bleeding Shiner:

Southern Red-belly Dace:

Longear Sunfish:

Bluegill (so tiny!):

Green Sunfish (also tiny!):

Some of the "mystery fish" that I'm unsure about at the moment:

I caught a few "doubles".... fish on both the lead fly and the micro fly.  It was usually 2 Striped Shiners, but not always.  Its interesting to me when I get 2 different species at once!  In the case below.... a Creek Chub and a Longear Sunfish: