Late May, 2015

Guys I know are catching Gar, Common Carp, Smallmouth Bass, and even White Bass on flies in my area.  I'm really wanting to catch some of these other species, but I haven't been able to get away to the right waters for long enough.  Or that's what I keep telling myself.

My daughter (oldest child) just graduated from High School with Honors.  She's very smart, we're very proud of her.  So we've been busy with all the activities associated with that and with throwing her a big party for her extended family and school friends.

I've been spending time trying to get the darn Grass Carp to hit some flies, and when that fails (100% of the time so far this year), I flyfish for bass, bluegills and crappies.  At least those last 3 have been cooperating somewhat, although many (especially the larger bass) seem to be preoccupied with spawning rather than eating, and the crappies are finishing their spawn and moving away from shore.

May 20, 2015 Fishing Report

I visited a public pond in a nearby 'burb, which I hadn't fished since last year.  The pond is posted "Catch & Release ONLY".  You'd think it would have plenty of fish in it, and you'd be wrong.

Folks just don't get it.  One thing I liked about the pond was that it had some nice-sized Grass Carp....and they are a challenge and thrill to try and catch on a fly rod.  I saw no fewer than 4 of them left dead up on the shorelines.  I guarantee they did not die of natural causes.  I fished my way around the entire pond, and came across a few fish in just a few spots.  For a pond where NO HARVEST should be occurring, there is a noticeable lack of fish, a stark contrast to previous years.

I ended up catching 2 Largemouth Bass, 2 Crappies, 2 Hybrid Sunfish, and 9 Bluegills in a little less than 2 hours of fishing.  The fish I landed were mostly decent fish, including one sunfish that measured 10".  I probably won't revisit this pond this year.

Don't get me wrong, I still managed to have fun.  And a weird thing happened.  I somehow managed to lasso a Cliff Swallow (bird) during my backcast!  I thought I had snagged a tree behind me at first.  The bird flew around for a bit, but calmed down and let me untangle it.  It flew away just fine.

Bluegills! Get 'em now!

The local bluegills are close to spawning.  Males are on nests in most ponds.  Females are still FAT with eggs.  Beautiful fish!

Even in the bigger lakes, the bluegills are pretty active along the shorelines.

They aren't real picky...they'll hit just about anything a flyfisherman might throw at them right now.  :)

Flyfishing Report, Early May 2015

The Crappies in the smaller ponds seem to be done spawning (but males are still hanging around the nesting areas), but are going strong in the bigger lakes/reservoirs.

The Largemouth Bass are nesting in the smaller ponds and probably spawned within the week.  They can be really finicky around the nest!

The Bluegills have just started nesting, and the females are about ready to burst!

PumpkinseedSunfish are also nesting, and currently spawning.

Speaking of Pumpkinseeds....I finally caught a 9-incher!  That qualifies as an Iowa Master Angler size...

Buffalo were spawning last weekend....didn't even know they were IN the pond I was fishing until I saw them.  Common Carp seem to be doing some spawning in the shallow weeds as well.  Grass Carp....I dunno... they are still a mystery to me.  I haven't figured them out yet.

I did foul-hook a common carp, which wasn't intentional, nor very sporting...but still perversely fun.

The hook pulled out before I could land it, though.

And the ducks....well....their chicks must be a favorite food of something in the ponds....the numbers of chicks has diminished from about 10/hen duck to about 2-4 chicks/hen duck now!

Topwater Bite is Slowly Improving

First week of May, 2015, in Central Iowa...
Nicer, warmer weather has settled in at last.  Some dreary days of intermittent light rain, and some breezy sunny days...Highs in the 70's.  Many Largemouth Bass have started to nest, and will be spawning very soon.
The non-spawners seem most willing to hit topwaters right now...or any fly for that matter.

Looking at the top and bottom bass in the above pictures...they look really similar...but they were caught several days apart...

Crappies have been striking the big flyrod bass poppers.  Occasionally one will even get hooked!  The males are on nests, and in the local ponds it appears the females may have dropped their eggs now.

Bluegills are making nests.  And Pumpkinseed Sunfish are sitting on theirs.

And the baby ducklings and goslings are already out of their nests and patrolling the ponds.