Summer Topwater Bass

I flyfished a local pond I had not fished yet this year.  I fished with a couple guys who fish even more than I do.  They provided the tip about this pond.
We didn't get to the pond until it was pretty late in the evening.  Fishing was tough for a fly angler like me....tall weeds along the steep bank, emergent aquatic weedbeds around the pond.  It took considerable skill to cast a blockhead popper beyond the weedline...they cast like a kite!

I managed to land 6 bass, and missed the hookset on at least 3 others.  5 were decent fish, good fights, and tough to bring through the weeds.  Good thing I had just put on fresh 10lb tippet once I arrived at the pond!  The biggest bass measured 19".  The smallest bass was about 1", and he was impaled on the hook after I was ripping the popper back through the weeds.  I'm sure he was going for the fly though, right?  :)

Bass on Topwater - October 2, 2014

I went flyfishing after work last night.  Weather was cloudy and windy.  The public pond I visited had a horrible 20' wide solid band of matted algae around the entire perimeter.

I really only fished one shoreline, and worked it one way with a chartreuse mylar bugger, hoping for crappies on the outside edge of the algae.  No crappies, but I did catch a couple bass a a few bluegills.

Still hoping for crappies, I worked the shoreline back to my starting point with a microjig under an indicator.  Not much action on that.

By this time, it was pretty dark, but I switched to a blockhead-style popper to try for bass.  It took me forever to actually get it on my line, because of the poor light conditions.  Within a couple casts, I caught a small bass on it.  Then I moved back down the shoreline to the next spot, and made a cast or two.  After a great strike, I had a nice fish on, and somehow managed to land it despite all the algae I had to bring it through.

It was a 20" Largemouth Bass, and one look verified that it was the same fish I had caught twice before this year on flies.  I was so happy to have caught it again....after releasing the fish, I just went home.

Topwater Bassin' Still Going Strong - September 7-8, 2014

Sunday evening, I flyfished for a bit before dark.  The bass on this trip averaged significantly smaller size than normal.  The last fish of the evening, as it got dark, was more like what I was expecting:

They all hit a yellow blockhead popper, as you can see WAY DOWN THERE:

During lunch today (Monday), I flyfished a local public pond.  I caught a couple Hybrid Sunfish on the blockhead popper:

Then a 16" (guesstimated) bass:

After losing a second decent bass, right before I headed back to work, I caught this hefty 19" bass!  This is the biggest bass I've caught from this pond, although I'm certain there are a couple of even bigger ones.

Both bass eventually dove into the thick algae beds on the bottom, and it was very difficult to drag them back into shore.  I felt lucky that my shredded line or rod didn't break!

Lunchtime Bass - 8/1/2014

On Friday during my lunch hour, I went flyfishing at a local pond.  I used a lime green blockhead popper for bass, and fished an area of the pond I almost NEVER bother fishing.  It paid off.  The ring of matted algae around the pond was still thick and  nearly impenetrable.  The bass had to be drug through it in order to land them....and that was on the TFO BVK 6wt rod that I broke by doing exactly that... and just had repaired.

I missed that rod while it was being repaired...I just LOVE it!  :)  And now I love the warranty and service TFO provides as well!

Here's a couple of Friday's fish:

Bass Going Strong on Topwater!

I flyfished last night for an hour at a public pond in a nearby town.  This pond has been getting POUNDED this year by bass anglers.

The water level is up from the recent rains, and off-colored.  There was a good current flowing in through the storm inlets into the pond.  The wind was down, though, which made topwaters a good option, fished parallel to the shorelines.

I only landed 2, but they were decent fish for public ponds around here.  Also lost/missed at least 3-4 others, including one DANDY that jumped several times before throwing the hook.  Maybe I was overestimating...but the thought that went through my mind when that fish was jumping was "6-pounder!".  In reality..probably somewhere in the 4-6lb range.

For the last few minutes of the fishing trip, I switched to one of Dale S's red & chartreuse microjigs, and caught 4-5 Bluegills and 1 Crappie.

Fun evening...those bass are STRONG!