August 21, 2024

Took Wednesday off work to go fishing.  I needed 6 Bowfin to get to 200 Lifetime Bowfin on Fly.  I think that's pretty cool, considering I caught my first one ever in 2022.  

I went to a location about twice as far away from home as my usual bowfin spot.  Wasn't sure I'd reach the goal today, but thought maybe I'd inch closer to it.  I got there, and water was lower than when I'd last been here in the Spring.  Some decent spots were dry or otherwise unfishable.

Short story...I reached my goal!  I caught exactly 6 Bowfin.  They were smaller that the ones I usually catch, but cute little buggers!

I also caught Largemouth Bass, Black Crappie, White Crappie, Bluegill, Green Sunfish, and a BOATLOAD of Warmouth!

Warmouth

Warmouth

Green Sunfish

White Crappie

possible Hybrid Crappie

Black Crappie

Seen while fishing:

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (some females are black, while others are yellow with black stripes like the males)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

This Plain-bellied Water Snake was my buddy.  He came flying off the high bank into the water chasing frogs.  I was snagging sticks in the water...I'd unhook them and toss them onto the bank on my left.  The snake would chase the sticks and attack them as if they were another snake.  I'd pet him with my rod tip.  He never seemed to mind.  He finally came over and rested next to my shoe.

Plain-bellied Water Snake

June 15, 2024

 Drove an hour and visited a place I had not been to before.  Always exciting to learn a new place!  It was Mississippi River floodplain lowland swamp type of place.  A fisheries biologist told me Pirate Perch and Grass Pickerel had been sampled here, along with Spotted Gar, Bowfin, and other stuff I enjoy catching.  So... off I went.

Driving in, there was abundant wildlife.  I saw deer, a raccoon, turtles, snakes, a lizard (I think...super rare in this area!), Redheaded Woodpeckers, Indigo Buntings, Goldfinches, Cardinals, herons, buzzards... really fun to see!

I stopped at a number of spots.  Some were too shallow, or weed choked, or otherwise unfishable.  Others were interesting.  Most had tiny minnows (Western Mosquitofish / gambusia).  Some had bigger fish!

I did not manage to catch Pirate Perch (which apparently feed at night and hide in deep cover during the day), nor Grass Pickerel.

I DID catch Eyetail Bowfin, some gar (possibly spotted x shortnose hybrids?), Warmouth, Green Sunfish, some very feisty Largemouth Bass, Bluegills, and Black Crappies.

One of the Warmouth I caught was absolutely GORGEOUS!  One of the prettiest ones I've caught, for sure.  And after fishing other spots, I returned to the spot later in the day and caught another Warmouth... that turned out to be the same one from 6 hours earlier!  No, the water wasn't clear enough to see the fish, so it was pretty random, I felt.  Very cool, though!

Here's that Warmouth:

Warmouth on fly

This was when I caught it the 2nd time, 6 hours later:

For comparison, below are a couple other Warmouth I caught the same day.  Less colorful, but I like them all.  Such a cool species!

And some of the other fish:

Black Crappie

Bluegill

This Bowfin measured 25"...not my biggest ever, but maybe the 2nd biggest:

Eyetail Bowfin on fly

This smaller one had black fins which was pretty neat:

Some of the bigger bass:

Largemouth Bass on fly

All the gar were nice ones.  I only measured one, and it was 29.5"!

Warmouth on Fly

 ***I haven't shared much regarding techniques for quit a while, my recent posts being more about the fish with which I am so enamored.  I'm going to start sharing more specifically what I've learned for the various species I've caught.

We all know fish in different waters can behave differently and have different preferences.  But I think overall this will give folks who want to try for certain species more info that can hopefully get them started off on the right foot, rather than going blindly.  We can all shorten our personal learning curve by first learning from the experience of others.***

This blog post is about Warmouth.

Warmouth on Fly

Warmouth are sometimes found in slow creeks, swamps, small lakes, and canals.  I've caught them in Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, and Florida.

They are nearly always found near some sort of structure...whether that is large rocks, timber, or weeds.  

Warmouth, in my experience, are more commonly caught in warmer weather, Spring thru Fall.

They have large mouths, so you can usually catch Warmouth on flies in the #14 to #4 fly hook size range.  I've caught most of my Warmouth subsurface, I've had good results with small woolly buggers and medium- to small-sized nymphs.  Microjigs in various sizes and colors have caught most of my Warmouth, and sometimes you need that sort of weight to get a fly down in between rocks or wood where they often like to inhabit.  That extra weight can help especially on windy days.  Black works well, as does silver, gold, and even chartreuse.  You can use an indicator to suspend your fly or microjig, or you can use a slow retrieve, or simply fish vertically amongst shoreline cover.

For gear, a 3wt or 5 wt fly rod is more than sufficient.  4-6 lb fluorocarbon tippet is perfect.  They aren't super-strong fighters.

Warmouth are such a cool fish!  They are challenging and fun.  I really enjoy catching them on flies. Do some research, find some fish near you, and get after them!  Good luck! 

Here's some pics of Warmouth I've caught while flyfishing: