Carp & Bass, 6-25-2014

Flyfished a local city pond yesterday evening.  Caught some bluegills and a nice 24.5" Carp before switching to a popper for the dusk Bass bite.

New Fly Rod Personal Best White Bass

My buddy Jay called me before noon today to tell me the fish were biting.  I met up with him during my lunch hour.
Fish were picking the 17-Year Cicadas off the surface of the water, but they hit so fast, we never actually figured out WHAT was eating them!  There was also an abundance of sub-fingerling size young-of-the-year fish schooling around near the surface, and fish would crash them as well.  Pretty exciting to watch all the action!

I used my 12' 5wt Allen Olympic Switch Rod again.  I started out with the beat-up shad-imitating streamer I'd caught those catfish on last week, with no hits.  I switched to a Chartreuse-Over-White Clouser Deep Minnow, with no hits.  I switched to a variant (90-degree jig hook and lead eyes) of the F-C Pearl Shiner, and started catching fish by letting it free-fall into the water, then giving some short quick strips and letting it fall again.

I caught 3 small 10" Wipers, and one 16" White Bass, which was a new flyrod personal best for me.
I wish I could have fished longer!  :)

Carp & Cats!

Flyfished last night for a couple hours at Saylorville Lake.  Northern Iowa has gotten a BUNCH of rain in the past few days, and the reservoir is expected to rise as much as 30 feet!  It was supposed to rise just 4' yesterday!

My buddy Jay and I headed out, and the water is moving up into vegetation that has grown up along the normal pool shoreline this year, but we could still walk along the shoreline easily.

We started out searching for carp to target with flies.  We didn't see any in the shallows, but we decided to fish an area where the wind was blowing into shore, and there were some rocks and gravel in the water.

Jay alternated fishing with a fly rod for carp (he caught a couple carp on flies earlier in the week!) & spinning rod for anything.  He caught the first fish (and the biggest of the night) on an inline spinner...a 26" Channel Catfish!

The wave action from wind and boats was substantial, and I was blind casting, there are a lot of small fish fry/fingerlings in the water right now...so I decided to use a beadhead woolly bugger under an indicator.  The indicator would give the fly plenty of action and keep the fly off the bottom, plus make strike detection easier.  I caught 2 Largemouth Bass while trying for carp, but finally got my target species.  I was happy!

Not a huge carp, but it was a good fight.  I imagined it probably spooked other carp in the area.  I decided to put on a shad-imitating fly pattern and practice casting it with my 12' 5wt Allen Olympic switch rod.  I wanted to determine whether this would be a viable option for the White Bass blitz later this Summer/Fall.  I think it will be.
Here's the fly pattern I was using (I think it was the top one below):

I got 3 nice surprises while doing my testing.  I caught 3 Channel Catfish...23", 24", and 25".  (Corresponding weights according to a conversion table for catfish suggests these would be @ 5.5lbs, 6.3lbs, and 7.3 lbs.)  GREAT FIGHTS!

I was worn out after that, so we left.

As we were walking out, we saw a lot of these big caterpillars...Hawk Moth/Sphinx Moth caterpillars, I think?  I was sad to think that they will be drowned within the next day or so.

Edit: Turns out both caterpillars above are likely color morphs of the White Lined Sphinx Moth.

17-Year Cicadas!

Cicadas come in 17-year cycle species, and 13-year cycle species.  Maybe there are others, but lets start here.  In 2014, Brood III ("The Iowan Brood") is hatching, and it truly is something to behold!  So COOL!

I don't know how I've missed these in the past.  I've been around for at least 2 previous hatchings and I don't recall having ever seen this species before.  Usually, we see a few greenish-colored cicadas each summer.  But the ones this year are a bit smaller, black bodied with red/orange eyes, and amber wings.  And the NUMBERS!  THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS!

The funny part is how you can drive by patches of forests, all the same age...and some are just THICK with cicadas and their loud sounds...while others are silent and empty.

My friend & co-worker Julie and I visited a campground during our lunch hour one day this week in mid-June, 2014.  There were cicadas everywhere!  Some Ash trees in the campground were marked with plastic bands with information on the invading Emerald Ash Borer.  The Cicadas were having a hard time climbing up the tree past the slippery plastic, and so it was a good spot to snap pictures of groups of cicadas.

The sound was deafening.  We had to raise our voices just to converse.  When we left, our ears continued ringing for awhile.  We asked a fellow who was camping in the park if they were able to sleep with all that noise.  He said they get quiet around 5-6pm....and then don't start making noise again until after 8am in the morning.  Such conscientious little critters!
Here's a short video, so you can hear the sound:

First Fly Rod Carp(s) of the Year!

I've been complaining just a bit that I haven't caught any Carp on flies yet this year.

The fishing gods were listening.

Last night I visited a new (to me) pond in town. The bass and bluegills weren't very big. I saw some big fish, figured they were either Carp, Grass Carp, or both.

Didn't expect to catch one, so I started out fishing for bass & bluegills. I was using a microjig under an indicator...cast out along the shoreline, twitched it once or twice, and the indicator disappeared. I hadn't spotted the fish before it hit, so I wasn't sure what it was going to be. Based on the head shakes and awesome bulldogging fight, I was going to guess it was a Channel Catfish. But it was a small-ish carp!

I moved down along the shoreline a bit, and spotted a carp rooting in the mud. I dropped a fly near it a few times, and got a few takes, but missed the hookset each time, and eventually spooked it. I continued down along the pond, past some fenced-in dogs that were really giving me the business! I switched to a small Woolly Worm with a small glass beadhead, and fished that over some bluegill beds, catching a few. I made a longer cast down along the shoreline, got a good strike and had Carp #2 of the evening on the line! Another small-ish fish, but again a really good battle!

It got dark and I only caught a few more bluegills after that.  And then I managed to wade through a large patch of poison ivy on my way back to the car in the (almost) dark...

Good Day of Fishing, 6-5-2014

I took Thursday off.
I decided to flyfish for Smallmouth Bass.  I tried a Chartreuse & Yellow Clouser first, with no takers.  I switched to a #6 F-C Pearl Shiner, and started catching fish.  The first two fish were nice 17" Smallies.  17" marked a new fly rod personal best of Smallmouth Bass for me.  My biggest ever is a 20-incher.

Then I caught a smaller bass @ 12", then had another big bass on.  That one shook free while I was focusing on reeling my slack line back on the reel.

The big Smallies seemed to stop hitting after that...I caught 11 more smaller ones.

I also caught my first IOWA fly rod Northern Pike.  It was only @ 18"-19", but it was still fun, and it was nice that it didn't cut my line before I could land it!  It hit a Clouser.

I caught a 9" Crappie on the Pearl Shiner as well.

I thought this empty Dragonfly Nymph case I found in the water was pretty cool:

After leaving there, I went to a public pond.  I caught at LEAST 40 Crappies (all 10" or less), 8 Bluegills, 1 Largemouth Bass, 2 decent Hybrid Sunfish, and 1 very beefy 8.5" Green Sunfish.  Most were caught on a Chartreuse microjig under an indicator.  There was another guy fishing the pond...he may have caught one or more fish.  At one point, I was pulling small crappies in every few seconds for about 20 minutes

And then later in the evening after dinner, I went out again, even though I was pretty exhausted.  I caught at least 30 Bluegills, and one 13" Largemouth Bass.  Some of the Bluegills were really nice fish.

The females appeared to still have at least some eggs.  Some of the males had such incredibly DEEP bodies, that their throat/chest areas began abruptly much lower than the rest of the head.  Kind of hard to describe.  Hopefully you can see it in the 2nd picture below.

It was quite a day of fishing!

Saylorville Doldrums

I took the day off on Tuesday, June 3, 2014, to fish.

Winds were supposed to be quite mild (and they were), and there was a huge storm that was on its way, but wasn't supposed to arrive until nearly midnight.  It showed up much sooner, but the worst of the storm missed us.  The "up to 5" of rain" and "100 mph straight line winds" passed south of us.  We didn't get much wind at all, and only 1/2" from a gently rain overnight.

I digress.  My buddy Jay and I decided to fish together at Saylorville Lake.  The first spot was supposed to have current, but the pumps creating the current were shut off maybe 45 minutes before we got there.  If the fish had been attracted to the current like usual, they seemed to be long gone by the time we arrived.  Jay caught a medium-sized crappie, I didn't catch anything.

We went to spot #2.  There was current in this area, but apparently no hungry fish.  There were several boats here, and other shore anglers, and NOBODY caught anything.  I had 3 fish on, but didn't land any of them.  Jay might have caught a small bass here...I can't remember for sure.

We hit up a Subway for lunch, then went to spot #3, where we had never fished together before.  We walked a long stretch of shoreline, Jay fishing, me fishing occasionally but actually more interested in trying to find some native American Indian artifacts.  I found none.
We made our way down to a bay that was connected to the lake by a very shallow sandy entrance.  The bay itself was only 3'-4' deep, and had a few dead trees standing in it.  Here I finally caught some fish.  I only brought one rod (a spinning rod), and soon wished I'd brought my fly rod instead when I saw some hungry carp.
Using an inline spinner, I caught 3 Largemouth Bass (biggest measured 17"), and 2 White Crappies (the biggest measured 13").  The crappies and the biggest bass were caught in the meager shade cast from the few trees standing in the water.

I also caught a bit much sun on the back of my calves and neck.
Jay caught a couple bass in the bay, and one smaller one out in the main lake.

Evening Flyfishing, 5-29-2014

5-29-2014
Public city pond
Temp: 84 F
Sunny, Wind @ 7mph from S
Fish caught: 30+Bluegills, 15+Crappies, 6 Largemouth Bass, 3 Green Sunfish, 1 Channel Catfish

Flyfished last night at a frustrating pond.  This year it has been really good one day, horrible the next.  Last night was GOOD, at least for me.  I was surprised at the lack of weeds growing around the edges, but I'm sure it will happen soon enough.  Bluegills and a few crappies were on nests in the shallows.  Grass Carp were working an area in the shallows...I suspect they MAY have been trying to eat fish eggs, since they were in amongst the bluegill nests...but it could be they were foraging on the few plants they could find.

Busy place...there were 5 or 6 other people fishing, using anything from nightcrawlers under a bobber to baitcasting gear for bass.  The guys fishing for bass got skunked.  One bait fisherman caught 2 bluegills.

Most of the panfish were caught on a chartreuse microjig worked just under the surface over the nests.  The 20" Largemouth Bass was caught on an olive mylar chenille bugger while I was casting to some Grass Carp.  Really nice fish, and quite a stubborn battle on the fly rod....a nice surprise, but I was somewhat disappointed it wasn't a Grass Carp.  I knew it was a bass by the way it would go deep, then charge straight up for the surface....but each time I eased pressure slightly so it wouldn't throw the hook, the bass always decided not to jump.  The fish was so thick and stout, it didn't look all that long.  But the tape measure didn't lie.  The tail fin seems worn down some too.  I'm guessing it would have weighed 5+ lbs.

The 26" Channel Cat hit an unweighted chartreuse Woolly Bugger near shore.  It was a sudden strike and splashing mayhem followed by a run to deeper water and bulldogging.  It was some time before I even got to see the fish.  This fish was healthy, but not as fat as some I have caught here...so it probably weighed 8lbs or less.

Beautiful evening, and some good fish were caught too!

Evening Flyfishing, 5-28-2014

Flyfished last night at a pond that SKUNKED me during the ice season.  Turns out, there ARE fish in it!
I caught over 20 Bluegills (biggest by far was 8"), 5 Crappies (to 11"), 4 Pumpkinseed Sunfish (to 8"), 7 Largemouth Bass (to 14"-15"), and 1 Hybrid Sunfish that seemed HUGE (but measured at 9.25").

Also saw some Grass Carp.
Here's the beast Hybrid:

And here's a Pumpkinseed.  I thought maybe it was too dark out (I was wearing sunglasses), so I took a picture with and without a flash.  I thought the differerence was interesting:

Most of the fish were caught on a chartreuse microjig under an indicator.

Flyfishing Late Afternoon, 5-25-2014

I got out to flyfish for a couple hours on Sunday late afternoon, before a storm with lightning blew in.

I caught at least 20 Bluegills, 6 Crappies, 8 Pumpkinseed Sunfish, and 3 Largemouth Bass.
I caught fish on chartreuse Woolly Buggers, Chartreuse Microjigs under an indicator, and silver Springbrook Wunders under an indicator.
I love how colorful the Pumpkinseeds are, so I mainly just took pictures of them.

This Bluegill had an unusually dark belly and pelvic fins:

Here's a Pumpkinseed guarding a nest:

Evening Flyfishing, 5-22-2014

Last night sure was calm...sunny, 74 degrees.  Perfect, right?  Fishing pretty much sucked.  Nobody was catching much of anything...IF anything.  There were a LOT of folks fishing when I arrived at the pond, and the trail around the pond was busier than I've ever seen it..people walking dogs, pushing strollers, biking, roller-blading....  This is all cool, but because the pond was so calm, the fish spooked everytime somebody went by.

I started out fishing for crappies, but couldn't really move either way down the shoreline because of other anglers, so I stayed put.  I didn't catch any crappies.  I caught one bluegill, and one bass.  The pond was covered in freshly cut grass clippings from earlier in the day.  I started seeing BIG shapes under the grass.  Common Carp and Grass Carp, as far as I could tell.  I started fishing for them, and ignored the other species.

I cast out near 3 shapes, and let my unweighted fly slowly sink.  I couldn't see the fly, but my line started moving.  I set the hook and...FISH ON!  Turned out to be a 25.5" Bigmouth Buffalo!  I didn't even know there were any of those in there!

As the sun went down, good numbers of Grass Carp were lifting their heads halfway out of the water to suck in the floating grass.  It was pretty cool to see, there were more than I expected in there, and good sizes.  I cast out to them, and my line started moving away, so I set the hook.  Grass Carp on for about 4 seconds...long enough to peel off about 10 yards of line, and spook the rest of the pod of fish, which left an area of the the size of a garage looking like the U.S. Navy had dropped depthcharges for submarines!

Flyfishing for Goldfish with David Wyner, 5-20-2014

Yeah...we did it.  We flyfished for Goldfish.

A little history: 30+ years ago I caught some Goldfish from a pond near my Grandparents townhome.  It was a fairly new pond at the time, and being a kid who liked catching fish, it was a lot of fun!  We used spinning rods and some sort of bait on a hook.

Ever since I started flyfishing, I've wanted to catch some Goldfish on a fly with flyfishing gear.  Over the years, I've seen at least one BIG Goldfish in almost every local public pond in my town.  Its rare that I see them, and even rarer that I've cast to them with a fly they might even consider.  I've gotten them to look at my fly on rare occasions, may have even had a light strike or two, but have never been able to hook one.

Flash forward to a week ago.  David Wyner took up flyfishing earlier this year, and managed to catch a rather HUGE HUGE Goldfish on a fly within the past week.  Seeing that fish made me want to put some serious effort into trying to add Goldfish to my flyfishing Life List of species.  I asked Dave if he was interested in trying it, and he said there was a pond near his house that "has WAVES of Goldfish".  Its not the pond where he caught his jumbo-sized fish, but that seemed like kind of a fluke to me anyway...it was a solitary fish, and probably not worth the effort to try and catch another one from there...if there even WAS another one in there.  When he told me where he lived, I discovered the pond he was talking about was THE SAME pond I had fished 30+ years ago!  How cool!  We made arrangements to meet up and go fishing.

We parked the car about 50 yards from the pond.  As soon as we got out of the car, we could see pods of Goldfish swimming around in this pond.  Hey, if you are going to attempt something difficult, its a good idea to stack the odds in your favor as much as possible.  Well, there was no shortage of Goldfish in this pond.  After getting a closer look, I'd estimate the numbers to be in the tens of thousands!  They were swimming around in groups, sometime milling about in a circular pod, other times streaming out playing follow-the-leader in a line up to 20' long.  I'm kicking myself for not taking any pictures of some of these massive pods of Goldfish...In one area, the fish would occasionally turn in a circle, rise to the surface and practically fight to be on top, apparently trying to feed on something at the surface, although no food was visible in the area.

The fish probably averaged around 5"-6" long.  I was hoping for bigger, but am glad they were at least big enough to hit a fly!  And there WERE some bigger ones in there, they were usually solitary fish or there might be one mixed in with each pod of smaller ones.  They were hard to get to, and didn't seem very interested in eating.

We did see a loaf of bread (looked like the size/shape of a foot-long Subway sandwich bun/loaf) that someone had tossed in the water, probably to feed the ducks that were swimming around.  The Goldfish seemed attracted to it, but did not feed on it while we were standing on shore next to it.  But it did seem to keep them coming back to our area, which was definitely a plus.

At first I had tried a different area of the pond, were the fish would come by only occasionally, and they would usually swim right on by quickly.  I had a few strikes on a chironomid pattern under an indicator.  I discovered that if I led a group of fish far enough with my cast, they were attracted to my indicator hitting the water...whereas if I cast too close, they were spooked.

David caught the first few Goldfish, and invited me to fish closer to him.  I did, and it made all the difference.  I started out in that 2nd area fishing with a #18 Elk Hair Caddis.  After I tied it on, I discovered that is also what David was using.  I had a few strikes on it, got one hook-up that broke my 6x tippet.  It wasn't a big fish.  Next, I tied on a #14 Red Fox Squirrel Nymph variation that I tied up to be somewhat shaggy-looking, and no tinsel ribbing.  The Goldfish LOVED that! We discovered if we cast into the pod of fish while they were doing their aggressive surface thrashing, they would often hit the fly quite willingly.   I caught 4 Goldfish in short order.

They were absolutely beautiful fish!  Such deep orange-red coloration and fins.

We could have caught many more, I'm sure, but decided to try another pond adjacent to this one.  No decent-sized goldfish were seen there, and by the time we came back to the first pond, there was a Dad & son standing in the area where we had been fishing, trying to recover the floating bread.  We left and fished another pond (a new one for me, since I had never tried it before) and both did really well on decent-sized crappies, bluegills, and 12" average bass.

So, I caught a new-to-me flyrod species, and got to fish one pond from my childhood, and another that was completely new to me.  It was definitely a great evening of fishing!  Thanks for indulging me in my quest, Dave!!  :)