Wind and Sun

I had the pleasure of guiding Scott Posavitz today and we had a great day on the flats. The forecasted wind of 10 mph with gusts of 20 was more like 15-20 with gusts to 30 out at Ray Roberts. Even in a secluded cove, the wind made for tough spotting and tricky casting (Scott mastered the wind-assisted "long dapple").

Scott made the most out of the situation and ended up with five carp, a gar, and a nice bass. The bass was actually tailing in about 10" of water like a carp. At first all I could see was the tail and couldn't for the life of me identify the fish. Scott made a quick cast and dropped a snap dragon right in front of the fish. Just one strip and the fish accelerated, identifying itself when that bucket mouth opened to suck in the fly. A couple of jumps and we had a nice 2.5-3 lb. bass in hand.

The lake is right at 6" high and still dropping. The wind yesterday and today has not helped the clarity but that has still improved over the last 3 weeks. We found some amazingly clear water on a few flats today and were able to spot and cast to fish 40-50 feet away (most, however, were MUCH closer).

Another interesting note . . . I spotted a VERY recently hatched hexagenia dun today. If these large mayflies get cranked up in the next several days - IT'S ON! Everything in that lake (with the possible exception of sand bass) eats hexes. A hex emerger or even just a large, unweighted, soft hackled pheasant tail will draw strikes from bass, bluegills, carp, gar - even catfish! Just look for a willow or other small tree close to the water. If it's branches are covered with large mayflies, hammer the water all around. If you want to REALLY have fun, tie on one of the hex adult patterns (or a #10 Adams) and try to get a carp to take on top. It takes some work, and a fish that's looking up, but it's a ball!