G's Bluegill

First fly-rod caught fish ON A FLY HE TIED HIMSELF!

(see post below)

A Day of Firsts

June 9th will live as a day of firsts in the Hays household.

It all started quite innocently yesterday afternoon as I sat down to work on some holes in my fly box. The Snap dragon has been the hot fly over the past two weeks and I was down to three in my possession (a recipe and photo for this fly will be the subject of a later post). Anyway, I was about 10 minutes into it when my seven year-old walked into the garage and asked what I was doing.

"I'm tying some flies that I've been meaning to tie."

"I want to tie a fly."

Now, I've always been one for not pushing our hobbies onto our kids. Luckily, my son loves to fish and is quite skillful at the use of his small spinning rod. When it comes to anything "fly" he's been mildly interested but would much rather catch fish with a rod he can cast himself (he DOES like to fish with a fly behind a casting bubble most of the time). But this was genuine excitement and interest - a "teach-able" moment had arrived and I wasn't going to let it pass.

"OK, bud, let's tie you a fly!"

I showed him different hooks and what they were for as well as thread and tools. We picked a good #8 all-round hook and stuck it in the vise. Next we learned the intricate art of the bobbin and thread tension. I laid out an assortment of fur, feathers, hair, chenille, yarn, etc. and he chose materials and color. First, a gold bead because even a seven year old has noticed that the vast majority of nymphs out there are bead-heads these days. Then a pinch of olive rabbit for a tail (it obviously took a few "trys" but he eventually got it wrapped down). Peacock-colored flash chenille for a body was wrapped up to the bead. I was about to whip finish it for him when he said, "What about a feather? A fly needs a feather."

So I tied in a olive barred saddle hackle and he spun a little "collar" and tied it off. I told him it was a great addition and would look like bug legs to a fish. A drop of head cement and his first fly was done - the Gman Bluegill Fly!

It was quickly decided that it must be tried IMMEDIATELY. We jumped in the truck and were off to a local pond that has a pretty good bluegill population (as well as a few nice bass). I always keep an old four weight and some tackle in the truck just for emergencies and we were soon rigged with the new fly at the edge of the pond. The only problem was that the wind was blowing a steady 20 mph - no time for one's first casting lesson. So, I cast the little rod as far as I could into the breeze, dropped the rod tip, made a few strips and handed him the rod. It only took a few casts and he had the idea. Keep the rod low, line through the right finger against the cork, strip with the left hand.

On the fourth cast I noticed the flyline jerk and yelled for him to lift the rod.

"I got a fish!", he yelled; grinning ear to ear. In came a respectable bluegill and out came the camera. With the great sense of compassion that he has he wanted the fish released quickly (Dad was busy snapping photos and hoop-ing it up). Amazingly, he looked up and said, "I want you to catch one now." I managed an eight inch bass and told him to get ready to catch another one. Several casts later the rod almost jerked out of his hand. The old rod bent right down to the handle as he stripped in what turned out to be a GOOD, hand-sized bluegill. More photos and a quick release

The wind continued to increase and we had to call it quits. In the space of an hour my son had tied his first fly and caught his first fly rod-caught fish (OK, I cast it for him but who cares!). Pretty impressive! To add to the firsts, an hour later at the grocery store he announced that he wanted steak for dinner. This from a kid who's usual meat consumption is chicken breasts, burger or maybe a hot dog (and fried sand bass!).

"Really buddy? You've never had steak before."

"Nope. But I want to try it now, Daddy."

He loved it (medium - with a side of ketchup).

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!