Since the Chief's back was bothering him, we delayed our outing to Tuesday evening. It was an opportunity to really spend some time with the new gear and to do a bit of studying. There were no keepers, but we did catch some fish. D chose to go swimming instead, and I am not sure I would not have been better off doing the same thing. The temps are still hot, and the fish just are not that active. For the first couple of hours, I was seriously wondering if I was going to be able to catch anything.
I really approached the evening as a learning opportunity. Now that I am tying flies, I am eager to start using my own and move away from the store bought flies. Plus, I keep reading that there is a huge sense of satisfaction from catching fish with what you have caught; I've bought into that notion--big time. Actually, I am convinced enough that I am considering spinning my next rod even. But I digress.
The initial kit I bought was geared towards bass fishing, Woolly Boogers, streamers, and poppers. I didn't spend enough time to make a list of needed materials for nymphs and such before my last trip to Bass Pro Shops. Yet, nymphs seem to be the ticket at the moment in the pond we are fishing.
I knew because of the weather that the fish probably would not be active on the surface, yet I had tied a deer haired popper, some small—"bream-sized"— Styrofoam poppers, and some regular cork poppers. I was eager to try them out, especially the first one. Periodically throughout the day, I had gone over and picked up the deer-haired popper, just sort of daydreaming about catching something with it. I know I grabbed it before I left the house, but as I was getting out of the truck at the pond it was nowhere to be found.
Not only that, but I had left my boots sitting on my workbench stool too. So I guess you could say it just wasn't my day.
Well, the Chief grabbed a bunch of flies, some tied by D, and took off. I began the laborious task of figuring out which rod to begin with, since I had brought all three. I settled on my heirloom, 7-weight, Wright & McGill with a cork popper on a #1 hook. I knew there wasn't a good chance of catching anything, but I thought I would give it a try for a little bit.
I fished with it for about fifteen minutes. I had one strike and then no action. I was growing frustrated, especially after I notice that the Chief was getting a bit of play.
"Hey Chief, what are you casting?"
"One of those little poppers that your wife tied!"
That did it for me. I walked to the truck, swapped the Wright & McGill for the Martin kit rod and one of the Styrofoam poppers. I got three or four strikes with that, but I still couldn't set a hook. After another thirty minutes, I was ready to move to a streamer. The Chief had already switched to a small Clouser Minnow, and he was still getting some action. I finally grabbed the new rod, and tied on a matching minnow.
I was getting strikes with the minnow, but I think the hook was too far forward. I was getting a ton of strikes but not catching anything. Lesson learned.
Meanwhile, the Chief finally broke the ice with a bluegill. I was jealous. I had become rather accustomed to catching the first fish; was this going to be the day I didn't catch any while he had great success? I asked him what he was using, and he responded that he had switched to a Prince Nymph.
Well, I was stubborn and did not want to resort to any nymph. This was a day about trying something new. After two hours though of not landing anything, and with the Chief catching another, I finally relented, switching to a Pheasant Tail Bead Head Nymph.
Three minutes later, I pulled in a smallmouth. Another five minutes and I had my second bass. Finally, I caught a giant red oak. That was the only fly of the type I had, and I really wanted to rescue it, spending about fifteen minutes in the effort and even soliciting Dad for some help.
I lost the battle, so I switched to a Prince Nymph. Meanwhile, the property owner came down to the pond, and the Chief called it quits again and began talking to her. I still wanted to catch some more, and a few minutes later, I caught a bluegill. I caught one more, and this time managed to prick myself.
With the light getting low, I knew time was running out, and I still wanted to catch something on one of my flies. So I returned to my Martin with the little Styrofoam popper still attached. A few minutes later, I landed a 9-inch pumpkinseed. That would be my last for the night.
I can detect a marked difference with the new equipment. It's quite a bit easier to throw the 6-weight line. I started the day with a 9-foot leader on the new rod, but cut it down to six after snagging the tree. I think if my surroundings were a little bit cleaner, I would have preferred to keep the 9-feet leader so I could get a bit deeper in the water.
All in all, you do get what you pay for though. The new rod was only $20 and is only marginally better than the Martin. Yet, even just a bit of improvement in rod quality seems to significantly improve the ease of casting. I'm already thinking about a quality rod for every day use.
The reel is also quite an improvement. I only collect my line when I am making a significant change in location. The action is so much more pleasant to operate, and I could really appreciate it when retrieving the line. For the kind of fishing I am doing, I think the HC II's are most likely more than adequate. I'll post some reviews on each a bit later.
The biggest improvement for the day was certainly my casting technique. I've been practicing quite a bit, and to be sure I have struggled. I also have quite a bit of improvement. I do feel natural with it now, no matter the rod, and I am able to cast in excess of 30 feet with some accuracy. Almost all of what I know about it has come from reading some articles on the Fly Fisherman site and my memory of watching my uncle. I do think I would like to work some with a certified instructor when it becomes feasible. For the time being, I am going to settle for some videos online, and perhaps purchase a DVD.
Nevertheless, I feel like I am finally getting it! Later in the evening, D said I look pretty natural and graceful when casting. She added that the Chief was really impressed. I was humbled when she told me that when I would pick up my line to cast, he would just stop the conversation so he could watch. He would pick up right where he left off as soon as the fly landed on the water. He was even encouraging the other two to just watch with him. Thanks Chief for the compliment!
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