Williamsport 4-26-2013

[Alphahawk]

Took the kayak out to Blue Cat for a great couple of hours on the water. I was looking for some decent size Gills for Kayak Wars. The biggest I put on the Hawg Trough was only 8 inches.....didn't bother taking any pics. Just could not find the 9 and 10 inch fish I wanted. I caught a lot of 6 inch Gills that seem to have the right set of genes. They were nearly as tall as long...and very chunky things. I also tried out my new Gill rod made from a 2wt fly rod blank. It is a lot of fun catching bluegills with it. I will have to become used to the action as a strong cast is not needed with this rod....as a matter of fact a strong cast throws the lure about 10 feet in front of me...LOL. Just need to take it nice and easy. A 6 inch Gill will put the bend in it for sure. Just what I wanted for Gill fishing. The water is cold at Blue Cat. A lot of folks were crappie fishing but only a few fishing for Gills....and not much catching going on. Several were out bass fishing but I didn't see much action when I was on the water with the bass either. I was not aware that white bass were in the lake but a bass boat pulled out and gave a white bass to a guy fishing by the ramp. Just a nice relaxing day on he water.


Regards

[MNfisher]

Sounds like fun! I need to get my yak down there with ya sometime!

[tnpondmanager]

Hey Alpha, it's great to hear you broke in the rod! Did it cast well when you got the hang of it? It should really zing those light lures a long ways on light line.

[Travis C.]

We have some nice warm rainy days coming this week that should really get them moving.

[Alphahawk]

Hey Alpha, it's great to hear you broke in the rod! Did it cast well when you got the hang of it? It should really zing those light lures a long ways on light line.

Yeah Walt it casts good. But I still have some learning curve to deal with. Have never had a rod with this action. It makes catching a 6 inch Gill quite a good fight. It only requires a smooth easy flick of the wrist to cast....try to do a power cast and you go nowhere. The rod loads up nicely and I have to learn to let the rod do its job. I know it sure makes for a fun day.


Regards

[Alphahawk]

We have some nice warm rainy days coming this week that should really get them moving.

I hope so. I need some 100 fish days with some great action from the big Gills. Will probably hit Nickajack next week again to get a 15 inch crappie for Kayak Wars and maybe find some Red Ears also.


Regards

[tnpondmanager]

Yeah Walt it casts good. But I still have some learning curve to deal with. Have never had a rod with this action. It makes catching a 6 inch Gill quite a good fight. It only requires a smooth easy flick of the wrist to cast....try to do a power cast and you go nowhere. The rod loads up nicely and I have to learn to let the rod do its job. I know it sure makes for a fun day.


Regards

That's awesome - I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it! The limber action is what allows it to cast the light stuff, so you're right in that if you try to cast it like a heavier rod, you're counteracting its strength, which is the fact a 1/64-oz. jig will load it.

[ditz1]

All you need now Alpha is a cheap fly reel and a 3wt fly line and a few small poppers to get that 100 fish day. If you get the line and reel I will fix you up with some great poppers. You will never look back.:)

[Alphahawk]

All you need now Alpha is a cheap fly reel and a 3wt fly line and a few small poppers to get that 100 fish day. If you get the line and reel I will fix you up with some great poppers. You will never look back.:)

I appreciate that ditz. I did use a fly rod with poppers 40 years ago. I have no problem getting the hundred Gills a day using the Trout Magnet....when they get on the beds....and I not only have the 6' 6" inch rod made from a 2wt fly blank but also a 9 foot made from a fly rod blank. I went the spinning rod route years ago....but I don't rule out ever using a fly rod again. I do know it is a lot of fun catching those on a popper. Will keep your offer in mind if I decide to do that again. I bought some rod racks from Mike Dial yesterday and thought two would be enough.....then when taking my new kayak home yesterday I counted 18 rods sitting in my fishing room. I need to thin that out. I need to find some kid to give about 6 or 7 of those.


Regards

[creekcrappie]

I have a fly rod I got last year, which size popper should I use?

[ditz1]

Small....the real small ones are hard to find. I have tied my own for many years. I currently use 2mm craft foam (from Hobby Lobby) and a paper hole punch. The standard paper punch is 1/4" dia.. I use cva glue and glue 3 of the disks together to form a short cylinder. I cut a slit in the cork cylinder and glue it to a size 12 humpshank hook. After the glue sets I tie on a short red kip tail hair tail and wrap a small hackle and it is ready to fish. I sometimes will add eyes with a sharpie but I don't think the fish care if the eyes are on it or not. I also sometimes enhance the body by sandwiching a couple of rubber legs between the disks. Cheap, easy, and durable and the fish love them. What more can one ask?..... I sometimes will go bigger with up to 7/16". I have a series of hole punches from Harbor Freight up to 1/2". Bigger diameter will require 1 more disk and a bigger hook. I use all yellow but any color that tickles your fancy will work but the yellow is easy to see and the fish seem to really like it. Sorry....made a short story long..1/4" is the best all round size IMHO.