Williamsport 4-26-2013
 

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.