Sunday, March 20, 2011

First Warmwater Fly Fishing Outing of the Season

A while back I had set a goal for myself this year.  I wanted to get out at least 100 times this year fly fishing.  I dont know if I will make it or not but I am more than willing to try.  Now my wife on the other hand isnt so happy and excited about this new goal of mine.  Oh well.  Anyways, yesterday was my first warmwater outing of the season.  For the past few days the temps here in Maryland have been in the mid 60s to low 70s.  Of course the day we choose to go out the temps drop to the low 50s and the wind gusts up to 30 mph.  FIGURES!  We gave it a whirl and I decided to attack the local ponds near my house.  There are two of them and both are relatively small but each has bluegill, warmouth, crappie, carp, and largemouth. 

At the first pond, I managed to catch 15 or so using a small size 16 black bead head birds nest nymph.  There wasnt any monsters landed today from this pond.  Here is one of the guys I caught there:


At the second pond we managed to get into some largemouth bass.  Now there is a little caveat to that statement.  For those that have been following for a while, know that Greg just started fly fishing last year.  Greg also still likes to do what I call is cheating!  He still uses his spinning rod.  Greg was using his spinning rod at both locations but at the second one he managed to catch a few largemouth.  Two of them were almost two pounds a piece.  Greg I know you are going to read this but you did cheat.  I managed to catch a few bluegills and one largemouth.  All of mine were caught on the orange Road Kill Nymph I just tied up.  Again, there is something to be said for catching fish on the flies you have tied yourself.  Here are some photos:




at

7 comments:

  1. Bill TrussellMarch 20, 2011 at 8:31 PM

    Hope you make the 100 trips----those are are some nice fish you landed. What makes it special for you is the flies you have tied have caught the fish you landed. Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  2. HuffleHillMarch 21, 2011 at 12:02 PM

    A fish in the hand is worth two in the pond.

    ...and for the record I wasn't technically cheating (that would be say...using Dynamite), I'm just not the purist you are.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kirk MantayMarch 21, 2011 at 12:42 PM

    How are you in Maryland, a fly/light tackle angler for largemouth, a blogger, and we haven't crossed paths? Dude!

    PS do you sell poppers or terrestrials that work well in MD?

    ReplyDelete
  4. J and M FliesMarch 21, 2011 at 1:03 PM

    Thanks Bill I hope I make them as well. It is so much fun catching them on flies you tied yourself. Very rewarding.

    Greg.....cheater! Just kidding

    Swamp Thing dont know how we havent met yet. What are you looking for in particular to buy. I fish a lot for smallies and panfish in the Monocacy so my flies usually run sizes 8 or 10 regarding the poppers. Let me know as I can make some to sell.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kirk MantayMarch 24, 2011 at 8:30 PM

    I am looking for very small beetles, ants, spiders, etc. to float over picky fish who are focused on the hatch (and overfished by bait fishermen). As for the poppers, I'll take any advice on what works best.

    I'll send you an email.

    ReplyDelete
  6. dead fisherMarch 24, 2011 at 8:32 PM

    100+ days is do-able... for a single person. It's refreshing to read a fly blogger's appreciation for panfish. I'll be back.

    ReplyDelete
  7. J and M FliesMarch 25, 2011 at 1:08 PM

    Swamp Thing shoot me an email and we can chat

    John, welcome and thanks for stopping by. I cut my teeth on small brookies in even smaller mountain streams. I eventually strayed over to the "dark side" of fly fishing. I love river fishing and watching the panfish smash poppers and such. I dont understand why purists look down their noses at warmwater fly fishing. It is awesome!

    ReplyDelete