Big Pike Eats Small Duckling [VIDEO]

Despite hearing the stories, I have never actually seen this happen until finding this video. I suppose it might be time to start tying some baby duck patterns for the spring and summer musky season.

Hungry Late Winter Bass

So yesterday I realized that I was getting more than a little tired of the cabin fever, as in tired enough to do something about it. So naturally I strung up a 5 weight St. Croix Legend Ultra that has been a favorite rod for over 10 years and headed to a nearby lake that I love to fish in the spring (video).

As some of you  probably know by now, I am fond of smaller patterns for bluegill and crappie, smaller than most other people are fishing in fact. Specifically, like my friend Bill Trussell over at Fishing Through Life knows, I tie and fish a LOT of Simi Seal Leeches. Black is my favorite color although other colors work great as well. For this trip, I tied on a black #12 Simi Seal leech with a bead head before leaving the house so I could focus all my time on fishing once I arrived at the lake.

When I got there, a decent amount of ice and slush still existed on the lake's surface. Despite the warming trend of the past couple of days, the lakes are still very cold and holding on to the ice. Admittedly, I was a bit concerned about the fishing prospects. Ice on the surface didn't seem like a positive thing for the fishing but since I was already there I wasn't going to leave without casting a little bit at least.

The heavy fog that kept rolling through the area made for some beautiful scenes. As the assumption that the fishing would be slow took hold, I started to gain more interest in documenting the scenery. It may be a stretch of the imagination, but can anyone else see a giant butterfly in the picture below? Or maybe it is an angel, I'm not sure.

Eventually I got back to fishing with the plan to fish for a few minutes and then head home. What I was really looking for was some early season crappie. Usually you can start catching them on this particular body of water by the first of March. Since this year was unusually cold, I didn't have a lot of faith in finding any but knew where to cast in case they were around.

On the second cast to a very good drop off that normally has some fish hanging around, I looked down just before pulling my fly out of the water at the end of the retrieve. You can probably imagine how surprised I was when I noticed a shadow behind the little leech pattern. I stopped and let the fly start to drop past the fishes nose. That did the trick! It opened its mouth and inhaled the fly.

My surprise was even greater when, after hooking the fish, it finally came to the surface and I realized it was not a crappie or a bluegill but a little bass. That made my day. I was happy enough to be satisfied with one fish. After all, I probably had only fished for 15-20 minutes, taken a few pictures of the landscape, and caught a bass. How much better could it get?

The fog had rolled back some while I was fishing, so after releasing the fish, I took another picture or two. Maybe 4 or 5 more casts were made but I knew that it was time to head home. The trip was a success, and it is a poor sport who demands more from the water than one deserves. I had already been blessed beyond my expectations and figured that it wasn't a good time to get selfish.

Today we have some rain moving in or else I would be out there again. Maybe we'll get a break in the rain that is long enough for me to get back out there. I know there are some monster fish in that lake and today is probably as good a day as any to try and catch one. They are probably hungry after such a long cold winter...

Frying Pan River Video

Here is another video that I think you will all enjoy. It is a very short film but highlights a weekend getaway to Aspen and a few hours in which the guys snuck off to fish the Frying Pan River below Ruedi Reservoir. Check it out!

Great Video For This Dreary Tuesday

Okay, maybe this Tuesday is not dreary where you are at, but it is here on the Cumberland Plateau. I've been dreaming about going fishing ever since the epic ice storm hit but so far have not gotten out. I may swing by the local pond for a few minutes this afternoon if the rain holds off just to occupy myself and see if any crappie are out and about yet, but I'm not holding my breath. It has simply been too cold lately and the water will take some time to warm up.

Anyway, here are a couple of great short films to entertain you on this Tuesday. The first is a short film on fly fishing for brown trout that highlights the creative process. It is from Dave and Amelia Jensen so you know it will be good.

The second video is from the nice warm saltwater flats and highlights the pursuit of permit on the fly rod. If it has been as cold lately where you live as it has been here at my house, this is probably just the thing you need to help you warm up. On the other hand it might increase your cabin fever exponentially to potentially lethal levels so viewer discretion is advised.

As always, help me out by sharing these articles via your social media using the share buttons at the beginning of the articles and much thanks!

A Perspective on the 2015 Ice Storm

Here are two photographs from the ice storm of 2015. When I awoke around 3:00 a.m. to the sound of gunshots snapping limbs, I knew that morning's light would bring a scene much different from what I saw the evening before. Incredibly, the really good show held off until after daylight, allowing us to sit and watch out the windows as limbs and even whole trees came crashing down.

Once I have a little more time to digest the event I'll have a lot more written about it I'm sure, but for now, here is what it looked like outside my bedroom window looking down from the 2nd story. This tree does not have many branches left. They all came down in a crash of sound and glistening ice.

While we were still debating the safety of venturing outside, the neighbors kindly came out with a chainsaw and a large tractor, making quick work of the road and even our driveway. Now that is being neighborly!

Perhaps the saddest part of this whole deal? I haven't been fishing for two whole weeks.

Back Up and Running

Well, the Ice Storm of 2015 is mostly behind us now. There are still a lot of trees and limbs to clean up but we have electricity again which means I should be posting some again. For those who wondered where I went, we lost power for approximately 200 hours beginning over a week ago on Friday night. The area immediately to our west and northwest seems to have the worst damage, at least from what I have seen. There are areas that look like a significant tornado came through. Anyway, I am thankful that nothing fell on our house or vehicles and everything is slowly heading back to normal now. I'll post some pictures and hopefully a fishing update soon. In the meantime, check out this page from the National Weather Service in Nashville on the recent winter weather here in Tennessee. There are some good pictures there as well as a lot of info about what transpired.

Ice Storm 2015: Abbreviated Version

Just a heads up to those of you who have noticed a lack of posts but we are in the midst of the ice storm of the century here in Crossville or at least something like that. Power is out across the county so I just came in town to get internet where power was finally restored sometime yesterday. We have numerous power poles and lines down on our road and the yard looks like a tree company pruned all our trees and then forgot to clean up but otherwise we are doing great. Thankfully we have both a gas fireplace and a wood stove so we are warm. The gas hot water heater is a life saver as I really appreciate my nice hot showers.

Anyway, I won't be checking here as much nor will I be able to check my email very consistently until we get power and phone service back up so please be patient if you do not get an immediate response when contacting me about a guided trip. I'll be back in to check email sometime in the next couple of days if we don't get back up and running and possibly as early as tonight.

Until then, please be patient and know that I will be back soon!

How Did He Know?

A few short weeks ago (or was it months now?), I was doing my usual daily routine of surfing the Internet to see what my fellow fly fishing bloggers had been up to. Coming across a blog that is probably on everyones list of favorites, I was happy to see a giveaway going on. You know the type, you have to accomplish some small task like commenting on the post or sharing it with your friends and you are entered to win something. Now, I never win these things, but hope springs eternal so I left a message.

Shortly after, imagine my surprise when checking back in with Windknots &Tangled Lines to discover that I had indeed won something. Howard Levett, author of the famed blog, had somehow pulled my name out of the hat, or something along those lines. Even more amazing, he had picked me to receive the Korkers Ice Cleats.

Now, we don't have to use Ice Cleats or anything similar very often around here in Tennessee, so I knew something was up when he sent them to me. Clearly he knew something that I didn't know. Fast forward just a few short weeks after they arrived, and Tennessee is bombarded with an epic ice storm. While we see some snow and an occasional thin glaze of ice, it is not every year that we get massive ice storms. In fact, I was in high school the last time we had anything close to this ice storm. This ice storm is so incredible that I can go outside and skate across my yard, and no I don't have a pond out there.

What I want to know is how in the world did Howard know that I would need ice cleats weeks or months before the big weather event? These forecasters around here were changing their forecast from rain, to snow, to sleet, to freezing rain, to snow, and so on and so forth in the days leading up to this big storm. Somehow or another it seems Howard has the inside scoop on the weather.

Really, all I'm saying is that it would be convenient to know the weather so far in advance. This small gesture of kindness by Howard kept me from breaking any limbs. Instead of skating around on the ice, I was able to move confidently on the Korkers Ice Cleats and never once slipped or felt in danger of falling. If Howard knew we would have an ice storm more than two months ago, I want to know how to get him to cough up this summer's forecast and maybe even next fall's.

Imagine how convenient that would be when planning a fishing trip. Hate rainy weather and prefer sunny days for hopper fishing? Just ask Howard when to go. Want to fish under drizzly gray skies during epic emergences of your favorite mayfly? I'm guessing Howard has a way to figure that one out also. After all, he nailed this ice storm.

Call To Action: Protect Our Waterways

Just a few days ago, I shared Transboundary, a new short film highlighting the concerns with large scale open pit mining in the border region between Alaska and British Columbia. First of all, if you have not watched the film please do so before reading the rest of this by clicking the link above.

Once you have watched it and understand the challenges currently facing the pristine watersheds in southeast Alaska, please consider signing this petition. From mountaintop removal coal mines in the eastern United States to large scale open pit mines for copper, gold, silver, and other metals in the western part of the country, I have seen first hand what happens during the mining process.

The land will not be the same for a long time, much longer than our own lifetimes. Sadly the Canadian government seems comfortable making the decision to allow these mines to go forward, even with clear historical precedents showing the disaster that can occur when the mining process fails. This petition is short and to the point and encourages Secretary of State John Kerry to use all forms of diplomacy available to bring pressure on the Canadian government and companies choosing to go forward with the proposed mines in British Columbia.

At stake is not only pristine wilderness and clean waterways, but huge anadromous runs of fish that provide the basis of the local economy in southeast Alaska. Endanger those fish and the economy they support, and you endanger peoples' livelihoods. Sign the petition today to encourage Secretary Kerry to do all that he can to protect these waterways.

Floating the Caney Fork River Before the Cold

Last week, with the cold weather on the way, I wanted to get one more day of fishing in. After checking around, I discovered that my buddy Tyler was free and we agreed on a float of the Caney Fork River. With forecast temperatures supposed to rise into the low 50s, we were excited about one last nice day on the water before the arctic air plunged into the region.

Timing our arrival to coincide with falling water, we launched shortly after the last generator was turned off. Fish were rising all across the dam pool when the wind wasn't blowing but unfortunately there was more wind than not.

We started drifting with Tyler in the front casting brace while I enjoyed some time at the oars. It wasn't until we passed the second ramp that Tyler got in the zone with his casting and mending. The water was slow to fall out, probably due to the fact that they had been running two generators for several hours. That is a lot of water to drain down the river to the Cumberland.

About the time that I felt water levels were improving, Tyler made a nice cast and mend that set up a long drift. Right at the very end of the drift his indicator dove and he set the hook. A nice big golden flash got both of us excited but the fight was over as fast as it started when the fish threw the hook. Shortly after, Tyler made a long cast to the bank and after a short drift, the indicator dove again. This time everything worked out and we had our first little brown trout of the day in the boat.

I continued rowing and it was not too long before Tyler caught some more including a nice rainbow trout.

This fish was big enough that I decided to do a quick throat sample. While I do not recommend doing this with every fish, it is a good way to find out what the fish are eating. Thankfully this one seemed to handle it pretty well. Here is what was on the menu that day.

We continued down the river with Tyler catching a trout here and there but none of any significant size. Eventually, when we were a good third of the way into the float, I decided to let Tyler row. He willingly took a turn at the oars, proving to be a quick learner as it was only his second time rowing.

I got into some fish in an unlikely spot that I will remember for future reference, as well as some spots that I usually expect to find fish. Late in the float, I finally hooked the big fish of the day. This rainbow really wasn't a large fish, but I wish you could have seen its girth in person. The pictures do not do it justice. I guarantee it weighed at least double of what other fish of equal length weighed. Either this is a female full of eggs, or it has been eating a bunch of shad lately. I'm guessing the first one is correct based on where I caught this fish, but of course the shad hypothesis is a bit more interesting.

Two Photographs above by Tyler Debord

With forecast overnight lows expected to drop below zero in the upcoming nights, the shad kill likely is on the way. I'm already planning another trip to the river, and hopefully I'll be throwing streamers again next time. Until then, I think I'll try to stay warm.

If you are in the Huntsville area, I will be speaking to the Tennessee Valley Fly Fishers this upcoming Thursday evening about fly fishing in the Smokies. I'm looking forward to meeting a bunch of new friends! Come out to learn more about the excellent fly fishing we have here in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.