Gittin the itch

[FinsnFur]

These warm temps got me wanting to get out in the kayak.
70 degrees again today, but the river temps arent even 40 yet.

25 MPH winds arent making the decision hard either

[Hawks Feather]

Cold water and the chance of capsizing would make it an easy decision for me.

[nastygunz]

58° here today. I'm not sure how but a new fly rod just arrived in the mail yesterday. I must have inadvertently clicked something when I was looking at the Bass Pro website  

[Hawks Feather]

58° here today. I'm not sure how but a new fly rod just arrived in the mail yesterday. I must have inadvertently clicked something when I was looking at the Bass Pro website  

I hate it when things like this happen.

[FinsnFur]

58° here today. I'm not sure how but a new fly rod just arrived in the mail yesterday. I must have inadvertently clicked something when I was looking at the Bass Pro website  

Sounds like a scam   It'd be a good idea to send it back so your not held liable.

[msmith]

Getting the itch myself. Ordered some Joe's Flies spinners and some 2# SOS line. I have plenty of trout and crappie jigs. Let's goooooo!

[bigben]

I was driving past the local creek today that I used to fish a lot for spring time smallies and noticed the color was that awesome green color.  Been a few years since I went for springtime smallies and that thump is addicting.  Certain times of the year the umbrella rigs work great awesome as well. 

of course the local waters all just got stocked with the pellet heads so they are off limits till opening day.

[nastygunz]

Joes Flies spinners are awesome! I like to put a Royal Coachman streamer on mine. Smallies are like trout on steroids🐟🐟🐟🐟

[msmith]

Joes Flies spinners are awesome! I like to put a Royal Coachman streamer on mine. Smallies are like trout on steroids🐟🐟🐟🐟

Smallies sure are fun for sure. I fish the small creek by my house for smallmouth using trout magnets.

[nastygunz]

Flyrod and poppers is how I roll:

[bigben]

Have you guys ever used a clouser minnow for smallies?  one of my favs to use on the creek back when I used a flyrod for smallmouths.  but the topwaters always were awesome to fish. 

[msmith]

Flyrod and poppers is how I roll:

Oh nice! poppers and a fly rod are a hoot for gills too.

[nastygunz]

Flyrod and bluegill are one of my favorites. I tie my own bluegill poppers, I buy a pair of those foam sandals at the dollar store and then punch out the foam cylinders and off to the fly tying vise. Clouser minnows and a big brown wooly bugger are my go to wet flies for smallies.

Due to the line stripping action of a fly rod a brown woolly bugger looks exactly like a fleeing crayfish, the smallies hammer them with bad intentions.🐟

I have been trying to get Jimbo to try flyfishing for bass for years but he won't come towards The Light....

[FinsnFur]

I have been trying to get Jimbo to try flyfishing for bass for years but he won't come towards The Light....

   I'm scared of the light
I feel like fly fishing is for smaller rivers. Thats purely an assumption. But I'm Smallie fishing in a river that ranges from 3 miles wide to 11 miles wide...and anywhere from 7 foot to roughly 40 foot deep.
They absolutely devour crank baits and jerks baits in those depths.

Just like this


It seriously started to get boring. There was so many, it was every cast, no longer a challenge.

[nastygunz]

How many miles away was your camera?    If I fish any deeper water I use a sinking fly line. You have one BIG river! Up in these parts the water tends to run narrow and fast. Hard for me to imagine a river that is 50 miles across holy guacamole!

[FinsnFur]

Hard for me to imagine a river that is 50 miles across holy guacamole!

It's not.    I dont how the hell I did that. My god 
I'm fishing the Mississippi which I think I read somewhere is roughly 10 miles wide at it's widest point. I dont recall where without looking it up.
But yah..I cant see flys working real well for me in water like this.
By the way the camera was maybe 20 or 30 feet behind me. It was the Gopro.

[bigben]

they fish flys all the time on the susquehanna.  which is a mile or more wide at its widest point but of course not that deep  very shallow running.  id be hard to understand how to fish the mississippi after fishing the wide shallow runners we have in pa.

[Okanagan]

Jim, are you left handed or do you just fish baitcasting reels left handed?  I am right handed but fish left handed with all but the heaviest salt water reels.  Nice video.  Would love to get into smallies like that.  They are super fighters, pound for pound stronger than steelhead IME. WTG!

[FinsnFur]

Jim, are you left handed or do you just fish baitcasting reels left handed?  I am right handed but fish left handed with all but the heaviest salt water reels.  Nice video.  Would love to get into smallies like that.  They are super fighters, pound for pound stronger than steelhead IME. WTG!

Same Clyde. I'm right handed. I just use left hand reels. I cant get my head wrapped around the concept of casting with one hand and then passing the rod and reel over to the other hand to crank it.
A LOT of people do it. I just cant make any sense of taking extra steps to juggle.
I also feel that being right hand dominant and casting with my right hand gives more casting efficiency and accuracy. But I know it another Chevy vs Ford controversy 

[FinsnFur]

they fish flys all the time on the susquehanna.  which is a mile or more wide at its widest point but of course not that deep  very shallow running.  id be hard to understand how to fish the mississippi after fishing the wide shallow runners we have in pa.

Thats me on a lake Ben. I know the Mississippi, where the fish go and what structure they want. Fished it my whole life. Put me on a lake and I am absolutely lost.
In fact a couple years ago when the Mississippi was a disaster from floods, I took the Kayak and road tripped to several state inland lakes during our 4th of July shut down.
NEVER caught a fish. Didnt know what to use, where to go, or how to work it.