I usually use my favorite wooly worm for the gills, but I don't take many bass and never have had any crappie on flies. I've been wondering about using nymphs, scuds, and the like for quite a while. I've never tried poppers, but usually will try different wets and dries, or terrestrials. I've also never tried fishing with a dropper, never have gotten the nerve, I guess.
I'm not certain about our entemology cycles in the lakes around Kansas City, water quality varies greatly depending on public/private access. I know we get mayflies on private water, but haven't seen them on the County lakes. Midges are a no-brainer, we have mosquitoes. Dragonflies and damsels we've got, but I rarely see any of the subsurface dwellers to know when and what to throw.
I'm going to get me some smaller (#16-#22)hooks and try some of the aforementioned flies around here. I gotta figure these fish out, I'm tired of whipping the water into a white foam and not catching more fish than maybe one or two all day.
Our warm-water won't be warm for much longer, though. We're in a cold air mass right now and the high temp was 56F. For comparison, Monday's high was 87F.
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There's almost nothin' wrong with the first lie, it's the weight of all the others holdin' it up that gets ya'! - Tim
Jesus still hangs out with fishermen.