Skunked !!!!

[bugman]

WEnt to fairfield lake yesterday. Days & nights have been somewhat cooler. water was warm about 75deg. Left home at 1630hrs and drove 2hrs to git there so we could catch some big breams and bass. Fished all day untill just as the sun was goin down. Fished every kind of fly in every colour and size emaginable having only 2 bites the whole day, no hookups... Fish was hitting on top everywhere but couldnt see what they was taking. In the middle of the lake in my pontoon i seen nice sized bass, gar, and telopia swimming right between the floats bumping against my feet at times. No takes there either. Went all the way across the lake and fished the weed & cattail lines. Still nothing seemed to work.. As we were packing up to go home clouds of extreemely tiny bugs sort of a transparrent white colour came from nowhere and made a loud hum. Must have been millions of them so many ya couldnt breathe without choking on some. Any ideas what was goin on with the fish to not take a fly ? We never had this sort of thing hapen before & just caint seem to get any idea why the fish were behaving that way.

[Mike Thomas]

Hey Bugman, sorry to hear you got skunked. Could the cloud of bugs be Midges, did you try a small buzzer nymph? I can't think of anything else.
All the best.
Mike.

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

I'm not that familear with bass and bream, but when trout are doing that they are often taking just subsurface. I assume, with the whole day available to you, you tried both on and under. A tiny midge pupae or small soft hackle, just below the surface, might have been worth a try. I've read on the board here some fellows swear by a small GRHE, so various fuzzy nymphs (unweighted) might have been worth a go too? Others have suggested pulling a streamer through, immitating a small fish feeding on the bugs.

What all did you try?

In the end, at least you were out fishing!

- Jeff

[bugman]

well.... tried dries, wets, streamers, poppers, nymphs, midges and all the variations...

[Uncle Jesse]

Could it have been high pressure following a cold front. On those blue bird days following a cold front fishing is usually lousy.

And then I am reminding of going to a lake in south MS many years ago. The bream bedded up and hung out in 8 - 10 ft. of water. I caught a few really nice bluegill on a beetle spin and some huge crappie on sassy shad but a flyrod was pretty ineffective.

Now your cloud of bugs sound like gnats to me. Growning up in the south that is the only small bugs in clouds I know of.