March 30, 2024
Nice warm day in the mid-70's.... kinda windy. Had a good outing, lots of walking.... I need better shoes. I caught 7 Bowfin, and lost a number of others. I got to sight-fish some of them, which the water clarity doesn't usually permit. It was interesting to learn that when the fish would hit and not get hooked, even if I tugged on them for a bit, they didn't go far once the fly escaped them. The just pretty much settled back to the bottom, and I was able to get repeated strikes from several, and eventually caught a couple of those fish. The male Eyetail Bowfin (Amia ocellicauda) are already sporting good spawning colors, and a couple of the females had very interesting markings!The fellas:The ladies:I had tied a fly with a Cohen's CGH Swim Tail, size Small. It didn't have the swim action I was looking for, nor vibration... (I'm sure it was because it was poorly tied by me...first time using these!), but the bowfin seem to really like it all the same.I caught 3 Common Carp:
David Merical
St. Louis, MO