Awesome report! Catfish on the topwater? thats crazy! No wonder the catfish is fat. Nice report. Thanks again for the info on flies.
Yeah…and that makes 2 catfish in the same day, on different flies, from different ponds…and I certainly wasn’t targeting them! They really fight good, so I absolutely enjoy catching them. It’s a nice “bonus”!
I hit a neighborhood pond with my fly rod around 8pm last night, and fished until dark. Fishing was rather slow, but I caught 5 crappies, 4 bluegills, and a surprise (18") channel cat. I caught most of these on a version of a Thunder Creek Minnow, tied with brown & white Craft Fur and chartreuse 3D Eyes.
Dave -
Really enjoying your continuing updates on this thread !! You do a whole different kind of fishing than we do here in Idaho and the discussions always lead some place I haven’t been before.
Except for the thunder creek style minnows. Fish those locally occasionally with some success. Great pattern, not known by too many folks, from what I can tell ??
John
I apologize that the thread isn’t always about Central Iowa Bluegills…but almost always about fish I catch while FISHING FOR the bluegills.
Thunder Creek Minnow is a great, easy pattern, very adaptable as far as colors & sizes. Great for fishing shallow waters, but you can also fish deeper by adding a split shot, or by using a non-floating line/leader.
Here’s some I had tied using Craft Hair instead of bucktail. The brown version on top is the one that was working last night.
I did it! One of my goals for this year was to catch CARP on the fly rod. Add a new species, experience the thrill, whatever.
A buddy conceded to give it a try, so we took his boat out on a local reservoir. Lots of carp & buffalo hanging at the surface. I think they were simply eating the suspended algae (a theory born out by the green poo one of them deposited on my arm).
I used a size 8 nymph-imitator fly, and landed 4 carp on my 8wt. My friend was using a 5wt rod, and caught 1 carp. But he fought it for over 15 minutes! We thought his was a catfish because the fish swam down to about 12’ deep, and then just stayed at that depth, straight under the boat. He’d lift it, it’d swim right back down and stop. Weirdest thing. Anyway, here’s some pictures:
Those carp are huge!!! for me, anyway…
We had a HORRIBLE storm very early this morning (around 4am). Strong winds, lightning, rain. Power has still not been restored to all areas, as of 2pm.
Never one to pass on a fishing opportunity, I fly-fished a local pond during lunch (again). It was tough…but I did get 3 bluegills, 3 small bass, and this crappie:
Fellow FAOL’er “tlerm” (Tim), was visiting in-laws up near my neck of the…uh…flatlands. Tim suggested we “hook-up” and do some fishing, so I took an extended lunch today and did just that! I’d sent Tim directions to the pond we would be meeting at, but he found it anyway. :lol:
I thought I knew this pond pretty well, but Tim was certainly getting the fishes’ attention better than I was. He generously gifted me one of his San Juan worms, which I admit I’d never tried before…and it really worked! The fish really liked that, and I even missed repeated takes from a crappie that was quicker at spitting than I was at hook-setting.
I soon lost that fly to an underwater snag, which isn’t nearly as embarrassing as an overhead snag. :rolleyes:
Tim and I each caught a number of bluegills and bass.
It was certainly nice to meet another FAOL’er, and I look forward to fishing with Tim again next time he’s up this way. And I tell you, it is REALLY nice to get someone else’s take on my “home waters”. I learned some great tips today.
Thanks, Tim!
Here’s Tim with a couple of the nice bluegills he caught:
Congrats…it’s always neat to catch a new one on the flY…and a carp to boot!
Been wanting to catch one this summer too, but unless I start taking it seriously…it probably isn’t going to happen.
Now that I’m an expert :rolleyes: :lol: :roll: …Here’s my suggestions.
- If you’re going to plan a trip TARGETING carp, obviously you want to focus your effort where the carp population is VERY STRONG. Lake or river…
- Fish where the water clarity allows you to hunt/spot/stalk the fish. Muddy water makes for difficult fishing of this type. I never actually got to SEE the fish take the fly, but could see it by watching my line. But seeing the fish is essential for placing your fly where the fish is likely to take it.
- A strong size 8 hook seems about right, and a buggy-looking subsurface fly with lots of “movement” from the materials seems work really well. Think lots of marabou & soft hackles…picked-out dubbings…and soft rubber legs. Natural colors also seem best, so far. Combinations of olives, browns, cremes, black & root beer have worked.
(Throw these suggestions out the window if you are lucky enough to fish a spot where carp are accustomed to eating human treats like bread, popcorn, etc.) - Obviously you can land fish with lighter gear, but my 8wt felt just about right. Neither under-powered, nor over-powered. I used a 10lb test leader.
- A reel with a reliable drag, and plenty of backing is important. I’ve had a handful of fish in the past that have taken me TO the reel, but carp are the first species I’ve caught on my fly rod that have REALLY pulled line OFF the reel!
- Mind your line. Whether fishing from a boat where line can get wrapped around a number of things if you aren’t paying attention, or fishing from shore near weeds, sticks, riprap, etc, …because these fish will likely take plenty of line, you don’t want it ruined by your line being caught somewhere you didn’t plan.
I’m still shaking!
I fly-fished an Ankeny pond during lunch once again today.
I caught 3 bass, 2 bluegills, 1-22" catfish (my PB catfish on fly rod)…and lost a bigger catfish. The 22-incher fought extremely well, and even had a carp that buddied up to him as he struggled into the shallows. The carp wouldn’t leave him alone, for whatever reason!
Anyway…I’m still shaking because of the BIGGER catfish. I fought it for about 15 minutes…taking great care to not horse it in (although a fish that big isn’t going to come in without a lot of coaxing!). I got it up to shore twice, and the second time was reaching down to grab it, when I realized…I CAN’T REACH ACROSS ITS BACK TO GRAB IT! Only other option was to lip it, but I was still trying to get a grip across its back, when it turned its head quick, snapped my 10lb test, and darted for deeper water. AAAAAAAaaaaaggghhhh!!!
It wasn’t a HUGE catfish…but I’d guess a solid 7-pounder at LEAST. Pretty good on a 5wt fly rod!!
All the fish hit woolly buggers today.
Anyway, I DID get a picture of the fat 22-incher…
Beautiful evening…hardly any wind, clear skies…
I set out around 8:30pm to fly-fish a local pond for bass. Looked to be a good topwater night.
Saw a few “shooting stars”, but overall the action was sorta slow. I caught 4 largemouth bass in the 14"-16" range on the topwater, and missed a few other hits. Also caught another catfish on a topwater fly, this one was 19" and fat:
Bad news…I lost 2 double-sided boxes full of flies (I estimate there were at least 500 flies), and a leader-wallet jammed full of leaders. Must have fallen out when I was measuring the catfish? Anyway, I’m bummed. There were a LOT of great flies in those boxes, and also a lot of time spent in tying them. Plus a fair number of store-bought stuff. Easily $600 worth of stuff, if I had to replace it all.
Looks like I’ll have to start over and tie up a bunch more…
Dave -
That’s a BUMMER !
Can you advertise locally and maybe get them back ??
John
I could advertise, but probably will not.
Its a public park pond, with houses on one side, playground on the other. Lots of people out walking their dogs on the paved sidewalks surrounding the pond, kids riding their bikes, fishing, etc.
I’m hopeful that I’ll be out fishing sometime, and somebody will recognize that box of strange lures they found as FLIES… and that I’m a fly fisherman…, and will return them to me. But, I know I’m not the only fly angler that fishes that pond.
Many many good folks in this neighborhood. But I’m not counting on getting them back. If nothing else, it’ll be a great “find” for some young angler.
I’m not 100% sure where I lost them. I definitely had them on Saturday night when I was fishing, but not sure if I still had them when I got home. Not sure if I had them on Sunday or not, since I didn’t tie on any new flies. Only fished for a couple minutes on Sunday, before tornados, wind & rain & lightning encouraged me to “call it quits” for the day. It was when I got home that I noticed the boxes and leader wallet were gone.
I had them in a large Clear Creek fanny pack, which I usually wear on my side or backside (so the fly line doesn’t get tangled in the straps/zippers). I find it hard to believe the boxes would have fallen out onto the ground without me hearing them.
Its just going to take a long time to replace all those flies, and many of them I was hoping to use VERY SOON on the white bass here, which get really active in the shallows, starting in late August.
I tied up 20 flies last night, to hopefully get me successfully through today’s “Lunch Outing”.
That really is a bummer. Been there and done that. Lost my very first box of flies and never saw them again. Nothing like $600 worth, but still a bummer.
Any local fishing forums you could post on? You never know if you don’t try. I once found a really nice landing net on the side of the Provo river. It gets pounded by fly fisherman and I posted on a local site that I’d found it and to let me know if you lost one. Never heard from anyone, so I still have it…but at least I tried.
BTW, great fish. Those kitties have a tendency to feel like a 30 pound rock when you’re bringinf em in.
Yeah, those catfish sure are a blast on a 5wt!
We also had 60+mph winds last night, & 3 inches of rain. Even if a kid didn’t pick up those boxes, the weather may have made them “disappear”.
I’ve already put my name/address/phone number in the new box of flies I’ve started.
Finally have a minute to jump on the BB after my trip last week. Sure had a good time with FishnDave at that pond we went to. You could see a lot of 'gills near the shore line, and many of them would come and inspect my offering, some would nibble, but getting one hooked took some persisitance. There were, however, many eager young bass in the 12" - 13" range. 
They were all great fun on the 4wt.
Thanks for sharing your pond for a few hours Dave!
Any time Tim! Drop me a line (pun intended) next time you’re up this way and want to do some fishing. There’s plenty of other ponds!!
Today during lunch, the fishing was once again fantastic, and once again the catching was S-L-O-W.
I put on a “bare weenie”, and it picked up a little bit. I landed 3 bluegills and 3 bass on that. It was a yellow color that I had mostly covered over with a red sharpie. So…sort of a San Juan Worm presentation.