Fishgator - Kayak Fishing Blog

Smallmouth on the Fly Rod

Saw this video on Youtube.  Per the poster of the video, this fish goes 5 pounds, and fell for a popper.  Yowzers.

 

Tags: Fly Fishing for Bass

Texas Bass for a Day

Texans may not agree with me, but being a New Yorker, there’s only so many days where I can get into 3 pound plus largemouth.  Today, it felt like I was in Texas.  Thanks the the generosity of a member of a local fishing and hunting club, I was invited to fish a private pond on Sunday.  The results?  See below:

It’s about a 4 or 5 acre impoundment, kept a decent temperature all year since it’s spring fed. In it were some of the healthiest largemouth I’ve seen in Western New York.  Brightly colored, and in fighting shape.  They were still a little sluggish on the fight (then again, I’ve been dealing with river smallmouth for two weeks, so a comparison is unfair).

I fished for about 3 hours (and messed around for another hour or so), and caught what I recall as being 11 bass.  3 on the fly rod, and 8 on the bait caster.

Flies used:

 

• Muddler Minnow
• Black Bunny Fly
• Black Zonker

 

Plastic Baits:

 

• Pumpkin 6 inch Senko
• Green 4 inch Senko
• Purple 4 inch Senko

 

Tags: Fly Fishing for Bass

Black Creek: Bass on the Fly Rod

Last week I was able to pick up quite a few bass on the fly rod, in various sections of Black Creek in and around Churchville.  It seems to be heating up quite a bit, despite the cooler weather.

The technique is pretty simple, as they are aggressive right now.

Two flies doing the most damage are a crayfish pattern I sort of put together myself (photos and instructions later this week), and the two variations of the Muddler Minnow.  One being the classic Muddler Minnow pattern, and the second being one I tie with a red feather tail as opposed to the classic turkey tail.

Most of the smallies in Black Creek that I encountered were hugging the banks, and truthfully, most were in the sun (pictured right).  The one exception would be the biggest of the smallmouth I caught that day.  He was in a very deep pool just after a sizable deadfall.  It was a tough spot to cast, and I was very lucky to catch him.

I was actually adjusting my waders when that big one hit (no picture).  I had a ball of fly line in the water next to me, and the fly (crayfish pattern) was drifting, unattended, 10 feet to my right.  I heard a small slurp, but felt nothing since my line was very slack.  I quickly reeled up, and the fight was on.  He went deep, then tried to run up the narrow chute of water behind me.  Probably took about 2 minutes to bring him in.  I didn’t horse that one, since I hadn’t seen him really, and wasn’t sure what I was dealing with.

As I mentioned, the smallies have been aggressive, and although they were liking the crayfish patterns, they were actually hitting it on or near the surface.  Though I haven’t seen any evidence of nesting yet, so I don’t think it’s that kind of aggression.  Most of the spots I would expect to see nests, I saw carp.  So either the smallies in this section wait for the carp to move out, or I have to re think where I’m going to find them sitting on their nests.  Should know more in the next few weeks.

Tags: Fly Fishing for Bass

A few Notes

Heading out to Black Creek in Churchville in a few minutes, which should be fun.  Weather is much better today than I expected.  i assumed that this week was lost, since I have to head to New York City for meetings tomorrow.

Also, it’s almost exactly one month til my kayak trip for pike on Black lake.  Getting ready for that.  If anyone wants to check out a Flatstalker, I might have a couple up there.  I’d be more than happy to head out with someone  so you can try it out.

Third, just updated our Patagonia Clearance section on our products site.  Please check it out!  All the items are available at AltrecOutlet

The product site is the way I get to pay for this site, and I do believe it’s a value to you as well.

Photos when I get back!

Tags: black creek, Black Lake, flatstalker, Patagonia

The Must Hit List for my Summer Kayak Fishing

Planning out my summer today, and here’s the first spot that I absolutely must fish this summer. (Also, I’ll be showing off a new kayaking toy very soon… stay tuned!)

The Lake Shores Marshes Wildlife Management Area

Website

The DEC indicates that this spot is rife with smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and Northern Pike, which definitely piqued my interest. Also, there appears to be a boat launch on a creek there (Black Creek actually, although not the one I’m familiar with).

The rest of this week is suspect, weather wise, so I will be doing this one next week.

Apparently also plenty of birds, muskrats, and other critters to look at while I’m paddling along, so I look forward to this trip. This will be a full day trip I would imagine, so I’ll keep you posted on when I go.

Tags: Fishgator Fishing Hotspots, Fly Fishing for Bass, Fly Fishing for Pike, kayaking, WNY Kayaking