Ryan Stephens and I had an itch to catch some bass late in the afternoon on Memorial Day. We put my canoe on the trailer and drove out to the pond to start fishing. The sun was dropping into the trees and the wind was still. Today, we were using popping bugs on fly rods. I paddled while Ryan fished, catching several bass and bream from the start. I saw that the fish were hungry and quit paddling so that I could have a share of fish too.
Fly fishing brings its own challenges and transforms bass fishing into a totally different game. Fly casting gives more range than a bream buster could offer and the gentle landing in the water does not cause a splash, potentially spooking a fish. The first challenge is learning how to cast a fly rod. This is done by a four count rhythm casting forward and back at angles of 10:00 and 2:00 which draws out more line.
Two people on a boat must be aware of each other as they fish.
If you are not paying attention, then you could easily hook the person behind you on the back draw, or worse, you could get both lines tangled while casting. Ryan and I had a rule early on that only one person should be casting at a time, but we have since then moved past the need to worry.
The fish were on fire for the evening, and we would catch a fish on almost every other cast! It didn’t matter if we were fishing a weed line, stump, or open water. Where ever we placed our flies, a fish was present. Most of the fish were tiny bass or average sized blue-gills and some flew from the water when we set the hook. Even a small fish could give a fight when using a light weight, 9 foot fly rod. Ryan and I kept all of the fish in a cooler full of water to keep them alive. My favorite way to fish is on the surface because you can see the splash and hear the strike when a fish bites. We seldom use the reel when fly fishing. After casting, allow the fly to sit on the surface and the ripples to spread before you twitch the fly again. I alternate the retrieval through a series of twitches and jerk, trying to keep an erratic pattern. I strip the line in by hand and let it coil in the water beside the boat.
Even when a fish bites, we strip the line in by hand. Some of the fish I hooked were so small, that I could not pull the line in fast enough and they managed to throw the hook.
We fished into the dark and caught over 30 bass and bream before we decided to quit for the day. The pond is overpopulated with fish and therefore, the fish cannot eat enough to grow like they could in larger ponds.
Ryan and I took the cooler and released the fish into the Little Pee Dee River on the way home.
Whether I am on a boat, or walking around on land, fly fishing for bass is an exciting sport and can be as successful as using conventional tackle. My grandfather gave my first fly rod to me when I was 13 and told me that it was the best way to fish. I was not interested to learn at the time, but it has since become my favorite way to catch a fish.